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GroundSounds recently caught up with Paul Donoghue of Glasvegas. The band’s new album Later…When The TV Turns To Static comes out later this year. Be sure to stay updated with the band at facebook.com/glasvegas and glasvegas.net
Your new album Later…When The TV Turns To Static will be out later this year. What can fans expect from the album?
We have been asked this question with every album we have done and it is a really hard point to put across properly. Everyone has their own expectations and hopes of the way the album will sound, so I can only answer this from my own personal point of view, which I hope is correct! I think this album has a real powerful force behind it. The moments when the intensity is being ramped up sound like a rocket taking off. I think this has came from us becoming more comfortable and knowledgeable in how to get the real emotion of what we are trying to express onto the record. The vocals and lyrics are among the most beautiful and apt that James has ever written too. We have always felt that the latest music we have recorded is the strongest, even when we were doing demos years ago, and that has never stopped happening. We are immensely proud of this record, and I hope that everyone who hears it likes it, because everyone will make up their own mind whether or not they dig it.
Do you have a release date yet?
No not as yet. Every day another piece of the jigsaw is put in place, like artwork or b-sides, so hopefully we will have a date for everyone soon though.
You recently released a video for the new song “I’d Rather Be Dead (Than Be With You).” What was the inspiration for this song and why did you choose to release this one first?
For the inspiration behind the song you would really have to ask James, as it came from the depths of his personality and creativity. I try not to say to much about what the songs are about as I think that every individual who listen to the music has their own thoughts and feelings that they take from any music and apply it to themselves in an arbitrary way. We chose to release this song first because we all felt it was the strongest statement of how we wanted to come back. When we were recording this song it had two versions. The other version was with the full band and sounded great, but with just piano and James’ vocals it became a different beast. I think the decision to release this song first was one of the few in the history of the band that wasn’t the result of a few hours conversation. As soon as it was suggested it felt right.
You are self-releasing this album on your own label correct? What is the most difficult part of self-releasing an album?
Yes we’re releasing this album on our own label, Go Wow Records. For us, there hasn’t really been a difficult part, other than having to work a little harder. We get to choose all the people who work on the album from our press people to the company who manufactures the vinyl, so it gives us a lot more control. So far James has had a hand in everything to do with the album, he produced it, helped to direct the video, helped design the artwork and much more. It has given us control over every aspect, and that has been a very good thing for us.
Do you have a favorite or particularly special song from the new album?
It feels like every few days my favourite song on the album changes. Just now it is probably the title track, “Later…When The Tv Turns To Static”. I like the way it is just the same chords that loop around, like “Geraldine” does. It makes the song become a juggernaut that just keeps rolling on into your mind and doesn’t budge for ages.
After four releases and ten years, have your goals as a band changed?
Maybe a little as we now have a couple of fans who we want to make proud and be certain they enjoy what we’re doing, but our aspirations haven’t changed too much. We still go in and play songs and parts that we enjoy the same way we did back at the beginning and still love it just as much, if not more, than we did back then. As long as we can go to bed at night knowing we’ve given the music everything we can, we feel like we’ve achieved everything we want. Someone pointed out the other day it had been a decade. Wonder how long it’ll be before we’re “elder statesmen”!
If you had to choose one song from your entire catalog to represent Glasvegas, which one would you choose?
That really is a hard question, as every song we have recorded holds a very special memory for me. Probably the song “Ice Cream Van” from our first album. It’s the best example of everything we are about, from the quiet, haunting opening to the crashing waves of the end. I remember when I listened to the album for the first time, that was the point where I thought my heart was going to burst. It made me realise that everyone in the band and our management had done something incredibly special. It made me very proud to be a part of every one of their lives.
You mentioned running out of money in the process of recording Euphoric /// Heartbreak \\\ and not being able to advertise and get enough press/media for it. What have you learned from that experience and what needs to happen within the music industry and music community to make it easier for bands to record and release their music?
The most valuable people behind any band or record are caring, well experienced people that you trust. If you have this then it gives anything you do the best chance to achieve what you want it to. We are lucky enough to have two amazing managers who we trust implicitly, so this question would probably be better directed at them. My expertise extends to playing the bass, so I don’t want to give anyone advice when I’m not really the best person to ask. For that you need the organ grinder, I’m just the dancing monkey!
You’ve performed all over the world. Are there any places you particularly love to visit? Along the same lines, is there somewhere you haven’t been yet that you’d like to go?
There have been so many great places that it’s hard to even narrow it down to a few. New York is probably my favourite though. This was the first place we went after we signed our record deal, when we went to record in Brooklyn. For someone who had rarely been out of the East End of Glasgow it was a huge eye opener as to how good visiting other places is. We went to China last year too, and we all loved it. We didn’t really know what to expect as it’s not a place a lot of bands we know have been to before, but we had a great time. It was one of the few times we got to be tourists and go to the Great Wall and buy tacky souvenirs too. There are still a few places I’d love to go, like Russia, New Zealand and South America, but I’m sure we’ll be there soon enough.
What is the music culture like in Scotland right now? What’s the biggest difference you notice in crowd’s there compared to somewhere like the US?
I can’t really speak for the rest of Scotland as I’m not too aware of the scene in other cities, but in Glasgow there has always been really great bands and artists. Just now there are a few great young bands coming through, and I hope they fulfill their potential. For a small, working class city there is a huge amount of creativity and inventiveness. I think crowds vary from city to city as much as country to country. Some places in the US go more crazy for us than some places in the UK for example. Apart from Glasgow. Nobody has a crowd as good as Glasgow, and I think a lot of bands, many not from the city, would say that. There is always a real electricity when I watch shows at home that no other place can come near.
What are your touring plans for the rest of 2013?
So far we have a couple of festivals, one in Sweden, where we haven’t been for too long and one in Spain, another place we love. Once the album is 100% ready to go we will focus on getting our live shows sorted, so hopefully we will be making some announcements soon. We can’t wait to get back on the road again, so the sooner the better.
Glasvegas – “I’d Rather Be Dead (Than Be With You)”
