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| CD available at £3.00
plus p+p from Lizard Lie at: band@lizardlie.freeserve.co.uk http://www.lizardlie.freeserve.co.uk Tel +44 (0) 2392 751525 |
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| Interview with Lizard Lie's Sylvia Wood and Andrew Gannon by Vic King at Yates Wine Lodge, Guildhall Square, Portsmouth 4/3/00 |
| Knowing of lead singer and bass player Sylvia Wood's Isle of Wight connection, and being mightily impressed with the the debut Lizard Lie CD single 'Inside' which has been released, I headed for Portsmouth to meet up with Syvlia wood and guitarist Andy Gannon to find out more. I was late turning up, sorry guys. |
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| Sylvia are you from the Isle of Wight? |
| SW: Yes I left when I was sixteen to do A levels, to do dance. I used to watch bands on the Island like Built For Comfort and Legend. |
| How did Lizard Lie get started? |
| SW: I started learning guitar. I've been in a couple of other bands. Nothing that good, but it gave me a taste. |
| AG: We've been a three piece for two and a bit years. We did a have a fourth member but he did his shoulder in, and Sylvia took over on bass. He's working in Reading now. |
| SW: We are in the proper format now of a little three piece, but we would like to get up to a couple of additional members. A song like 'Wake' is quite hard to do as a three piece. We want to try to create a bigger sound, but try to keep it quite melodic. We see the future more based on a four piece. We are getting a bit more direction. We've started getting really into more atmospheric and weirder stuff. We did a gig with the Cranes at the Wedgewood Rooms. They brought people over from the USA and Switzerland, some of whom have been writing to us ever since. We see a market there. |
| So apart from the new CD, is there any other material available? |
| AG: No, we did a few demos, but we got tired of doing demos. They never seem to turn out like you want them to. |
| SW: You can trash it if you rush the mixing. You've got to transfer your ideas across to someone else, and diplomancy. There were a few twisted nerves. |
| The production on the CD is excellent. |
| AG: James Perret from Watershed Studios is a music enthusiast. He came to quite a few of our gigs. He was interested in doing more of a project. |
| SW: It was recorded on to two inch reel to reel on a seventies machine. |
| AG: Classic recording format. SW: The truth is we were also recording another song. We had to scrap it because it was taking too long. |
| To me 'Wake' has a real sixties West Coast influence. Have you heard any music from that time? |
| AG: No it's a little bit Cure-y as well. They have a chat ring on a Cure web site Deep Green Sea, they really like it. |
| Who does your own web site? |
| SW: Me, we are trying to get more global. It took ages to find a background that we were happy with. You have to be aware that the first screen they see is you. Promotion is everything. |
| AG: It's got us a few sales. |
| What's the gig situation in Portsmouth? |
| AG: There are a few enthusiasts, people like Tony Rowland and a few other people like him who have little record labels. Also Dave Nicholls who looks after us. They are trying to secure five decent venues with a PA and a good reputation locally and trying to promote Portsmouth bands. Things like the under-eighteens nights at the Wedgewood Rooms are also a good idea. We would like to play the Theatre Royal. |
| So what's the next stage for the band? |
| SW: We would like to get bigger support slots. If you have got to sign a contract to go play in London to say that you will take fifty people with you then you might as well play down here. |
| Finally with things like the Time/Warner merger, where do you see the future of music generally? |
| SW: We see the internet as a bigger promotional tool, but people still like to have a CD more than just a piece of music on a computer. |
| AG: I'm sure we will all be able to burn our own CDs in the future. |
| SW: You have got to work out how to pay for things over the Internet, then it will happen. Bands like The Cure, The Smashing Pumpkins and Hole are already looking at cutting out the record company. |
| Good luck to you for your future. |
| Inside - Lizard Lie (Elastic Fiction 004) - 3 Track Single CD |
| 'Inside' is a useful CD to add to your collection. It is hardly awe-inspiring, but does have many factors to recommend it. Lizard Lie are a technically competent outfit - a homogenized three-piece band who don't have ego wars to clutter their music. On reflection I stil feel tht they need more rawness to fully realise the neurosis that underpins their music. I haven't seen them live yet and I'm sure their fans would inform me that this missing ingredient is realised at gigs. |
| Sylvia Wood has
an excellent darkened image and her 'net' prescence dominates to a beneficial
level. She currently has a promising voice, which could develop to levels
of heightened quality if she loses the girlie whine (on occasions) and
replaces it with a bit more ethereal bitch. The title track reminded me of the Cranberries, although Lizard Lie injected their own style on top of this influence. |
| 'Inside' was steady and all those other mass-produced words which are hangovers from the eighties. I like this track essentially and felt that it grew with each successive playing. Mr. Gannon's proficient guitar saves the weakest track ('Wake'), but aside from this strength the track didn't have much to recommend it. |
| The proverbial cliche 'saving the best until last' was relevant for this CD. 'Edge of the End' opens with a Bunnymen-type intro (nice drums Paul) and develops into the intricacies of the Neo-Gothic. I guess my favourite musical style shone through with that comment, but even with my generic preference aside 'Edge of the End' should mark the way forward for this band. |
| I feel that Ms Wood is the key to determining whether Lizard Lie fulfill their potential - the next CD should carry the answer. I look forward to hearing it. |
|
Steve
Kaye
Rehearsal For Murder/Cold Sea Stranger |
| On more review: |
| Track 1 - Inside |
| The Cure inlfuence begins to break through the clouds like a burst of bright Spring sunshine on the title track. My own knowledge of the Cure is not that extensive to be able to find a track to compare it with properly. but is up front and positive, something a bit in the style of 'Just Like Heaven'. The more delicate edge of Sylvia's vocals blends meet with Andy's melodic, yet energetic guitars. The song is well structured, rising and falling with the accents in all the right places, a feature of all three tracks on this highly promising debut release. |
| Track 2 Wake |
| Syvlia's brooding bass ushers in a gorgeous wash of guitars and it sounds like the band has come straight out of San Francisco, circa 1966/67. What does it remind me of? Big Brother? Country Joe and the Fish? Can't quite put my finger on it, and that's what makes it so good. Sylvia's voice drifts in and out like a warm soft mist rolling over the coast (second weather anology of this review). Like the first track, there is great empathy between her voice and Andy's guitar, which is so outstanding on this song. There is almost a call and answer feel to voice and guitar, while Paul Smith's drums contribute a more up-to-date Radiohead-like tension to a stand out track. |
| Track 3 Edge of the End |
| An appropriate title, because its back to 'I Will Follow' and U2s first album, 'Boy' from 1980. Andy's guitar work and indeed Paul's drums, reminds me so much of that time. Well mixed keyboards, excellent production. I don't know how much time and thought went into this CD, but whatever, the band have achieved the right result. A great start to the new millenium. Fair play to them and watch out for them. |
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Vic
King
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CD available at
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