Back
in 2007
interviewed
Leo Lyons
just as he was about to embark on the Ten Years After 40th Anniversary tour
Three
years after
the Ten Years After interview
Leo sits back and lets guitarist Joe Gooch do most of the talking about Leo and Joe's exciting new venture HUNDRED
SEVENTY SPLIT
Hi Joe - please start by telling us a bit about
Hundred
Seventy Split
- who does what, why the band was formed as a
separate entity to Ten Years After, how long you've
been working on the tracks etc. etc.
Joe: I've been working with Ten Years After for
seven years now and have had some truly unforgettable
experiences. I've had some great times and learnt
a lot about the business along the way. Ten Years
After has a certain style of playing that has
been formulated over many years. The band is a
co-operative unit and everyone's views have to
be taken into consideration when we make a record.
Leo and I felt we had music we wanted to share
with fans that would not have fitted into that
formula.
How does the music differ
from what you've been doing with Ten Years After?
Joe: It's just different, It shows other aspects
of our creative vision.
Leo: Yes,
with TYA's last two records we wrote the songs
and then the band rehearsed them. Ric even wrote
out his parts before we went into the studio and
recorded them. There was no flexibilty to change
arrangements. But with Hundred Seventy Split we
wrote the songs, jammed them in the studio and
recorded them with no more than three takes per
song. We wanted to capture the raw energy and
spontaneity of playing live in the studio.
What do you think the TYA fans reaction will be
to the Hundred Seventy Split songs? Will you be
playing any Hundred Seventy Split songs in the
set?
Joe: We won't be playing any 100/70 songs in
TYA - it is an entirely separate entity, just
as we won't be playing any TYA classics at the
100/70 shows. But having said that, I think
fans of TYA over the past 7 years will like
it a lot.
How did you come up with
the name? (It's a road junction, yeh?) Is that
the way you see this project, as a fork in the
TYA road?
Yeah, it's a junction in Nashville - we would
stop at a cafe there for breakfast each morning
when we were recording the album. I've consumed
way too many calories at the Hundred Seventy
Split over the past few months! I hadn't thought
of the fork in the road thing - but now you
mention it I have been doing the TYA gig for
seven years... and they say the number seven
is significant.
One of the tracks on the
Special Edition CD is called 'Going Home' - but
it's a very different 'Going Home' to the one we
know you and Leo best for. Which one most feels
like 'home' for you?
Joe: I would say I feel more at home with the new
100/70 track as I have been involved in its creation.
When will 'The
World Won’t Stop'
be available, and how many tracks will be on it?
Joe: 'Special Edition' is a taster for
the fans, until we can give the promotion of the
new album our full attention. We have touring
commitments with Ric and Chick right through the
year, and 'the world won't stop' to give us time
to tour with it just yet! But we aim to bring
it to you as soon as possible. It will have 11
tracks or thereabouts.
Joe,
when
you started out with Ten Years After back in 2003,
some of Alvin Lee's most ardent fans were outraged
that Leo, Ric and Chick were back on the road
touring with a 'replacement' for Alvin and yet
still going under the Ten Years After banner.
Seven
years down the line, and with continued re-bookings
in clubs and festivals (in 2009 you played 75
shows all over Europe and America, including many
which were sold out!) how have the die-hard fans
accepted the band?
Joe: I can't comment on the people who don't appreciate
what we do because I have had no experience of
them. All the fans who have supported me for the
last few years have been fantastic. I am a very
different musician to Alvin Lee and appreciate
I may not appeal to all the fans of the original
band, but I think TYA's decision to take on someone
who was so very different to Alvin helped give
the band a new identity which enabled us to move
forward and gain a strong fan base which is made
up of new fans and old.
The
tracks we've heard so far have a lot of energy and
deserve to be played Live - are there any plans
for Hundred Seventy Split to tour? How would you
fit shows in around your hectic gig schedule, which
is already booked well into 2011?
Joe: Yes it is very much a live project. All the
tracks were recorded really quickly so they have
a real sense of spontaneity about them, which I
really like. As Leo mentioned, I don't think we
did more than three takes on any of them. We will
be touring in 2011 to promote the new record.
Joe,
what would be your five 'Desert Island Discs',
and for each one, why?
Joe: Sorry, I can't choose only five, or I just
won't go! My 'must-have' list changes all the
time but today I would say....
* The Jimi Hendrix Concerts - a live compilation
with some amazing recordings, Hear My Train
a Comin' is my favourite.
* Steely Dan - The Royal Scam. This album was
always playing when I was a kid, although I
don't think I paid it a great deal of attention
at the time it definitely had a subliminal influence,
then I rediscovered them in my teens, I love
the guitar playing, the lyrics the arrangements,
its just great!
* The Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton - one
of my earliest and biggest inspirations, Clapton
playing Hideaway changed my world.
* Friday Night In San Francisco - Al Di Meola,
John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía. Jaw
dropping guitar playing, speed and technicality
but with plenty of melody, emotion and atmosphere.
* Dream Theater - Black Clouds And Silver linings.
I've only just started listening to this album
but it's already established its self as a firm
favourite. I love DT because they encompass
so much on their music, I've always been a big
prog rock fan, bands like Genesis and Rush have
always been a staple.
* Pat Metheny - Speaking Of Now. I just love the
first track.
* Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks. It's been the
sound track to so much of my life and each song
conjures up a memory. It's a nostalgic thing I suppose
but the songs are still brilliant.
* John Scofield - A GO GO, I listen to it in the
bath, it helps me relax and think. His tone is perfect.
* Muse - The Resistance, again appealing to my progressive
rock sensibilities. I love a concept album and the
vocal melodies are brilliant.
Please sum up Hundred Seventy
Split in five words.
Joe: Energy, passion, honesty, freedom, expression.
Leo: Joe's said them all, but if there were a
sixth word it would be FUN!
To
find out more, please visit the HUNDRED SEVENTY
SPLIT website and MySpace page
