It
is with great pleasure that Sohostrut’s Jonny Magus has had the chance to
talk the hottest new rock’n’roll band in the UK ‘The Len Price
3’. Without further ado, let’s get on with it…
The
Len Price 3
The Len Price 3 are a dirty garage rock band hailing
from the Medway Delta. Their sound is forged in the Medway tradition, fusing driving
energy, catchy hooks and a raw 60's garage sound. On disc and at live shows The
Len Price 3 offer a truly memorable and invigorating sonic experience. Their forthcoming
album offers something for everyone from the Devils of Chatham Town to childhood
memories of fat wrestlers on Saturday afternoon TV.
Comparisons will
ultimately fall short of the mark, so do yourself a favour and give in to the
sound of The Len Price 3....
Who are 'The Len Price 3'?
Glenn Page (Guitar and Vocals), Steve Huggins (Bass) and Neil Fromow (Drums and Vocals)
How would you describe your sound?
Energetic garage pop.
And the old chestnut, what are your main influences?
The Kinks, early Who, the Beatles and the Clash.
The Medway Delta is renowned for producing a whole glut of ace rock’n’roll bands, such as yourselves, The Prisoners, Billy Childish etc.., why do you think that piece of ‘Dirty Water’ is great for rocking sounds?
I’m not sure if it’s the place, but rather a group of people. Kicking off in the late 70’s and early 80’s with bands like the Milkshakes and the Prisoners, a lot of the cool bands from Medway since then have been made up of the various members of those bands plus a few others. There have been exceptions like the Len Bright Combo and the Dentists.
Having
said that, Medway can be pretty unsupportive musically speaking, so you have to
deliver when it counts or the natives get restless. People will only give you
a few seconds to impress, so you’ve got to hit them hard and fast! The other
things about being in a band from around here is that you’ll always keep
your feet on the ground because the locals won’t let you get delusions of
grandeur!
You have a very cool image when you’re onstage. I saw you with your matching stripy tops with Rickenbackers ablaze. Very eye catching. Just wondered what are your thoughts on ‘image’?
Image should always be secondary to the music. You see far too many bands in the NME or whatever, touted as ‘the next big thing’ and they’re just a bunch of haircuts – all style over content.
If we’ve got an image, I hope it’s tucked behind the music. We go for a uniform look onstage because we like to think of ourselves as a gang. We like the feeling of security that can provide. It’s like a 3 person stripey army against the world.
In terms of pop mass media have you any other influences coming from films, comic books, drunken poets etc…?
Apart from the bands I’ve already mentioned,
there aren’t any major influences that spring to mind, although maybe there
are on a subconscious level. There are definitely influences behind individual
songs. For example, ‘Chatham Town Spawns Devils’ was influenced by a
book called ‘All the Devils are Here’ by David Seabrook and ‘Christian
in the Desert’ was inspired by the film ‘Simon of the Desert’ by
Luis Bunuel. Maybe the choice of subject matter and the style of our tunes reflect
our influences, without there being any overarching influences on everything we
do. I don’t know!
Are there any other bands that you feel a kinship with or can recommend, signed or unsigned?
There are some bands with Medway connections that we feel a certain kinship with. The Stabilisers, the Long Weekend and the Dirty Backbeats for example. The kinship might not be musical but maybe a shared attitude, which is best summed up as – ‘This is what we do. You either like it or f**k off!’ As far as more famous acts are concerned, we like the Coral and the Zutons. We are also firm admirers of the excellent vocal harmony work of Girls Aloud.
On your debut album ‘Chinese Burn’ I hear several distinct ‘vibes’, from the overtly greasy Medway garage rock, to high energy pop art sounds, to some great folk rock jangles. It is cool that you haven’t just gone for one overall sound on your debut. You have a distinctive ‘The Len Price 3’ noise, but the stylistic variability is impressive and extremely well accomplished. I just wondered if you worked hard to get this distinct but varying sound or did it just come naturally?
Thank you very much! I think the answer is ‘a bit of both.’ I’m always looking at our set of songs and asking ‘what’s missing?’ or ‘what sort of song do we need?’ So there has been a bit of effort to ensure some variation of style in our material while trying to make sure it all sounds like the Len Price 3.
Also, I’m wondering if the songs you’ve written have been built up around the dynamics of a live set?
Definitely, when we started out, the idea was always to write songs for an exciting live set. We always saw ourselves as essentially a live band, selling self produced CDs out of a suitcase at gigs. We never thought we’d get to spend much time in a studio, so we never bothered putting together songs that would need horns and strings or whatever. I’ve always written for the live setting.
In terms of songwriting, I find your tunes very punchy, well crafted and straight to the point. What are your thoughts on your songwriting?
Thank you again! When I started writing songs for what became the Len Price 3, I wanted to strip everything down to the bare bones, so that all that’s left is the essence of a (hopefully) good song. As I was writing for a live setting, I always thought that life is short and people have busy lives. If you don’t hook the punters in with the first few bars, you’ve had it. When you’ve done one song, you’ve got to hit them again and fast. There’s just too much going on in the world to fanny about with meandering intros and pedestrian guitar solos. Life’s too short.
I also enjoy your lyrics for their
pithy dynamic and simple but effective use of images. I dig the mix of mood, humour,
attitude, surrealism, character study, pre-pubescent love and it's all mixed up
with a little bit of honesty. What are you thoughts and methods when it comes
writing lyrics?
I’ve always liked the idea of creating a powerful image in one line that cuts straight to heart of what you’re trying to say. I thought Dylan used to do this pretty well and Kurt Cobain for that matter. As far as my lyric writing goes, it’s a bit of a mish mash of approaches really. Sometimes I’ll think of a topic I want to write about and it’ll take me ages to chisel the words out of granite. Other times I get a phrase from somewhere say from something I’ve seen or heard on TV, the radio or whatever and the rest of the words flow from that quite easily. There have also been times when I’ve misheard lyrics in someone else’s song and I’ve thought to myself – ‘I’ll have that!’ My favourite though, is when I get some lyrics with a tune because without the tune, you’ve got nothing.
How many releases does the band have?
Officially 2. We have one album – Chinese Burn and one single – Christian in the Desert.
Where can your music be purchased?
They’re distributed across the UK by Shellshock, so you’re usual record shop ought to be able to get it for you. If they haven’t got it in stock, they’ll be able to order it in for you. You’ll also be able to get it from online stores like Amazon and Play.com. Failing that, try Shellshock or Laughing Outlaw (our record label) directly.
Do ‘The Len Price 3’ have a website?
Yes! www.thelenprice3.co.uk
What are your future plans?
To conquer the world. But before that, we will continue to tour and promote ‘Chinese Burn’ until about Christmas time. Then I’m taking a break as me and the Mrs are expecting our first nipper. We’re talking to Laughing Outlaw about the next album - possibly going back in the studio in the spring.
Describe The Len Price 3 in three words…Loud, harmonious, energetic
The Len Price 3.Scorching Kinks/garage hybrid done with a truck load of crunching, lots of melody and total rock’n’roll.Read More