French Version

This icon indicates a video

Leo Lyons / Joe Gooch - HUNDRED SEVENTY SPLIT
Interview - March 27th 2011
Kao Venue

1. Today we are in Lyon - France at the Kao venue. We are very happy to welcome Leo Lyons and Joe Gooch, who have formed a new power trio band called "HUNDRED SEVENTY SPLIT". Nice to meet you again Leo and Joe.



Leo : Thank you.

Joe : Hi.

AM : What is the meaning of your new band's name HUNDRED SEVENTY SPLIT ?

Leo : It's the name of a road junction in Nashville, where Highway Hundred meets Highway Seventy, and there is a cafe near where Joe and I used to go for breakfast before we wrote or went to the studio, and one of my sons suggests that we should call the band that name.

AM : It's a good idea.

Leo : It's a good idea, it's a crossroads too, it's a musical crossroads.



2. If you have to introduce this new band in few words what would you say ?



Joe : (looking at Leo) You take that one.

Leo : Moment of sanity perhaps, something different to do, a progression, it's just fun really, I say two words fun, which is one word of course ! (laughing)

Joe : Fun on !

Leo : So that's fun, final fun all over again.




3. Why did you make this band and why a power trio band ?



Leo : Why did we make it a power trio ?

AM : Yeah.

Joe : I think a 3 piece is a great way to work, I like the sound of 3 piece, you know, it has been classic, 3 piece over the years, Jimmy Hendrix Experience or Cream, that works very well, I think it's just a kind of natural thing to do.

AM : I think it needs more energy, when you are only three people on stage ?

Leo : I think it does, it means we have to work harder, and the same as Joe, I enjoy being in 3 piece, on the record we add a couple of things, I kind of like that too, but 3, we thought, you know, it was just something that Joe and I wanted to do, we had the ideas of where we wanted it to go and that's the record.




4. Leo you've got a Fender Jazz bass ?



Well it looks like a Jazz bass, it's actually a bass... I hate to say the word a Leo Lyons tribute bass, a company made a bass which is a copy of the bass I played in Woodstock, which was a 1962 Fender that's called a Leo Lyons Woodstock Bass, which was made by a company called the Bass Centre.

AM : And you Joe you have a Fender Stratocaster ?

I use Strats yeah, all kind of Stats style guitars and there is quite a lot and a Gibson Les Paul.

AM : Who is the third musician, the drummer ?

Our regular drummer who was touring is from England called Damon Sawyer. On the record we used 2 American drummers, mostly Sean Fuller, the guy that played on nearly all the tracks and Tanner Jacobsen played on a couple of the tracks as well.



5. How do you work and manage to compose the songs and where do you find the inspiration ?



Joe : After you.

Leo : Out of the air. I think most people that write get their ideas from listening to other people's music, reading books, watching movies, what happens to them in their life, that's where the ideas come from, and then musically we jam around with those ideas, there are certain chord progressions that work and certain that don't... It all falls into place or doesn't as the case may be.

AM : And maybe what happened to you ?

Joe : Yeah life experiences.

Leo : Oh totally yeah.



6. What do you think must be your goal as a musician ?



Joe : For me it's just to create something, communicate to people that I feel something of merit, something that has something going for it, and any day I do that, that is what I am always striving to do.

AM : And for you Leo ?

Leo : Well, the same thing. I mean after we have had this thing called the zone sometimes you can just get into it and perform at the very best, it's almost from outer there and beyond, a real strife to get there and you could practise as much as you like, but it doesn't always do it, you learn the technique but that moment of inspiration when it comes is fantastic and I enjoy it and I'm pleased that people enjoy what I do too...That gives me satisfaction.

AM : And the magic to be on stage because there is always something magical.

Leo : Yes there is, well that's an important thing to me.

AM : of course it's to bring good music on Planet Earth, everywhere ?

All of them : That's right, yes.

Joe : The Universe !




7. Joe you're not from the same generation as Leo, what does Leo give you as an experienced musician ?



There's a lot of things, you know, he's got a lot of experience, he has played with a lot of musicians, and from that you know there is a great deal I have learnt from playing with Leo, so yeah I mean loads of things.

Leo : Perhaps you have also learnt from my mistakes!

AM : What kind of opportunity, strength, richness, because it's a kind of richness for you ?

Joe : What from Leo ?

AM : Yes.

Joe : Well I think a lot. The musical style and also the experience, the experience of the business, the industry and of being on the road for so many years, you know that experience has helped me deal with, like an understanding, with the kind of things that happen and things that I have to deal with, so that is of value.

AM : And for you Leo ?

Leo : The same thing I mean. I respect Joe as a musician and he is a great guy to work with, which is important to me because I find it difficult after so many years to start working with people I have had some problems with or working difficulties, so I have known Joe for many, many years, so it's great to work with him and have a chance to work with him.




8. First of all you released this special edition - 4 tracks - which was a kind of taster for the fans, is it right ?



Joe : That's right, it was just to introduce them to the project before the album.

Leo : And it was also to let the people in the business know what we were like, when we were doing it, because in my experience if you're an unknown band and you make an album and you put the album out, and it takes a year for people to find out what the bands is like, the next thing the press are asking is when you're going to make a new record, you almost throw it away... The idea was to get that across, that people know it's coming, the record is coming, we hadn't finished the record when we put this out, we still had other tracks to finish.

AM : And now you have released a new CD called "The World won't stop" (Corners House Records).

Leo : That's the one, there we are. I haven't opened it, maybe I should open it !

Joe (laughing) : Shopping.

Leo : There we are something for everyone, it's a quality audio as well, and we have a little thing inside, If you got good eyesight you could read about the CD and the lyrics, I'm not sure whether I can !

AM : There are 11 tracks. What are the themes developed on this CD ?

Leo : The themes ? Golly, mostly blues rock, there's a lot of earth kind of things on there, several earth kind of things, like Poison.

Joe : It's life, isn't it ?

Leo : It's life, yeah, love stories, some biographical songs, a little bit of mixture.

AM : What is your favourite track ?

Leo : I really don't know, I honestly don't know.

Joe : Just have a look through...I like Where The Blues Began, that's my favourite one.

Leo : I like playing that one, I enjoy playing that one.

Joe : Yes Man, as well, Going Home actually, that's also my favourite one.

Leo : And Poison...We play all the songs obviously on this tour.

Joe : It's nice to play some lot of new songs because there's not a lot with TYA, doing it for 7 years, the set doesn't change a lot, there is a lot of work, we do a lot of shows a year, so it's nice to get out and do something completely different.




9. Where are you going to tour to promote this new album ?



Leo : We have two shows in France next month, Cleon (13th April), Lille (23rd April) and St-Etienne (12th May).

Joe : And then all over.

Leo : And in May we start a tour with Johnny Winter across Germany and Switzerland.

AM : That's what I saw, yeah...

Leo : I think we are doing some other shows again in France.

Joe : And also Budapest.

Leo : Yeah Budapest, we are doing and then we are going to Poland...

AM : Germany, Switzerland...

Leo : We did a short tour in December, and we did a short tour was it February ?

Joe : Yeah.

Leo : And then this May tour will be a longer tour almost a month and then in October we'll do another month on the road.




10. Is it easy for you to play Hundred Seventy Split and Ten Years After and to do a lot of different shows with the two bands ?



Joe : I mean it's challenging but it's good, I mean it's two different mind sets, totally, you know, it's like a switch for each different band.

Leo : The two of us work together in the two bands, but it doesn't seem like the same band when you go from one to the other.

Joe : Yeah that's right. We are not going out to play Ten Years After classics and things like that, it's a totally different kind of thing.

Leo : We don't do any.




11. When you're not touring or working as a musician, what do you like to do ? Have you got some hobbies ?



Leo : Sleep I think at the moment, because we go from one band to another, so there is not really much time, and the record is out on our own label so that requires a lot of work, distributors and advertising and interviews, and one thing and another. I'm trying to start writing for the next record so that takes a lot of time. I live in America but most of the time I spend in a suitcase somewhere in Europe...

AM : On planes...

Leo : So I don't have much time, most of the time we seem to have, is travelling, isn't it ?

Joe : Yes it is. When I'm at home it's like have time to do some washing ! I do like to run cross country running. I live in Wales in the countryside, lately the last year or so, I haven't had any time really but, you've got to work, you've got to do all these things.




12. Thank you very much Leo and Joe and we'll be very glad to see you on tour in France in June for the blues festival in Le Creusot.



Leo : That's Blues en Bourgogne.

Joe : Who is playing in the band ?

Leo : We are.

Joe : Yes I know but With this band ? (looking at Hundred Seventy Split record). yes I want to do this !

Leo : Sorry this is the confusion, isn't it ?

AM : Could be a confusion when you have a lot of bands ! You're very welcome !

Both of them : Thank you very much.