Now, a couple of weeks ago i did my very first interview (as some of you know i want to be a journalist) i was very nervous but the guys from the Wayriders were very kind and gentil with me

Please lemme know what you think - comment critiscm i'm open to

So here it is, for your reading please, my first interview with the Wayriders
***********WARNING**********
i've tried to check for swear words, there aren't many and i think i've changed them a bit but i apologise now if i've missed one or two.

How did you get your name “The Wayriders”?
Hugh: There was this guy in school called Tom Wayrider, who, on a school trip, ate an entire bag of sugar even though other kids were eating just sweets. We found this quite funny.
Andy: He was quite a fat kid. Not that weÂ’re being offensive to fat people!
Hugh: The Wayriders just started playing at school.
Andy: WeÂ’re all from different schools and we just met up from Chester; all hanging around. My first band, The Wayriders, just did a gig in school. ItÂ’s just a big joke thatÂ’s got completely outta hand. And now itÂ’s too late to change it.

On “Pirate Radio,” your latest album, the CD cover and the song “Baby Ruth” are all about the Goonies. Can you explain this fascination with the Goonies?
Andy: I’m a big fan of lots of films and ‘the Goonies’ is a great film.
Hugh: “Baby Ruth” originally had lyrics which were just not very good.
Andy: They were just the usual lyrics; just a song about a relationship with a girl. We played it live for about a month and then we scrapped it all. I said, “that’s s***, I hate that,” cos we already had a couple of songs like that. Then I was watching the Goonies one day, and I thought of writing the lyrics about that. I’ve still got the lyrics somewhere. The song was the same for a while and I just changed it.
Hugh: AndyÂ’s mad on the film; so he made us all watch it. So we all went to watch it and we basically decide to have the whole album artwork based on the film.

What Goonies character are you most like and why?
Andy: ummmmm, probably Data cause heÂ’s so cool.
Paul: Yeah, everyone wants to be Data – who wouldn’t want to be?
Andy: When I was little I had a coat that was just like DataÂ’s and I did all the booby traps too!

You appeared on the CBBC talent show “The Next Big Thing.” How did you feel the first time you appeared on the show?
Andy: It was weird because it wasnÂ’t the full band. We did the demo for the show back in Spring/Summer and then did the programme in November. The final was actually a day before my birthday and I was just inside the age limit. However, the demo we had sent at the start didnÂ’t include the horn and brass sections and we were told that if it wasnÂ’t on the demo tape we couldnÂ’t use them.

What happened after “The Next Big Thing?” Did a record company immediately approach you?
Andy: No, we weren’t approached. In the final, we actually found out after the show that we had come top out of all the proper bands that had played. However, the top three places went to an act like from “Stars In Your Eyes” and two dance acts. I think the winners “Eutophia” got a record deal but they don’t seem to be around anymore.

How long have you been playing your instruments?
Paul: I have no idea!
Andy: I was given a s*** guitar for my 13th Birthday and I was told by my dad that if I got good, heÂ’d give me a better one. So I played it, and in about a couple of months I was a lot better than my older sister whoÂ’d been playing for a lot longer. Wow, that was seven years ago!
Hugh: IÂ’ve played the saxophone for about two years now. IÂ’ve played the clarinet for longer though. I can play a bit of most instruments [uses his finger and thumb to explain how much]
Andy: For sake of the interview, Hugh has got his thumb about an inch away from his finger. That is how much he can play.
Hugh: Thanks. Sean was given a violin for his birthday one year and my older sister, who plays the violin, have him lessons in exchange for giving her little bro – that’s me – drum lessons. And that’s how I joined the band.

Were you good or naughty at school?
Hugh: [laughs] I bet Andy was a good boy!
Andy: Actually, I had the award from losing the most house points at the school ever. It was pretty impressive.

What do you think about the current UK music scene?
Hugh: Well itÂ’s starting to look good with brilliant bands like Lightyear and Capdown doing well.
Andy: Paul, what do you think?
Paul: I like those Russians – the lesbians. They’re great.
Andy: They’re Russian – not British! It’s the UK scene you idiot!

Have you always been interested in ska?
Hugh: I was really into Green Day previously and then I heard this band from the USA called Less Than Jake and I thought, “Wow, what the hell is this? It’s like Green Day with horns!” I didn’t like it at first but then I listened to it more and started to really like it. And that was when I first got into ska music.

If you were a sock, what colour would you be?
[All look rather surprised]
Sean: [background] Golf.
Hugh: Well, I have Bart Simpson socks on at the momentÂ… [Gives us a quick flash of his socks] So I think IÂ’d be Bart on the socks.
Sean: [louder this time] Golf.
Paul: Golf isnÂ’t a colour, you k***head!!
[All laugh]
Hugh: We went to Blackpool Pleasure Beach today and went on Valhalla. We got completely soaked especially our socks and shoes. [Gets excited] We stole a mushroom too! [Goes out of the room to bring the mushroom] For the purpose of the interview, itÂ’s wooden and is about a foot tall. It stood outside the ride and I thought it looked cool and took it. The mushroom is about the same size as a dogÂ’s small head.
Andy: But you can get really small dogs with big heads.
[Hugh ignores Andy]
Andy: I had a spare set of socks but then I put my wet trainers back on. So now my socks are wet! [Shows us his socks] Anyway, back to the question – I’d be a Red sock.
Tom: Red yellow and green – Rasta colours

WhatÂ’s your favourite song to play live?
Sean: “Sweet on the Outside” – although it knackers me out.
Andy: “Shotgun”, it’s one of our new songs we’ve written on this tour.
Paul: It changes all the time for me.
Tom: “Breakfast In The Afternoon.”

What do you do to chill out after a gig?
[Paul in the background does sign language to drinking which none of the other band members can see]
Hugh: [does an impression of rolling “something” up and smirks & grins] Does it have to be legal? I usually smoke a spliff.
Andy: We havenÂ’t really had the chance to chill out on the tour because itÂ’s been so busy.

Do you have other careers as well as being in the band?
Andy: I work in a cinema. But I had to quit my job to go on tour. Now the tourÂ’s almost over, IÂ’ve gotta go back and ask for my job back.
Sean: IÂ’m a full-time musician.
Hugh: HeÂ’s a full-time musician/full-time bum [laughs]
Paul: Tom and I are still in school but I also work as a barman.
Tom: I also work part-time in Marks & Spencer.

Have you got any psycho groupies?
[Ignore Hugh’s comment “What apart from you?!” ]
Andy: I have this one fan, a girl in Scotland who sends me letters every other day; She’s even sent me naked photos! We do have quite a large following in Derby because that’s where “The Next Big Thing” was based and the kids on the show were locals.
Hugh: Also, there are a lot of our fans in Chester because thatÂ’s where weÂ’re based.

Do you have girlfriends?
Hugh: Me, Andy, and Tom all have girlfriends.
Andy: Paul and Sean donÂ’t.
Hugh: PaulÂ’s gay [laughs] No, heÂ’s not really. HeÂ’s just really easy. And Sean smells which is why he hasnÂ’t got a girlfriend.
Sean: No, I’m too busy being a “full-time musician” to have a girlfriend [laughs]

What would be your perfect line-up at a gig?
Hugh: Capdown – that’s all.
Andy: I like The Used and Refused lately. IÂ’ve got their ringtone on my new phone which I got for my birthday [gets out his phone and starts playing it] Now whereÂ’s the ice cream bit?

How upset were you when you found out Santa wasnÂ’t real?
Hugh: Not as upset as when we found out our caravan had been nicked. I thought you weÂ’re going to ask about that.
Ok, How upset were you when you found out your caravan had been stolen?
Hugh: It was awful. Everything was taken except the drum kit and brass instruments.
Andy: I was at my girlfriendÂ’s house and my dad rang me up and told me.
Hugh: Yeah, then you rang me and I was half-sleep and thought you were joking. It was dreadful.

YouÂ’ve toured with bands like 4ft Fingers who are now starting to be recognised. Will it be the Wayriders turn next?
Sean: Hopefully.
Hugh: A lot of bands like that are doing well thanks to the music station “P-rock” which plays a lot of those sorts of videos. We’re hoping to do a headlining tour soon and bring out a single and hopefully record a video for “P-rock.”


And finally, whatÂ’s youÂ’re favourite type of cheese?

Hugh: Cheese with cranberries [to Andy] your missus likes it.
Tom: Cheddar
Paul: Hugh and I are both veggies but I donÂ’t like Babybel or processed cheese.
Andy: I don’t like cheese – it’s not meaty enough!
Sean: WhatÂ’s the rubbery one with holes in you get from Holland? I like that one.
[Paul leaves to find out and comes back about 3 mins later]
Paul: You mean Edam?


(Edited by Ferretgirl 19/03/2003 22:06)