Therapy?

Therapy? kindly took time out of their hectic schedule to speak to us before going on stage at Birmingham Academy.

How's the tour been so far?

Andy: Last night was the first night. It was really good in Manchester. We didn't play England at all last year.
Martin: Although we had lots of technical problems.

You missed Rock City out on this tour- any reason why?

Andy: Yeah, this was all booked so quickly. The plan is to do a few towns and cities. After September we'll be doing tonnes of shows in the UK, including all the places we missed this time.

After a mind blowing set at Donington 95 you just seemed to vanish? Why?

Andy: We weren't really sure what we was doing, we weren't focused with the new material. Three years is a long time to be away so we lost some ground because we hadn't been in the public eye for three years.

Did your popularity fade in Ireland?

Andy: No it didn't fade in Ireland. Ireland has always been really good, because we started off playing there, so we always have a great gig there.

You have played Ozzfest and Donington and nearly every other festival - which is your favourite?

Andy: I really liked Donington 94, when Aerosmith played. We also had a good time at Reading the same year. I didn't enjoy Donington 95 with Metallica so much. It was a bit more corporate. All the big record companies were backstage, everyone had security around them, whereas the year before all the bands hung out together.

Are there any bands you'd like to see that you haven't?

Andy: I go to gigs all the time so its difficult to think of anyone.
Martin: It's good when there's a good line up.

What do you reckon to that barrier that they have starting using at the front of open-air events?

Andy: It's horrible, the kids get in and just wander about, but the people who are really far away are really into it.
Martin: It kills the atmosphere! We appreciate that it is designed to stop the crowd from crushing each other. But it just kills the atmosphere.

Will you be playing any festivals?

Andy: I've got tonnes and tonnes of really good ones in Europe, some not so well known ones in Germany, and Switzerland. The UK is weird, our album came out in May which is too late. The trouble is, in the UK they like to put the young upcoming bands on. It is frustrating for us. Where as in Germany you get put on the same stage as Coldplay.

Last time we caught you was at Rock City in 2001, no disrespect to you, but the audience were rather catatonic weren't they?

Andy: Yeah they were, it was half full as well, it was a rainy night, and people just didn't turn up. Rock City can be weird, we have played some of our best gigs there and we have had some nightmares there.

You have released a new album entitled 'High Anxiety' - are there any tracks that you can't play live from it?

Andy: We did the album before Christmas, and didn't get together until last week to rehearse, but we can play every track off it.

When Seagram/Polygram merged, you was left without a record deal, is it true that you funded that tour out of your own pockets?

Andy: We had booked a tour, when that happened, Mercury said they didn't want us, but because we had made plenty of money from Troublegum, we decided to plough it into the tour as it had already been booked. It worked out because the tour was really good.

You are now on Spitfire records label. Have Spitfire records given you full creative control over this new album?

Andy: Yes they never commented on anything, they did come down to the studio to just drop some equipment of it?

Before you got in to the music biz, did you think it would be a life of limos, champagne, and plenty of sex?

Andy: Well, I'm not a limousine type of guy, I have never had any fantasies of turning up in a limo at some club and drinking champagne with Puff Daddy. It's not my kind of ambition, so even when we were on top of the pops, we would never go partying, it's not our buzz. Even when we signed to a major, we never thought it would be snorting coke off hookers. The kind of people we are, we wouldn't feel comfortable doing that all the time, maybe just occasionally (laughs).

How do you feel about downloading music from the internet?

Andy: I don't mind it, I download quite a lot, but if it is a record I like I will go out and buy it. I am one of those people that like to have the cover and artwork.

You have been together for 13 years. What keeps you going?

Andy: The thing is we still love doing it, we love making new records, we could probably still tour off the back of 'Troublegum' and 'Infernal Love' and play venues this size for the next five years, but that would be soul destroying. We have always had success outside of Britain. You have your two years of glory, and then you either keep going or break up. We keep going, once the big TV appearances stop a lot of bands begin to think that they are shit and decide to break up.

Do you take any notice of what the media say about you?

Andy: The way I look at it is, if I read a great review, there's no point me in going "I'm great" and then seeing a bad review and going "who do they think they are?", because you have to take one with the other. The thing about reviews is I honestly don't mind if someone doesn't like the music and doesn't get it and they slag us off, that is fine, but if they start making personal attacks, I don't ever see the point of that. If anyone makes any remarks about your lifestyle which isn't true, it can be quite hurtful. A lot of bands believe the good hype when they are on the way up, but when they get one bad review. They begin to think they are shit, if you really believe in yourself you will be able to live through it.

eFestivals would like to thank Andy Cairns, Martin McCarrick, Michael McKeegan, and Neil Cooper for giving up their time and for their kind hospitality.

FUTURE GIGS

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