Interview with Gem.
Is it different when it's your song versus someone else's, because you can picture your own song in your head?
Yeah, it is different. But this is why I love being in a band, and I love bouncing off people. No one knows everything. It's just great. Andy will come up with something I would never think of. And the other thing, once you've written a song, when Liam sings it, it just becomes something else.
How do you know when something — a song, an album — is done?
You never know. But you can't beat yourself up. Get over yourself. Don't be too precious. Once it's out, it's out. It's about communicating, isn't it? That's what it is. Nothing's perfect. You can't make a statement and stand back. How do you know when something's done? That's the thing John Lennon said: He would've really done them all again and freaked George Martin right out. My favorite record is "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix, but I never tried to learn any of it because I don't want to spoil it. I don't want to be "in" there.
It's funny that you mentioned John Lennon, because "The Roller" reminds me of his music.
Yeah, of course. Because ever since I've been 8 years old or whatever, it's just in us. It's in us all. We're really not the kind of band that would ever cover our tracks, hide our influences. You're not fooling anybody, man. We're massive Beatle heads. So, that's in there, even though — I think it was Chris who went, "You know, this sounds like 'Instant Karma.' He says, "I never thought of that for a minute when were doing it." So, there you go. And he's a Scouse, so he should know.
But that John Lennon stuff is really raw, and I wonder if we would have heard something similar to a solo Lennon song coming from Oasis, because of its rawness.
Yeah, I don't know. It's kind of a descending chord, so you can fill it. I suppose the melody is like "Three Blind Mice." It's all in us, that's what I'm saying. And that's how we communicate with each other. We had a version of "Bring the Light" that I thought sounded like early Roxy Music, and Liam said, "Look, I think we just go fucking Jerry Lee Lewis, man." We were just having fun, and that's when he came up with the idea. I got a text from him: "I want to stick some Tina Turner kind of backing vocals on it." I was just like, fucking mega, man, let's do it.
Has your setup — amps and pedals — changed over the years? Do you stick with what's worked in the past?
It does evolve, but I'm not really a gear head. I don't think any of us are. I know a lot of people are always getting the newest pedal or whatever, but I have guitars I've had for years. And I've got a few favorite things. I've got a Fender Deluxe amp, and it's just the bullocks, man.
What do you take on the road?
Basically I play through the Fender Deluxe and a VOX AC-30. One's for the top end of the sound and the other is for the body, and that's about it. I think the AC-30 is rented.
What do you write with when you're on the road?
We always have acoustics, and you're always working. I'm hearing Liam's songs evolve, and Andy's too, but now because of laptops, you can have tons of stuff on them that you've got to work on. So you bring your lyric book, and I'm always conscious of not checking it in. It's always in my hand luggage. You just try to get on with it. But it is a different head space, on the road, writing. It's hard, man. Nobody wants to write a song about being on the road.
Is there any chance the Oasis situation is just a publicity stunt and you guys will be getting back together?
No, no, no. You know by now that there's nothing constructed or fake about Oasis, and that's that. But you know what? I think Liam and Noel have given enough — 18 years. And it's just the arc, the natural curve, isn't it? And music goes on. I think Noel will knock out a fucking mega album. I think our album is mega. And music wins.
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