ROCK INTERVIEWS (c) ARTISTES

Interview Kevin MORRIS
Friday 5th February 2016
Rock à Salaise

Welcome on rock-interviews.com Kevin.
Are you ready to play cards with me?

Kevin : Yes, go on.

AM : Please choose one of these.

Kevin : CANVEY ISLAND. When I was a boy, growing up, I lived in Rayleigh, which is about 5 miles away of Canvey Island. The band I played in used to rehearse there. The first ever live performance I did in front of an audience was on Canvey Island and subsequently I spent a lot of my time in this interesting place.

Kevin : I pick another card.

AM : CHORDS.

Kevin : Three are important. The three chord trick. Obviously you can sometimes play more than three chords in one song, but it is advisable to try to keep it simple, especially for popular music.

AM : Which ones are there?

Kevin : A, G and D are very popular.

HOBBY.

I don't really have much time for a hobby because playing the drums, doing what I do for my work is really my hobby. I am very lucky that I get paid to do it, so it is the same thing. But, as we were discussing earlier, I've just become a grandfather, so my new hobby will be to play with my grandson, he is about ten hours old.

AM : Great, so you will spend time with him.

Kevin : He already has a drum kit. I have a very small drum set at home, which is waiting for him.

AM : Nice, lucky boy.

SEX, DRUG, ROCK'N'ROLL

Kevin : I don't know what to say about that. I am a grandfather now! I think in an early life time these things were more important than they are now. We certainly still like to rock'n'roll.

FRIENDS.

They are very important. The older you get, the more you've come to understand what a real friend is.

AM : That's true.

Kevin : I am very lucky, I've got some very good friends.

AM : Do you have a lot of musicians friends too?

Kevin : Absolutely, sometimes the two things is combined. I always enjoy having friends that are not in the music business because it is more interesting when we go down the pub, we talk about other things.

AM : Yes, than work.

Kevin : Exactly. They are always interested to know what I am doing, which is nice, but I also like to talk to my friend who is a teacher about his work or my friend of the government, we talk about David Cameron and what he is up to!

LOGO.

Kevin : What do you mean by logo?

AM : Dr Feelgood's one.

Kevin : It was drawn by Wilko Johnson. It is a great one. We are very lucky to have such a wonderfully iconic image. In many ways the identity of the group has been maintained by the logo. We had different people coming and going in the band, whereas the smiley face has always been there.

FIRST RECORD.

AM : The first one you bought.

Kevin : I already had records at home, The Beatles, The Shadows, but the first one I bought in a shop with my own money, was We've Gotta Get Out of this Place by The Animals. It is fantastic.

AM : What is the first one you have recorded?

Kevin : It was a kind of a classical jazz arrangement of Bach Toccata and fugue in D minor on one side and America by The Nice on the other side. I did it with my school friends, two brothers. It was the first time I went to a studio, I was about twelve.

ART.

It could mean a lot of different things to people. My son Paul is an artist. He is a very talented painter. He doesn't do it at the moment which is a great shame. He spends all his time in front of a computer, but I hope in the future he will go back to drawing and painting.

AM : Does he have a website?

Kevin : His website is elless.co.uk, he does a lot of web design and he works in advertising.

Dr FEELGOOD WEEKEND.

We do it once a year. It is quite a small affair. We like to keep it very intimate. We have about 100 people. It is based at the Oysterfleet hotel. We do an unplugged show for them and have dinner together. During the day, there are various trips, a coach ride around all the interesting sights of Canvey Island. On the Saturday night there is an open gig which is an electric show and anybody can buy a ticket and come. It is something we have done for about 6 or 7 years. It is good fun.

AM : When is it?

Kevin : It is Saturday 19th November this year and tickets are on sale now. So if anybody is interesting in coming, it is the time!

RITUAL BEFORE GOING ON STAGE.

Kevin : I don't really have any ritual.

AM : What about the other members of the band?

Kevin : Nobody has any. We just get ready, we changed clothes, go to the toilets one last time to make sure!

AM : You don't gather all together before going on stage?

Kevin : No. I played in a French band called Trust in 1980. Just before we went on the stage, Bernie would always take a wee, at the very last moment possible, nearly at the steps by the stage!

FIRST GIG.

Kevin : The first gig that I went to?

AM : Yes.

Kevin : I went to see the Who when I was eleven and it blew my mind. I went to school the next day and I sat in the back of the classroom for about four days because I couldn't think of anything else, it was absolutely amazing for me. They only played for about twenty minutes because it was a package tour. They came on, they played a few hits, they smashed out the equipment, they set off some smoke bombs and it was all over very quickly, but they made a huge impression on me and it crystallised the idea in my mind that I wanted to play the drums in a group. I was already interested but that was the moment that I thought that's what I want to do.

MOVIE.

AM : There are so many.

Kevin : I went to the cinema last week and saw The Revenant, the new film with Leonardo DiCaprio. It was quite good. I am not sure he should get an oscar but he certainly spent a lot of time in very cold and wet conditions, so he deserves some kind of award for doing that. As far as acting goes, it wasn't much acting really.

FUNNY ANECDOTE.

Kevin : I wouldn't know where to start! I can't think about one in particular right now...But there were so many of them...

AM : WHEN, WHERE DID YOU MEET?

Kevin : The members of the band?

AM : Yes.

Kevin : I met Lee, the singer and Phil, the bass player at school. We all played together in a group. Lee was a couple of years older than me. I was recommended to him because I could play the drums, so I was allowed to hang out with the older boys. Even at that time, Lee was a strong character, he was very interesting. He had his own crowd and was obviously the leader. He just had so much charisma and personality. He was a great man, great fun. I miss him very much.

FOOD AND DRINK.

Kevin : I love beer and wine, probably more than I should. I like all kind of food in France, Italy, Spain. I also love japanese and indian food. I am very lucky that I can eat almost anything and everything.

AM : Today you are in France for a gig with your bandmates who are...

Kevin : Robert Kane the singer, Steve Walwyn on guitar, Phil Mitchell on the bass and we musn't forget Nic, who does the driving, he looks after the equipment and does the merchandising. So he is very important.

AM : Yes, Nic is your guardian angel.

Kevin : Exactly. He is marvellous. He speaks fluent French because when he was a child he used to come to France every summer.

AM : Yes, Nic is very good at French and a very nice guy. Thank you very much for your time Kevin.

Kevin : It is a pleasure.

AM : We are always happy to welcome you on rock-interviews.com. Have a great show tonight.

Kevin : Thank you very much for having me. It was marvellous.