Georgie James: Interview - The sound of chalk with cheese
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Photos by Shervin Lainez
John: I have a background in punk, and love all that freak-beat energy, The Jam, The Who etc. I think I've maintained what I wanted of the energy and edge that was there with my previous band Q And Not U.
Laura: And I wanted 'louder', I was fine with what I was doing, but we have more to offer together.
J: Drums and Wires, English Settlement and Black Sea, especially, are among my all time favourites, yes they're an influence too.
L: I dislike talking about influences, of course they exist but for me they're absorbed - processed not catalogued. Songs emerge from everything that's in there... I feel music is the core way to communicate.
Both Washington D.C based Laura Burhenn & John Davis are no novices - Davis has almost a decade of touring and recordings, particularly with former band Q And Not U. Burhenn was an established singer-songwriter who released 'Wanderlust' on her own label before joining up with Davis.
Q & Eh?
How many swans do you recommend, per bathtub?
J: Zero, I need my space.
L: Two, because they travel in pairs don't they? Don't they mate for life like crabs?
Maybe, but you don't want crabs in your bathtub...
Which of you has the greater corporate management potential?
J: (points at L: ) Her, definitely.
Tell me about Mexico & you
L: I don't know what you're talking about.
J: I've never really been there, but I'd sure like to go...
Best Gig you ever were at?
J: Fugazi - either April '92 at the Sanctuary Theatre in DC, it was my first experience of a real punk show, it was scary or again at the Washington monument Aug '93, seeing Fugazi was a life changer, it was scary.
L: P.J.Harvey - I'd seen her in a festival performance, she was experimenting and it was terrible - I was really disappointed, but later at a small venue I saw her again.
Just the three piece and her with the red Gibson?
L: Yes, and she's so small yet her voice was so great, I loved it. Oh and Lou Reed, that has to be up there.
Do you know how to dig a pony?
J: No. But I like the song.
L: I don't even know what that phrase means.
Did you ever think the moon really was made of Cheese?
L: No
J: No
What's your favourite Myth?
L: I never got into the whole Greek/Roman myth thing... even though I have degree in Lit. There was a trivia question, about Icarus, & I love that myth, it was 'What sea did he fall into?' and I couldn't remember.
J: The Aegean.
L: Yes, I worked that out of course. It's more that I didn't know right away. I was raised in a religious home, so our myths were more biblical.
Does the American propensity towards religion show up in your music?
J: No, I'm not religious... but I like the themes of devotion, passion. betrayal... especially in older religious music.
L: I could talk for days about this, my Grandfather was a Methodist minister, but I gave up church at 13 because of an incident [of hypocrisy].
Have you collected, or do you collect, anything?
L: I have never collected anything, ever. And now I seem to want less & less.
J: Yes: as a kid, the usual stuff - baseball cards, comics. Now records and BOMP magazine.
L: But sometimes I think I should have, I see people with these amazing collections of things...
But you wouldn't do it, would you?
L No, it's just not in me.
Your lyrics seem important - some serious subjects dealt with indirectly?Many Cd's have just a couple of good songs, 'Places' by Georgie James (Saddle Creek Records) - offers much more: The interchange between the duo's vocals, the strength of the melodies and the tasty harmonies mean that even the weaker songs grow on you. Not too experimental, but constantly shifting to keep interest, this is a well recommended buy.
L: Yes, that's right, for instance on songs like Cake Parade -, serious but with uplifting music.
Stunning track - one of the best concerning war. Up there with "Melt The Guns' - even 'Universal soldier'. And John, I noticed you like Ricky Gervais
J: Yes, it's like sarcastic fuel, and I like inside jokes, personal embarrassments.
Your 'Need Your Needs' video features a book, do you take any inspiration from novels?
L: I'm definitely inspired by literature and art; and John reads millions of books, so it has to have an effect.
J: Yes, but I can't think of any specific song that directly relates to a book. I'm more inspired by albums, I remember discovering a Bread LP in a [charity shop]. My Father hated it, but I was hooked.
You know they use Bread for Muzak these days?
J: Yes, but there's something about David Gate's writing, all the hits were his.
No writing conflicts then, between you?L: No, we're fine.
How about More Lights, which I particularly like, who did the writing on that track?L: We both wrote parts of it, it's John's song and I wrote the part where I sing... that's typical of how we work
J: That's one of the songs I like least. It doesn't express enough of what I wanted to say.
L: I'm surprised that John doesn't like it, for me it works perfectly, the juxtaposition of light and dark - and co-incidentallly, just after we recorded that I went out to find my car had been broken into in a dark alley and cursed the lack of a streetlight, then realised, that's the song.
But as you both write within each song there's less division of credit, sort of like Lennon & McCartney?
J: I liked that about how their songs were credited, we just took it a step further with our name.
Despite their experience of big venues and media exposure, the band enjoyed playing at the community based, all ages venue The Artistery, Portland: "These places are great', said Davis, 'they listen, they really care, and I started out in places like this, so I appreciate what they do.
What about the name being a kind of androgynous merger?
J: We have a few stories about the name. Yes we wanted something neutral, first we came up with Georgie, then we wanted a great pop second name (you know like Idol, Star etc.) but Fame was already taken of course.
So the name was actually inspired by Georgie Fame?!J: Yes, absolutely.
