Ah yes so who exactly are Giant Drag?
A question many a pseudo rock hack has answered as being ‘The next big thing’. Of course this is true on some level, they are a great band, but Giant Drag being Giant Drag decided on doing the musical equivalent of putting a barrel of explosives into a bonfire. With songs like ‘`Kevin is Gay’ and ‘`You Fuck like My Dad’, the band were always going to find it difficult selling thousands of units, they had their ‘scenster’ audience, but on the mass market side of the business they were never going to be huge. However, the band have their eye’s set on a greater audience when they start recording the follow up to the brilliant ‘Hearts and Unicorns’, once their current tour has ended. “Some people are just narrow-minded, especially when it come to titles for songs, as if there is some hidden reason’` enthuses Annie Backstage before their Glasgow gig. “I don’t think people listen to a song for a couple of times just because the name…they listen to it cause they like the song or whatever.
“Our next album won’t have any weird names or whatever, maybe more people will listen to it then i dunno, or less even cause we don’t have any kids reading the NME thinking that song sounds funny so I am gonna listen to it. Who knows, but it will be different anyway.”
Lead singer and the driving force behind the band, Annie is often compared to indie female starlets like PJ Harvey, Peaches and even Courtney Love, “I fucking hate Coutney Love as well, she just sucks,” snarls Annie with sheer venomous hatred, “but I don’t mind being compared to Polly.” But surely constantly being compared to successful singers solely just because they are female pisses you off?
“I wouldn’t say I am pissed off with the references, I mean I can see where they are coming from, I am a girl who sings and plays guitar and so are they, you know what I mean?
“I think it is just the lazy option, it tends to come from Journalists who are just narrow-minded, it’s like you’re a girl, here is a list of other girls lets put them together then get on with another fucking Babyshamles or Arctic Monkeys review.”
“Yeah narrow-minded journalists really,” interrupts Micah, the drummer and the quiet sensible backbone of the band.
Micah and Annie are the odd couple of the music scene, Annie is the foul-mouthed, snarling, bile-spitting front-woman where as Micah is the quiet musical genius ( he plays the drums and synthesizer as the same time). But together they seem to slot easily together into a perfect musical mould.
Micah and Annie were thrown together or shall i say forced together by Annie’s mum who at the time worked alongside Micah. Micah had been in various bands, including radio 4, “But not the one everyone knows of,” stamps Micah without hesitation;”and was looking for someone to start a new band, Annie wanted to be in a band, so up stepped her mum and Giant Drag was formed, but obviously this took some work. “Well, I tried to prevent meeting Micah, cause you know it was like your mom doing match-making or something. But then two of our friends were going out with each other, so we kinda just gave in and Giant Drag was born.”
This was more like natural progression from Micah having been in bands as early as 12 years old, he is a man obsessed with listening to music and playing – he is essentially a music geek. However, Annie’s motivations to be in a band were so removed from Micah, on a map he would be in the north pole and she would be floating aimlessly around Tasmania.
“Well I was still breast-feeding when i was 12,” says Annie without a flicker of humour. “I tried being in bands, but I found it difficult because guys don’t want to play with you when you are a girl.
“It was like I am a girl respect me, when do I get in a band so I can suck some guy off…that’s why I got into a band to suck some dudes off. As I said before so far removed from each other.
Well that may be true on some level, but when it comes down to the musical sound of Giant Drag and their influences, a funny thing happens – they agree with each other and you can see why they are so perfect together in a band.
‘`We are the Beatles if they were good”, jokes Annie, “I think we are way better than My Bloody Valentine and The Pixies, I can see why we are compared to My Bloody Valentine because of the recording of the record, cause Micah did it, all these Whammy Guitars”. Micah quietly agrees: “There is a The Breeders/Pixies chord progression I suppose, But we are really just a 90’s band.”
Giant Drag have nailed it in one, they are essentially a band built from the 90’s, even referencing the era in their songs, Annie chants a line from 90’s gaming classic Street Fighter on the brilliantly non-pc ‘Kevin is Gay’.
This manic chanting at the start of songs and previous interviews have earned Annie a reputation as being somewhat crazy or if the reviewer was feeling nice, eccentric – but it is something that Annie takes with a pinch of salt, playing down her craziness as just being run of the mill good old fashioned Californian humour.
“I mean I only get called fucking crazy by people who are dumb anyway, it is mainly the British press that seem to call me crazy. It is more telling of the person who calls you crazy I suppose.”
But of course every cloud has a silver lining, Annie’s reputation as being odd or mad has earned her some respect after being named the 50th coolest person in the world, according to the NME.
“Well I am number 50, i am bottom of the barrel of being cool, i don’t think even NME know if i am cool or not.
“Micah you are too quiet to be cool; although Meg White was cool, but you don’t have big titties to be cool, you suck, Me and the Arctics (sic) are cool – I am cool all over your ass!”
Whether Giant Drag are cool or not is not the point, they are a band that will open up and rip into your hearts and minds. They will make your mind warped with horrible images through songs called ‘You Fuck Like My Dad’, then make your heart melt with gorgeous summer-punk melodies in ‘This Isn’t It’` and ‘Cordial Invitation’.
Of course, there is still that border-line that Annie will one day snap and end up in a mental home: “I hate this fucking place, you have to smoke outside, at least in California the weather nice, it is fucking cold and wet here.”
I suggest you check Giant Drag out soon.
- Giant Drag - 18 July 2006