Hi! Congrats on the release of ‘Electric Flowers’, the album sounds great. What was the inspiration behind it?
It initially began with some of the songs being tracks for a film soundtrack but the movie ran into problems and was never completed. We forged ahead regardless as it was just so enjoyable working through the writing process and collaborating with old mates to get the tracks down.
With the film project cancelled, there were no longer constraints or a particular focus to the creative process other than going with the flow and having the freedom to simply do whatever we wanted. But then the original idea of the songs being used in a film inspired a cinematic texture that remained in the lyrics and production. The 12 songs on Electric Flowers were picked for the album with that filmic flavor in mind.
What’s your favorite track on the album and why?
This is difficult. I love all of them. But if I had to pick one, I would go for A Walk in the Park. I was going through a bit of a Burt Bacharach phase and I wanted to create a vibe and feel for a song in homage to him. Again with that movie montage sense. I immersed myself in all things Bacharach from his 60’s period, which for me was his purple patch. What I came up with I hope does him justice without being a pastiche and also sounds contemporary and fresh. John’s bass line and Neil’s drumming drive the song with a lovely, lilting laid back power. Bruce’s keys add an understated finesse and the subtle but sumptuous harmonies from Ola round the song off beautifully.
The cherry on the cake was getting Chris Storr on board to play trumpet. He is absolutely the best you can get and plays with several big names, so I was extremely pleased when he said he could do it. Once he confirmed he was available, all I said to him was give it the full Herb Alpert and left him to it. That was precisely what Chris delivered and the song came together perfectly.
With all the darkness around us these days, I love that this song has such a light, airy, innocent fun about it, reminiscent of those 60’s classics. And now we’ve lost Burt Bacharach, it feels like a tip of the hat to a legend.
Where did you record it?
A walk in the Park was recorded over different sessions in London, Malvern and Stratford upon Avon with Chris laying down the trumpet in his shed!
Your music interweaves so many different styles and sounds. If you could collaborate with anyone in the world, who would it be and why?
That’s a tricky one as we have so many influences and musicians who have inspired us and who we have enormous respect for. But I guess an obvious one would be Paul McCartney. After all, he is the most successful rock musician in history, so it would be a real privilege to spend some time with him in the studio and see how he develops ideas and works them into complete recordings.
What’s been your favorite musical experience to date?
There have been many but honestly, working with the musicians and engineers to produce Electric Flowers has been an amazing process. How everyone has put heart and soul into it made the whole thing a joy.
Where are you based? Can you tell us how the music scene there has inspired your sound at all?
We are all from the Stourbridge/Birmingham area which has always had a very strong music scene. When there are lots of bands and great musicians around, it forces you to up your game. But I think the trick is to take stock of the general standard and use it as encouragement to improve but stick to doing your own thing.
Can you write what was the best performance in your career? How do you remember it?
You know, an audience reaction and a performer’s perception of how things went do not always correlate! So best policy is don’t overthink it. Relax, have fun, do the next one and they’ll all be the best.
Finally, have you got anything to share regarding upcoming gigs, and what have you got planned for 2023?
We are very much focused on raising the profile of Groovy Shirt Club by promoting Electric Flowers. A second album is in the latter stages of production right now which will give us a catalog of 24 songs out there, which will become the backbone of our live shows to be announced later this year.
