Drug Free America

Panic sent a fearless investigator to Finsbury Park Studios to get the inside information on this big change in his musical direction.

Panic: firstly Steve are you going solo ?

“Yes Brian and I are getting a divorce, he gets to keep all the Ikea furniture and I get to see the kids every other weekend so I can take them on trips to the new Netto millenium theme park, it’s called Blairland and has been built in Cleckheaton. It’s only £25 entance fee (children and Job Seekers) and features an exhibition of plastic shopping bags that have been designed by contemporary artist Tracey Emin and a sculpture park that features hundreds of dead chickens that have been suspended in foamalohide by Damian Hurst plus some packs of bacon that have been signed by the artists. Plus there is a a look back at Victorian supermarkets with Fred Dibnam and that very special time when all the cash tills were steam driven and your recepit was hand written on parchement by the Netto Order of Brotherhood of Accountancy Monks. Sounds heavenly.

No I am not leaving Drug Free America, it’s just that some wanker said that the only reason I did techno is that it is not ‘real’ music and all you have to do is press a few buttons, twiddle a few knobs and it comes out like a karaoke machine, dickhead. How any form of music cannot be ‘real’ is beyond me; but this planet is full of bigots and idiots. Still a challenge is a challenge so I bought an acoustic guitar and wrote some traditional songs, Paul Weller would be proud of me, (ha, ha).

The solo album entitled ‘Cage without a pet versus the Psychic Vampires’, has been released on Pet Records and contains leftfield electronica songs and some chilled instrumental re-mixes. It’s a C.D. full of cheese free love songs”.

Panic: So where does the title come from,

“A psychic vampire is a lover or friend you meet when they are down and lonely .They obssessively chase you until you feel sorry for them and give them your love, support and attention. They let you build them up emotionally and take you for everything you have; drain you of every drop of your love, energy, creativity whatever and then when they have fed off you and feel strong they dump you.

This is a big fuck you to all the users I have ever met. So many people liked the track and related to it that I made it the album title”.

Panic: But doesn’t that make you sound like a bitter, sad bastard.

“No, it’s a piss take, I like to do things tongue in cheek, preferably someone elses. it was just something to write about. Listen I don’t beat myself up about superficial users, what goes around comes around, karma is such a wonderful thing, you don’t have to do anything to these people.
I have a life to live and feeling bitter and sad is not part of it. I have a very happy future pencilled in for myself and no one is going to get in my way”.

Panic: Arn’t you in denile. Surely staying in writing sad love songs is a sign of bed sit land angst and means your not as up and happy as when you’re doing techno.

“ Denile, listen sister as far as I’m concerned de Nile is a river in Egypt. What is this the Jerry Springer Show?! I’ve done techno for ten years and just wanted a change. Anyway you can party yourself to death, I enjoy staying home sometimes playing guitar and writing, it’s just as satisfying as getting bolloxed and going clubbing.

If a painter uses oil paints he should still be allowed to paint watercolours or use a pencil. To me it’s just a different aspect of my art and I have learned so much from trying to write love songs. Anyway I’ve never been a one trick pony, I listen to Hallucinogen and Lab 4 but I also listen to classics like Mariah Cary or Lauren Hil. The vocal performance on ‘Unbreak my heart’, is stunning. I don’t give a a fuck what people think, I do what I want to do.

Panic: You claim it is acoustic love songs but it’s not really is it?

“ I have a post dance music awareness when it comes to production techniques so it is mostly programmed, though we have used live vocals and musicians on flute, trombone, double bass, guitar etc. But we’ve also sampled everyone from Crystal Gayle to Suicide, a dubious combination but it works. I like the idea of making a a song like ‘Cage without a pet’ which line dancers could wobble about to if they were on a gin and ketamine binge”.

Panic: So if DFA are still operating what are the band up to?

“Well the title track of Drug Free America’s last album OM:23 (Dreamtime/Music for Nations) has been used on the sound track and C.D. of ‘Get Real’ (BMG) which is currently on general release through out the U.K. The film has been bought up by Paramount in America so it’s getting a global release. OM:23 was featured on Panics Hall 2000 compilation which hepled so much to bring it to a wider audience.

Also we have been working with the Art Karaoke project that has beeen set up by Lleeds video artists Tong Baker and Paul Staniforth. We have contributed sound to part of their Dream Stealers visuals and hope to continue working with them in the future as they have a very fresh fine art approach to video production and presentation.

A re-mix by D-J Maurice (The Space, Back to Basics, Voodoo, Gatecrasher etc) of the Drug Free America track ‘Jewels and Calories’ is in the pipeline and is being considered for release on Charlie Hall’s (Drum Club) M.C. Projects.

We have also been invited to play at a night in leeds called Tinky Ho at NATO even though we don’t really play out much these days. I’m just a studio rat at heart and prefer performing entertaining through the medium of writing and C.D.s not live performances. D.F.A. have never claimed to be some inane faggy boy band, Marylin Manson, Bruce Springsteen, or the Rolling Stones. You can shove that cock rock thing up your arse (if that’s what your into). I can do the live thing but it is like acting, some actors are good at live theatre, some are good on screen. My medium is the studio. That is what I enjoy and that is where I am happiest. Anyway I’m too old to be poncing around on stage in leather pants, this time around Brian and I will be playing keyboards, Hayley (D.F.A. sound engineer) will be upfront doing the vocals”.

Panic: So have you anything else to add.

Yes, though I call it a solo album, I worked very closely with Steve Cooper (Melt/Resource) and Tim Wright ( Sand, Tube Jerk, Moondong and Germ). They are like Brain and Hayley, close friends who are geniuses in the studio. I conceputualise the project but they bring it to life.

Thank you Steve, you have been as shy and modest as ever.