Scots Way-Hay #13 - Super Adventure Club

And now for something completely different.....

For those of a nervous disposition, this might well be the time to look away, as you are about to enter the weird and wonderful world of the Super Aventure Club a scuzzed up head fuck of a band. Yes they're on the same label as last weeks Scot Way-Hay'ers The Scottish Enlightenment, the similarities end there. Based in Glasgow, the trio have created a unique sound which is clearly differentiates them from pretty anything else that is coming out of Scotland at the moment. It is at this point that I feel that I should apologise to Jim 'Ayetunes' and Phil 'Elba Sessions', you were right, I was wrong. The pair of them have been on at me about these guys for ages, how could I be so stupid as to ignore a band that has come up with song titles like 'Hip Hop Hot Pot Pot Noodle'.......

Would you care to introduce yourself?

Neil: We are SAC, i'm Waz, the funny looking one. We are three friends exploring the the sonic realms and leaving no stone unturned in our adventure to find the future sound.

Bruce: I’m Bruce, the one with the big gay following.

Mandy: Hello, I am Mandy, I play the lowest and sing the highest.


How would you describe the music you make?

Neil: Fun, playful, extreme, relentless and above all good. We strive to make our own music, music that you could say 'it sounds like SAC'. there is of course influence from other artists in our style (we're all massive music 'fans') but we're three quite different people and that should make something unique, if we play together and end up sounding like another band then we'd be very disappointed.

Mandy: It's like the musical equivalent of Screwball Scramble. Or maybe like a really intense game of Hungry Hippo's, like it's pretty fun but it's quite erratic, ye have to totally go nuts on that Hippo's head otherwise you'll never get the ball. No-one ever gets the ball though.

Bruce: Yeah it’s pop with an attention disorder.

How did you come together as a band?

Mandy: Bruce and I met in Argos years ago, moved to Edinburgh, went to college together and started a band called Stepdads, we split up after a few years and decided to start a new band, after one gig with SAC the original drummer left and Bruce wanted to call it quits unless I could convince Waz to play with us. So we hunted down Waz, kidnapped him, locked him in a chamber and fed him only Haribo, luckily for us Waz is well into that shit, so he agreed.

Neil: I thought the music was mad, it wasn't really up my street at the time, I was playing in more straight ahead stoner rock and punk bands, it took months to get my head round some of the music but I’ve managed to keep my head above the water since then.

How did you start out making music?

Neil: I was one of those youngsters who played the piano and loved it as much as i hated it, i remember wanting to quit a lot my parents would say, "give it an extra couple of weeks, then you can decide" by which time I'd be enjoying it again, crafty bastards. I eventually found my way onto a drum kit and that got me the exercise I lacked being a non-football enthusiast.

Bruce: I got a guitar aged 16, learned ‘Zombie’ by The Cranberries, and it all spiraled from there. Mandy: I used to rock my keyboard all day in primary school.

What process goes into the way you write songs?

Bruce: Usually I have a few idea fragments that the other guys put parts to, then we structure it. The more song-ey ones are usually structured before I take it to the guys, but it's very much a democracy - if I have an idea that gets overruled then fair do's, it'll be for the better once my ego calms down.

Neil: I think a lot of thought goes into writing; whilst we're away from our instruments we talk about how stuff could be done differently how things could be changed or developed, these conversations usually happen on buses or in vans. We continue writing the music after the "ahh, that's another one in the bag" moment. We get the bare bones, the structure and the lyrics down, and then that's when the writing really starts. We never look at a song and say, "well that's perfect", things are always evolving. It's a virtue to know when you've had enough, unfortunately Super Adventure Club lack that virtue...

Tell us a little about what influences you. Are there any artists in particular you would consider to be major influences on your music?

Neil: People tend to mention Zappa when talking about influences, and although we'd like to think our music is more pop the truth is prog rock artists have a huge influence on us. Zappa is an influence not only with the music he created but the way he created it, his willingness to experiment freely without giving a monkeys about his popularity levels, making good music was all he cared about. His extreme work ethic is also something we hugely admire even if we do somewhat lack it.

Mandy: I'm mainly influenced by unicorns and rainbows. I like music too, I really like music, loads.

You released your new record ‘Avoid Zombies’ through Armellodie Records, how did that come about?

Mandy: Al (Armellodie Records) and Bruce have been participating in anal fun for years, I guess now Bruce just put a price on it. Haha joke (or is it!?) right, no, Waz done a jobby on Al's head and Al was like SACre bleu! Right no, sorry, sorry. Waz knew Al from Aberdeen, they reunited at bar bloc one night, Al liked us so basically he just asked us if we wanted to sign up with Armellodie, naturally, we said yes. How could you say no to a man with a smile like that, those teeth, they're so great.

Neil: Al (Armellodie Records) owes me favours for keeping my mouth shut about the whole Maple vs Nero gay orgy accident (it was supposed to be a good night in like any other but it turned into a blood bath that resulted in the loss of teeth, life and the eventual collapse of two good Aberdeen bands) so he arranged to help SAC in all ways! But seriously, if you've got braces don’t give head to a guy with a pierced cock.

What can we expect to see/hear from you in 2010?

Mandy: More touring for sure, the album going platinum probably, new single in June, we've started writing new stuff too, supporting Cypress Hill, but definitely not supporting Kanye West. No way he can forget it.



Super Adventure Club - Nosferatu (MP3)



Super Adventure Clubs new album ‘Avoid Zombies’ is out now on Armellodie Records. New single ‘Hip Hop Hot Pot Pot Noodle’ is released on Monday 21st June.

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