The Bashful Dodger: Never gonna touch the ground

"Die Wave Pictures haben momentan die besten Texte der Welt, aber Still Flyin' sind die beste Liveband", sagte mein bester Freund neulich zu mir. Da mochte ich gar nichts Gegenteiliges erwidern. Als letztgenannte internationale Allstarband Anfang des Jahres in der Prinzenbar spielte, war es im besten Sinne kaum auszuhalten wie sehr die Crowd wallte, waberte, brodelte - you name it. Und das bei gerade ca. 30 zahlenden Gästen: ein an und für sich unmögliches Unterfangen, vor allem in Hamburg. Essentiell für die Livenergie von Still Flyin' ist zweifelsohne Drummer Yoshi, der vormals beim Aislers Set trommelte. Einer der Tightesten, die ich je auf einem Konzert gesehen habe. Jetzt einmal abgesehen vom Songwriting aus der Feder Seans, der wohl gar nicht anders kann, als Hits zu schreiben. Aber die überwältigende Feierei auf und vor der Bühne wäre unmöglich ohne eine Bandbesetzung, in der jeder und jede brennt. Seit die Kapelle vor ziemlich genau einem Jahr auf der MS Hedi spielte, rotiert die LP "Never Gonna Touch The Ground" heavy bei mir und vermutlich den meisten anderen Konzertbesuchern. So äußerte erwähnter bester Freund am Merchstand die Worte: "Give me...everything!"

Konnte man "Never Gonna Touch The Ground" noch beschreiben mit "Ska für Leute, die keinen Ska hören", ohne sich groß in die Nesseln zu setzen, scheinen die neuen Songs eine andere Richtung einzuschlagen. Überprüfen kann man das auf dem Reeperbahnfestival: Prinzenbar, 24.09.2010, 23h (Uhrzeit ohne Gewähr). Himmel, ich freu mich! Sei da oder sei quadrat!

Über die anstehende Europatour, die dorten ihren Ausgang nimmt, habe ich mit Sean gesprochen. Ich bitte, hierzu mein Lieblingsstück "All Lips Touch" zu goutieren.

Still Flyin' 'Runaway Train II' by createspark

Q: Hi, Sean! Still Flyin' are coming to Hamburg to play at Reeperbahnfestival. Do you think you're gonna watch some shows there, too?

A: I'm sure I will but I haven't seen a schedule yet. Who else is playing?

Q: Just found a timetable...as it seems, you're playing at 23h at Prinzenbar, perfect stage time for a band like Still Flyin', I guess. You might jam the first half of the Edwyn Collins show next door at Docks. I'd highly recommend that! My favourite venue Hasenschaukel always has good acoustic stuff going...

Some people consider Still Flyin' the hammest jammin' band in the world. Would you agree? And what does that mean?

A: I suppose we are indeed the world leaders in hammjamm, but that is only because we made up that term. Actually I wouldn't be surprised if there are bands that surpass us in hammjammity these days, and we would love to meet the, and hammjamm with them. The shortest explanation of "hammjamm" is "when a good time gets better". It can often be unplanned, and a hammjamm can break out of nowhere. A dog can put on a t-shirt and a hat and sneak into an amusement park and ride some rollercoasters and you can be on the rollercoaster and look next to you and realize it's a dog sitting there. The dog smiles and but then you hand him a brew and he wonders where you got the brew from. Then the coaster stops on the tracks and the dude behind you pulls out a keg and a boombox and you guys have a party on the coaster at the summit of the steepest drop on the whole ride. How does Oktoberfest work?

Q: Square people getting wasted, I guess..Probably like anything big fuelled by booze: just brew, no groove. At least that's my Oktoberfest prejudice...I'd rather hop on your party bus.

A: But as Huey Lewis says, there can be instances where it is hip to be square. We are very interested in this Oktoberfest experience, much in the same way that if you came to San Francisco you would want to do a bunch of boring (to us) tourist crap. Is the beer cheap? Or even free? Are Americans allowed to participate? Is it all over Germany or only in Bavaria?

Q: You seem really interested, so I won't keep you in suspense any longer... Everybody's allowed to come, and they're probably especially happy about visitors from other countries. There's only one original Oktoberfest, which takes place in Munich, starting next week and ending on 10-04. People drink their brews from one-liter-jars, sitting in tents, eating chicken & listening to Bavarian folk music. Outside the tents it's like a fun fair and you definitely will see people wearing traditional Bavarian clothes, y'know - Lederhosen and Dirndl. Beer is a little less than 9€, which is kinda expensive. Do you think you'll go? The only thing I could offer you in Hamburg would be a fake indoor Oktoberfest... And what is is with Still Flyin' and Beerfest? Is it a popular movie? I never saw it...

A: DUDE we'll be in Munich on October 5th!!!!!!!! The day after it ends! MAN ALIVE what a shit sandwich we've been dealt. I think we're going to have to go to the fake one in Hamburg then, although you're right - 9€ for a beer is kind of expensive. I think this guy Wyatt in the band likes the movie Beerfest a lot, and last time we watched in the van on the way from Leipzig to Hamburg, which probably meant we were talking about it a lot last time we were there.

Q: It's your third European tour, innit? Are there significant differences between European and American audiences?

A: Do you count Scandinavia as Europe? We inexplicably went on two short tours of Scandinavia before we ever even played on the East Coast of the US! Then we played London and Scandinavia again in January of 2009, and then a full European tour in July of '09 and another full one in February and March of this year. We went to England again in May of this year as well. So, depending on how you look at it, it could be our 3rd European tour.
American audiences like to jam to bands by folding their arms and looking listless. That's how they really party down at shows. In Europe it's much more common for people to get wild at our shows, which is the ultimate compliment for a ridiculous band like ours.

Q: What would you consider your best tour experiences in Europe?

A: One of our favorite shows ever was the time we played on a barge in Hamburg - the MS Claudia I think. All the amps were tied to the walls because the boat was rocking (literally) so much. We LOOOVE touring Europe - almost every show is a great experience. We're lucky to be able to come over there so much.

Q: And you recorded something with The Calorifer Is Very Hot! as well, didn't you?

A: Yes, they played on that barge with us, as well as a wonderful band called Tripping The Light Fantastic. Since then the Calorifer bass player has booked us some shows in Italy, and while we were there we recorded a jam with the Calorifer guys.

Q: Some of the new Still Flyin' song strike me as quite different from the "Never Gonna Touch The Ground" album while there still are dance jamms such as "All Lips Touch". Would you say there is a new Still Flyin' sound?

A: One of our goals is to keep evolving and never do the same thing. Our very first eps were reggae, which evolved into pure party music for our album, and now we have a long ep coming out in October which is inspired by krautrock. It's definitely a new sound, but it's still the same band. No matter what we do, it's all filtered through catchy pop music. That's the only kind of song I can write.

Q: New album soon?

A: Aside from the ep, we are recording a new album in November, that should be released next spring. So hopefully we'll be back in Hamburg then.

Q: I'll hold you to that! And rumour has it that your old band Masters Of The Hemisphere spent some time in the studio - will there be a new album, too?

A: It is the truth. A new record is currently in the final mixing stages and we're all really excited about it. We kind of just did it for fun with no expectations and it turned out a lot better than we imagined it would.

Q: Can't wait to hear it! Thanks for your patience & see you in Jammburg!

A: Thank you kind sir.

Zur Ansicht noch das ausgezeichnete Video von "Runaway Train II"