By Phil Rainone
If you’re one of those musicians who
can receive music and act as conduit, letting
yourself open up and let it flow through you,
sharing it with others, you have a rare gift.
Its also takes a combination of years of practice
and skill. Since the 80's, Mike Peters, lead
singer and voice of The Alarm, has been sharing
that gift and more. The band's new album Guerilla
Tactics is out now, and features a revamped
line up. With two other albums under their
belt, these seasoned musicians - including
James Stevenson (Gen X) on guitar, bass guitarist
Craig Adams (Sisters of Mercy) and Steve Grantley
(Stiff Little Fingers) on drums - just finished
a tour with The English Beat and The Fixx.
Besides talking about the new album and tour,
Mike also shared his trials and tribulations
with his battle with cancer, and how The Alarm
got its start. E-mail interviews are always
the toughest, because you can't interact as
well as you can in person, but the interview
that follows was a labor of love. Mike's love
of life, his family and music, and how he
was inspired to start the lovehopestrength.org
charity were all inspirational for me, as
well as being fun, and informative.
Q: When The Alarm started back in 1981, what
were your and the band's impressions of America,
when you came over for your first tour from
Wales? What was the band originally trying
to accomplish though their music?
Mike: We thought America was the promised
land and to be playing on tour in 1983 was
a dream come true... As a songwriter, I hoped
a simple love of life would come across in
The Alarm's music.
Q: The Alarm had done a few music videos
for MTV back when the station first got started.
In hindsight, do you think MTV had a positive
or negative effect on the band, and your writing
process?
Mike: It was positive in the sense that a
lot of our fans first became aware of us through
MTV, in particular the “Stand”
video with the paint spray poppy sequence.
Q: I still have my cassette single of "Sold
Me Down The River," which was one of
The Alarm's many
songs that fused rock 'n roll with politics.
Has the change from vinyl albums and cassettes
to CD's and MP3's affected the way you make
a record?
Mike: No, but the internet has!!!!
Q: On your new album "Guerilla Tactics"
many of the same themes are weaved into songs
like "Rat Trap," "War Cry,"
and "Not Gonna Take It Anymore."
But they’re not rehashed thoughts, they
seem fresh and current. How does your creative
process differ from when The Alarm first got
started? What's your goal for the new album?
Mike: The goal was to make a record that
made people sit up and listen again to The
Alarm. It was important to me to make a record
that would allow The Alarm to be talked about
in the present tense.
Q: Does it seem strange to you that it's
now been over two decades since you first
started making albums? What has changed for
you musically over those years?
Mike: I'm always surprised by how strong the
influence of Punk Rock / New Wave still has
over modern music styles. Most of today’s
'alternative' music is still drawn from the
creative 'year zero' that was triggered by
the Sex Pistols.
Q: Could you explain where "Three Sevens
Clash" came from?
Mike: “Three Sevens Clash” is
an extension of the 1977 'Two Sevens Clash'
prophecy that was expressed by reggae band
culture. In Rasta culture it was predicted
that "Jah would return when the two sevens
clash". I just took that idea ran with
it in a modern / future context. A reaffirmation
of where you come from and the values that
define you as a person.
Q: What songs do you remember hearing around
the time you started writing, and how did
they influence you and the rest of the band?
Mike: It was after seeing the
Sex Pistols in 1976. That was it for me, they
lowered the entry point for young musicians
to actually believe that you could start a
band with limited ability. I started writing
songs for the first time and then it was trying
to convince the other musicians that I knew
in North Wales that it was a good thing to
be in a band with me even though I could barely
play three chords. Drummer Nigel Twist was
the first to come on board (although he was
a hippie who had to be coaxed into straight
trousers to play in my band The Toilets.....).
Every member of The Alarm past and present
will cite punk rock as the starting point.
Q: You were diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic
Leukaemia (CLL), back in January of 2006,
which has been in remission through a lot
of hard work and chemotherapy on your part,
with a lot of help and support from your family,
friends, and fans, from what I've read. There
was also a TV documentary about your illness,
"The Road To Recovery," and you
started a cancer charity, "Love Hope
Strength Fund
(www.LoveHopeStrength.org). How has all this
affected your life?
Q: You were diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic
Leukaemia (CLL), back in January of 2006,
which has been in remission through a lot
of hard work and chemotherapy on your part,
with help and support from your family, friends,
and fans, from what I've read. There was also
a TV documentary about your illness, "The
Road ToRecovery," and you started a cancer
charity, the Love Hope Strength Foundation
(www.LoveHopeStrength.org). How has all this
affected your life?
It's made me more aware of my surroundings
and the beauty in the simplicity of life.
Q: When you decided to go public with your
story and do the documentary, what did you
want the person
watching, to get out of it?
Hope.
Q: Did you see the documentary, and did it
change your way of thinking in any way, after
you say it?
I did see the documentary... but seeing yourself
on TV is like watching someone else.... I
was more interested in watching my sons Dylan
and Evan and realizing how much I had to to
thank them for giving me a purpose and the
willto stay alive.
Q: I had heard that you took a group of musicians
to Mt. Everest, performing a concert, and
breaking the record for the world's highest
concert on land, which will make its debut
on MTVHD in June. What was that experience
like, who were the musicians, and what songs
did you play?
It was an intense experience and an honour
to share such an adventure with Glenn Tilbrook
(Squeeze), Slim JIm Phantom (Stray Cats),
Cy Curnin / Jamie West-Oram (The Fixx) and
Nick Harper (son of Roy Harper).
Q: The Alarm recently toured with The Fixx
and The English Beat. All three bands have
their signature songs like The Alarm's "Strength,"
The Fixx's "One Thing Leads to Another,"
and The English Beat's "Save it for Later."
Are the live songs close to the original studio
recordings or is there improvisation or any
surprises on the tour?
The Alarm play a different set every night
although we don't mess with the original arrangements.
Please visit www.thealarm.com
and www.lovehopestrength.org
for more info on The Alarm & Mike Peters.
The
Alarm - Guerilla Tactics (Lovehopestrength.org)
Starting out in the 1983 with their self-titled
EP through 1991's "Raw," The Alarm
created catchy, anthemic songs ("Marching
On," "Sixty Eight Guns," "Spirit
of '76," to name a few) that were slices
of roughed-up folk rock. Musically, they were
the exception to the rule, as they were the
square peg in the round hole playing a mix
of punk, alternative, and 60's protest folk,
when it came to MTV and the slick, polish
band's that the music channel was shoving
down the throats of their millions of views.
Then as now, The Alarm represents the bridge
between bands like the Clash, U2, or John
Hammond, and Old 97's or rising stars Motorama,
respectively. In fact, on their new album
"Guerilla Tactics," lead singer/
guitarist Mike Peter's penned a tribute to
the Clash ("Three Sevens Clash")
and the punk scene that was exploding in the
late 70's. Producer Gilby Clarke (Gun's 'N
Roses) gives The Alarm pretty much a free
hand, balancing the album between studied
intensity and an all out rocker. The focus
is on Mike Peters' vocals, that open up the
sound of the band with intense dynamics and
a strong rhythm section that propels the songs
with anarchic grace.
One of the center pieces (15 songs in all),
is "Love, Hope, and Strength" which,
besides having a heaping share of echoed guitars,
sweeping vocals, and bluesy harmonica slices,
is also the name of Mike Peter's own cancer
charity, Lovehopestrength.org. (Mike was diagnosed
with Chronic lymphonic Leukemia in
2006, and with chemotherapy has been in remission.
They even captured Mike's battle with cancer
with a TV documentary "The Road to Recovery,
that came out in 2006).
“Alarm Calling" is an energetic
dance-rocker with a catchy melody, and is
one of the many album's standout cuts. Along
with their raw, expressive, close to the heart
catalog, this album would fit perfectly into
The Alarm's live set (they're playing at Joey
Harrison's Surf Club in Ortley Beach on July
9, and House of Blues in Atlantic City on
July 11).
Lyrically subtle, shining with muscular finesse,
and combining the band's past, present, and
future, this is an impressive Alarm album.
- Phil Rainone
