Post by nowheregirl on Apr 26, 2007 13:49:33 GMT 1
From Turkish Daily News
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Elbow and I Am Kloot, two of Manchester's finest bands, headed to Istanbul on April 11 to play in one of the most exciting events of this year's Film Festival, paying tribute to the legendary John Lennon on Beyoðlu's Garajistanbul stage to support the “The U.S. vs. John Lennon” documentary. Although it was the first time that I Am Kloot has been to Turkey, Elbow is familiar with Turkish audiences, as the band played in Babylon, Istanbul on May 19-20, 2006.
“It was just marvelous,” Elbow vocalist Guy Garvey told the Turkish Daily News, “A troubled country in many ways but we have met very generous and open-minded people who know how to have fun. You just don't know what to expect when you have been to a country for the first time but it's great when you appreciate the differences as well as the similarities.”
So it's no surprise that Garvey and Elbow jumped at I Am Kloot's offer to play in Turkey together. The Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (ÝKSV) first contacted I Am Kloot for the gig titled “Come Together.” I Am Kloot's vocalist and guitarist John Bramwell is still not sure why they were chosen.
“I've had reviews saying my voice is similar to John Lennon's, maybe that's why we were asked,” said Bramwell, “Then we told Elbow about it actually, and now they're playing after us.”
In fact, the members of the two bands are real close friends. “ Pete is my best friend,” said Guy Garvey, who also produced the debut album, “Natural History,” of his friend's band. The two bands are generally compared to each other and seen as belong to a similar area in music by critics.
“I think we are grittier and kind of sharper than Elbow. And Elbow is grander and bigger in their scale of music,” stated Bramwell, “But yes, our names have always been associated together. Even our albums come out more or less at the same time, just by chance.”
Garvey thinks it is something to do with regional effects. “When you go to the south of England, it's more about hair and make-up, and the music comes second. Then you go to the north and music takes the priority,” says the Elbow frontman, laughing. Then another northern city needs to be mentioned, which is Liverpool.
When asked the meaning of two Mancunians saluting John Lennon, a Liverpudlian, Garvey said, “Anyone who thinks that there is a great competition between Manchester and Liverpool are football fans, I think. We are all mad fans of The Beatles.”
John Bramwell's words confirm Garvey. “When I was six or seven and playing guitar and piano, I wasn't trying to learn to be a musician, I was trying to learn to be a Beatle. I didn't know what a pop group was, I thought the Beatles were a world,” says Bramwell at his most enthusiastic, “I didn't know that they were the same four guys because they had such different hair in five or six years. These people were from that world and the music was coming from that world. It was the world of the Beatles. So I had this odd attachment to them.”
John Lennon and The Beatles' influence on Guy Garvey is not less than on Bramwell. “I think their psychedelic side, like “Tomorrow Never Knows,” has affected us more,” states the Elbow vocalist, adding that Lennon has great importance for him as a lyricist.
“Two of my favorite Lennon lyrics are in the same song. “Half of what I say is meaningless,” says Lennon in “Julia,” I think it was a message to the fans because his words are dug really deeper. And the other one is hung as a plaque on my wall at home, says, “When I cannot sing my heart, I can only speak my mind.” That's an important thing to remember as a songwriter.”
Garvey also recalls the line “We dropped the baton like the '60s didn't happen” in the song “Leaders of the Free World” by Elbow, which is a reference to Lennon. Later that night, Elbow played John Lennon's solo hits “Instant Karma” and “Cold Turkey” onstage and performed The Beatles classic “Don't Let Me Down” with John Bramwell, in addition to their set list containing songs from their three albums.
I Am Kloot had some previously unreleased tracks on their set and The Beatles song “Hey Bulldog” with Guy Garvey as guest singer during that special night to remember.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Elbow and I Am Kloot, two of Manchester's finest bands, headed to Istanbul on April 11 to play in one of the most exciting events of this year's Film Festival, paying tribute to the legendary John Lennon on Beyoðlu's Garajistanbul stage to support the “The U.S. vs. John Lennon” documentary. Although it was the first time that I Am Kloot has been to Turkey, Elbow is familiar with Turkish audiences, as the band played in Babylon, Istanbul on May 19-20, 2006.
“It was just marvelous,” Elbow vocalist Guy Garvey told the Turkish Daily News, “A troubled country in many ways but we have met very generous and open-minded people who know how to have fun. You just don't know what to expect when you have been to a country for the first time but it's great when you appreciate the differences as well as the similarities.”
So it's no surprise that Garvey and Elbow jumped at I Am Kloot's offer to play in Turkey together. The Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (ÝKSV) first contacted I Am Kloot for the gig titled “Come Together.” I Am Kloot's vocalist and guitarist John Bramwell is still not sure why they were chosen.
“I've had reviews saying my voice is similar to John Lennon's, maybe that's why we were asked,” said Bramwell, “Then we told Elbow about it actually, and now they're playing after us.”
In fact, the members of the two bands are real close friends. “ Pete is my best friend,” said Guy Garvey, who also produced the debut album, “Natural History,” of his friend's band. The two bands are generally compared to each other and seen as belong to a similar area in music by critics.
“I think we are grittier and kind of sharper than Elbow. And Elbow is grander and bigger in their scale of music,” stated Bramwell, “But yes, our names have always been associated together. Even our albums come out more or less at the same time, just by chance.”
Garvey thinks it is something to do with regional effects. “When you go to the south of England, it's more about hair and make-up, and the music comes second. Then you go to the north and music takes the priority,” says the Elbow frontman, laughing. Then another northern city needs to be mentioned, which is Liverpool.
When asked the meaning of two Mancunians saluting John Lennon, a Liverpudlian, Garvey said, “Anyone who thinks that there is a great competition between Manchester and Liverpool are football fans, I think. We are all mad fans of The Beatles.”
John Bramwell's words confirm Garvey. “When I was six or seven and playing guitar and piano, I wasn't trying to learn to be a musician, I was trying to learn to be a Beatle. I didn't know what a pop group was, I thought the Beatles were a world,” says Bramwell at his most enthusiastic, “I didn't know that they were the same four guys because they had such different hair in five or six years. These people were from that world and the music was coming from that world. It was the world of the Beatles. So I had this odd attachment to them.”
John Lennon and The Beatles' influence on Guy Garvey is not less than on Bramwell. “I think their psychedelic side, like “Tomorrow Never Knows,” has affected us more,” states the Elbow vocalist, adding that Lennon has great importance for him as a lyricist.
“Two of my favorite Lennon lyrics are in the same song. “Half of what I say is meaningless,” says Lennon in “Julia,” I think it was a message to the fans because his words are dug really deeper. And the other one is hung as a plaque on my wall at home, says, “When I cannot sing my heart, I can only speak my mind.” That's an important thing to remember as a songwriter.”
Garvey also recalls the line “We dropped the baton like the '60s didn't happen” in the song “Leaders of the Free World” by Elbow, which is a reference to Lennon. Later that night, Elbow played John Lennon's solo hits “Instant Karma” and “Cold Turkey” onstage and performed The Beatles classic “Don't Let Me Down” with John Bramwell, in addition to their set list containing songs from their three albums.
I Am Kloot had some previously unreleased tracks on their set and The Beatles song “Hey Bulldog” with Guy Garvey as guest singer during that special night to remember.
It's always nice to see modern bands paying tribute to John and the Beatles, though. I like the reference to Julia... 