Frontman of both Terrorvision and Laika Dog, Tony Wright has had an impressive career that has seen critical acclaim and chart success (who can forget the ear-worm that is ‘Tequila’?
Tony’s upbeat nature and enthusiasm has seen him have a regular spot on Never Mind The Buzzcocks. In November he brings his Acoustic TV tour to the Highlands with five dates in the area. We caught up with Tony to talk a little about his past and of course about the forthcoming tour.
How does your current solo work compare to your other bands namely Laika Dog and of course Terrorvision?
The new tunes/songs/album is a very open unproduced affair. I left it that way so all the ‘thoughts’n’all could be laid bare… I think it gives an honesty which is what I was after. Albums to date had taken alot longer to make and that was due to approaching them from a point where we could use production and all the studio facilities to fill the sound and add power. I still wanted that heaviness but in a more raw way so went the opposite direction to cut to the bone. Simple percussion, two guitars and two vocals…
What is the status of those two bands at the moment?
LaikaDog are in the process of finishing off writing our fourth album and Terrorvision isn’t doing owt. There’s no point in doing owt unless everything is 200% and everyone is shaking double six at the same time.. Especially with the bands I love playing in… I think some others may be able to get away with going through the motions but I always hear that teachers phrase of you spoiled it for yourself and the whole class aswell…. Ha…
You made well over double your target for your recent Pledge Music campaign, how do you explain the success of the fund raiser?
I can’t explain why the pledge did so well but was so honoured/proud that it did… If you could bottle that formula I couldn’t afford to get a bottle of it so maybe its just that folk who love music make the best record company executives and I am more than happy to work for them and do my best…
The night promises some different versions of Terrorvision classics, how do you start to recreate material that you must be so familiar with?
It was important not to just strum our way through the Terrorvision songs so I thought very hard about how we could hear the words. The words are really important and alot of the time I think Terrorvision were thought of as just boombastic so its great to open up another side to what we had to say…. That doesn’t mean taking ourselves too seriously either…
Which of your new material do you most look forward to playing and why?
I love playing the new stuff as it is where I am heading and so its like diving into the future and that makes it exciting…. Favourites and satisfaction varies as to the reaction they get or how well we play the difficult bits. I love the fact that a song that starts in a kitchen can end up as a sing along elsewhere in the house, town, country, planet… That’s a crazy feeling :)
On the spot right now though Id say ‘Great Horton’ (you can see a fan made video of the song)as it is a place I know well but have found it many times on my travels…
What was the inspiration for ‘Self Portrait (Rock-a-Boogie Merchant)’?
Self Portrait…. Hmmmm… Inspiration wise its life, not just the living it but the bits that kill you aswell and add a bit of poetic license and a few sprinkles of what I’ve witnessed aswell as been and I think we’ve baked that song ready for eating…
Life on the road now must differ significantly from your Terrorvision days, what are the advantages and disadvantages of touring on your own?
Life on the road…. Its simpler and alot of the time soberer… It goes the same way as the album really… Its the acoustic version of a tour bus but not quite a push-bike… Its the yin to my yang and we all need a bit of both eh to keep it mountainous instead of monotonous and I LOVE IT!!!!!
Tony Wright plays the Ironworks on the 5th of November (further Highland dates), Tickets available online.
