August 2018 saw the lives and times of UK bluesy rockers Massive Wagons change, perhaps irreversibly, as hot on the heels of a headline performance at SOS Festival that impressed punters and Ghost Cult alike, their fourth album Full Nelson not only hit the racks, but mounted a serious, and unexpected for the band, assault on the UK album charts, achieving a truly impressive week one position of #16.

With the band experiencing a step up in profile in the run-up to release, guitarist and founding member Adam Thistlethwaite took time out to shoot the breeze with Steve Tovey.

First up, congratulations on Full Nelson – your fourth album overall and first for the mighty Earache Records going straight into the UK album charts in the Top 20! Other than Dig’s impressive beard, what attracted you to them (and them to you), and how can you use and abuse them to make you world-famous rock stars?

Many thanks! This time last year we were fortunate enough to have a few options on the table to consider. We looked beyond the numbers in the contracts and focused more on what each label had done for their artists, how they approach their dealings and reputation. Half of a band’s success is music, the other half is character. It takes one look at bands like Blackberry Smoke and Rival Sons to see that is something Earache understand. Their background is unconventional, they made their name in making a success of bands way outside the mainstream and they are genuine music lovers, not just suits in it for the cash, though I’m sure they like that too! They showed a long-term interest, I can’t say it was one thing specifically, they just felt right. When it came down to it we just liked them as people, plus of course Digby’s majestic beard may have clinched it.

 

Following the step up to a higher profile label, many bands water down their sound and style, yet to the contrary, you seem to have found a way to amplify your personality and individuality. How would you describe what Massive Wagons is (are?) at your core?

Well, that is very cool of you to say, as it was my biggest concern. We’ve always been very underground and the underdog, this is the first release with any expectation on us. We had around twenty songs written for the sessions, and, in conjunction with Earache, picked the twelve that took what we have built up over the years with a relatively small but hardcore following, and build on it to appeal to potential audiences as well as the existing fans. The last thing we wanted to do was be ‘safe’, but we wanted to push things without alienating anyone. It’s a delicate operation. Two of the most ambitious songs we recorded were dropped from the album in favour of adding ‘Ratio’ and ‘Tokyo’, from the previous album – which was very popular but wasn’t promoted outside our own touring. We fought this decision initially, but now see it’s the right thing going forward; we’re playing the long game!

What did you have in mind when you started creating the album?

We write continuously, so it’s not like we sit down and think about things too intensely, it’s spread out over a year or so. At the time of signing to Earache late last year we had a full album written, but we kept writing until it was time to record in January and some of those late additions made the cut. ‘Hate Me’ and ‘China Plates’ were both written late in the day. Then it’s a case of choosing which songs to take forward to the studio that balanced what we were trying to achieve.

If I’m being completely honest, I would have liked to push things a little further into the unknown. The recording process and production was far more precise and meticulous than our other albums, as such loses a little of our live feel and power, but gains in sounding very polished and approachable, which was the ultimate goal. I feel the next album, which is obviously in very early days of production will swing the other way, I’d really like to attack the studio as we do the stage and see what happens.

 

There’s a fantastic Britishness to the Wagons’ self-deprecation and refusal to play the bland, generic lyric game. Do you think the lyrics are a big part in setting you apart from some of your peers?

Well, that’s very kind of you to say. Baz writes the lyrics pretty much exclusively so that credit is all down to him. He said once that if the next line comes easy, it’s not the right one which I think is a great attitude. We got our women and beer phase out of the way very early on, lyrics can be so much more than a vessel for the melody, they can bring so much to the table and Baz is very talented in that department.

 

‘China Plates’ would suggest that you’re not all fans of social media, then (or at least making friends and influencing people on there…)?

Haha… yeah, well as I said Baz writes the lyrics. Being the singer and frontman he’s more identifiable than the rest of us and naturally gets more attention, for better or worse. We think social media is a great tool, especially from a bands perspective; there are so many positive things about it. Unfortunately, it comes with a dark side, but it’s more a criticism of how it can affect people rather than the platform itself, especially when it comes to politics and personal beliefs. I think the main focus of the song is how people’s behaviour online is completely different to how they are in person.

Speaking of specific songs, ‘Back To The Stack’ is a tribute to Rick Parfitt. To write a song in tribute to someone means they must have been a treasured band. What did Status Quo mean to you, and what key memories do you have of them?

Quo were always a huge influence, both musically and attitude. They have an army that are loyal to the end, cultivated through hard work and, though it’s a cliché’, being a band of the people. I think we took that more from them than anything else; as you mentioned earlier that self-depreciating “Britishness” of it all – no pretence whatsoever, Quo had it. When Rick died, a few other high profile artists also passed at a similar time and it seems to go under the radar a bit, or we felt it did anyway. We wrote that song very quickly in a couple of hours, I feel we got it right in the tone and were so happy it was taken as a genuine tribute, not a cash-in, Rick’s ex-wife Patty and son Rick Jnr both got in touch to say how much they appreciated it, which was all the approval we needed really.

For me personally, Quo were the first band I can ever remember liking, and I’m talking very young here, four or five years old, there’s camcorder footage of me rocking out to ‘Caroline’. I think everyone likes Status Quo don’t they, to some extent? Any age or background, I dare anyone not to start moving when ‘Down Down’ kicks in. You’d have to be a pretty miserable individual not to like them at all!

 

Along with Quo and Scorpions (who you namecheck on Full Nelson), I’d also pick out Rise Against, Clutch and The Wildhearts as corner stones of your sound… would you agree? So, what’s an average weeks’ listening for you – if such a thing exists – and what were you digging while you were writing Full Nelson

Good question. We were all into Ghost, I seem to remember, during some of the writing. I got quite into early Muse during recording and one of the songs that didn’t make the cut is obviously Muse inspired! I am a huge fan of Steven Wilson, how he uses sound textures and acoustics to fill spaces in the music, things that lift the songs to a higher level and we did a lot of that kinda work. We are always listening to different things; it’s essential for songwriters in particular to scan all genres for inspiration. We sort of write the music that we’d want to listen to ourselves, regardless of genre boundaries. Baz is always gonna sound like Baz so we have that constant, but there’s no reason the music can’t weave around all these different areas of inspiration without being a sonic mess. This album is the first time I think we’ve done that convincingly, we’ve created a sound quite specific to ourselves.

Touring with The Wildhearts was a great experience, they are consummate professionals and they have definitely rubbed off on us, Baz will openly admit he’s hugely influenced by Ginger’s lyrical style, you can hear it on ‘Last On The List’.

As for average weekly listening? Thunder, UFO, Brad Paisley, Maren Morris, Rush… wide and varied.

The underground (or at least the under the surface) scene in the UK always has plenty of interesting bands bubbling under. Do you have anyone you’ve played with or come across you’d recommend and love to see make a breakthrough?

I think as the old guard are retiring and getting too old for it, the hunger for new rock bands is higher than ever, though I don’t think the rock scene has ever been as dire as many would suggest. Black Stone Cherry, Airbourne, Blackberry Smoke are all bands that could go toe to toe with any mega band from the seventies or eighties, and they are all in the prime of their career.

Mason Hill are a young band from Glasgow who are killing it, as are our new label mates in Those Damn Crows. Another North West (UK) band, Bigfoot are fantastic, plus there’s a healthy scene over the water in Ireland at the moment – Screaming Eagles, Trucker Diablo and Gasoline Outlaws are all phenomenal.

Music is a good as it has ever been, I just think there are a fair few folk inside and out of the industry refusing to remove their rose-tinted specs, as a new band you have to fight to be seen. But our audiences are getting younger, which is amazing to see.

 

Thank you for your time and all the very best with the album. As a final thought, what would “success” be for the Full Nelson cycle? Or do you not give much a shit about that side of things?

Honestly, when it came to songwriting we just did what we always have done. We felt a bit of pressure naturally, but never harboured many doubts over the outcome. We’ve been at this a while and have our own plan and way of doing things that works. Over time you learn from experience and apply the lessons going forward. We’ve really made efforts to tighten up the live aspect, which we will always see as our primary method of attracting people to the band.

The nature of this game is you have to keep the momentum building constantly; you can’t take your foot off the gas. If our ticket and record sales keep going up as they have been, that’s all we can work towards!

STEVE TOVEY

 

Full Nelson is out now on Earache Records. Buy it here!