Words with: The Sights

Cast your mind back to 1994 and those halcyon day's of "Britpop". Whether it was Justine and Brett or Damon and Justine, right up to the tenants at Number 10, it seemed we couldn't get enough of this retro revivalism as once again Britain was 'Great' again in the style mag's, broadsheets and politicians rhetoric. Built musically on the flimsy basis of two great bands (Blur/Oasis) however, with a string of chancers following in their slipstream (Menswear/Powder), it wasn't long before the chirpy novelty started to wear thin as the music loving public were subsequently forced to scrap for tit-bits in a saccharine pop wilderness.

Jetting across the Atlantic to the Motor City (Detroit), spiritual home of Motown, The MC5, The Stooges, Techno and The White Stripes, Eddie Baranek, lead singer/songwriter of revivalists par excellence The Sights, at this very same time was also immersing himself in the records of The Small Faces, The Who and The Beatles. But rather than being restrictively bound to these influences, the result eight years later is a band both re-assuringly of the now (they've shared a stage with The Datsun's, The Greenhornes and The Hiss amongst others) whilst actively recognising those influences that they treat with deference and loving acknowledgement. So amidst a sea of grunge-lite and the impending punk re-explosion, what was it about these bands that were to shape The Sights sound?



Eddie: "I guess it was just something different to draw from than the usual bands. I was trying to dig a little deeper into something, y'know. We also grew up listening to a lot of Motown and I wanted to capture a bit of that soul as well".

Did you pick up on the Brit Pop thing while the Sights were getting together?

Dave: "Yeah, that was sorta going on while we were getting into music".

How about bands like Oasis and Blur, did you identify with them at all?

Dave: "Yeah, but not so much anymore".

Nate: "They were cool when we were like 14 or 15. I went to their shows and stuff".

After several line up changes (its currently Eddie: Lead Guitar/Vocals, Dave: Drums, Matt: Bass and Nate: Organ) and the release of debut 'Are You Green' in 1999 (Spectator Records), it was with 2002's Got What We Want (Fall of Rome) that the self described "little brothers of the Detroit Scene" finally burst through with a genuine claim to being your new favourite band, sat inevitably alongside The Von Bondies and The White Stripes.

Quick, however, to distance themselves from their garage rock contemporaries ("We're thinking of re-naming the band Sights, The" - Eddie), it's a DIY ethic and a distinctly Anglophile sound (no half baked links to The MC5 here) that sees the band poised to make a genuine breakthrough in the UK. In their own words, they'd like to "do a Hendrix" and make people sit up and take notice Stateside after proving themselves here in Old Blighty.

Nate: "We do well in Detroit, New York and the West Coast, but over here you don't even need to medicate yourself or drink because you can just get off on the crowd. It's just insane! It just seems like that people investigate the sort of music that they want to listen to more here".

But would you consider doing a Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and move over here?

Dave: "It's nice to visit but..."

Nate: "I miss home!"

Matt: "And we're definitely not gonna come back here in February. Its way too cold!"



Strangely dismissive of such an assured album in 'Got What We Want' (Dave: "It seems so old now" / Nate: "It's alright for where we were at that time as a band), the mind boggles at what the results of impending sessions at Detroit's legendary Ghetto Recording Studio's will be for these undoubted perfectionists

Dave: "First of all, we're gonna be doing a lot more touring, so we haven't really decided what exactly will be on the album".

Nate: "It'll probably be a bit more weirder, some slower stuff with a bit more of a dynamic this time instead of just a loud rock guitar album again. We have a full time organ player/keyboard player now, so that will change the sound".

After that confident piece of self congratulation and re-affirmation of his place within the band by Nate (Eddie has, after all, wielded the axe on more than one occasion) it's back to the confines of Liverpool's Academy 3 where The Sight's deliver a blistering set, from the mournful 'Sorry Revisited' through to The Beatles-ey 'Don't Want You Back'.

The band will be touring the UK in July and the dates will include a special re-scheduled show on the 12th at Fibbers in York - which had to be cancelled in February due to illness. To coincide with the UK tour The Sights will be re-releasing their debut album, 'Are You Green' via Sweet Nothing on 7th June. With a brand new single, 'Be Like Normal' released as a Limited Edition 7" vinyl only on July 14th.

Having spent 6 weeks on the road with The Datsuns in the US, they're are more than ready to take on the UK again with their unique blend of psychedelic Brit-beat harmonies, for more information go to www.thatsightsband.com.

Experience the Sights for yourselves at the following dates:
(all shows with the Greenhornes)
27-Jun London Dirty Water Club
09-Jul Southampton Joiners Arms
10-Jul Manchester Roadhouse
11-Jul Glasgow King Tuts
12-Jul York Fibbers
13-Jul Nottingham Rescue Rooms
14-Jul Princess Charlotte
15-Jul London The Garage

Photos by Sakura Henderson :: sakura@gigwise.com