Interview: Geoff Byrd, Singer/Songwriter And Musician - Page 5

Your album "Featurette" saw you break away from the full-band sound of "Shrinking Violets" on a number of its tracks to experiment with a generally quieter, more personal sound. Are you pleased with the result? Do you feel either record is more successful than the other at staying true to your creative vision?

I was fascinated by Pet Sounds and Talking Book by Stevie Wonder. I wanted to do an acoustic record with weird tangents and a concept record through and through. I love Featurette. I love how weird it got. Most people didn't get it but that is totally OK. There are a few that do. That's all that matters. Meanwhile, I got to experiment.

The title - and opening - track of that record experimented with darker, more adult imagery than the cuts on "Shrinking Violets" - the "crimson stain" of blood, the "land of cigarettes and wine". Just one track in, the listener can tell this is a very different album to your previous one. Intentional, or coincidental?

I was going through deep reflection and I was at a cross roads. It was an accurate picture of where I was in my life, searching for deeper meaning and pondering my own mortality.

"Brighter Day" comes across one of your more optimistic, upbeat tracks. Was it a genuine reflection of how you were feeling at that moment in time?

At the end of that song however I write "my life's just a bed of fucking roses".. it's a bit sarcastic actually. So is "Elusive Butterfly". I like happy songs that have a dark underbelly, like a Fellini summer. Life is a circus but clowns are still pretty spooky!

In a musical world where the iPod ensures that emphasis is on writing good songs rather than good albums, do you pay much attention to the art of the album anymore? Do you pay attention to the way you sequence your records, and try and create an internal narrative, or do you look at songs separately and argue that if the songs are good, the album will be good?

I love the new way. But I also love the full records and the concept albums and the challenge to the status quo. I like the old school and the new. They both have their fun.

Your band, The Likes Of You, were featured on the Fox reality-competition show The Next Great American Band, reaching the final twelve. Do you think appearing there helped or hindered the profile and credibility of the band? In retrospect, would you say appearing has an overall positive or negative effect on both you and the band?

Article Author: Wesley Mead

Wesley Mead is a politics student from England. He spends far too much time and money on DVDs. You can catch up with a range of his content from around the Internet, including lists and articles, here.

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