Giles Duffy - Thousand Yard Stare

Which Indie band were you in and what did you play?

Thousand yard stare -I played guitar and a did a lot of writing

How would you have described them as and how did others describe you!

We got lumped in with the whole "Thames valley scene" but that was a bit odd-they all kind of knew each other and we weren't actually very well connected with anyone. James gave us a lot of help and there's a similarity there, but even then there's not much of a musical link. I think we started off making very naive, primitive, almost folky jangly things. I basically liked anything which sounded unlike anything else-I remember being really blown away by an NME compilation with fields of the nephilim, stump, the darling buds and (my absolute passion even now) cardiacs. Just stuff that sounds like itself and not anyone else...but mostly we didn't really know what we were doing, but in a good way. 

How many albums did you record? Now were they on a proper ‘indie’ label or did you sell your souls to the devil and sign to a major? Were your records any good and are they worth a listen now?

Several four track ep's and two albums.  We initially started by doing everything ourselves-design, pressing up vinyl, booking the recordings, the lot. That was basically our label,’ stifled aardvark', then we got picked up by polydor. But it was always a pretty close knit group of people. A cottage industry with a slightly scary sponsor...

How were you treated by the British music press, did you fall victim to their ‘build them up knock ‘em down’ policy?

Really well at first and then they did turn, big time. We were naive in the way we dealt with them (well we were pretty young) and we didn't schmooze or network with the industry so eventually I think we just got elbowed aside. And of course there was a tranche of highly competitive, well connected, bands coming along... My favourite bands all get/got bad or no press, so... The whole 'indie' thing did seem to get a lot more monied, dumb and shallow and stayed that way, I think. But you have to put it in perspective.  It's just music press. There are more important things. 

Did you manage to get onto Top of the Pops (before it was criminally axed) and as many indie bands of the time did you do a kids Saturday morning show and if so what was that like?

I seem to remember we were once booked but they decided to use half the show for a Michael Jackson video and we got bumped.  Ho hum.  We did some late night things- the James whale show a few times.  Nothing very high profile.  We did meet the get stuffed chefs and Tony banks mp.  Showbiz!

What do you remember of the touring circuit, did you partake in the whole rock and roll lifestyle? Any good stories you wanna share (or go on!).

We were pretty innocent, but drunk. But we had a blast. There was a hotel banning. And a particularly mental night in carcassone that sticks in the mind.  Going round America (we supported the soup dragons and also carter usm) was great fun and New York was quite special.  I just really love playing gigs, and I still miss doing a decent sequence of gigs.  

What was the biggest and also the best gig you did?

I loved doing the second stage at Glastonbury. That was pretty epic.  But when we went to Shetland we did some tiny but absolutely packed gigs there.  People flying off the Walls, complete madness, loved it up there.  And we made some good friends who would always come over and see us whenever we went to Scotland - that's a loooong boat ride, and I think we really appreciated that.  We once played Northampton and the stage collapsed in the first song then I broke about nine strings. That was a full on one.  

Conversely what was the worst gig of your career and why?

Bolton. Three people and a dog. Then my amp went down and one of them insisted on offering 'helpful' suggestions. And it was cold.  Venues should not be cold. 

A member of The Tansads wrote a book about their time as a failed indie star, have you fancied writing about your time as an indie star?

I like the idea but I reckon it would need to be collaborative. Sean kept brilliant records and probably has a better idea of what happened when than anyone.  Be a fun thing to pull together.  Band books are great - I just read the Louise wener one which was unexpectedly moving I thought, and the Julian cope autobiographies are a great read.   But its good material - bands are like mythic archetypes, you are young, there is travel and adventure and almost inevitable failure.  Fantastic stories are almost guaranteed. 

Do you ever get recognised as a former indie star? What was the weirdest fan thing that happened to you whilst you were an indie star?

If I ever mention it, odds are someone in the room has heard of tys, but although I am proud of it I do try not to bang on about that time in my life - it's one area where talking about your job makes you sound like a terrible show off/bore. Which of course I often am... We were pretty unglamorous though. I don't think anything really odd happened.  I do remember a Japanese girl coming to London to see us at the Astoria which was awesome- that’s a long expensive journey. We tended to get on well with the folks who liked the band; they were a good bunch of people. 

What were the reasons behind your bands split and were you glad they did so?

 I think loads of negative press plus tensions within the band became toxic when the label dropped us. I don't know if it was the right thing or not. Maybe I should have kept at music professionally but I have had a lot of creative satisfaction from it since, even if not many people have heard it.  And I got to do some other stuff which I have loved and which means a lot to me, so it's all good. I hope everyone involved looks back on it fondly. 

What have you done post indie stardom?

First off I went back to uni and did my philosophy degree, which I loved. It's a great pity that subjects like philosophy are going to find funding hard to come by in the future, its both a training in critical thinking and a really important bit of the culture. It shouldn’t be only accessible to the rich.  Anyway, since then i have worked for the civil service and currently do research and analysis for a government regulator. Musically I was part of a band called republicofheaven, which was a great, great band. There's an ep on iTunes somewhere called the blackout ep.  I have also worked with my own band, aftergod, and there’s an album for free download on www.aftergod.bandcamp.com which I am pleased with.  I aim to put up some more stuff soon, quite ambient linear stuff which is very different to what’s up there at the minute.  I basically ad libbed and then edited and built on the results.  I also did an album at home years ago which was done on quite minimal equipment and I will probably remaster it and pop that up there.  Some fun tunes, someone might enjoy it.  Studying for a post grad diploma in psychology too which I am loving...been busy. 

Do you miss the ‘old days’ of indie stardom and are you still in contact with your former band mates?

I miss being able to have a great audience and play gigs. I really miss playing gigs and recording. The rest not so much. I see Sean quite frequently and hear from Dom a bit. Still more interested in writing new, different things though. 

Nostalgia seems to be fairly decent box office at the moment. Have you joined the boom of reformations / would you consider ‘getting the old band’ back together?

 I would enjoy doing a gig. That would be great, and I think there are some folks out there that would share the fun.  But in terms of writing, my tastes are quite different now. I get that out of my system anyway. Some of the band were quite up for a reunion gig recently but for very understandable reasons one member was not happy to do it so it didn't happen.  Like I say their reasons made sense, no point in doing it if it's not going to be fun for everyone involved. 

There also seems to a current vogue of playing albums in their entirety, what do you think the attraction to the bands for doing this?

One of the things about making an album is the idea of creating a set of songs which really work together, so if you've done that it must sound like a great idea.  There's some albums I would love to see played, although some of them would be pretty impossible to do.  How about laughing stock by talk talk? It still moves by my morning jacket would be great. And any album by the hold steady. I'd love that.  Veckatimest by grizzly bear? Oh loads...

Finally how would you want your former band to be best remembered?

I think that’s sort of up to the people who remember it?  The way you relate to a band is really personal. But hopefully as better than the press made out, and slightly unique. 

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March, 2011