Dead Rhetoric: Is it a challenge to keep the production values organic in a digital age?
Steer: I don’t think he has too much trouble with it, because his recording set up is very minimalist. He doesn’t really get involved with a whole lot of rack mounted gear. Again if you are trying to look at recreating something from the past, that’s going to be a problem for sure. It’s near impossible to do- it’s not just about getting a tape machine and an old desk and mics- you need everything to be different. You might as well get on with being in the present day. My personal take is it’s very cool to be influenced by music of the past but always be in the present moment when you are playing. We are not going to treat this as some sort of relic from a bygone age. You can’t be too reverent about music, there’s only one way and that’s forward.
Dead Rhetoric: There seems to be a lot going on with the cover in terms of people and various scenarios unfolding before our eyes – who came up with the concept and what do you think of it?
Steer: Once again that was James- he was put in touch with an artist up in West Yorkshire, whose name escapes me. He will be credited on the album I trust. It was sort of a vision. The actual title Hustler’s Row came about because the previous guitar player Chris moved to this unique area of Leeds called Hustler’s Row. It’s actually a lovely place, an old-fashioned terrace of houses in the middle of a very nice park. You are on the edge of the city, it’s kind of rural at the same time. We always loved it, and I thought it would make a great album title. In the 1970’s Harmony Row was a great album title for Jack Bruce.
He wrote the song, but the actual subject matter is very different. The idyllic reality of the one in Leeds, James decided to talk about something a bit more desperate. That makes for better subject matter in a song I suppose.
Dead Rhetoric: How do you feel about Gentlemans Pistols in a live situation, and do you enjoy the intimate club show vibe when playing in this group?
Steer: To me this is the comfort zone. I’m quite grateful if I get to play a big thing with Carcass, do a festival- but you don’t necessarily have the same vibe that you would have in a club. I’m able to do both but for me it’s about playing in a small to medium size club and having people very close to you. Not just knowing but feeling instantly whether people are receiving what you are putting out there. Sometimes it’s just not happening, at least you are very aware of it when you come off stage. When it comes to festivals I’ve heard that things have gone well, but sometimes it didn’t feel that well to me. Because of the huge distance between you and the crowd, and if it’s outdoors that doesn’t help you too much because the sound goes all over the place. There isn’t a focus for the energy the way it would be in a room.
Dead Rhetoric: Does the band ever worry about the throwback sound becoming a little too trendy or insincere, as it seems to be quite popular these days from a number of American and European acts?
Steer: Yes, dead right. It’s not something that we worry about but yeah, you are on the money there. That’s a real danger for everybody. The phrase you used throwback, I’m sure everybody can level that accusation at us, but we definitely wouldn’t see it that way. We definitely don’t approach it with that kind of reverence. It’s not like we sat down and watch The Doors movie a few times and tried to become those people. I don’t think anybody wants to be like that- we all like listening to our records, we like gear of a certain vintage when it comes to playing our instruments, but as I said you have to get on with the present day and be sincere about who you are.
Especially with myself, my background I grew up listening to heavy rock and what later became heavy metal. I evolved from there into this extreme heavy metal scene. By the time I got to play on a record, it was doing very extreme heavy music, the most extreme stuff that was available at the time. So I am very aware of the fact that I’m connected with that music. You just bring yourself to the table, play the way you feel. There’s a lot more to music than just wearing the right clothes and having the right kind of album design and so forth. People pick up on it and can tell if you are being real or not.
Dead Rhetoric: Considering how incredible of a comeback Surgical Steel was for Carcass, are you content to take your time in releasing the follow up as to be of a similar standard or even stronger?
Steer: Yes, you just said it. It is really a case of taking a bit of time to get it right. I don’t mean in a Def Leppard sense of taking a year in the studio or something. We need to take it very seriously. There is no need for us to do another album unless we can bring something new. It has to have a flavor of the past also, so it’s a tricky one. I think Jeff and myself enjoy a challenge, if we are all still talking to each other come the New Year than we will all have a crack at it for sure.
Dead Rhetoric: How much touring will take place for Gentlemans Pistols? Are there hopes for the band to get over to North America, even if it’s on a limited East Coast or West Coast basis?
Steer: There’s definitely hopes and there already has been interest. Nothing is really in place at this stage – for Nuclear Blast USA it will be a case of watching the interest level. Thus far they have been very supportive – Gerardo at Nuclear is a champion of the band from day one. As soon as I let him know there was an opportunity to jump ship he really helped us get to this point. We will do some UK stuff over the next couple of months and we already have festivals across Europe booked for the next year. From what I’ve seen it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if we get to do a handful of US gigs in the early parts of next year, given the amount of positive feedback we’ve gotten even with the last record.
Dead Rhetoric: Are you hopeful the next record won’t take four years to develop and release for Gentlemans Pistols?
Steer: (laughs). Naturally, yeah. One can’t predict anything, (but) that would be rather nice. When you mention that figure, that’s diabolical and a long time. It was really just life. I was getting distracted doing the other bands I’m involved in, James has his day job recording groups, we went through a couple of different bass players, there was the label change. The album that people are listening to now was completely finished in early 2014. Things just drag if you are not careful- so I would imagine we will not repeat the same mistake and have it ready sooner.