Latest Album from Outrageous Cherry "seemingly solid reality" Available on Red Vinyl. Also if you're into collecting records, they have released most of their full lengths on Color vinyl. A record is already a pretty cool keepsake. This makes it better. Record specs:
Produced by: Mathew Smiths
Larry Ray :Lead Guitar
Mathew Smith: Organ, Guitar, Synthesizer
Samantha Linn: Drums
Sean Ellwood: bass
Engineered by: Jason Fisher
Recorded in Hamtramck, Michigan
Editting/mastering by: Tony Hamera
Label: Alive Records
It was a simple Q+A with Mathew Smith. He is the Singer/songwriter/frontman of Outrageous Cherry. Personally, I'm a big fan of this band so I asked Questions other People wanted to know and I myself did not know. ENJOY.
How did Outrageous Cherry get it's name?
It was named after a hair coloring product...a friend of mine came up with the name because she wanted to sing Petula Clark songs with a Lou Reed edge, so I wrote some tunes, then she drifted out of the project and I ended up singing the songs myself.
How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?
Well, the band sounded good from the first rehearsal. It turned out to be a really good vehicle for the kinds of songs I was writing. The music seems to have evolved over many years into an ongoing narrative. We experiment a lot in the studio and try to keep it interesting. Onstage, we improvise a lot, and that's evolved in other ways...some pretty strange sounds happening onstage.
Have OC had any lineup changes?
Have OC had any lineup changes?
Yes, quite a few.
If so, who's new?
Maria Nuccilli (from Deadbeat Beat, Divine Comedians, the Decks) on drums, and Colleen Burke (ex-Smog, We Ragazzi) on bass.
and who left the band?
A lot of different bassists and drummers over the years...most recently drummer Samantha Linn left to move to New York and concentrate on her band the Arch Mystics, and Sean Ellwood is living in L.A. playing bass in Don Bolles' new group the Fancy Space People. Both of those groups are really great.
What of the band's achievements are you most proud of?
Just the fact that we've been able to be prolific and make all these records means a lot.
Name a few bands that influenced OC?
Well, that'll be a long list...I'll try to keep it short:
In the beginning it would've been The Troggs, Francoise Hardy, Love, Television Personalities, Leonard Cohen, the Turtles, the Stooges, the Velvet Underground...then there's the influence of German bands like Can and La Dusseldorf, as well as Eno, Sparks, the Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, Hawkwind, Beatles...and Mott the Hoople, Kevin Ayers, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band...and Bowie...and free jazz stuff like John Coltrane and Sonny Sharrock...and my favorite band of all time Roxy Music...the list could go on and on.
How did OC come up with the name for the latest album?
How did OC come up with the name for the latest album?
It's a lyric in one of the songs..."The Happy Hologram"..."Rewind the tape again and see, the traces of what used to be, the seemingly solid reality, of the happy hologram."
What can you tell me about Seemingly Solid Reality and how it was put together?
What can you tell me about Seemingly Solid Reality and how it was put together?
We had just returned from a bunch of shows in France, and I wanted to capture the vibe of those gigs in these studio sessions. We took a long time making the previous LP "Universal Malcontents", so since the record company wanted a new album right away, it became an interesting challenge to make this one really quickly. It was recorded in our kitchen rehearsal space on analog 8-track. I've been producing a lot of records in my living room (Andre Williams, Little Claw, Nathaniel Mayer, the Volebeats, the Crooks, Odd Clouds, etc.) but we did this one in the kitchen.
If the audience of listeners hearing "Seemingly Solid Reality" could understand one thing what would it be?
If the audience of listeners hearing "Seemingly Solid Reality" could understand one thing what would it be?
The lyrics...but maybe not.
How did Outrageous Cherry meet each-other? There seems to be quite the age gap in the band
How did Outrageous Cherry meet each-other? There seems to be quite the age gap in the band
I assembled a group of individuals who had never met each other before...so it was very much the opposite of a band of kids that grew up together, from the same school, etc. It was a group of musicians of different generations getting together and working on ideas...I think it kept the music from being one-dimensional. Everyone who has played in this band just sort of drifted into it, after a few conversations about music. We never put up a poster "Nihilistic psychedelic bubblegum malcontents seek drummer with no cymbals or bassist who dislikes treble" or anything like that.
How is your distribution of records? I saw recently that your first release was re-released, this must be good to see happening.
How is your distribution of records? I saw recently that your first release was re-released, this must be good to see happening.
Some are well distributed, but a few of them are out of print...there will be more reissues and releases soon.
What is OC's favorite Detroit Venue to play?
What is OC's favorite Detroit Venue to play?
Zoot's was the best.
Where & when did Outrageous Cherry first practice?
In 1992, I think, in a basement somewhere...I think it was in Huntington Woods at the Volebeats' rehearsal space...Outrageous Cherry went into the studio almost immediately to record our first four-song tape.
Where was the first show? How did it go?
Where was the first show? How did it go?
The 24-Carat Cabaret in Baltimore...It was cool...it was a strange hangout for avant-garde filmmakers and psychedelic drag queens. Our drummer insisted that we play our first gig out of town. I remember covering "Ann" by the Stooges. A drag queen threw a bottle of perfume into a huge industrial fan, which shot all the perfume into the air...I was right in front of it, so it all landed on me right before we went onstage, so I just remember playing our songs and this perfume was so overwhelming I could barely concentrate on playing and singing. I have a tape of that gig somewhere.
The Band has about 12 releases give or take, any of them you are particularly proud of?
The Band has about 12 releases give or take, any of them you are particularly proud of?
I like 'em all, but I really dig "The Book of Spectral Projections" and "Stay Happy".
What can you tell me about the future of Outrageous Cherry? New releases? Upcoming shows? Last minute news to share with fans
What can you tell me about the future of Outrageous Cherry? New releases? Upcoming shows? Last minute news to share with fans
