Gareth Goddard

26/08/04

Gareth Goddard, aka, Cherrystones answers our QUESTIONS OF DOOM about DJing, B-Music, Prey, Add N To X, Weirdo Porn Flicks, DJing and all sorts of weirdness.

What is happening with B-Music?

That is more Andy (Votel) and Dominic than me. Though I do go down and play records with him. Though Andy is planning to stage some B-Music nights in London and Liverpool. I go down occasionally and it’s a good jam. Like vinyl-sparing with fellow record geeks.

How was Green Man Festival?

I just got back. So shattered. But it was super-dope. The promoters loved us - when we got there we just dropped bombs. There was no turntables but by the time it was sorted out I wanted to play so badly that we just went into sonic-overlord-drive. And afterwards we got more fucked up than usual in celebration. Joanna Newsome was really good. It spun-me-out.

What do you think about wyrd-folk, on how people are combining all sounds into a folk structure.

I think its good. But some straight-up folksters aren’t into it and take the piss. That’s cool. Shirley Collins got the piss taken out of her for putting a moog onto her albums and Herbie Hancock got the piss taken out of him for putting synthesizers on his records. Lone Pigeon was amazing at the Green Man. When we got there he was doing this choral-voices thing and I walked straight over and checked it out. It was exactly like the Robbie Basho album that I recommended on Poptones last week.

Are you signed to 13 Amp - David Holmes label and how did that come about?

No, I’m not signed to 13 Amp. David loved my compilation that I did called ‘Rocks’ which is a collection of obscure psychedelic prog-rock numbers and he was talking about it so much that I gave him a compilation of ‘Hidden Charms’ and he just put it out - sorted out the licensing and put it out.

Were you surprised by the full page review it received in the NME?

Suprised? That was fucking heavy. I want to find out who was responsible for that and thank them. It’s hard Djing and what not. I have no booking agent and no manager. I have to do all the promotion myself. I can get despondent. I really want to reach a bigger audience. So whenever people take time to help me out I’m always grateful. I’m not like a DJ who doesn’t like to share. People will come up to me and ask me what I’m playing and I’ll tell them. I’m not one of those DJ’s who needs to maintain their mystique and aura, whatever the fuck that means, because I firmly believe that music is out there to be shared. I’m not one of those obscurest dicks playing music like I should be in some masonic lodge. I’ll play obscure stuff, sure, but I’ll drop some Velvet Underground into the mix and the club goes wild. I know what works and what sounds fucking ace in a club.

I’ve have to admit that you’re recent mix, the All Party No Bullshit mix is brilliant.

I did that mix to get the some gigs at some clubs. Well, that was the original plan but I was fucking embarrassed to go around to clubs and hand them the mix like some fucking bum so I just ended up giving away all thirty copies to friends. How did you get it?

Rob Cotter.

That’s cool. It’s so fucking heavy how that mix has gotten around. I mean, Magazines were phoning me up and telling me that they loved the mix. And Rough Trade got a copy of it and called and said that they could actually sell the mix. I said - go ahead. I gave them ten copies of it and they phoned me to say that they sold them all in a weekend. I’ve been making a Volume 2, with some really cool drones from the Third Ear Band and this band called Lemon Dips. Lemon Dips are fucking brilliant and it’s a shame. They did this weird psychedelic horror movie soundtrack. I’ll dub you a copy if you want?

Sounds good. What other Cherrystones activities have been happening?

My band, Prey, have you heard of it?

No.

It’s a band that I’m in with Barry 7 from Add N to X. Add N to X were coming to their end and Barry 7 and I formed this band. We got Will from Supreme Vagabond Craftsmen on board and the drummer from Bolthrower. It has this mad electronic vibe to it. The album is finished. We had a 12 out but the sound has changed dramatically.

It was madnesss recording an album in New York. We did it down at Walter Seer’s studio and he is like an American version of Joe Meek. He recorded the Copper Plated Intergrated Circuit album. Walter is an absolute nut. He would tell us all these mad stories about the studio. He used to do the soundtracks from horror or mondo films from the 70s. The soundtracks were so demented. Very weird people. Walter and his secretary Roberta Finchley. Roberta used to direct all the porn films. She had these shoulders hunched up to her ears and always would greet me as Mr Godsey. Before we left they let us take all these porn movie posters with John Holmes on them and what not. It was great.

They said that the studio was haunted as well, that was one of the reasons we went there. It was the last studio that John Lennon was in before he was shot. And he told us some stories about Mobb Deep and D’Angelo that I really can’t relate for legal reasons but they are amazing. Very weird and amazing experience.

We’ve played some shows in London. We were going to play the ghost train -that train that was renovated and is sitting down at Brick Lane but our drummer was recording stuff with Badly Drawn Boy so we couldn’t make those gigs.

What is happening with the Cherrystones recorded output? The Remedies and Symptoms EP was so fucking on and brilliant like a hip-hop take of the Taking of Pelham 1,2,3 soundtrack yet the Bedbug a weird little number…

I’ve got 36 tracks ready-to-go. Bedbug the single was an experiment. The A-Side, Speakerblower, was a little weird number that blew out my speakers when I played it. So I thought, great, I’ve got a neat little concept. Let’s go with it.

Any thoughts on the new noise scene in America?

It’s brilliant. I’ve always been 50/50 with my love of modern music and old music. I want to be out discovering things. Things like Sunburnt Hand and Vibracathedral just slay me. I’ve made personal connections with Sunburnt Hand because I thought they were so brilliant. And they dug the Rocks compilation I made.

People making music now are just so vibrant and full of energy. Everyone making connections and making great fucking music. How could I not love it.

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