Interview, Bill Steer, Firebird/Carcass

Posted on 8th Jul 09 by Paul Groome | 7

A warm Thursday evening, standing outside The Lower Deck in Rathmines. It’s an unusual choice of venue but Beyonce had already booked the O2. We were there to see Firebird, the blues rock band fronted by Bill Steer, also of Carcass fame, Smok Smoczkiewicz on bass and Ludwig Witt on drums. A few cold pints added to the atmospheric buzz about the place, as a few more punters began to arrive. This is the opening show on the first Firebird tour in well over a year. Grand Union, their most recent album has been waiting patiently on the shelf since May 2008 while Bill Steer completed the Carcass reunion tour cycle. Like everybody else here, Im really looking forward to hearing the new stuff live. And while we wait, everyone is quietly drinking and chatting as the sun sinks lower in the sky. I wasn’t relaxed though. Not at all. Excitedly soiling myself, I was. Not only am I here to see Firebird play, but Bill Steer has agreed to an interview. Now, only a handful of bands have this effect on me, but when it comes to Carcass, their associated bands, and any members therein, I turn into a fifteen year old fanboy. It’s shameful, I know. But I’ll never apologise for it. As a UK registered van pulls up the side of the venue, I fire off a warning shot. The doors open and 6 people ease themselves out looking a little dazed. After a quick stretch and stroll into the venue, the equipment gets loaded out. In the meantime, Gentlemens Pistols and Skypilot, the two supporting acts arrive. Within a few minutes, downstairs in the Lower Deck (The Lower, Lower deck?) seems to be a hive of activity. We’ll leave them to it. Another pint? Lovely.

Rory Gallagher was one of the reasons I started playing guitar…not only could he play and sing well, but he seemed really humble and down to earth

An hour or so later, I catch up with Bill after the band and crew have been fed and watered. He’s in good form although a little tired. The band began their journey from Hackney in London at 2am. We wander across the road and sit down on seat for a bit of a chat and I was immediately at ease.

Firstly just to say congratulations on Grand Union, the recent Firebird release. Will you focusing mostly on the new material for the shows on this tour?

Bill Steer: Thanks very much. Yes, we’ll be playing 7 songs from the new one. We want to play as much as we can off that record, within reason. It might be a bit much we just play everything. So the 6 or 7 tunes that we’ve picked are tunes that we’re all very confortable with playing.

Your picked three cover tunes for this album. What were your reasons for picking those specific songs?

Bill Steer: Well, the Duster Bennett track…was really just a tip of the hat to somebodyI really admire a lot. He was just a real innovator. Obviously it’s a killer setup when you have this guy doing a one man band thing. I mean his debut album is mostly him playing guiitar, harmonica, singing with a bass drum and a hit-hat, simultaneously. That in itself is impressive, but the music itself is killer. He was a great, great song writer. It can be quite limiting trying to be creative within such a narrow style like the blues, but he really did that. Jumping At Shadows is the main tune that people have covered by him. Gary Moore did that one, Fleetwood Mac aswell. But we fancied trying Worried Mind, and we really had to mess with it to fit a band arrangement. So it’s quite different from the original. The James Taylor tune. Well..Im a big fan of his stuff from the late 60s and early 70s, and my brother actually suggested that tune a few years ago. I had gotten him into that album years ago, One Man Dog. So he came back to me and said there was a gon on there that he could really see us covering. I really had to work on Ludwig, our drummer, though. He really didn’t see any potential for it at the start. I forced him to try it about 2 years later, and it sort of fell into place in rehearsal. The Humble Pie tune, thats a really obvious one I think. I had played it a few times as an opener on our European tour with Alabama Thunderpussy. So we’d tried it out on a live crowd. We didn’t intend this to be on the album, actually. It was going to be a bonus track for Japan, but it turned out really well, so we thought we’d leave it on there.

As Im sure you’re aware Rory Gallagher’s anniversary was a few weeks ago. There’s a very obvious Gallagher flavour in your playing. How much of an influence did he have on your style and song writing?

Bill Steer: Yes, Rory Gallagher was one of the reasons I started playing guitar. He was a big influence on me. More when I first started out actually, more so than now. Very early on, when I first getting into rock music I saw him on TV. And he did a couple of tracks live on this TV show. I forget the name of it, but Billy Connolly was the host. I was really impressed. Not only could he play and sing well, but he seemed really humble and down to earth. It was a great combination and really appealed to me. At the time, he was one of my guitar heroes. And that had a lot to do with me persuing electric guitar as a young kid. Then for years, I got involved in other kinds of music and then came back to his stuff later in life.

Your guitar playing style differs greatly between Carcass and Firebird. Did you find it difficult to change your way of thinking back to Carcass, or was it like fitting into an old glove?

when you’re hearing the early Firebird albums, you’re hearing a band with very little live experience

Bill Steer: It was actually. I was really apprehensive. I didn’t know if I was capable of playing that style of music. But it ended up being just like flicking a switch. I just locked right back into it. I later realized that, because of so many gigs and rehearsals and recording with Carcass, it was sort of programmed into my muscles. So it ended up being quite easy. The most interesting thing was getting back into that whole scene though. It’s a whole other world that I hadn’t been involved in for such a long time. And also playing to huge audiences which was very weird for me.

Yes, I had heard that Jeff and Ken were very aware of the influence that Carcass had on the metal genre but it was something that really surprised you…

Bill Steer: Yeah, it’s true. I really was quite sceptical about the whole thing, and then once we were out there….wow! What a shock! I realised quite quickly that in some ways Carcass are more popular now than we ever were in the old days. And also its attacting a lot of younger people how were scarcely alive when we were doing our thing. Which is really great…I mean, if the music stands up THAT well with people who don’t have an nostalgia factor, they just like the records from hearing them recently, thats all to the better.

Did you find the chemistry between Jeff Walk, Michael Amott, Daniel Errlandson and yourself when you first got back together to jam?

Bill Steer: Well, it started off with Michael and I just getting together in his kitchen. That was just the first step. Rather than get a whole band in a room, and find out aht it doesnt work or whatever, we thought, lets just try this one to one without an pressure. And it was fine, yeah. I’ve played with several guitar players over the years, but with Mike I really felt there was something going on. We would spur each other on. He would come up with some great riffs, and the inspiration I would get from hearing him playing would get me going… Those older records were full of moments like that.

And would it be enough get Carcass back in the studio?

Bill Steer: At the moment, it’s simply not practical. I wouldnt rule it out entirely. Thats just foolish. I mean, I think I was quoted once as saying “I’ll never play in Carcass again” but here we are… But Arch Enemy are extremely busy, and theres a fair amount of pressure on Michael and Daniel to limit their involvement with Carcass and concentrate on their main thing, Arch Enemy. So I really think something drastic would have to happen before Carcass would release a new recording.

When Firebird first started out, you were three lads from fairly heavy bands. You had come from Carcass, Ludwig from Cathedral and one member from Spiritual Beggars. Was it a common decision between all members to go for a blues rock sound, or was it something that you had decided you wanted to do, and auditioned the other two?

Bill Steer: No, not really. That style was the connecting point for all of us. We were all coming from different backgrounds definitely, but that 70s element was something we all had in common. Musically, I suppose we wanted to just clear the decks. We were all involved in music that was very heavy, very dense. Layered guitar tracks. In essence we were recording music that had four, sometimes even six guitar tracks. That’s a lot of fun to do, and sounds very impressive, and I really wanted to get back to the bare music. More naked and organic music that relies on a players ability and characteristics. And also it leaves a lot more space from the drums. You havent saturated the drums in distortion, and also the bass guitar. I suppose it also came from a common love we all had to the likes of Johnny Winter, Mountain, Cream, Robin Trower, Jack Bruce, early Jeff Beck, Canned Heat with Alan Wilson…

The vocals on the new Firebird album seem a lot more confident on this album. Did you put more emphasis on the vocals this time around?

Bill Steer: Actually when you’re hearing the early Firebird albums, you’re hearing a band with very little live experience. That probably comes from the other guys being in their own respective bands, and so we only had a certain amount to dedicate to Firebird. So we rarely played really. And also we found it very hard to book shows. Now, it’s a lot easier. We can book shows all over Europe without an difficulty. So on this record, you’re hearing a band that don’t some touring and of course that’s really helped my vocals.

Are there any new up and coming bands that you’re a fan of at the moment?

Bill Steer: Yeah, absolutely! Gentlemens Pistols actually. They’ve been supporting us on this tour. If been an admirer on theirs for a while. They’re an excellent live band. Their first album is very good, but I really think it’s only a fraction of what they can achieve. Also, another band from Ballymoney in the North of Ireland, Hungers Mother are excellent. Their just two that jump straight to mind.

And finally, considering your beginning another touring cycle, are their any favorite films or books you’ve brought with you?

Bill Steer: I’m sort of out of touch with the cinema. There was a time in my life where I was a cinema fanatic, I was alwsy watching films. But I havent been in that situation from years. I don’t have a TV, and not particularly near a cinema. Books though… absolutely. There’s a few books that had a profound effect on me, perhaps in just reaffirming opinions I already had and in other cases suggesting alternative viewpoints on things. One of the best ones though, is Confessions Of A Justified Sinner by James Hog. He’s an old scottish writer. He’s writing from that very strict presbyterian or calvanistic approach. I found that book facinating. If I dont have anything else toread, I’ll bring that book with me. Theres always something new when I read it…

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Tags: bill steer, carcass, jeff walker, ken owen, ludwig, smok