Q & A with Simon Love

Simon Love is great. I saw his band play live in Shoreditch a few months back and was really impressed.

REBEL: Do you think there are any good new bands out there? Have all the good songs been sung? LOVE: "There are a few bands around that I like such as The Fireworks, Cosines & I Like The Go-Go. As to whether all the good songs have been sung? I think it all depends on the conviction of the person singing them."

REBEL: How many instruments can you play, which ones are you best at? LOVE:"I can get by on any of the main ones, but I'm probably best at the guitar. In a fashion."

REBEL: Is Mike Love your fave member of The Beach Boys? LOVE: "He seems like an egotistical, back-stabbing, no good, money-grabbing shit. So yes, of course he is."

REBEL: I love the Heroine song by Mikey Georgeson & Civilized Scene - what's it like collaborating and touring with Mikey? Is it difficult being in two bands? LOVE: "It's amazing being in a band with Mikey. His songs are always interesting & it's inspiring to be around such creativity. I loved the 1st David Devant & His Spirit Wife LP & used to watch them on Asylum in the mid-90s & marvel at their theatricality. The 1st time I met him he wasn't wearing the Vessel's wig so I didn't recognise him. It was only after the show I put 2 & 2 together & then a few months later he contacted me to join his new group."

REBEL: Are you proud of your Cardiff roots? Who are your fave Welsh people? LOVE: "I'm sort of proud. I've been living in London for 5 years now & there's something about this place that gets into you & dislodges your past. Whenever I go back to Cardiff it does feel a bit like you're doing everything in slow-motion. Which can sometimes be good of course. Amongst my favourite Welsh people are Shakin' Stevens (a childhood hero), Gruff Rhys & my Grampy- Eloy Rodrigues (not the most Welsh sounding name I know)."

REBEL: How important are record labels and managers in this day and age - can everyone do everything themselves these days? LOVE: "I'd say it depends on what you want to achieve. I've got an LP coming out later this year on Fortuna Pop who are an independent label who've had some success over the past couple of years with bands like Allo Darlin, Joanna Gruesome & September Girls but they're still a one-man operation. I think to have a manager is to announce that you're taking everything seriously which for me at my age seems a bit stupid. I treat music as a very expensive hobby that I can't give up. I've tried a few times but then get all itchy & realise there's a reason I've wasted the past 15 years of my life & probably thousands of pounds doing this."

REBEL: Where do you buy your clothes? LOVE: "Mostly from charity shops. I'm attempting to lose some weight at the moment though so I'm trying to not shell out on anything to swish until I'm slimmed down a bit."

REBEL: What's the best song you've released so far? LOVE: "I think I've got 3 songs that I can stand by & say "These are the best" "Xs & Os", "My Sweet Drunken Blues (For You)" & "Motherfuckers" The 1st 2 were released on an EP in 2006 by The Loves & the 3rd I've recorded 2 versions of that. The 1st was for a Xmas single my friend needed another song for & the other will be on my new LP. An early mix can be found on my bandcamp page- http://simonlove.bandcamp.com There's a song I've got called "Elton John" that'll be a single later this year that is quite good too. It's written from the perspective of Renate, the woman who married Elton John."

REBEL: Can you quote a line from a favourite poem? LOVE: "But she didn't do it & now it's too late" from "Too Many Daves" by Dr Seuss. It's such a funny & gently sad poem.

REBEL: Who was your fave member of The Velvets, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles? LOVE: a) The Velvet Underground- Sterling Morrison b) The Stones- Charlie Watts c) The Beatles- George Harrison "All 3 of them have a mysterious quiet dignity that I would love to be able to have."

REBEL: What is your idea of beauty in nature? LOVE: "I never really cared for nature til I moved to London. Someone introduced me to just going for a walk in the park which is something I'd never done til then. For me walking was a means of getting somewhere not just something to do (that's what telly's for)."

REBEL: What is your motto? LOVE: "Wanna be a gun-slinger, don't be a rock singer"

REBEL: What is your present state of mind? LOVE: "A bit miserable, a bit hopeful. Same old, same old..."