Interview by Mark Kenyon of TEJ.
TG: Trevor Garrard - Vocals and
additional percussion, and costumes
HD: Henry Dagg - Keyboards and backing vocals
SH: Shaun Hunt - Bass, bass pedals, 12-string guitar
AS: Andy Smith - Drum’s and percussion
PH: Pat Heron - Lead guitar, flute, backing vocals
AH:Andrew Hanson Tour manager
I finally caught up with the long established Genesis tribute band Genesis in the Cage, at Huntingdon Hall Worcester. I interviewed the band backstage in there dressing room about 30 minutes before they were due on stage and here is the end result, No names have been changed to protect the innocent or the guilty.
| From left to right PH,AS,SH,TG,HD (Photo Credit Mark Kenyon - Editor) |
TEJ: Why did you form a Genesis tribute band?
TG: Oh my gawd. Well actually I’m to blame for it because what it was, I’ll tell you what happened, I was a bit bored and it was basically for me to get out of trying to cook dinner, so I said to my wife that I’ve got some important adverts to write and to put into the local paper about singing some Genesis stuff with anyone who would want to do it. I did actually put some adverts in the local kind of ad trader.
TG: All I initially wanted to do was kind of sit in my garage with some other sad b*stard’s and hide in the corner. I’d been doing it for a few years with Pat actually, so it wasn’t the Genesis stuff it was sadder stuff about suicide, and I thought if I’m going to commit suicide it might as well do it on my own somewhere and of my own bidding.
TG: So Mark Jordan (first drummer ) was the person who replied to the advert and he said to me 'if you’re going to do it you might as well do it properly'. I said 'oh I don’t know if I can do that' and it was his fault really.
PH: Yeah, I suppose it was his fault really (Mark Jordan).
TG: Yeah, if you want to blame anyone blame Mark Jordan.
TEJ: So what was the first song you rehearsed together.
PH: Might have been Squonk.
TG: Was it? It was either that or Afterglow.
HD: The easy ones first?
PH: Probably was Squonk.
TG: It was Squonk or Afterglow it was probably both of them because I can actually remember my brother coming to a rehearsal, because he didn’t believe anyone could actually play any Genesis material let alone his own brother could sing any of it and some might debatably say he still can’t.
*Laughs*
TEJ: Is he an optimist?
TG: He is!
*Laughs*
TG: And so he came along said how much he hated Squonk, and so it probably was Squonk and Afterglow that we rehearsed to start with.
TEJ: When did Henry join the band?
TG: What happened was I saw him in a Music shop in Faversham and Mark Jordan and I got an old Potato sack put it over his head and chucked him the back of a car and he hasn’t been home since (*Laughs*).
TG: How long ago was it Henry?
HD: I think I actually joined about the beginning of April 2004.
TG: Was it really? Jesus… A long time ago.
HD: Almost last century.
TEJ: Did he have an audition or was he straight in?
TG: He did have an audition, but he had actually had an audition about the year before or even longer ago and the only reason we didn’t choose him was because he didn’t know any songs (*Laughs*) The only reason we didn’t choose him was we actually though it would be a nightmare carrying all this old gear about because at the time when he had his audition with us he had a Farfisa.
HD: Yeah that’s right I was making do
with bits and pieces and it wasn’t a fraction of the gear I have got now and if
you thought it was difficult then you should see what I have got now I didn’t
have a Mellotron or a proper Hammond I did have a f*king great Leslie (Leslie
Cabinet) and a piano.
I think the reason why I didn’t accept the gig at the
time was because it would have been a lot of work learning this stuff that you
were doing and that you didn’t want to learn the stuff that I was doing.
So it
took a while to sort of reconcile repertoire’s and having to learn an awful lot
of new stuff it must be said.
TG: So there you have it.
AH: Tell them about his first gig; the sleeping accommodation situation?
TG: Was that his first gig?
HD: It was Birmingham the Roadhouse.
TG: That was his second gig. Smardon was the first.
PH: That was Maurice’s first gig as well wasn’t it?
TG: Where did we sleep?
HD: Sleeping bags in a hole...
TG: Oh yeah, we slept in sleeping bags in a big hole in Birmingham with a torch…
HD: Yeah, that was the second gig wasn’t it?
AH: It’s not as good a story as the second gig?
TG: Yeah, that’s true but we won’t tell that one then will we? Next...
TEJ: What was Shaun Hunt’s entry into the band like?
TG: Well you know what he did? I’ll tell you want he did because when we auditioned for bass players, he did a Phil Collins he turned up about two hours early at the audition and he listened to how crap everyone else was.
AS: Crafty!
TG: And so he thought I’ll nail this bloody lot easily.
AS: Did you go for a swim in the swimming pool?
TG: No it was in Molash and there was a
big puddle outside. He stamped about in a big puddle in a field (*Laughs*) and
that’s what happened with Shaun and we debated for a while whether we Should
have Shaun or Maurice Hendricks.
Maurice was just too upbeat for us he was so
kind of positive all of the time that we thought we just couldn’t have Maurice
in the band so we choose Shaun.
PH: Yeah, because he is so miserable.
AH: A bit.
TG: Yeah.
TEJ: Do you remember Shaun’s first gig?
SH: Yes, That bloody awful Shop in Taunton. It was about as wide as this room.
At this stage the band mutter comments about the events in Taunton that are best not put into print...
TEJ: What was the gig like at the Farnham Maltings, when none other than Tony Banks was in the audience?
TG: It was a great venue... Full of history and a nice big crowd. I had no idea that Tony was in attendance until half time... He came back stage and was very complimentary about the whole band... He thought Henrys work on MMM was very good and also felt it was brave to tackle a piece that the band themselves had not done live.
TEJ: Why the repertoire from Trespass to Abacab?
HD: It’s more a history than a repertoire isn’t it?
TG: I suppose it was really Mark Jordan
and I that really set the stall for the bands repertoire really, he and I being
you know kind of anorakey fans.
We just choose all of the stuff we kind of
really really liked and it just happened to fall in that period mostly from
1970 to 1978 really, but other bits we sort of said
'Yeah we really like that'
and as other people have joined people have said 'oh I wouldn’t mind if we did
this or if we did that or don’t do something' as in Henry’s case and so that’s
why.
TEJ: Do you prefer playing Peter Gabriel era songs or Phil Collins era songs?
TG: For me personally I do not have a personal opinion on that.
HD: We do cover both era’s, we try to cover the best from those era’s I think because they’re great things in both.
TG: Yep.
TG: What about you Andy? Do you prefer one from the other?
AS: Well it’s one and same really Phil was the driving force behind both sets really, but I think I prefer the more modern day takes on it.
TG: No wonder he plays it so bleeding fast...
AS: Because it’s faster and has got more beat to it more drive.
TEJ: Well, Cinema Show progressed obviously in the end there was a lot more for a drummer to do it became a drummer busy song compared to a drummer light song originally.
AS: But then you try and replicate yourself.
TEJ: Well, yeah, you end up doing the job of two drummers...
TG: What do you prefer Pat?
PH: Actually I think I do prefer the Gabriel era.
HD: If you prefer anything.
*Laughs*
TEJ: Any thoughts about last year’s
convention?
SH: I wasn’t in it.
*Laughs*
SH: I think it went very well.
TG: It was really nice, I enjoyed it. It was a very good choice of venue it was great to be on a stage like that.
AS: I had a whale of a time.
TG: It was great to be there with all of the equipment.
HD: It felt very good.
TG: The sound was quite good, I am not sure that we were 100 percent, but I am not sure when we have been 100 percent.
HD: We were 100 percent of what we ever are really.
TG: Maybe...
AS: I enjoyed the experience.
TG: Yeah, it was good.
TEJ: Have you been invited to this year’s convention?
TG: The one in Scotland, We have been and we are.
TEJ: Getting involved?
TG: Yep.
AS: We will be there.
TEJ: So what does the future have in store for the band?
TG: Oh well Shaun’s bought grow bags which means its tomato time and Pat is teaching his three month old baby how to play the guitar and then Henry is always busy inventing musical instruments.
HD: Yes I have to squeeze in practicing
for the gigs and gigging in between commissions for sound sculptures and
musical instruments.
I have got a big commission at the moment for three sound
sculptures for the English Folk Dancing Song Society for which I’m a year
overdue on, thanks to this band.
TG: Andy of course has become an Essex boy.
AS: An Essex Boy!
TG: I think we are going to plug away and hammer away; we might do fewer gigs I do not know we will see what happens.
TEJ: Does the fact that Genesis the 1978 to 1992 Era Band are reforming do you see that as a threat or benefit to your group?
TG: A benefit.
AS: Oh yes, a benefit defiantly
TG: Means we defiantly do not have to those newer songs now (*Laughs*).
AS: Thank God (*Laughs*).
TG: How do you see it Pat?
Pat then talks about a big black sleek limousine and the conversation becomes very surreal again best not put into print...
AH: what’s the weirdest gig we have got this year?
TG: The weirdest one we have done?
AH: No, the weirdest one we have got coming this year.
TG: Oh you mean playing the same day as Genesis in London, That’s quite weird.
AS: Are we?
TG: Yeah, I have got to finalise things with the venue.
AS: Did you mean the thing in August?
TG: Yep
Steve Puddick enters the room and passes on venue information to the band
AS:It’s a gig in France.
TG: Oh France, Yeah, the Hippie festival, we are going to do an Ecological Festival, in Cognac around the 11th of August.
The interview then ends and I leave the band to talk/debate about the set list.