FORMER CELL MATES
Interview with Davey Burdon
By Jeff TakacsIf you are an avid LEATHERFACE fan the name Davey Burdon will ring a bell. For over ten years, Burdon played bass for the band, including their releases on BYO Records, Horsebox and Dog Disco. Nowadays, Burdon has switched over to guitar and vocal duties for his new band, FORMER CELL MATES. They are about to release their amazing third album, Presented as a Work of Fiction. Mixing elements of rock with punk and folk, FORMER CELL MATES create a unique sound that will make you wanting for more. AMP had a chance to talk with Burdon about the new record, their recent European tour and his approach to lyric and songwriting.
So you guys just got back from touring Europe. How did it go?
The Euro tour was cool; we always have a good time on the road. It wasn’t really our tour though; our good friends ZT:OS (ZWEI TAGE: OHNE SCHNUPFTABAK) from Regensberg had just released their new album and asked if we’d like to join ‘em on a short tour in support of it, of course we said yes. Aston at Boss Tuneage heard about this and did a rush pressing of our new CD (LP was late due to a back log at the pressing plant for record store day) so at least we had something new to throw at girls and the feral children of East Germany. The record was still generally unreleased so the stress factor was pretty low – We played first most nights, had a few beers and just enjoyed the German springtime.
That sounds like a lot of fun. I want to talk to you a little bit about your excellent new record, Presented as a Work of Fiction. The first thing that the struck me about it actually occurs within the first two songs, and that is the use of horns. Horns didn’t appear on your first two records, Hustle and Who’s Dead and What’s To Pay. Was that a layer of sound that you have always wanted to have on FORMER CELL MATES songs?
It wasn’t somethin’ we’d thought about before to be honest. We’ve always thrown lots of shit at our records and let whatever sticks stick. We had more keys, acoustics, lap steel and guests on Who’s dead… than Hustle so the next step for us … I suppose would be horns. We we’re lookin’ at more experimental sounds at first; loops, distorted noise and atonal guitar pieces. None of that stuck or felt natural enough for us so we transposed some of those ideas to the horn section. I think it worked – we’ve had mixed reviews so far.
I think it worked, too. I really dig the songs that you chose to add horns to and I think they fit in nicely. Lyrically, the record covers the gamut of emotions, from serious and somber to even playful. From the lyrical perspective, my favorite track is “Rainclouds Never Let You Down”. Can you talk a little bit more about that song and the overall lyrical tone of Presented as a Work of Fiction?
That really is the hardest question for me to answer. It’s hard to talk about a specific song and its meaning – mainly due to the way I write the words. I re-write and re-fit phonetics that many times before I present a song that the original narrative or sentiment usually gets lost at some point, rendering most of the songs almost meaningless in the end! It’s very frustrating and I can see the faults in my writing almost instantly, but I’ve never claimed to be a “songwriter” and there’s no message or advice for the youth of today in there so I’m hoping people who read the words will take it easy on me… to quote David Coverdale “I never said I was Bill Shakespeare did I?”
That is pretty funny! Believe it or not, meanings can definitely be taken from the lyrics, but maybe they are unique to each listener. So thinking about the why you write lyrics, does that mean you are the type of “songwriter” that writes the music first and matches the lyrics to it? This is kind of the chicken or the egg question…
The music comes first, without a doubt. I sit in front of a guitar tab website and try to learn other peoples’ songs, then I get bored – steal chords and BANG that “Rainclouds…” song is a by-product of me trying to learn “Red Headed Stranger”. Just to contradict what I said before – the words to the song “Right at Surrey Ridge” are pretty straight forward, they were written in one sitting about a personal experience. With something that personal I didn’t really want to edit and rewrite too much for fear of losing that particular emotion, they may not be the most profound words put to music and that song may be the least liked song we’ve ever done, but they mean something to me. I never sit to specifically write a song – EVER, I’ve tried and they always sound SHIT!
Well I can tell you that “Right at Surrey Ridge” is an amazing song and is one of my favorites on the record. Because it is so personal to you, is that a difficult song for you to play in a live setting?
Strangely enough, it’s not that hard. I do feel a little mercenary, but it’s not like we’re playing Wembley Stadium and it’s not in the set-list – it only gets played at the odd acoustic gig and maybe as an encore now and then.
Speaking of the live show, do you guys have any plans to tour in support of Presented as a Work of Fiction? Any thoughts of coming over to the States as well?
We’re off to Australia at the end of June, various gigs around the UK over summer, solo and full band. Then maybe back to Europe in the autumn when the record actually comes out (if our booking agent hasn’t ditched us by then) and no plans at all for the States! Do we have distro over there? Does anyone actually know or care about us over there?
Man, I do! We need to change that and get you guys more exposure over here in the States. It is totally deserved. Moving on, there is always something that I have wanted to ask you since you formed FORMER CELL MATES. Every time I read anything about the band, without fail, your being a member of the legendary band LEATHERFACE is mentioned. Now that FORMER CELL MATES is releasing your third record, does that mentioning of LEATHERFACE annoy you, or do you take the approach of “whatever gets people interested in the band works for me”?
I was in LEATHERFACE for about ten years, I spent my 20′s touring with ‘em – It’s pretty widely recognized that I wasn’t in ‘classic’ period LEATHERFACE or their ‘return to form’ line up, but I am insanely proud of what I did with ‘em. I still see ‘em all regularly and I love ‘em dearly. People mentioning ‘em in reviews etc. never gets on my nerves – comparisons were warranted; Stubbs played guitar and sang backups on 90% of the first record we did then did the same on about five songs from the second one. His guitar and singin’ style is so unique that people WILL pick up on it. However, I don’t think it works for promoters or for raising interest in anyway. I’ve never met anyone who turned up because one of us was in another band and had never heard us… have you? I think its only commodity is really that it’s a ‘nerd fact’ type thing. Reviews that compared our sound to LEATHERFACE are really just lazy journalism, I think or do we just rip the fuckers’ sound off?
Wait, you mean you guys AREN’T a LEATHERFACE cover band? (Laughs) You should definitely be proud of your time spent in that band for sure. Going back to the new FORMER CELL MATES record, we’ve talked a little bit about the lyrics of the record, but I was curious about which song on Presented as a Work of Fiction you like the best from the musical standpoint?
(Laughs) I like ‘em all for now… ask me again in six months.
I will. I meant to ask you earlier, Presented as a Work of Fiction is being released in the UK by Boss Tunage Records and in Australia by Poison City Records. How did you hook up with those guys for the release?
We did a few tracks for a Boss Tuneage compilation last year and when Aston found out we were recording again he asked us to consider him, as Dave Geffen never answered my calls he was then next in line. I’ve known Andy (Poison City) for a few years now, I met him when I was back in LEATHERFACE and we did an Australian tour with his band A DEATH IN THE FAMILY. He released our second record over there and gave us distro for the first. Both labels are workin’ with some great bands at present – that was pretty important to me. I think we’re in good company.
I agree. Both labels put out some great stuff. One last question, Davey. What music have you been listening to lately? New stuff/old stuff?
Lately I’ve become obsessed with the old Scottish singer FRANKIE MILLER – his first album has at least three songs I would like playing at my funeral and “Seed of Memory” by TERRY REID makes me wanna practice songwriting or just give up all together. Probably not the coolest things I could’ve chosen – so would you insert some hip bands in the above space, maybe? Help us get down wi’ the kids?
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I love this band!