I managed to talk to Bushie, drummer of legendary underground band ‘Estel’. His, and the bands willingness to interact and help other Irish independant outlets, be it blogs, zines or bands, is exactly what is required to keep a growing scene healthy. The band epitomise the DIY ethic and make some great music to boot. I couldn’t write about their career any better than the way Drop-D wrote about it earlier this year – http://www.drop-d.ie/archives/5087, so read that if you want to know about the band. (This is lazy journalism, yes)
Anyway, onto the interview:
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joseph
Q. So obviously I’m going to have to start out with a boring one, when, where and how did Estel originally form? What were the original ideas or influences which brought ye together?
Bushie
A. The band originally formed in 1998 with Sarah, Ashley and Grainne. They existed under the grrlish moniker of ‘Subkitten’ for about ten minutes [they never gigged under this moniker] and then changed it to ESTEL. They played two gigs as a three piece with no drummer. I saw them at the second gig and offered my services and that was that! I think that the original idea we had was just to make something worthy of our own praise. As for influences at the time, I can’t really say. Everything we were exposed too, I suppose [How vague and arty is that?].
joseph
Q. Did you have any particular goals when ye started as a band?
Bushie
A. I think that we wanted to be good and I think that we wanted to be accepted as a real band beyond being ‘that band with all the birds’. You have to remember that when we started that the only bands around with girls in were Das Madman and Null Set. Apart from that it was cutesy shit with American accents like Palomine and the Chicks. I’m not ragging on these folks but a lot of it seemed to be what was expected of girls in a band.
joseph
Q. Estel are obviously a band which draw from a huge pool of influences and so the bands sound has changed quite a lot over the bands tenure. As you don’t have a vocalist, do you ever find yourselves purposely steering away from the ‘post-rock’ sound (Explosions in the Sky, God is an Astronaut etc)? Which in my opinion is going the way of late 80’s hardcore – quite generic, with each band sounding very similar to the last.
Bushie
A. It’s funny that we’ve never considered ourselves a post- rock band but as a result of the time we formed, [Late nineties] we’ve always to a degree been regarded as such a band. I agree with yr observation that a lot of this music sounds the same, but I think that this is always going to be the problem with genre music ie; it’s generic!
This is the predicament for the post- rock bands that have survived or continued since the nineties. They must either change their style and alienate their fans or continue re-hashing the same formulaic pieces over and over again. This must be a difficult thing to deal with, the idea that yr creatively strangled from the start of the project.
I also agree with yr parallel with the hardcore scene. It’s mad to think that within ten years hardcore travelled from Black Flag, Minor Threat, The F.U’s, SSD to fucking Madball and a million sound alikes! I guess the same could be said for the bands considered the godfather’s of post rock like Polaris, Slint, Tortoise etc. None of these bands sound alike but current post rock has become a strict set of rules. I think that the contemporary version of this trend is the swarm of vile, soulless yeah,yeah,year’s/ rapture knock offs.
joseph
Q. There’s been quite a few line-up changes since the bands incarnation, did you ever consider changing the band name when members have left as it felt like a new band? What actually defines Estel, in this sense, is it the ideas rather than the people?
Bushie
A. The band has never ceased functioning so the name has never been an issue. I think when you have a band with an ‘open door’ policy you expect to see members and collaborators come and go so there’s no question of whether or not the band exists because someone leaves. I know that the outside perception of this can be different based on friendships/ alliances and how important people make themselves out to be in the grand scheme of the work but that’s to be expected as an occupational hazard! I think that if you view the band as a long line from 1998 to now, to the future, that the members leaving and joining have just been part of the evolution of the idea. So it has never stopped being ESTEL, it has in fact just evolved as is the normal way of life. EVERY person that we’ve played or collaborated with is an important part of the idea and evolution of the band. If however, someone chooses to be bitter about it or not appreciate the freedom that they had then that is their choice. A lot of musicians for all of their talk about ‘free’ or ’loose’ music desperately want to be constrained by formulas, numbers and scenes and don’t do well in an environment where they have to ‘tune in’ and concentrate. Or be indefinable as a ‘type’ of band. This has been a recurrent problem.
joseph
Q. The DIY ethos are quite clearly a fundamental part of the band, and incredibly influential in what you do. It’s also one of the main reasons why so many people, myself included, respect you as you actually work by these ethos. Do you often feel that your DIY ethos are in some ways, more important to you than attaining a particular sound?
Bushie
A. No. They run along side each other. Well the sound comes first. The DIY thing is just the most sensible way for us to conduct our business and releases. It’s a way of controlling who yr exposed too, who buys yr albums and what bands you play with as well as keeping ownership/ control of yr work. As for the sound, that just comes naturally from playing together and is completely separate to the way we choose to deliver our ideas. Both are, at this point, inextricably linked though in that one is attached to the other in how we operate. [Confusing much?]
joseph
Q. You’ve recently collaborated with Steve Mackay and Mike Watt which is absolutely huge. Mike Watt is an incredibly important person in the world of punk and DIY music. The Minutemen are just ‘one of those bands’ which may in fact change your life, as they proclaimed themselves. I’m just wondering what an incredible feeling it must have been to see that he really liked your band? I can’t actually imagine anything more rewarding than having one of your heroes (maybe I’m being presumptuous here?) or at least such an influential musician liking what you do.
Bushie
A. It’s insane that those guys like, dare I say ‘love’? us as much as they do. It has been a great boost to the band’s confidence to see that people we respect, and that everyone respects, have chosen to do some work with us. I don’t think that we’ll ever be able to thank them enough for the help that they have given to us and our music.
joseph
Q. Also, how was it working with the two of the guys? What are they like and was it nerve-racking meeting them? Also, sorry for labouring this topic, but I read recently how you mentioned that this collaboration was a big deal for the Irish underground scene, which is absolutely true, but yet it wasn’t recognised in mainstream press. Why do you think this is? It seems really odd to me that it wasn’t. Regardless of whether people know, or like your or Mike Watt’s or Steve Mackay’s music, it was still a very important moment which showed that a burgeoning scene and band in any country, no matter how small, could capture the attention of people in far away places. And also that small scenes of DIY musicians are simply part of a unifying umbrella ‘scene’, which to me is quite an inspiring sentiment. I’m sorry that this reads quite badly and is so long.
Bushie
A. They are two very relaxed, very professional fellows. During our two sessions they never at any point, pulled rank or vetoed any of our ideas and they’re both open to just throwing the chips and seeing where they land. When I made the comment I didn’t mean it in an egotistical way, It was really just a comment on how crass the Irish music journo thing has become. If you are not connected you are pissing in the wind- FACT!. You can put out the best fucking album you’ve ever made and you won’t even get a review, let alone a piece written about you. BUT, and this is a big but, if you have a buddy writing for the magazine or yr connected through a business venture [promotion etc..] or you can appeal to the writer’s vanity, or whatever, you will be critically lauded as the second coming even if you make generic horseshit. Think I’m being bitter? Open up Hotpress and have a look at the featured bands this week. Bland, faceless, hip bollocks. Most of these bands won’t be remembered in ten years, they are the ultra montaines and jj72’s of our generation. Take a look at yr mate’s amazing band that you know in yr fucking heart are better than this nonsense, why aren’t they in the new issue of hot press? Could it be that these so called music ‘writers’ are so out of touch that they don’t actually know what’s going on? That they don’t go to gigs that happen outside of the bigger, corporate venues? Aren’t they meant to be out there in the front lines, sniffing out exciting music? Finding stuff to inspire and move the youth ? Yes they are! Do they do this? Do they fuck.
This is why an underground worldwide network is so important for people trying to do anything that isn’t ‘straight’ or ‘commercial’. The independent scene however has to a degree been split up into so many small insulated scenes that it has become almost impenetrable to newcomers. This is evident in the lack of people under twenty at underground gigs now. Hopefully the next generation of teens will find a way in and sort this shit out for themselves.
joseph
Q. Do you think that in the current age of home recording, the internet and myspace is a good thing? It seems to me that it makes doing-it-yourself¬ whole lot easier than it used to be.
Bushie
A. It’s a mixed blessing. The problem being that literally millions of shit bands release albums and big themselves up on the internet until people get so burnt out seeing and hearing stuff that isn’t what it claims to be that they become jaded. This is to the detriment of all bands I think. I feel that this is also true of bands offering to play gigs for free just to get that elusive ’big break’- it devalues the art to the point that a band with a van/backline to pay for can find it difficult to get bigger gigs because band x will play for a bag of cans! On the other hand the internet is a great tool for bands that don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on promotion and advertising. It also helps for setting up gigs/ tours etc.. so like anything, there’s good and bad aspects.
joseph
Q. What do you think about the current Irish music ‘scene’? Which local bands do you particularly like?
Bushie
A. Ah the question that I hate the most, because I always forget to mention someone that I really like! The current irish music scene is alright, I suppose. It could be and has been a lot better in the past though. As for stuff I like- The Richter bands, Vicky Langan and Brian Conniffe, u.b.s, Andy Fogarty’s stuff, the Pulpit, Sea dog, De Novissimis, Axis of, Continuous Battle of Order, ASIWYFA, Thinimujigsaw, Cian Nugent, Razor Town, Adrian Crowley and a veritable host of others that I’ve forgotten!
joseph
Q. Finally, what is the plan for Estel in the future? Have ye any new stuff coming out soon? If so, plug plug plug!
Bushie
A. Well the plan is to exist into infinity and beyond like Buzz Lightyear. We’re currently mixing our fifth album and we have a French label interested in doing our sixth. We’re beginning to mess with the second Watt/ Mackay session and we’ve started a collaboration with Sikhara [U.S/France]. We’re touring Scotland in October and hopefully Germany and France in the next year or so.
As for closing words, I’d like to invite all of the people out there to listen to our stuff and come and see us play live or to get in touch for interviews or writing or collaborating or whatever, tea perhaps? Thanks a million, Bushie.
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