By Jeff Maisey
In mid-May, post indie Brit-pop sensation Vinny Peculiar will release a new collection of songs under the album title “Things Too Often Left Unsaid,” but not before he vacations in Norfolk (Virginia) — of all places — to visit with friends.
While in Mermaid City, Peculiar, sticking with tradition, will perform a show Saturday, May 10 at the Taphouse Grill in Ghent.
Norfolk multi-instrumentalist David Almeleh has gathered a group a local troubadours to form a backing band for a full-on Vinny Peculiar rock show.
VEER: Over the span of your 24-year career, music journalists have described your studio recording works as everything from “a warm hearted Morrissey” (Q Magazine) and “the missing link between Jarvis Cocker of Pulp and Roger McGough” (Irish Times) to a “homespun tunesmithery in the Robyn Hitchcock/Martin Newell vain –wry nostalgia, witty wordplay” (Rolling Stone). If you met a stranger on the sidewalk in Virginia inquiring about your upcoming show, how would YOU describe your sound and songwriting style?
Vinny Peculiar (VP): If you can imagine a convergence of folk, glam rock and indie music that is probably the short cut to what I do…so we have the more folk-driven singer songwriterly introspective style [I love Paul Simon], the more artful flamboyant songs [I was a massive Bowie fan] and the full on harder rock elements [Black Sabbath], wild guitar solos and odd time signatures…depends very much on the album. The music has got noisier as I’ve got older…
VEER: How long before the release of “Ironing the Soul” (2001) had you been playing music and writings songs?
VP: I was playing in bands some years before “Ironing,” released a couple of singles, although I was a late starter in terms of releases. I spent the ‘90s hawking demos around London-based record labels in search of a record deal. “Ironing the Soul” was the first record I made as a signed artist [Manchesters Uglyman Records, then home to Elbow].
VEER: Did glam rock, punk rock, or Brit-pop inspire you the most?
VP: I’m a child of the glam rock 1971-75, Bowie, Bolan, Slade, Roxy Music et al my biggest inspiration. That said “Ironing the Soul” was more an Americana record, we had a pedal steel player [not very glam!] So I’ve rung the changes over time…
VEER: What were your musical aspirations starting out?
VP: I grew up in the Methodist Church my dad was the organist and my grandad a lay preacher; so I sang a lot of hymns and played violin in the school orchestra. The first record I owned was “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” then I saw David Bowie on Top of the Pops, which kind of blew my mind…
VEER: Two albums, to me, really solidify your pop/rock sound — “Sometimes I Feel Like a King” and “Other People Like Me.” What was going on in your world during that 2009-11 timeframe?
VP: Oh, yes, those are kind of older records now. I left the NHS during the making of “Other People Like Me,” so I guess that record was the last one I made with a regular day job…its also quite a glam rock themed album, I was going through my Mick Ronson stage — well I like to think so…
VEER: You have released respective albums and a selection of outtakes, home demos, and alternative versions (“Peculiarities”). How did you go about digging through old recording sessions and choosing the 10 tracks for “Things Too Long Left Unsaid” (to be released on May 16)?
VP: The new album. “Things Too Long Left Unsaid,” is essentially older recordings remixed and with a few new parts here and there. I just picked the songs that I thought still had something to say. They were in the main recorded in my home studio and remixed with regular collaborator Dave Draper at The Cider Press Evesham, UK.
VEER: The new record begins with “The End.” It’s quite a delightful power ballad. How did this not make the cut in the past?
VP: Ah ,yes, beginning with the end…it was written about the end of a band. That said it does seem to be equally as relevant to the end of a relationship. Sometimes the meaning of songs take awhile to emerge and this might well be one of those. I wrote it in around 2011 and we played it live in Parlour Flames. I kept it back for the second record, but we never made one and I kind of forgot about it. Most of the parts are from my original demo but the vocal I did a couple of years ago…
VEER: In addition to The Cramps and Suzi Quatro, the lyrics seem to drop references to The Beatles, Bowie, and Prince on “Glam Rock Graveyard.” The song also includes interesting phrasing like “Self-expression soon turns to self-doubt,” “Someone says you never know this one could be a hit,” and “Lyrics on the headstones never fade/I carved your name into my arm with a razor blade.” What’s this track about and when did you compose it?
VP: I love the sound of glam rock records — two out-of-phase drummers, sax ’n’ guitar riffs all synced up Glitter Band style; Andy Scott’s guitar sound…I attempted just that on “Other People Like Me” in 2011, but got seriously side tracked by the availability at Analogue Cat [Manchester] of a rather wonderful baby grand piano, which I then threw myself into playing Mouldy Old Dough style. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is how glam rock, the British early ‘70s incarnation, had a big impact on my musical outlook. In the “Glam Rock Graveyard” tired old spirits of a bygone age revisit the freedoms of their youth, it’s a cycle of life thing. The song was written in 2017.
VEER: How would you say your day job working in the mental health field impacted your songwriting?
VP: In 2016, I put out “Silver Meadows,” a concept album set in a 1980s psychiatric facility. So in that sense its had a very direct impact on my songwriting.
VEER: Are you happy to be “retired” from that line of work?
VP: Happy, yes, I still do songwriting workshops with people in the mental service system so my connections to that world are not completely severed.
VEER: You’ll be performing here in Norfolk with a collection of musicians only recently familiarized with your tunes. What can you share regarding the likely set list?
VP: We’ll be playing a cross section of songs from various albums. The wonderful Norfolk-based musician David Almeleh has put together a great little band. It’ll be a bit last minute but in a good way, keeps us on our toes. I love visiting Norfolk and have had some great musical times here, it would be lovely to see people at the shows.
VEER: When you return to England, you’ll have a new album to support with live shows scheduled in May in Clitheroe (The Grand) and Liverpool (The Music Room). What are you looking forward to with these gigs?
VP: I’m especially looking forward to the Liverpool Philharmonic gig where we’re playing the “Silver Meadows” album in its entirety, plus a second set that will include songs from the new album, “Things Too Long Left Unsaid.” It’s a mixed media show — costume changes and image projections…its probably our most ambitious one to date.
WANT TO GO?
Vinny Peculiar
With The Heartstompers
May 10
Taphouse Grill, Ghent
7 PM Doors, Show at 8 PM, $10 cover
