Five minutes with Christian Datsun
The Datsuns are from Cambridge (New Zealand), which one member of the band has described as “11,000 people, five rest homes and a lot of horse studs. So if you are the business of rearing horses or dying, you are having a good time”. The band was formed in 1995, while Dolf D. Datsun (a.k.a. Dolf de Borst, vocals and bass), Phil Buscke (guitar and vocals) and Matt Osment (drums) were still in school. Trinket, as the band was then known, entered a Battle of the Bands contest in 1996, and although one website claims they didn’t impress the judges, they did have to fight it out against another band of the same name. They persuaded the other group to relinquish it and re-entered the contest as Trinket in 1997 to win first prize. In 2000, the band presumably handed the name back to the other lot because they were re-christened The Datsuns, and in August released a vinyl-only first single, Super Gyration! Having often featured on John Peel’s programme on UK BBC Radio One — the producers said they were “fast becoming one of our favourite bands” — The Datsuns gigged relentlessly, developing a reputation for “unreconstructed, balls-to-the-wall rawk”. Those patronising Brits said it was further proof that “New Zealand can turn out more than a nice lamb casserole”. Their repertoire includes songs such as Little Bruise, Harmonic Generator and that well-known family singalong, Mother Fucker From Hell. Christian Datsun (a.k.a. Christian Livingstone, guitar and vocals), formerly of Kiwi band Tweeter, joined The Datsuns in 1997. He generously donated some of his rock time to answering the NZBC’s questions in a lull before the first soundcheck.
The Datsuns owe a debt to 1960s, 1970s and 1980s bands, and yet the people who grew up with and bought that music at the time of its release (so-called Baby Boomers) are now ridiculed in magazines such as Vice for being sad and not long for this world. What do The Datsuns think of Baby Boomers?
“I think for me to generalise about an entire generation of people would be rather silly. Who am I to comment on an entire segment of human society in one or two sentences? I will say that I think it is unfortunate that Western society on the whole views ageing as a disability. Everybody gets old and people in the present who are young and think they are cool will one day in the future also be ‘sad and not long for this world’ as Vice magazine puts it. Indeed whoever wrote those words from Vice will one day be ‘sad and not long for this world’. A victim of their own words...”
Frank Zappa famously bemoaned the lack of improvisation in rock and pop music. To what extent does improvisation figure in The Datsuns’ music and where do you do most of it: in the studio, live or during rehearsals?
“Improvisation features both in our live performances and songwriting. Several of the new songs we’re considering including on our next album were created from spontaneous jams. In our live performances a number of the songs in our set are extended and changed through improvisation. Some of them are quite different from the album versions, due to improvising. I improvise nearly all of my guitar solos.”
What was the best part of being involved in recording the John Peel charity single, the Buzzcocks’ Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t Have)?
“Getting to play the song live at the UK Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Buzzcocks. It was a blast to play a great song with a great band. The after-party was a bit of a laugh too...”
What’s currently on The Datsuns’ iPod ‘On the go’ playlists — or are you all iPod refuseniks?
“Two of us, including myself, have converted to the digital side. iPods are great for touring, as you can take your entire music collection with you in one small unit. Previously I was hauling around a bag of CDs! Artists currently playing on my iPod include: The Who, Nick Cave, Captain Beyond, Glenn Miller Orchestra, T-Rex, Nuggets II, Interpol and the new Datsuns demos.”
What were the most important qualities ex-Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones brought to the recording of The Datsuns’ second album ‘Outta Sight, Outta Mind’?
“A good ear for knowing when you got the right take for a song. He’s a super musical guy who can seemingly play any instrument invented by man. Plus, he had some great stories and cool gear. Also, he brought us a huge amount of fireworks to celebrate Guy Fawkes!”
There are concerns about copyrights these days largely being controlled and manipulated by large corporations such as music publishers, rather than by originators of copyrighted works, like composers. Do you have any thoughts on copyright?
“Copyright is meant to protect the intellectual property of an artist. It’s a good thing. We own the rights to all our songs so we don’t have any large corporations controlling our music. Although in this digital world we live in, artists’ intellectual property (the music) seems to be something that people think they can have for free via the internet.”
How often do you get back to Cambridge, and has it changed much over the years?
“Hardly ever. I only get there whenever we tour, so once a year maybe. It’s a lovely little town, my Mum still lives there!”
You thought Datsuns looked cool when you saw the ads in old issues of National Geographic, but what cars do you guys drive today?
“We live in London, so we don’t need cars. It’s the bus or tube for us! The only member of the band who owns a car is our drummer Matt. He has a Trans Am, which is currently locked up in a garage somewhere in New Zealand. We’re coming back to New Zealand for Christmas, so I’m sure Matt is going to spend the entire time driving it around (probably from petrol station to petrol station... It’s a gas guzzler!).”
The Datsuns owe a debt to 1960s, 1970s and 1980s bands, and yet the people who grew up with and bought that music at the time of its release (so-called Baby Boomers) are now ridiculed in magazines such as Vice for being sad and not long for this world. What do The Datsuns think of Baby Boomers?
“I think for me to generalise about an entire generation of people would be rather silly. Who am I to comment on an entire segment of human society in one or two sentences? I will say that I think it is unfortunate that Western society on the whole views ageing as a disability. Everybody gets old and people in the present who are young and think they are cool will one day in the future also be ‘sad and not long for this world’ as Vice magazine puts it. Indeed whoever wrote those words from Vice will one day be ‘sad and not long for this world’. A victim of their own words...”
Frank Zappa famously bemoaned the lack of improvisation in rock and pop music. To what extent does improvisation figure in The Datsuns’ music and where do you do most of it: in the studio, live or during rehearsals?
“Improvisation features both in our live performances and songwriting. Several of the new songs we’re considering including on our next album were created from spontaneous jams. In our live performances a number of the songs in our set are extended and changed through improvisation. Some of them are quite different from the album versions, due to improvising. I improvise nearly all of my guitar solos.”
What was the best part of being involved in recording the John Peel charity single, the Buzzcocks’ Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t Have)?
“Getting to play the song live at the UK Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Buzzcocks. It was a blast to play a great song with a great band. The after-party was a bit of a laugh too...”
What’s currently on The Datsuns’ iPod ‘On the go’ playlists — or are you all iPod refuseniks?
“Two of us, including myself, have converted to the digital side. iPods are great for touring, as you can take your entire music collection with you in one small unit. Previously I was hauling around a bag of CDs! Artists currently playing on my iPod include: The Who, Nick Cave, Captain Beyond, Glenn Miller Orchestra, T-Rex, Nuggets II, Interpol and the new Datsuns demos.”
What were the most important qualities ex-Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones brought to the recording of The Datsuns’ second album ‘Outta Sight, Outta Mind’?
“A good ear for knowing when you got the right take for a song. He’s a super musical guy who can seemingly play any instrument invented by man. Plus, he had some great stories and cool gear. Also, he brought us a huge amount of fireworks to celebrate Guy Fawkes!”
There are concerns about copyrights these days largely being controlled and manipulated by large corporations such as music publishers, rather than by originators of copyrighted works, like composers. Do you have any thoughts on copyright?
“Copyright is meant to protect the intellectual property of an artist. It’s a good thing. We own the rights to all our songs so we don’t have any large corporations controlling our music. Although in this digital world we live in, artists’ intellectual property (the music) seems to be something that people think they can have for free via the internet.”
How often do you get back to Cambridge, and has it changed much over the years?
“Hardly ever. I only get there whenever we tour, so once a year maybe. It’s a lovely little town, my Mum still lives there!”
You thought Datsuns looked cool when you saw the ads in old issues of National Geographic, but what cars do you guys drive today?
“We live in London, so we don’t need cars. It’s the bus or tube for us! The only member of the band who owns a car is our drummer Matt. He has a Trans Am, which is currently locked up in a garage somewhere in New Zealand. We’re coming back to New Zealand for Christmas, so I’m sure Matt is going to spend the entire time driving it around (probably from petrol station to petrol station... It’s a gas guzzler!).”
1 Comments:
Great wee interview, on ya
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