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Cast's John Power: 3 july 1996

this one, like most others, was done for the diamondback. as a sidenote, my friend smoked pot with john after the show. however, he wasn't anything when we did the interview, - he just talks like this. 

fritz: so, where are you now?

john: where's prince from? minneapolis? i'm in a hotel room, like.

f: how's the tour going?

j: it's going cool. we're playing gigs all over the place.

f: anything exciting happen yet?

j: yeah - if you want to get excited come and see us.

f: okay. the album is incredible ...

j: good lad. you have good taste.

f: it's got this really great vibe to it. i know you guys have to be getting tired of the who comparisons, but ...

j: ah, you're only comparing us to one of the greatest bands in the world, so it's a complement, like. we don't want to be the who, and we don't want to be the beatles. we don't want to be anyone apart from cast in 1996. we're not a retro band, but what i am saying is, the bands people keep comparing us to are bands that are inspirational, so we take it as complements. you're not comparing us to a shit band, so that's alright.

f: but how did you get that retro feeling, then?

j: the vibe is just natural. it's not preconceived - you can't sit down and go, 'i want to do this' - you can have ideas of how you want to portray yourself, or portray the band, but most elements have to feel natural. so what it is, is that's just within the songs, and we just try to give them justice. that's just the way we are. we have no choice in the matter - they dictate to us - there's a feel for where they need to go, like, and where we need to go with them. we could be blind. we could take it somewhere else, but it wouldn't have the effect of what it's having on people now. we'd be doing it for our own selfish reasons. music is an unselfish thing, like, and we're just passing it on and doing the best we can. not the best we can - we're just giving it. we have no choice. the song's the maypole and we dance around it, like.

f: how do you write your melodies? the tunes on all change are so catchy that's hard to get them out of your head.

j: i don't know. there's no set routine or blueprint. if there was, i'd let you in on it and we could all make songs we like or whatever. the thing is, it's very hard, like, you know. sometimes you might get a song in three months, and sometimes you might get three in one day. the melodies come with the rhythm, and the rhythm comes with the melody. the melody you're writing has to turn you on as much as any song you've heard before. so i mean, it's that easy. i could write a song, but i could know deep down it's crap. but the most honest thing you can be is honest to yourself and know when it's crap, and ask yourself, 'if you weren't writing it, would you be arsed with the song?' a lot of songs you hear from bands, really, if they weren't singing it, they'd walk away from it. there's nothing there to keep anyone's attention or invite them into it. so i just write the song, and if the melody's shit, then i throw it away. if i write a good melody, then i know i've got a good melody. i just let it out. i know it's good because if i wasn't writing it, i'd like it as well. i try to see it from both sides.

f: "alright" is one of the best singles i've heard in a while. when you did that song, was there just something that lept up and said "this is a single?"

j: there're certain songs that lend themselves to that. with singles, someone might only hear it once and so it has to make an impression. but i know every song on that album can stand up for itself. each song could hold its own, but certain songs, like 'alright' ... that melody, and the chorus (sings) 'da-da-dada-da-da-dah' you know that's a hook. like 'fine time' and 'sandstorm' and 'walk away' and all that. any of them could be singles. so i don't go out and write singles, but when i'm writing, i do recognise it and i'm aware if it has that potentiality to it.

f: what kind of reaction have you been getting from american audiences?

j: very, very, very, very good, like. i mean, this is our first time over here. in all the hip towns, it's been sold out - places that are bigger and are more up on the press. even the outbacks have been good. i mean, even if it's half full, the fact is, the people who are there, we've got their attention. they heard rumors that interested them, and they come and check it out. and once we've got you that close, we're not going to let you go. cos if you're interested, once you see the band, you will be hooked, like. you know what i mean? we're a very, very strong live band, and we know that on our day, no - even on our worst, we'll take the piss out of most bands, like. the only way we can play these songs - you can't do it half-heartedly. every time we play, even at our worst, we're still giving it something special, like. what was the question? how's it been going? it's been going great, mate. and as i say, this is just the start. after we play here, we'll be here and there and here. we'll appear to happen overnight, but we'll have been touring clubs for a while. it's a big country, like.

f: how long is this tour?

j: this is a six-week tour, and then we go home to britain to record the second album, and then we'll come back to america in september.

f: they've started playing the "sandstorm" video on mtv - i saw it sunday.

j: oh right. i'm glad to hear that. i don't know anything about whether we're being played or not. i know "sandstorm" has just been released to alternative radio, and i think "alright" is going to the majors, whatever that is. i like that sandstorm video. we were on tour in hamburg, and we just took the camera out with us. it caught the seedier side of cast, just in the graininess of it.

f: do you mind all the noel-rock labels? that's something i've noticed in the british press - there's a lot of talk about oasis. is it a hinderence at all?

j: nothing's a hinderence to us, like. we're from liverpool, like, where the beatles came from, so you could look at that as a hinderence. but we believe in the fairy tale, like, so they only add to us. i've just done another interview on the phone, and she said "noel-rock" as well. today - you two - are the first time i've ever heard it in my life. but no, i'm not concerned with it whatsoever. if you mean, "does noel write good songs," then yeah, he does. and are oasis a great band? yes they are, like. but so are we. there's no competition. we are going to be the best in the world at being cast, like. we're not being anybody else. but i don't know what phrases we're being called by journalists across the lands. i'll leave that to them to make up their metaphors. i just write songs, la.

f: what about the whole la's thing? do people talk to you about that at all?

j: people mention it, yeah. it's not like we're fascists and we deny the past. what i'm saying is that i was in the la's, yeah. while i was in the la's, i was in the la's 100 percent. but the minute i left, i'm not in them. i'm in cast 100 percent, like. the la's were a great band, but so is cast, like. it's not a competition, like. do you know what i mean? i never wrote songs in the la's, but i suppose to someone when we're first coming over, someone says "i've heard some band - what were they called?" "cast? alright. one used to be in the la's." it's a talking point. it's a totally different band. i'm not opposed to it. i'm just getting on with this, like.

f: what does music mean to you?

j: music is a very intimate part of my life, mate, as much as everything else that's part of my life, like. music is a medium for communication - it's a way of talking about issues ... no - not issues, but things you talk about. "we don't know what we're talking about - we're chasing something that we don't know what it is." people use a lot of different means to get there. we use music. whether it's john lennon or ghandi, it's still inspirational. i use music, but it's not just music that can inspire you. i don't know if my music's something special - i don't know what it is. it just turns people on, like.

f: what the deal with aliens? i've noticed that people can't write about you without mentioning them.

j: it's cos we talk about things that maybe people would be cynical of. if love is a "soft" word, than i'm a softie, man. what i'm saying is, we talk about things like the world and what we see and feel, we don't pretend to know it all. you've got some guys telling you that this is it - what you see is what you get in the world. i'm saying that it isn't, mate. i don't disbelieve in anything. i don't believe that our consciousness is fully evolved. i don't believe that we know it all. you can just look around, look at what people hold to be valuable. i think we're very much a primative race, know what i mean? i think there's plenty of things we could learn. if i tried to explain electricity to a man in the 15th century, they'd probably burn me, even if i showed them a light bulb and a battery. there's things that we can't comprehend. even if they came right to our faces, we couldn't comprehend it or swollow it. all i'm saying i don't cast judgements - i just believe in anything, mate.

f: what's the biggest difference in playing in england and playing here?

j: well, i suppose at the moment we're platinum in britain, and we're just starting over here. but there's no difference in playing to people, not on my behalf, anyway. this isn't an american thing and this isn't a british thing. it's just a music thing. what we talk about and sing about goes through everyone's culture, like. we are a british band, but our music is bigger than britain. i think people relate to that. they can see themselves in our music, whoever they are. but america doesn't know that yet. it's very, very early days, like. i don't see a difference. i just see people.

f: you said you're going to do the new album soon. is it going to be similar to all change?

j: it's going to be better.

f: better?

j: i've heard it. i've written it.

f: you've written the whole thing already?

j: yeah, the album's written, man. the songs are there. it's not a competition, it's an evolution thing. the most important thing about a debut album, apart from it being good, special and dynamic, is that you finish it, cos then you can move on. it's a process. so our second album - the songs are stronger. i have no quarrels about the songs. i'm very excited about doing it. but we're here playing all change to people, so that's alright as well. we've only got one album out, so it's not like we've got a big back catalog. it's the very early days of cast, and we're still full of enthusiasm for it all.

f: do you think that enthusiasm will go away?

j: i'm sure one day, yeah. but while the fire burns, we let it burn. one day, somebody else will be on this tip, and i'll be an old bastard.

f: i noticed that "alright" was on the mission impossible soundtrack. how did that come about?

j: i don't know, but it was in that film boys as well, with that winona ryder. it was actually in that one. i think, as you said, like, maybe it just stands out, alright. people recognize it. once you've heard it a couple of times, it will stick in your head, like. so maybe it did the same to you as it did to someone up there, like. we're so busy writing and touring, there's no such thing as a day off in our life. so i give in about that. i've got managers who do all that shit.

f: i thought "walk away" was a really great track, and it had the strings on it - something different from the rest of the album. are you going to do more songs like that?

j: yeah, yeah. i'm not closing the door on any ideas. if a song demands strings, then it demands them. i'm just saying, it was our debut album and to put them on - they were mature strings, weren't they? if you hear the single version, which i put a new vocal on for the single in britain, i remixed it and the strings are really out far - you can hear them a lot better. on the album mix, the strings are very subtle. i can hear them because i know they're there, but a lot of people don't know they're there. that's why at the end of the album, when you're stoned and you've gone to bed, fifteen minutes later all the strings come on. i don't know if you've heard that.

f: no - i hadn't.

j: what you do is take the cd, listen to the last track and leave it playing. what you'll get is just the strings out of "walk away," which are very beautiful, with nothing else, like. there you go - there's your secret track for you. see, what it's meant to be - when you're stoned in bed going to sleep, you've just heard the end of "two of a kind," then you're just nodding off and fifteen minutes later you're at the gates of heaven, man.

f: what do you see as the future for cast?

j: see, people say to me ... i've always known how good cast are. without being a big head, you know? i know how good cast are. when i say that, it's like - people ask me, "did you expect the single in britain to be so big?" i said, "of course i did." in the back of my mind, i had all these imaginations before this happened. otherwise i wouldn't have started the thing rolling. of course you can invisage this. i just see big things ahead, man. we're not scared of our own future.