5 (or so) Questions For… Steve Pilgrim!

By Levina Duivesteijn

Liverpool-based musician Steve Pilgrim has recently been busy doing acoustic solo shows all over the UK as part of the Ocean Colour Scene-tour and will soon be drumming again for Paul Weller, whose band he joined in 2008. I had the pleasure of seeing him play live last month at the Ocean Colour Scene concert in Sheffield, where he beautifully sung songs like “The Man I’ve Become” and “Lover, Love Her”. Despite his busy schedule he made the time to talk about his recent and upcoming gigs, and of course about his fantastic (independently released!) album Sunshine.

You have been incredibly busy supporting Ocean Colour Scene during their tour around the country, how has it been?

Good, it’s great being on the road again, to be going around the country and to be playing for different people.

What was the best gig for you this tour?

Ouf, I couldn’t tell you - there have been so many you see. Can’t even tell you where we went [laughs].

Have you missed playing with the band?

Yeah, I have a little bit. But it comes down to money really, sometimes you just can’t afford to take a whole band with you. It’d be nice to have other musicians with me all the time, but obviously you’re not always able to.

You released your album Sunshine completely independently, which must have been a lot of work for you - worth it?

Absolutely. I’d recommend it to anyone who’s thinking of what else is going to come along or waiting for a major record deal. To scrabble around for some money in order to do it yourself. It pays off - if you believe in what you’re doing, then all the work will pay off in the end.

Is an album for you more or less a collection of the songs you happened to write and play at that particular time, or are you very conscious of the album you are going to create at the time of writing?

I suppose I follow my nose really. I have no idea how it’s gonna end off at the beginning. I tend to start writing songs, like most people I suppose, with a few chords and a few lyrics and it tends to build from there. It’s not until I have finished a few tracks that I start getting a better idea of the bigger picture – how it’s gonna fit together and what the end result will look like.

When you played in The Stands you already had some great musicians around you, Noel Gallagher (Oasis) and Bill Ryder (The Coral) both played at the debut album All Years Leaving for example. Was that luck or do you have some amazing network-skills?

It was luck really. I have been playing in bands from a young age, so it was a case of getting out there and playing with as many good people as I could find. Your name then just gets around I suppose, and you figure out who is good to work with. I tended to just find as many possible gigs I could play at, who ever it was with. When Howie [Payne] from the Stands came along and called up for a rehearsal it all happened very quickly. Very soon we were in the studio doing demos and before we knew it we were on the road doing support-tours. Again, it’s about following your nose but always trying to get out there and do what you do.

What is for you the best thing about playing live?

It doesn’t happen to me that often, but when there is that moment of a perfect relationship between the crowd and the musicians. That mutual respect. I think it doesn’t happen particularly a lot in an acoustic set, but more often in the traditional rock set, when you have the full attention of the audience and you can feel they are enjoying the live experience - then it is at its best.

Do you go to any gigs yourself?

I don’t have a lot of time unfortunately, and because you’re already often in a gig-environment you don’t really want to spend your time off there as well. But when we’re on the road and doing festivals I definitely try to use that to see as many other musicians as possible.

Plans for the coming few months?

This month I’ll be playing a Haiti benefit gig with others on the 18th at the Leaf Tea House and Bar in Liverpool. And in April I’ll be playing the drums with Paul Weller again. He has his new album Wake Up The Nation coming out in the middle of April so we’re gonna be out promoting that.

Many thanks to Steve Pilgrim for his time. Visit his website to sign up to his mailing list and is where you can also buy his excellent albums Sunshine and Lover, Lover her. As Rikki Wright said in a review: “once you’ve heard this music, you just won’t be able to do without it”. I couldn’t agree more.

Photo top by Chris Norman via Steve Pilgrim’s MySpace page

Photo bottom of the NME Awards 2010 via Steve Pilgrim’s Facebook page

Tagged: Interviews, .

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