Hey Joe

Meet Joe Volk, lead singer with Bristol’s experimental rock band, Gonga, and folk troubadour to boot. uk-fusion chats with this year’s designated "new Nick Drake" about his heritage, his influences, and, erm, Emmerdale

Where do the Volk family originate from?
My ancestors are from the Black Forest in Germany. My great grandfather Magnus Volk came to Brighton in the 1800s and was an electrical inventor, and built the first electric railway in the country, which is still standing in Brighton. I was born in Soho, then moved to Somerset, and then on to Bristol.
Your friend Emily Breeze remembers getting "twatted in the Star" and having "a competition to see who could be more obnoxious to hippies". How does your recollection of those times compare?
Emily was just joking.
Your debut solo album’s called Derwent Waters Saint. Care to explain the title?
There is nothing too profound in it, I'm afraid. I just liked the sound of it. Derwent Waters Saint is the name of St. Cuthbert who lived as a monk on an island in Derwent Water, which is in the Lake District. I saw the name by chance in a friend’s book on English folklore.
Who are your influences?
The Boolean, Dafyd Johanson, Elmore Seinsbeck, and Gilbert Mayble... It's hard to narrow it down.
On your Derwent Waters Saint promo shot you look like a new, fresh-faced cast member of Emmerdale. How much was this a conscious decision of yours to move away from your Gonga image?
I'm still in Gonga, and I look the same regardless of what music I'm doing, so I'm not moving away from any kind of image. I guess I have always resembled an Emmerdale actor though, in retrospect.
What are your band Gonga up to at the moment?
Gonga have been in limbo for some time now. We've been looking for a new bass player for many moons, and found one about a fortnight ago. He's moving to Bristol to join the band full time. This means that we can finally go into the studio to start work on our second album. We start recording on 12th February, so there will be an album out later in the year. Our next gig is supporting Julian Cope at the Academy here in Bristol.
Apologies if we’re being obtuse, but there’s a song on the album going by the name of Thaumaturgist. Just what does that mean?
A 'Thaumaturgist' is a an old word for a performer of miracles. A worker of natural wonders, a natural magician.
How long would it take me to learn the acoustic guitar?
If you had someone to show you some chords and you practised, you could probably play after a few hours. Depends if you are musical too, I suppose. That question was far more obtuse than the previous one by the way.
What inspired you to cover Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Game’?
I had my guitar in a DADFAD tuning and just stumbled across the chords really. There are only two. I liked the melody of the song, so got the words from the Net, and learnt to play it. I then played it on a radio show in Bristol to promote a gig.
What’s the name of your record label and what sort of acts do you have on it?
It's called 58 Records, www.58records.co.uk, and I run it with my friend Rasha Shaheen. We have three acts on it at the moment: Rasha Shaheen, Nik Young, and Emily Breeze (and the Dobermen). There is no ethos to the label really. Just anything that Rasha and I want to put out of our own music, and then anything else that we both think is good. It's still in its infancy really.
How regular an occurrence is Plug 58?
The actual Plug 58 nights happen every two months at The Cube in Bristol. We put on about three or four acts of varied stuff: music, film etc. We're starting to go monthly from March though, and we're also starting to put on a few gigs around Bristol as well as the usual Plug nights.
What’s only kinky the first time?
I can't think of a response witty enough. Sorry.

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Derwent Waters Saint 

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