Rebel regulations are regulations still | |
| A few months ago I sent Rachel London from the band Fosca some e-mail questions for a fanzine that never materialised, having then recently gotten into the band through her and Dickon Edwards' internet diaries, which I'm sure most of you all know about already anyway (www.fosca.com). This mini-interview is hardly great journalism, but what the hell, I thought some of you might find it remotely interesting. My thanks again to Rachel. AS A 'NEW' MEMBER, HOW DID YOU COME TO BE IN THE BAND? I've known Dickon for years. He said he was looking for people for Fosca#2 (Fosca#1 were a bit different and soon disbanded) and I asked. People join through word of mouth really, friends of friends. HAVE YOU BEEN IN BANDS BEFORE, AND WHICH BANDS INFLUENCE YOU? I've been in bands before, all shortlived. Fosca faves: Morrissey, Fieldmice, queercore (attitude if not music), Abba, Philip Larkin. Dickon's particular influences are: Stena Nordenstern, Talking Heads, Mercury Rev, Galaxie 500. WHY THE LYRICAL FASCINATION WITH LONDON? Well, we all live here...perhaps it comes from being suburbanites...the thrill and pull of the city... BOTH YOURSELF AND DICKON PUBLISH INTERNET DIARIES. DO YOU CONSIDER THIS AN ART FORM, AND ONE THAT WILL GROW IN THE NEXT DECADE? I copied Dickon's idea, but our diaries are quite disimilar. People seem to enjoy reading them, either out of nosiness or because it's more interesting than reading made-up stories, so on that basis it's not art, just exhibitionism (although you could argue that they're the same - cf Tracy Emin). I do hope it won't be a growing art form because most people can't string a sentence together or are fairly dreary. All those American sites with pictures of dead pets... DOES FOSCA CONSIDER ITSELF PART OF A MOVEMENT, OR AN OUTSIDER? Oh, definitely an outsider, though we are in the middle of several Venn diagrams of 'scenes'. HOW DID YOUR FIRST GIG GO WITH THE BAND? Pretty well. It was a Queeruption do in Brixton. My outstanding memory is of a man in leggings with no underpants gyrating to a backing tape. WERE YOU AWARE OF DICKON'S PREVIOUS MUSICAL VENTURES? Yes, although I didn't see him when he was in Orlando. It was odd seeing him in the Melody Maker every week. HOW DO YOU SEE THE GROUP'S IMMEDIATE EVOLUTION? ANY GOALS TO REACH FOR? Well, we're going to record an e.p. and a mini-l.p. for Shinkansen and play some interesting gigs (i.e. non-indie circuit) then hopefully the world will clasp us to its sequinned breast. Or Robbie Williams will cover one of our songs and we can retire on the royalties. AND FINALLY, IF FOSCA HAD TO SHARE A STAGE WITH ANY BAND/ARTIST, WHO WOULD YOU LIKE IT TO BE? I think Dickon would say the ghost of Quentin Crisp...We thought Morrissey might let us gatecrash and play with him in Kentish Town, we were next door. I think as long as it's not Sexton Ming again, I don't mind... ©David O. MacGowan 2000 The new Fosca single 'The Agony Without The Ecstasy' is out now on Shinkansen records. |