The Spinanes Great Big Hot Rod

Rip It Up, Issue 227, 1 July 1996, Page 13

The Spinanes Great Big Hot Rod

I have no idea how to start this story (and no, this isn’t a writing block exercise). It’s just everything I come up with seems to sound a bit crap. The American Mazzy Star? The American Everything but the Girl? Kristen Hersh on holiday with My Bloody Valentine? Whatever. I didn’t really talk to the Spinanes’ singer/songwriter, Rebecca Gates, about music much anyway.

The first thing that got my attention was they were on Sub Pop, and if you’ve heard them, they’re definitely not grunge (thank god).

“When our first album came out we had to deal with a bit of that, and even though they’d put out Codeine and Walkabout, it was still perceived as a grunge label. When we toured Europe two years ago, we’d do a show and people would yell out, ‘Soundgarden’, and stuff. We were in France once, and someone with a thick accent was yelling, ‘Moodannie’, but I thought he was shouting out, like, ‘Madonna’, so I’m singing, you know, ‘Get into the groove’, and stuff. Someone came up afterwards and said: ‘Actually, he was saying Mudhoney, stupid American.’” Oh, well, they don’t get much of that any more. There was a largish bio that came with the

Spinanes interview pack, all full of raves about them, all, of course, largely useless. Twenty pages about their first album and a paragraph about their new one, as they were about to go into the studio. Poignant little thing though...

“...nearing the pill-popping capital of the world, drunk on agony... it’s been a long time since I stood in a field and cried, but this morning, I did it... if I ever get my hand on that lowlife king of Radio Shack thief... probably playing ‘Stairway to Heaven’ on my precious.”

Yup, the day before they were about to go in and record their new album, Strand, someone stole all Rebecca’s guitars. “I had one guitar with me and they took the

other five, including the acoustic. I’d written all my songs on. It was sad doing the record, like if you’re a writer, you have a favourite pen or word processor, the tools you’re comfortable with, and I miss those a lot. But at the same time it threw me to the lions and I learned a lot.” Oh, yeah, and this bio goes on about them being a duo, which is like, you know, their quirk, their angle. You know, like Def Leppard’s drummer has only got one arm, or the Manic Street Preachers can’t find Richie. “Well, it’s actually just changed immensely. After doing the record we felt the songs needed more happening on stage than I could provide with just vocals and guitar. So, we’re playing as a four piece now. It’s the proper next step. I think we’ve exhausted the two-person thing as much as we could. And Scott [the other member of the : former duo!] has gone on to play with Built to Spill, and my friend Jim from Chicago is playing drums on the tour.” Uh, so everything is completely different then. I’m glad I didn’t bother to prepare for this interview. “When Scott and I started playing together, we didn’t intend to make an album, and we didn’t intend to make this. our living or anything. We just thought it’d be fun, so we did it. I like that attitude, it’s like: ‘This is what’s working now, so ; we’ll see what happens.’” Not only does Rebecca sing, play guitar, write : songs and produce their stuff, she’s also the i band’s manager and accountant! “I think I’m a woman of the 90s, you could say ; that.” ■ • . Well, actually, I was going to ask if you think ; you’re a control freak. “That’s the evil side of it, you found me out,” : she laughs, not far from demonically. You must have a fairly strong idea of where you want to go. “I never called myself a musician or songwriter ; until finally, on one of the last weeks of touring : Europe, I had to fill out a registration card. It : asked for occupation, and I thought: ‘Well, ■■ there’s nothing really else I can say,’ so I wrote

: ‘musician’. It’s taken the last couple of years to figure out what I want to do is play guitar and get better at songwriting.” For New Zealand bands, it all looks so easy in America. There are so many American bands on radio and TV, in all the magazines and papers. < But everyone consoles themselves, at least, by ; saying: ‘Yeah, but there are so many thousands ■ of bands trying to make it there that it’s even harder to struggle to the top.’ Rebecca disagrees. “Well, I think it probably is easier because it’s so big. Even looking at what it’s costing us to < come down to New Zealand, I have so much more respect for the bands that make it up to the States. It’s so expensive and so far away. : Whereas here, you can just jump in a car and ■ ' drive and play California for a week, and people are so eager for it, if you’re any good people will . find out about you. “I don’t know how much New Zealand bands ■ are cherished in New Zealand, but they’re incredi- ■ bly influential up here. I was talking to someone : the other day about Chris Knox and the new label from the Xpressway guy. But even earlier stuff like Look Blue Go Purple, or the Verlaines, or the Chills are popular.” Ah, yes, the Verlaines. Sound familiar don’t they? “Yeah, I know. It’s kinny, because I’m a huge ■ fan and I didn’t even think about that. We went to ■ France, and the first show we played, someone said: ‘Hey, have you thought of doing a tour with : the Verlaines and the Cannanes?’ I was like: ‘Oh, woops.’ Actually, on our second seven-inch single we put out, there’s a bit.like ‘Death and the Maiden’ where we go: ‘Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine...’” ' , ' . Etcetera. . “Well, I’m a fan, what can I say?,” she laughs. “I think the option is to have a name that sounds and looks good, that doesn’t mean any- ' thing and you can grow into. Or, like, you can call yourself Great Big Hot Bod, which doesn’t have anything to do with the music.” ‘ Grabs you attention though, doesn’t it?