Arriving at Glasgow’s ABC slightly late for the interview, any other band would have probably told me where to go, however Tom Andrews and his band Meanwhile are most accommodating, due to Andrews’ chilled out nature.
The band are basically having to do a line check as punters are making their way into the venue, always an awkward situation to find oneself in and considering this was their first night of the tour, you would have thought that nerves would have been one of the main factors for ditching an interview during this rigmarole.
Andrews finishes his mic check and then heads up the stairs to the balcony so we could conduct this short interview.
All I can say is… great guy with a chilled out attitude.
RC: When did you officially get into music?
Andrews: Watching movies as a child and listening to different soundtracks and scores and also family influences, just the fact that music is all around us.
RC: How does it feel constantly getting compared to Prince? I mean, Prince is a legend in his own right, so it’s not exactly a negative thing, but it might not always be a positive thing.
Andrews: Prince is definitely down the bottom of my list of influences but… yeah… there is an influence there and it isn’t a bad thing, I’m certainly not bothered by it.
RC: You guys are a tight unit, what’s the story behind your band?
Andrews: Yeah, the band is not a session band, I don’t think of the band that way at all, we all grew up together and we are all mates.
It comes across live and it facilities with the writing process and makes touring easier and more enjoyable.
RC: What do you like to write about?
Andrews: I take inspiration from life events, day-to-day occurrences, books, art, and movies.
No once song is set on a particular thing, or at least I don’t set out to write in that frame of mind.
RC: I know you are big on your soundtracks and movie scores. How do films inspire you musically and do you have any directors in mind that you would like to work with?
Andrews: I guess it’s just the visuals and how music can add so much more to a scene.
I like to listen to music when I’m travelling on the train, just looking out the window, the music just adds a serene quality to the whole experience.
It’s the same with scenes from movies and the impact that music can have playing in tangent with great visuals.
RC: If you could pick any musician to be the soundtrack for your life, who would it be?
Andrews: Danny Elfman *laughs*
RC: Apart from Danny Elfman, what other movies and composers influence you directly and also indirectly?
Andrews: Directly, I can only say Elfman, I mean, you can hear it in our music.
Indirectly I’d say, Richard Wagner’s score in Melancholia by Lars Von Trier is brilliant, the visuals and the score for me are perfect, Clint Mansell’s work on Moon, that is a brilliant film and of course Vangelis’ work in Blade Runner, in fact that movie is just genius.
RC: What were you original and plausible goals a musician?
Andrews: To eventually go on to making soundtracks and scoring films, but I’m happy where I am at the moment musically as this project was done for another reason.
RC: You must be fed up with these procedural run-of-the-mill interviews? I’ve tried to mix it up a bit. Best gig so far?
Andrews: *laughs* this is our first gig, so technically I could say afterwards that this is the best gig of the tour so far *laughs*, we had a great eight-hour journey from London.
RC: Thanks a lot for taking time out on your busy schedule, looking forward to seeing your set tonight!
Andrews: No worries at all, the pleasure is all mine, thanks guys.
Words: Derek Robertson
Photos: Jayjay Robertson
