The Coal Porters – London calling
ND: Living in England, and as a leader in the ’80s movement called the “Paisley Underground”, how do you feel you fit into the current “Americana” scene here in the States? Do you see yourself as a forefather to the current crop of younger alt-country/rock artists, or do you feel like a contemporary?
SG: Remember I’ve been in England four years now. Funny enough, I still feel like an outsider and I still feel very American, perhaps more so than many people who live in the States but don’t realize how American they truly are. Remember too that the UK and USA pop charts are further apart than at just about any other time since before the Beatles. Britpop is huge here, and other than Oasis, it doesn’t mean much in America. Any band wearing a lumberjack or cowboy shirt in the USA is immediately seen as boring by the Brits. Personally, I’m thrilled my name is in all those rock history books and encyclopedias these days….Anyway, I think if the Long Ryders had appeared in 1994 instead of 1984, we’d be like the Gin Blossoms or Wilco or whomever. Same with people like the Replacements or the Blasters. Great bands, wrong time to start. Oh well….If the Coal Porters were in the USA right now, I feel we’d be doing even better than we are in the UK; we’d fit right in with what is going on in the States right now. As it is, I definitely feel I am something of a forefather or forerunner to all these new US bands. I’m hoping they all become rich and famous and record one of my songs, thereby making me independently wealthy!
ND: You have always been a supporter of other bands, Do you keep tabs on current bands, and if so, are there any that you listen to?
SG: Right now I would have to admit a lot of bands people think I would like, I do not like, not at all. No names, please. I do like Go To Blazes, Gutterball, a London band called the Beautiful Losers, the Henry’s from Canada, Wayne Hancock, the Blazers, and the Fleshtones, who’ve been going for almost 20 years now. Man, they did a London gig recently and tore the place up!
ND: Do you still stay in touch with your ex-cohorts and other “Paisley Undergrounders?”
SG: I stay pretty close with all the old L.A. crew. Whenever Dave Alvin or Rosie Flores is in town, I try to go see them. Chris Cacavas and Russ Tolman stay here when they come to London, and Steve Wynn, Stephen McCarthy, various Bangles and so on. I speak or exchange faxes with these folks whenever I can, and certainly we all try to hook up if they are in London. I see a lot of that crowd when we go do gigs in Italy or Germany or wherever because at festivals, we are often on the same bill.
ND: Your journalistic work, such as the Gram Parsons biography, and your music archival work is as well-known as your music. How did you get into that side of the biz — writing liner notes, putting together compilations, etc.? It shows not only your knowledge of music but your enthusiasm for it.
SG: I doubt I’m as famous a rock writer as I am a musician….I have a degree in journalism from the University of South Carolina, and I just kinda stumbled in to writing whenever there wasn’t much going on with the bands. It keeps the rent paid, and keeps me in touch with what’s out there. I now do work part-time for BBC-TV on some “Unsung Heroes of Rock ‘n’ Roll” scripts, the first of which is Gram Parsons, as well as work for BBC Radio One, Greater London Radio. Polygram UK has hired me to research and write liner notes for two-CD set reissues and I’m real happy with that job, it’s a lot of fun. We’ve got sets of the Flying Burrito Brothers, Nils Lofgren, Phil Ochs, Gene Clark, Squeeze — all sorts of cool things coming out.
ND: You’ve written some great “thematic” songs: “Final Wild Son”, “Looking For Lewis & Clark”, “State of My Union”, “Cracking At The Seams”, “Roll On Columbia”. Is there some sort of theme to your work, these songs in particular? They are all in some way about America/American culture, with references to Elvis, Parsons, Tim Hardin, Woody Guthrie, politics, the South, etc. Do these songs reflect your ideas on American culture and society?
SG: I write about America because it interests me and affects me and indeed affects the world. I write, or at least wrote, about the South because that is what I knew growing up and what I wanted others to know about as well. Now, over here in London, I feel I have to broaden my scope of what I am writing because it will seem silly and out of place coming from here. Of course, generations of UK pop stars have written third-hand, third-rate American-themed music and made tons of dough, but hey, fuck them, you know?
ND: There’s still a core of Long Ryders fans out there; aside from the BBC live tapes, are there more Long Ryders releases in store for the future?
SG: Prima Records in London has released the Long Ryders’ Two Fisted Tales with four extra songs and liner notes by Greg Sowders. They’ve also released the first CD ever of Danny & Dusty’s The Lost Weekend. It has one extra track and is pretty cool.
Other than that, there is a full-length really rockin’ live broadcast the Ryders did in 1987 on a New York station, and of course some unreleased tunes and demos for all the albums which would make a cool outtakes album someday. Maybe we could get Bill Leverson at Polygram NYC to put ’em all together as the Long Ryders Greatest Hits (with a few new tracks). Or a two-disc set…it’s too early to tell now, plus the market doesn’t need tons of product by the Long Ryders anymore than it needs tons of reissues by anyone else of that era.
ND: Are the Coal Porters on a US label, or are they only available on import? What is the status of getting a US label, or are you even trying at this point?
SG: The Coal Porters are on Temple Bar Records out of Santa Monica, California, until further notice or a big fat advance check comes our way. I don’t mean to sound cynical, but I could use a new amp. I shouldn’t complain as our profile is rising here, and soon in the States with any luck, and that is its own reward. I’d die if I couldn’t do tours and live gigs, Matthew. I’m serious. But at this stage the US label will have to come to us. I would rather develop a bigger name and watch them head my way than me knock on their doors.