Pablo from Mesa Cosa asks LLuis from Midnight Woolf:
Who are Norton records and why are you playing at their benefit?
Norton Records are an awesome record company from New York. Billy Miller and Miriam Linna (played drums for The Cramps) have been diggin’ up, resurrecting and bringing out some of the best primitive rock’n’roll around, they’ve been doing it since the mid ’80s.
Can you share a quick and amusing anecdote about your time on the road?
On this last tour, a couple of dates fell through at the last minute so we had to improvise something quickly, so our bassist and driver in Spain, Satur (Wau Y Los Argghhh!), called a friend of his, first time promoter Felix. It was a very interesting night. The gig was at Felix’s cousin’s horse stable in the outskirts of town, the look on the horses’ faces while we were lugging in our gear was priceless. They made a good crowd. That night we stayed at his apartment which we later found out is brothel, we all thought it was strange they had a hand sanitiser machine thing in the bathroom and mirrors all over the place. But hey, when would you get the opportunity to stay a whole night in a brothel for free?
Do you have any hot tips on bands from Spain that people should check out?
Wau Y Los Arghhhs!, La Moto De Fernan, Los Chicos, Dr Explosion.
Spaniards are known for their ‘colourful’ language, what is your favorite Spanish insult and what does it mean?!
This one is actually in Catalan, I love it – “La Figa t’abuela te pels en la esquena.”
It’s literal translation is “Your grandmother’s c**t has hair on her back”. Work that out.
Lluis from Midnight Woolf asks Pablo from Mesa Cosa:
Hey guys! What’s the story behind Mesa Cosa, where and how did you guys get together?
A fortuneteller told us to start a band, so we did. Stew (tambo) had just moved in from Sydney we’ve known each other forever, we put some ads up, we found Knives our drummer, drunk at a party, after he got a bunch of bad tattoos on his arm, and Lloyd our sax player just kept on showing up at parties until we finally made him a member.
Your sound is really diverse and eclectic, what are some current bands that you are into or influence you?
The B52’s and Los Saicos are our main influences but they’re not really current. Ian listened to Nevermind backwards yesterday and liked it, and we found a box full of warped 7″ Macedonian gypsy records a while back that Stew really digs. We all listen to random stuff, some current bands we like are J.C Satan (rad band from France), Ty Segall, Mujeres, Davila 666, Acid Baby Jesus, Los Explosivos and of course Jet, Nickelback and Creed – but mostly Jet.
You guys are playing Camp A Low Hum in New Zealand, can you tell us a bit about that?
We’re really excited, it sounds like it’s going to be the best festival ever, no backstage areas, no VIP passes, no band announcements, no sponsors, and 130 bands that aren’t famous but rule, all taking place in a beautiful New Zealand backdrop. There’s chaos and it’s all a super rad party haven for three days. We are pretty pumped, we also hear Thee Oh Sees might be making an appearance.
Can you tell us a little about how you record?
In our living room in Brunswick with Nao and we try to leave in most of the mistakes and noises. Luckily we have businesses on either side of the house so we can jam ’til whenever and there’s no problem. We’re working on a new EP maybe a record at the moment and we might go to Schoolhouse or a shop front to try get some more reverb into the sound.
What’s your favourite Norton records release, or artist?
There are some incredible artists on Norton. To name a few: Link Wray (for prez), ? & The Mysterians (that guy is a trip), The Iguanas, The Sonics, The Hentchmen, Sun Ra, King Coleman, The Pretty Things. They’re pretty much one of the best labels ever and they deserve all our support, so come to the benefit this Saturday at The Old Bar. Its only $10 on the door and all proceedings go to the mighty label that is Norton Records.
MESA COSA and MIDNIGHT WOOLF play The Norton Records benefit gig this Saturday December 15 at The Old Bar. Norton Records lost its warehouse to floods following Hurricane Sandy. Also playing are The Reprobettes, Wrong Turn and some rad DJs.
