Where did the name Aereogramme come from? And why the dodgy
spelling?
I had an "aerogramme"(letter and envelope in one) on my wall from a friend in australia. It had a beautiful picture on the front that was the direct opposite of my situation at that time. I lived in a roof top room with barely any heating and nothing on the walls. It was a reminder to get my arse in gear to do something. I put in the extra "e" for no reason at all but it now helps us see who is paying attention. Put it this way. We have been going since 1998 and the N.M.E have NEVER spelt our name correctly. Idiots.
How do you go about writing songs?
I tend to bring a basic acoustic song to the band and its either added to or ripped apart and rebuilt in a stranger way. Everyone plays their part well but the nature of the way we work lends itself to some amazing arguments.
If you could choose 3 support bands for an Aereogramme headline
tour, who would they be? And why?
I would choose Lapsus Lingaue / The James Orr Complex and Madman is Absolute since they are some of Glasgow's best bands and more people need to hear them.
What was your very first record/cd/cassette?
The Bangles album with "manic monday" on it. I think i fancied "sussana hoffs" like mad.
The Dillinger Escape Plan want to be hated, The Hives want to be
loved, what do you want people to think of you?
I want people to love us as underdogs who make intelligent rock music but suffer from being ugly hairy men.
Is there one particular musician/producer who you really look up to?
If yes, who and why?
I know the rest of the band are huge fans of Brian Eno and David Bowie but i think everyone would agree on Tom Waits. He makes music like no-one else and continues to exist in his own weird world very successfully.
Despite the fact that a lot of the music media seemed to love your
last album, you got virtually no coverage by that same media, why do
you think that was/is?
I cant really say for certain. It confused me as well. We may have sat uneasily with all the bands that were getting coverage around that time. Good looking guys with amazing haircuts and then there was us!
Every time I have seem Aereogramme perform you (Craig) have been
standing on the left of the stage (from the audience's perspective),
Campbell in the middle and Iain on the right, is there any reason
for always have this line-up or is it just something that kinda
happened?
It pisses off the rest of the band i think but its just my way of taking away from the usual line up that puts the singer in the middle which puts forward the notion that he is the band leader. This band has always been a group effort and i have no desire to be a front man at all.
If a biography of your life was written, what would its title be?
"cheer up, it might never happen"
What is your most memorable gig? And why?
We played a gig in sweden at this amazing wee festival in the middle of a field. No one had any idea of who we were but we went on just as the sun was going down behind the forest that surrounded the field and we seemed to click with the crowd somehow. It ended up being such an enjoyable gig and everyone treated us so well afterwards and we were given some amazing swedish moonshine that made the rest of the night quite interesting to say the least.
What enspires you musically?
Quite simply, great music inspires me. I was at the Flaming Lips gig the other night and i just stood there thinking to myself " i have to go home and write something as good as this". Ive had the same feeling while listening to the James Orr Complex as well. Its a great feeling. I come out with completely different music but thats what sets me off sometimes.
If every guy in the world suddenly decided to grow a beard, would
you all keep your growths or would you get rid of them?
How do you know about my "growth"? Who told you?
Who, besides yourselves, are worthy of the "Stink-core" genre?
No-one. I made that up.
Favourites:
This interview was conducted via email and is pretty rubbish, so if you have any complaints, feel free to go cry about it, thank you.