On a similar note, this Q & A with Adam Franklin of Swervedriver is in the May 2005 issue of Record Collector magazine.
What were you trying to achieve in Swervedriver?
I think we were pitching to land somewhere between The Jimi Hendrix Experience's Electric Ladyland and Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation. We also liked The Stooges and Husker Du.
Were Swervedriver shoegazers?
The shoegazer bands had floppy fringes and wore Chelsea boots, we had dreadlocks and wore baseball boots. We were more like grungegazers I suppose...with an umlaut on the 'a'.
Why does now seem the right time for shoegazing compilations and Swervedriver anthologies?
It seems that there are a lot of younger bands, particularly in the US, citing Swervedriver, Ride, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and so on as influences, so this music has had longevity, I guess. There isn't one band in the US citing the Manic Street Preachers as an influence.
Unusaully, Swerverdriver seemed particularly enamoured with iconic images of Americana. Can you explain this?
The American cars thing probably came from Marc Bolan - who in turn was getting it from Chuck Berry songs and that classic 1955 rock 'n' roll thing. Also, I wanted people to be listening to Swervedriver the way we'd listened to the MC5: driving at high speeds down country lanes....
David Hemingway
