Revealing insights from two Scottish post-punk legends are on offer this weekend.
Skids founder Richard Jobson and Goodbye Mr Mackenzie and Filthy Tongues frontman Martin Metcalfe are out on their Songs And Stories tour, which calls at West Perthshire.
The duo played Dunfermline’s Fire Station Creative last night (September 30) and following a visit to Cumbernauld tonight they’re at Crieff’s Strathearn Arts tomorrow (October 2).
Although he’s already resumed live activities, Edinburgh-based Metcalfe admits to “a strange feeling of trepidation” following concerts’ 18-month hiatus. “I did a charity gig in Bathgate and it was a kind of fairly normal night in the venue but it wasn’t for me,” he declares.
“It was the first time I’d felt like I had to really look out for myself, which kind of takes the sheen off playing a bit. I’ll be much more relaxed this weekend.”
The fact that the pair have booked all-seated affairs in such as Crieff’s former library, rather than sweaty club free-for-alls, is understandably reassuring given the perilous public health scenario.
“People tend to behave themselves better at these shows, unless we’re playing in a gig venue,” adds The Rattler hit-maker.
“What we do lends itself to being seated, and it’s confusing for people otherwise. A guy stormed out at Cumbernauld last time – a sit-down in a pub – and goes, ‘I’ve had enough of this p***!’ He must’ve come to have a rowdy gig, but it wasn’t like that.”
Metcalfe’s co-written songs with sometime film director Jobson since 2018, having earlier contributed music to the Fife-born maverick’s Edinburgh-set drama New Town Killers.
“Whenever Richard has another book out, basically, it calls for us to revisit Songs And Stories,” says Martin.
“I do a bit of ambient landscape noise in the background while he’s reading or talking so it’s more like a theatrical show. Richard’s got a lot of stories because he worked in Hollywood.
“He’s met a lot of characters like you wouldn’t believe, like the Weinsteins. He’s met Keith Richards, Harry Dean Stanton, directors, and it just goes on and on.”
Wild at Heart
The duo’s latest song is named after Wild At Heart star Stanton and joins various Skids classics and a few Macs favourites in their setlist. “Those first three Skids albums are part of the fabric of my musical landscape,” Martin admits.
“I only knew Richard in a very vague way before we wrote for his movie, but we became friends and created a few little things that were really good.
“A piece of prose Richard wrote for Isa And The Filthy Tongues, called Bus Shelter, is an amazing story. We were in the studio recording Killers and Richard says, ‘I’ve got this idea!’, and ran away down the stairs and came up half an hour later with a completely fictional scenario he nailed in one take.”
Martin’s full of admiration for Jobson’s oratorial powers but says he’s content to channel his own energies into the musical aspect.
“The spoken word section is largely Richard’s because he can hold an audience’s attention without any music or anything else,” he explains.
“I saw him do it on Bute. He was asked to speak in the afternoon and he milked their attention for two hours. That’s an extraordinary gift.
“I’m a musician and a writer, and Richard is really an orator and writer. I’ve seen a lot, but I’m not really that guy. It can be a bit showbusiness if you start talking about your day and that kind of stuff, unless you have a gift like Richard.”
With the third Filthy Tongues album virtually completed – albeit it won’t be released until spring due to Brexit-related manufacturing issues – attention’s focussed on a first GMM studio release in 25 years. “Finding the Mackenzies’ voice again is tricky,” he admits.
“I’d written a song and between myself and (Derek) Kelly we kind of knocked up a demo. Listening to it we thought it was quite good, like something Radio 6, which we both like, would play.
“We were maybe going to put something out like a download single but were so unsure about it being the right one it’ll probably end up on the album. The song you re-enter with is really important.”
* Look up strathearnarts.org for tickets.
