Adventures in Stereo

How would you describe the music of Misty's Big Adventure in one sentence?

It's a mix of as many genres as I can possibly mix together. I love all music and try and find the best bits of each, and then stick them together.

Erm, that's two sentences. How about describing it in just one word?

Cranky.

The band name comes from a story in the 1968 Magic Roundabout Annual. You weren't even born then, so why did the story influence you so?

I'm really backward in my tastes. It's just that I really love the 60s, hippy psychedelia of the Magic Roundabout. That's kinda why.

When and why did plain, old Gareth Jones become Grandmaster Gareth?

In 1999 when I started doing some solo stuff. In order to enhance my hip-hop credentials. They needed enhancing.

There's eight of you in Misty's, a group containing you and you brother, two twins, and their bro too. How often does sibling rivalry manifest itself?

Not a lot really. The great thing about Misty's is that there's so many of us. If you get annoyed with somebody you can always go and talk to somebody else. There's a lot of space. Overall, though, we're all really close.
Is your dancer, Erotic Volvo, the new Bez or the new Jed Toile?
He's just Erotic Volvo. He really wanted to be the band and he does his own thing really.

At recent festival appearances, Erotic has been a hit with the kids. Why do you think that is?

I think the whole band appeals to younger generations. We're actually about to perform in a school. After gigs when we get a chance to chat to our fans, teachers amongst them have told us they take our CDs to school and play them to their pupils.

You use toys in the recording and live performance of your songs? What's the favourite one you like to utilise?

It's one I found in a car boot sale in Bolton. It has three functions. Firstly, it's a keyboard. Secondly, it's got animal sound effects. Thirdly, it features melodies. I'm not sure what you'd call it.

What do the monkeys and donkeys signify in live favourite 'Smothered In Love'?

Wildman Fisher was a loony who surfaced in the 60s. Frank Zappa recorded him. One of his songs was called 'Monkeys & Donkeys'. I got it from that.

Can we expect to hear it tonight?

Possibly. We don't have a set list. It depends on how the gig's going as to what songs we do.

Who do you base your on-stage persona on?

A little bit of Columbo, a bit of Harvey Peacock and a bit of what I like to think of as Julian Cope. It's probably not, though, and it's more in my own head. 

Gig reviews I have read say you rarely have a cigarette out of your mouth on stage. How many do you smoke a day?

That varies. I've cut down a lot, however. It's my 25th birthday tomorrow and I'm probably on about 20 a day at the moment.

What effect does smoking have on your voice?

It kinda helps. It gives it a certain gruffness. I've got quite a quiet voice if I don't smoke.

What are your recollections of your Peel session?

I remember it being hot. I recorded the Peel session two summers ago. At home.

So, you didn't get a chance to meet John then?

No, I never met him. I had a couple of emails. Later I read something saying that he didn't like to meet people he liked. He felt he would let them down if he ever did.

How has the sound progressed from last year's The Solar Hi Fi System to this year's The Black Hole?

The latest album is a lot rawer and more live sounding. The former was produced by ourselves and is very layered. There's lots of different sound effects. But with The Black Hole I wanted to capture what a gig of ours is like. Consequently, you can hear more energy and less effects.

Having never seen Misty's perform live, what an I expect tonight?

A whole mix of different things. Big songs and little songs. Silly stuff. A whole range of emotions.

You've been an outspoken critic of New Labour? What is it that you don't like about them?

Well, mainly Tony Blair. Under him, they've become like the Tory party. I remember the days of John Smith and thinking he'd make a real good leader. When they got elected in 1997, it was an exciting time but they've since morphed into this weird, insular monster. It's frustrating. Politics should be open and honest. But it never can be once you've got spin doctors.

Which political party do you ally yourself to then?

None really, although I'm into Respect a bit. I think they've got potential, maybe not though with George Galloway in charge. They did well in the election in Birmingham. We've got a quite high Asian population and they obviously were the most annoyed about the war in Iraq. I remember travelling down to London for an anti-war march in a large group. 

What's the best thing about living in Moseley?

It's quite bohemian. When I was 18, I started to make friends with Pram, Broadcast and other underground bands. Everyone helps each other out. There's a favours network in place. No money ever changes hands, but things like recording equipment and electronic instruments are lent amongst ourselves.

What was your last day job?

My last day job was working in an office when I was 20. I took early retirement. I don't like having a boss, you see.

And now you're the boss of Misty's?

In a way. I do all the writing and most of the arranging. Otherwise we all work together as an organization. This is really necessary as I'm very disorganised.

You're supporting The Magic Numbers in October? How did this come about?

Romeo likes our album. Also, the gigs have all sold out. We found out when we opened for The Zutons that if the tour was a sell-out the band would have their pick of who they wanted. If they're not sold out, the record company would probably want to choose a band with a higher profile to shift more tickets.

Why do you like pink doughnuts so?

I don't know what it is. They must put something into it. I'd stopped for a while, but now I find myself being drawn back into them. It's quite psychedelic. One half is pink, the other pink with sprinkled hundreds and thousands on it.

What's only kinky the first time?

What's only kinky the first time? (nervous laughter) I have no idea. Pink doughnuts? They start to lose their...it's a fetish. I know. Synthesizers. I watched a Moog documentary recently. It scared me. Previously I'd been the type of person who genuinely got quite excited when I'd catch the glimpse of old models.

The Black Hole

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