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Franklin Fest 2017 Interview - MFC Chicken

Today, in our Franklin Fest 2017 special, step up Spencer Envoy of MFC Chicken and Gastronauts fame.

DS: Welcome Spencer. For those who aren't in the know, please could you give a little history of how the band met, and your musical background..


SE: The band started when I moved from Canada to the UK 7 years ago. I put the word out that I wanted to put together a group to play music inspired by '50s rhythm and blues and the '60s Pacific Northwest sound of The Sonics and The Wailers, and through the miracle of modern technology (Gumtree) I found a group of like minded individuals. We started rehearsing above a former fried chicken shop on Holloway Road, that's where we got the name.

DS: Okay, and what attracted you to that particular kind of music, was it something you discovered as a teenager? Can you remember what particular tunes were the turning point for you?

SE: As a teenager in the early 2000s I was really inspired by the so-called "garage rock revival", with bands like The White Stripes and, particularly, The Hives. I loved that high energy rock and roll sound and that's what made me want to be in a band. The first song I learned was 'Hate to Say I Told You So'. Then I basically traced their influences back to The Sonics, hearing their version of 'Have Love Will Travel' blew my mind and I understood then where The Hives etc. were coming from. Then it's logical to go back from there to Little Richard and Chuck Berry and that primal, exciting, fun sound always felt like the way to go for me.

DS: Fantastic! Was MFC Chicken your first band? I can definitely hear the influences you mentioned, The Sonics, The Wailers, and just good old fashioned Rock 'n' Roll.

SE: My first band was called The Xyphoid Process, back in high school. We played Hives, White Stripes, Ramones, Sex Pistols and Kinks stuff, as well as original material in that vein. I just sang in that band. Then I had a band called the Vestaloynes at college, moving in a more Sonics-styled direction...then I started playing sax, and MFC Chicken was the first band in which I considered myself equally a sax player and singer.

DS: ..and where does that voice come from?!

SE: Some people seemed surprised at my voice, I think my voice might not quite match my appearance. Maybe it sounds like it comes from a larger, older dude. I'm okay with that.

DS: Your voice is pretty astounding I have to say. When I first heard MFC Chicken I was like, oh my goodness, this guy sounds like Gerry Roslie! Enough of the flattery, haha!

SE: Well getting a Gerry Roslie comparison is the highest compliment, so I'll take it!

DS: I saw you at last year's Franklin Fest with The Gastronauts. That was so much fun, did you enjoy doing it, and do you plan to record?

SE: Yeah, that Gastronauts gig was one of the most amusing shows that I can recall playing. It actually started as a food-themed recording project that Angus McPake and I conceived of, so there are already a trove of recordings that may well be released in some form or another in the future. We'll see!

DS: I look forward to hearing that. So turning to this year's Franklin Fest... MFC Chicken doing the songs of The Wailers. It's almost too exciting!

SE: Yes it's something I've been excited about as well! The Wailers are obviously one of our major influences, so it's a natural fit I think. We'll cover the whole breadth of The Wailers catalogue from The Fabulous Wailers LP until the mid 60's Etiquette singles. Hopefully we'll hit all the fan favourites and more, and this will be the only chance to hear us doing this special Wailers set, so come check it out! We even have special outfits for the show.

DS: Cool, I can’t wait to see you guys play. Lastly, could you please describe the Franklin Rock ‘n’ Roll Club for those who haven't been before?

SE: The Franklin has to be the most fun you can have in a cricket club. I think it must be experienced to be fully understood.

DS: Absolutely.

Infinite thanks to Spencer for taking the time out if his busy schedule to chat. You can catch MFC Chicken at a venue near you, details can be found on their Facebook page here and don't miss them performing the songs of The Wailers on Friday 30th June, tickets for this gig can be found here.

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Franklin Fest 2017 Interview - Nervous Twitch

Ahead of this years Franklin Fest (where did the last 12 months go?), our very own girl in the garage has managed to have a good old fashioned gossip with few of the participating acts. They'll be an article each day this week leading up to the opening night - Thursday 29th  - so you can look forward to intimate tête-à-tête's with MFC Chicken's Spencer Envoy, Chrome Reverse's Lili Zeller and Los Coyote Men's Sir Randy 'Captain Dynomite' Hornknocker! no-less.

 

Up first is Erin Van Rumble, front woman and bassist of Leeds pop-punksters Nervous Twitch.

DS: ようこそ Erin, please introduce yourself..

EVR: We've been together for about four or five years and after a few lineup changes etc. we are currently a three-piece. Myself, Erin, on bass and singing, Jay on guitar and Ash on drums.

 

DS: Okay, and how did Nervous Twitch evolve, and did you know each other beforehand?

 

EVR: Jay and I are a couple and we met through music and going to gigs. Jay was in a different band at the time, and has been in bands since he was a teenager. I originally came on board as a drummer and it was my first proper band! In our early days we made the decision for me to move to bass which vacated the drummer position which is where we're introduced to Ash through a friend.

 

DS: So what kind of music drives the band?

 

EVR: We are all fans of various types of music but I think what we all share is a love of a catchy pop song and playing punk rock... so I think that's how we get our sound. Music that inspires our writing is bands like The Ramones, Billy Childish, Nobunny, amongst many many others!

 

DS: Care to mention a couple of tunes that have inspired you?

 

EVR: I would find it hard to pinpoint inspiration down to a particular song but album wise Nobunny Love Visions/First Blood (or maybe the song 'Chuck Berry Holiday'!) Ramones Rocket To Russia, or maybe just them all! Billy Childish has A LOT of great songs and far tooooo mannnnyyy albums ha ha!

Also big fans of '60s girl groups like Shangri-las and The Ronettes and the Girls In The Garage comps which has inspired our songs such as "Johnny's Got A Gun" 

DS: You certainly can't go wrong with a bit of Mr Childish. Any particular incarnation of his that you prefer?

 

EVR: I personally love The Delmonas. Today we had Thatcher's Children byWild Billy Childish & The MBE's on the turntable, which is awesome. Also a fan of the Headcoats, Headcoatees, Milkshakes, so most of his music! He just has a great knack with writing songs!

 

DS: Turning to output, how many releases to date?

 

EVR: Two Albums: both released on Odd Box Records on cassette, and then the first one “Get Back In Line” re-released on Vinyl on Middle Ear Recordings and our second “Don’t Take My TV” re-released on Vinyl on Odd Box Records. We’ve also had two singles out on Punk Fox Records and various CD EP's along the way.

 

DS: ..and what are the band up to at the moment?

 

EVR: Just finished album Number three “I Won’t Hide” (which we are all very excited about!) which will be released in October on Odd Box Records, as well as a single on Punk Fox!

 

DS: Will this be the first time you've played in Edinburgh?

 

EVR: We played in Edinburgh when we toured spring 2016. Awesome gig, so much fun! So we’re all excited to be back!

 

DS: Are you sticking around for the whole weekend, and who are you looking forward to seeing?

 

EVR: We are, and can’t wait to see all of the bands really! Sad to be missing The Fnords on the Thursday (I will catch them one day!) but otherwise looking forward to MFC Chicken, Coyote Men, Das Clamps, and The Sensation Seekers.

 

Many thanks to Erin for taking the time out to chat.

You can catch Nervous Twitch on Friday evening at The Franklin Fest 17. More information about the band can be found here.  

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