Page 31 - Black Velvet Issue 93

BV93 pg28-33_BV93 pg31 09/06/2017 00:39 Page 4

BlackVelvetMagazine.Com - 31
have no clue where I’ll be in six months or a One of our particular highlights of the new all, especially in the States with hip hop music.
year. I have no idea. It’s so uncertain. That’s album is a song called ‘Hollywood’, where Tuk The factory farming industry is one of the
scary. When you live like this, you are uncertain sings, ‘everyone wants a star on Hollywood biggest atrocities in the history of mankind. So
and to kind of deal with that anxiety or fear, it’s Blvd’. Tuk says the song is not meant literally, yeah, I would like to see a paradigm shift in the
what drives a lot of musicians to drinking and but more about how everyone craves fame. human race. I don’t know if it’s going to happen
partying too, ‘cause you don’t know what the “Nowadays, everybody wants to be famous. because I feel like we’re moving deeper and
fuck’s going to happen next.” Everyone’s online, trying to be special. Every- deeper into an idiocracy. With all the technology
one has a voice on social media and girls are in the world and all the modern conveniences,
aking the new album was one of the showing their asses on there to try and get fol- with most technology, the most readily available
Mmost difficult things Tuk has ever done. lowers, people are taking selfies. We’re so con- food, there’s air conditioning, hot water, clean
He tells Black Velvet, “I think the pressure that nected through technology, but everyone feels water, nobody’s sick anymore, people are living
is put on a writer; from your fans, from your so disconnected spiritually. They feel insignifi- a long time, I feel like people are more unhappy
label, from management, and then I put a lot of cant. Everyone wants to feel like they have a life than they’ve ever been. None of these modern
pressure on myself, I don’t know how many purpose. Everyone wants to feel like they were advances have made these people happy be-
more albums, how much longer, this band can meant for something or destined. You see a lot cause I think we’re so disconnected from the
sustain itself, unless we get a big break. So for of lost souls nowadays, even with all the con- source, whatever the source is. And me being a
me, it was an important album; to try to put some veniences of modern society; air conditioning, part of humanity, I feel very disconnected to the
of the really big songs on there. It’s not like you running water, fresh food. People are really un- source.”
can go to the store and buy a hit song. You have happy, so there’s always a deeper level. I did There’s a quote that goes, ‘When you are
to figure out how to do it. It’s a lot of pressure for write it in Hollywood. That’s where it was born in a world you don’t fit in; it’s because you
one, and then I wanted to be very thorough, so spawned from. I was out there writing and I was were born to create a new one’.
I demoed out 30 songs at my house. I did the walking down Hollywood Blvd, and I was looking “That’s a really good quote,” replies Tuk.
whole production. I sang full harmonies, I did at all the stars, the actual stars on there, so “Like I said, I go through ups and downs. Some-
everything on the demos before we even went yeah, the inspiration did come from being there, times I’m very positive and I want to change the
into the studio, and then in the studio it was re- but it’s multi-faceted lyrically.” world and I want to stand for something and
ally difficult this time around, trying to get it to With so many people wanting to be famous, other times I feel very defeated and like it’s a
sound how I wanted, production-wise, and to try and so many people having millions of followers hopeless task. You really can’t control anything;
to make a record that competes fidelity-wise for doing nothing other than, as Tuk says, you can only control yourself. I do try to control
with some of the big records today. A lot of them “showing their asses”, we wonder who inspires myself and be the best person I can be. But like
rely on a lot of programming. So, to try to get it him… who is actually WORTH following out I said, you have up days and down, some days
really tight-sounding and big to compete with there? you’re good, some days you’re bad. But also, I
modern records, while doing the style of music, “I think people who are really creatively did a lot of fucked up shit in the past. I’m just try-
that was a challenge. I probably put the pressure driven, they are the most inspiring. Seeing peo- ing to, from now on, make sure I’m the most
on myself that made it that hard, but I do like the ple who have just worked really hard and devel- honorable, stand-up person I can be. And when
way it turned out, I’m very happy with it.” oped a craft, whether it’s owning their own you kinda do that, when you say what you feel,
He also took some risks this time around. “I business or being an artist, being a producer, you put your neck out there to be cut. Some-
put two ballads on there. Sometimes because, being a songwriter, an actor; someone who’s times I take a lot of abuse online from people for
Biters, people want to pigeonhole us a lot and I honed their craft and didn’t really conform to reg- being who I am. People are assholes.”
just get bored so I just wrote the record as if I ular societal standards. People like that; I’d like A comment got to him the other month on
was writing a solo record for me. There’s a coun- to attract more of those, but I keep my circle re- the internet, and he wrote an Instagram post
try-ish, Americana kind of ballad on there. ally, really about how when you’re
There’s a bunch of glammy stuff, which I really small, people “For some reason people think in a band in 2017, you
like, a lot more power pop stuff, which is my per- that I hang out they have the right to criticize you are forced to take con-
sonal favourite, so I kinda just didn’t listen to with on pur- stant criticism “from
anybody and did what I wanted to do. Hopefully pose. But, for openly on the internet. I would never every shapeless mon-
it turns out.” some reason, go to your face and say, “You suck as goloid on the internet
Tuk wanted to create a mood and a vibe for the last cou- and expected not to
with the new album. “I wanted to make people ple of years I’ve an interviewer, you need to do this, say anything back”.
feel good when they listen to the record. Not been really, re- you need to do this.” Who would do “Yeah, it gets to me
necessarily a feeling, but feelings. I wanted to ally attracted to that? It’s so rude.” - Tuk Smith sometimes,” he says.
make people feel good because I found that I nature, which is “I’m a human being. I’m
kept going back and listening to music that not “rock ‘n’ not untouchable. I’m
made me feel good. Listening to a bunch of roll”. But you can’t help what you like.” just a regular person. Shit bothers you but for
screaming and music that’s upsetting, there’s With the Blackberry Smoke tour having just some reason people think they have the right to
enough of that that I have to deal with on a day- been completed, Tuk adds, “Blackberry Smoke criticize you openly on the internet. I would
to-day basis, so I wanted to create the escape.” have been amazing. Not only amazing people, never go to your face and say, “You suck as an
they’re great musicians. They’re inspiring to me. interviewer, you need to do this, you need to do
ast year, Tuk got to sing and perform Charlie is very inspiring to me, the singer. He’s this.” Who would do that? It’s so rude. But for
L‘Surrender’ on stage with Cheap Trick. like a one-in-a-million musician, and he’s a great some reason people get the fucking courage to
He posted about it online and wrote that if he guy. Now he’s sober. I’m not sober, but you can feel like they’re qualified to make criticisms or
could write a song as good as ‘I Want You To tell he got focused and it’s paid off.” qualified to be reviewers, and it does get to me
Want Me’ he could die happy. So, has he written sometimes. The idiots get to me.”
a song as good as ‘I Want You To Want Me’ on uk sings ‘I want to light up the dark’ in
‘The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be’? T‘Callin’ You Home’. He thinks the world hings have definitely changed a lot since
“I have no idea, because as the person who as a whole feels dark at the moment. Tthe 70s – and we imagine Marc Bolan
does the writing, your perspective is skewed,” “I go through phases, but at this point I see and Phil Lynott would probably have been the
Tuk replies. “I never think anything I do is good the world as a whole and from more of a nega- victims of online trolling if they were around
enough. Hopefully somebody else will.” tive aspect. I just feel like what we’re doing to today. But how would T.Rex and Thin Lizzy be
He says he’s critical of himself as a writer. “I the planet, to the environment, other species, coping if they were still a band in 2017? Obvi-
really want to be humble so I try and keep my the monetary system that the world is run by ously members of Thin Lizzy are now in Black
ego in check and not think that anything I do is doesn’t make sense to me. A lot of the systems Star Riders, and they, themselves, are playing
too good. But music is all a matter of personal that are in place, the structural systems of soci- club venues. Glamorous rock ‘n’ roll is not half
opinion and perspective. A lot of music that is ety, they make no sense to me. So I feel like an as popular as it once was, though.
popular and that people think is good, I think is alien from another planet. I don’t feel like I was “Of course, nothing stays the same forever,”
fucking horrible, and I think a lot of people prob- supposed to be… I know it sounds cheesy, but says Tuk. “There’s going to be different styles in
ably hate what I do. It’s all a matter of opinion. I feel so out of place on earth that at times it’s music. If you placed the type of hip hop or rap
Somebody could think I’ve already written songs hard for me to relate to people, so I feel really… that is dominating the music industry right now,
that are as good as that or better. And I was just I don’t know. I just feel very separated, like I’m if you placed that in the 80s, it would not work; it
using that song as a blanket example. But I’m not part of a group. To me, a lot of mainstream would fail. If you placed some of the 80s rock ‘n’
going to keep chipping away.” music and mainstream culture I can’t relate to at roll into today’s world, it would not work either.
BITERS