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Some time around the end of 2001, Bob was sitting in Alex's kitchen. Alex had just been given a bass by his friend Mick, on the condition that he did 'something useful' with it.
"Do you want to learn to play the bass then, Bob?"
"No, I'm an artist, not a music |
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Some time around the end of 2001, Bob was sitting in Alex's kitchen. Alex had just been given a bass by his friend Mick, on the condition that he did 'something useful' with it.
"Do you want to learn to play the bass then, Bob?"
"No, I'm an artist, not a musician."
"It's the same thing."
"OK then."
So Bob learned the bass and they planned a band. It had to be something big. Bob wanted it to be on the level of Field Marshall Haig's tears that fell as he counted the statistics of the men he had sent over the top. Alex wanted to make music that girls could dance to.
Alex met Nick in Jo and Celias' kitchen. Nick was dressed like a young Adam Ant and was stealing Alex's Vodka. They were about to batter each others brains in when Alex asked if he could play drums. Nick lied and said that he could. They agreed to meet up in Nick's South Side mansion.
Nick could hit the drums, but not in any particularly coherent order. He was a classical pianist and double bassist and had come to Glasgow because a friend in Munich had said it was a laugh. Although he couldn't drum, he liked the idea of music for girls to dance to, and they found that they could write songs together.
Paul was the best drummer in Glasgow, but nobody wanted to hear drums, now that 808s had been discovered. Paul had pawned his kit, but liked the idea of playing the guitar, so started coming down to Nick's South Side mansion. One day he and Nick swapped over, on the condition that Paul still got to sing and didn't have to use rack toms, as they stopped the audience getting a decent view of him.
Girl Art was an exhibition organised by a group of students at GSA. They heard the plan for music that girls could dance to, so asked the boys to play their first gig. It was in Celia's bedroom which was lit by neon. At least 80 people watched and most of them danced.
Nick and Alex decided that they needed somewhere bigger than Nick's South Side mansion to play music in. Hunting for property, they went for a walk along the disused railway line that crosses over Paddy's market and the Clyde. They discovered two things: that the line wasn't disused after all and a huge abandoned art-deco warehouse overlooking the Clyde. They tracked down the landlord, persuaded him to give them the keys to the 6th floor, christened it the Chateau and made it their home.
The Chateau was a wonderful home. After evicting the pigeons and fixing the windows, they found a sympathetic electrician who managed to wire the building in a way that left the electricity board innocent of the knowledge that they were supplying the power. At one point in its long history, the warehouse had stored sports equipment. Franz Ferdinand held a Sports and Leisure night: rowing machines strapped to trolleys were raced, vibra-belts wobbled, weights were lifted and rifles were shot from the saddle of a rocking horse.
The Chateau is in a part of Glasgow that used to be called the Gorbals. At one point it was associated with violence, vermin and poverty. None of these exist in Glasgow today. The second Chateau event was a little grander. On the Fifth floor, Robb Mitchell and Switchspace gathered together a collection of artists to put on an exhibition. On the sixth floor, Ferdinand brought together some of the best music Glasgow has produced: Uncle John and Whitelock, Park Attack and Scatter. Lighting was in the form of banks of sunbeds that had been found on one of the other floors. They were wired to flicker on and off randomly as the bands played. Early evening, people started to arrive. Then more people. Then more people. The bands played and the lights flickered. Wine flowed and everyone danced. It felt liberating. Then the police arrived. They seemed terrified. There were only a few of them and they were panicking. Very soon another couple of vanloads arrived. It was like a scene from a speakeasy in prohibition-era Chicago. As the cops were racing up one staircase, crates of booze were flying down the other. Somehow, Al Kapranos took the brunt of the wrath. Possibly because of the phonetics of the name, possibly because he was the only one who didn't run away. He was arrested, but the charges of running an illegal bar and contravening various health and safety, fire hazard and noise abatement legislation were dropped. When he was chatting to the cops over a cup of tea down at the cells, everyone friends again, they said that they had been looking for the place for a month. They had been driving round the block, trying to find a way in to where the noise was coming from. It seemed that they were just happy to be confused no longer.
The Chateau was now marked territory and could no longer be used as a centre of noise. Franz Ferdinand played shows in other places. Lucy McKenzie, a Glasgow artist, held nights in her Flourish Studios. These were similar to the Chateau, but a little quieter. Stereo, a bar with a rare and supportive attitude was also a haunt. The Chateau was never abandoned, but another place, equally as magnificent was found.
On Tobago Street there is a Victorian courtroom and gaol. When McCarthy discovered it, it had been abandoned for over 30 years. It was ideal. The perversity of breaking the law in what was a bastion of the legal system appealed greatly. It has that air of brooding opulence and inarguable authority that 19th century West of Scotland municipal buildings command. The ceilings are higher than church and are mounted in omnipotent plasterwork. They were entered in awe and fear. After thirty years of Glasgow elements, some of the harshness had been softened, however. The plaster had cracked. Rain ran down some of the internal walls. The cell doors swung open. It was perfect.
It was decided that the gaol and courtroom was also the Chateau. Anything can be the Chateau, if it seems right. It is even suspected that there are parts of the Capithole that could be the Chateau too. For the next night, the building was split. Robb Mitchell filled the cells with artists. Franz Ferdinand presided over the courtroom. They booked train tickets and brought the Country Teasers North. They built a stage from scaffolding and borrowed bits of sound system from anyone vaguely sympathetic across the city. On the night, it was colder in the building than outside, but people arrived. Then more people. Then more people. Braziers burned in the courtyard and the bands burned in the courtroom. Wine flowed and everyone danced. Eventually the police arrived.
Tobago street is one of the city's rougher streets. It is populated mainly by scrapped cars and hookers. This time, the police were much friendlier. They didn't want to arrest anyone and gave four warnings before shutting the power down.
By this point it had been noticed that there were faces in the audience that definitely belonged South of the border. Somehow London had seeped in to Glasgow. This wasn't a bad thing and Franz Ferdinand decided to visit the Capithole. They played a few shows and decided that they liked it. As a city, London is bigger than Glasgow and has more people that want to put out records. Franz Ferdinand spoke to several of these people. Some of them were truly astonishing mavericks who have changed the world with their work. Some were wankers, shoving too much coke up their noses, while letting shite fall from their mouths. Eventually, they met Laurence Bell, firmly in the former category. He runs the Domino Record Company. A last great independant. When he asked them to sign, they were so touched they could say nothing but yes.
Franz Ferdinand currently live in the courtroom of the Chateau, where they write and record.
Source: http://www.franzferdinand.addr.com/indexframeset.htm |
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Discussion Topic
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Creator
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in <3 with franz
I LOVE THIS BAND SOOO MUCH!
They are super talented...and they got famous
really quick... I liked them before Take Me
Out was on the radio, then it came on and i
was like 'holy crap franz ferdinand got on
the radio'
yes.. i love them.
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rancidropkick12cents |
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Replys
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Listener
| Hehe yeah they are excellent. I mean, what
other band could mention Terry Wogan in a
song and make it a hit? | loser_freak | ya i love franz 2!i liked them before the
radio. i can't belive their song got on
the radio so fast......when i heard them i
was like omg they made it on the radio. | PuNk_RoCkeR_101234 | At Glastonbury Alex wore a really nice shirt
that I want. Sorry random there. Erm, I
really like Matinee but it was overplayed
don't you think? | loser_freak | they are great the first time i herd their
song i liked them immediatly and went out and
bought their cd. | antisocialloser | their album rocks and has german in it!!!
they are very unique and original and i
realllllly like them!
um how did you hear about them and like them
BEFORE they were on radio?! | whoamiagain | | Ich heisse super fantastisch. | loser_freak | i read about them in spin magazine well
before they got radio play. i've had the
cd for almost a year now. i haven't
listened to the radio in 7 or 8 years, and
i'm always getting cds by relatively
unknown bands. it's not that hard. like
the stills, and the von bondies, and yeah
yeah yeahs. these bands are usually around
for years, and put out 2 or 3 cds before the
radio decides they can play them. radio sucks
ass. | zelig77 | oh, i just wanted to add why radio sucks ass.
two words: Clear Channel. if you don't
know, or haven't heard about this company,
research it, and pass it on why they need to
be shit upon. they are ruining the music
industry. | zelig77 | They're really cool! Ich mag Franz
Ferdinand. lol. They're fresh, cool, funny
and original. At last something different. | melodramatic_fool | | Franz Ferdanand is really cool. they rock | Beto589 | | Dom je skitbraaaa!!! (swedish) | redhot | Yeah, they dont seem to be the kind of band
that would hit big real fast, but maybe
I'm wrong. They're awesome. | bandchick | ff rocks. I was just singing this fire when i
entered the site. lol. take me out rocks 2! | Not_Listening | "Come on Home" is my personal
favorite track... | zelig77 | I just have a question: is the lead singer
gay? | scrap_metal_14 | No, the lead singer Alex Kapranos is not gay.
All members of the band are either married,
engaged or have girlfriends.
franz are THE band of the current day and age | emmatheclaire | i like them very much also....its so sad that
not many ppl get to experience bands before
they go mainstream...the magic fades somewhat
then. | donniedarko | This band are absolute toss, you all need to
get out more and stop reading NME | Rampant_Salmon | I read about them then heard them on Vh1 and
I really liked all of their singles, so I
brought the album, but I have to admit I was
a little disappointed at first, it just wasnt
what I expected, now though I like it just as
much as the singles, it just need time to
gorw on me! | mefien | | Yea.. My favorite song is Jacoline | Newfoundglory122 | my favorite song is Michael. or 40'
their pretty awesome! cant wait for their new
album!! | MCRgurl49 | | | |
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