Comedy of Errors was formed in the 80’s and released some stuff back then, probably unofficially, I’m a little bit confused here, can you help us out with the discography/demography of the band and the lineup compared to the current one? Was there any self titled release back in 1988? What’s the story behind this rumoured cd?
As a member of COE it always surprised me that people talk actually about this so called 'self titled' album from the eighties as if it was an official release by the band. In actual fact we had nothing to do with this. What actually happened was that we had released a minialbum on vinyl. Those who recorded and mixed us then arranged the pressing of the minialbum and they , or the pressing plant, lost the original master. We allowed one of the tracks on this minialbum to be 'taped' from a vinyl copy and released on a French Distributor's compilation. Not great quality. However the same company used more tracks from this minialbum and tracks from a later demo tape called 24 hours (again NOT great quality). As I recall we had nothing to do with this, we received no payment and did not sanction release of this. We do not regard this as a legitimate Comedy Of Errors release. There are some interesting enough ideas in the songs but none strong enough that we felt we'd release this ourselves. I'm sure many bands have been treated similarly.Just thought I'd clear that up. As for now we have enough new and unreleased material of greater quality that we wish to record in future albums without having to fall back on the lesser of early material. Especially as in those days we were finding our feet and working on our newer sound,song structure and style eventually culminating years later in our newly released album 'DISOBEY'. Anyone wishing to check out the band Comedy Of Errors would be best directed to the recently released album "DISOBEY' which we regard as our 'debut' album.
Although bands of a similar style like Pendragon, IQ, Pallas managed to release a good quantity of albums and keep a strong core of fans through the years, Comedy of Errors seemingly vanished into thin air and resurfaced out of nowhere. Judging by the early and later material the music is certainly not to blame. So what went wrong?
The time wasn't right. As a new band we were a bit isolated up in Scotland with no internet to get our material out there.
After what seemed like a disappointing experience within the music business, where did you find the strength and inspiration to come back with such a great album? Did it work like a statement to those (critics, fans, managers, labels etc.) who didn’t give you enough credit during your first period?
No bitterness. I just kept writing material for songs.Sometimes the ideas are not fully formed early on and it can take some time to work out a way to use and develop them. The advent of improved technology also allowed us to produce and put our music out there by ourselves. No problem then with creative interference. We can please ourselves and simply hope others like it.
When was the material for ‘’Disobey’’ written? Are there any songs from early releases? Give us some more info on the Student Prince suite.
Disobey was an early song but since re-worked. SP1 and 2 were based on earlier material but also new sections. SP3 and 4 are recent. All the other songs have never been released and have old and new ideas often within the same song.
SP 1 - Could be any of us.. a young student perhaps, with his insecurities,hubris and search for the transcendental-all in the metaphor of a night out.
SP-2 The night over, you slump back drunkenly in bed listening to music in a sea of confused thoughts.
SP3- years have passed.Looking back regretfully. What happened? Where did it all go? What happened to the search for the unobtainable, the intangible, the transcendental? Can you break away from the grip of society's expectations? You reflect that you found it all too difficult to 'disobey' and that each generation falls into the same trap and comes around 'full circle'.
SP-4 A stage further on again looking back. Read the last page of 'The Great Gatsby"
There’s a lot of variety in ‘’Disobey’’, did it happen due to many different influences and moods or just because the material was written in different periods?
Where does it say that you HAVE to write in a certain style all of the time for every song? God forbid we deviate from what the 'genre police' have set in stone. Bands like Led Zepplin and Pink Floyd often included songs of various styles within the same album. To listen to a whole album of new music with epic after epic after epic can be pretty tiresome and detracts from the songs themselves. Sometimes shorter songs in between can bring a little relief before embarking on the next epic. Many proggers regard American Rodeo as weak song even though we thought it obvious it was 'tongue in cheek' ie satirical.The song has no pretentions to being anything other than what it is. We put every rock cliche into it we could think of- both music and lyrics. Could Have Been yesterday is thought of as lightweight by prog fans but as 'catchy and anthemic' by others. It may be interesting to know that this seemingly straightforward song is all about death ! The key thing to our songs is that whether long or short,complex or simple, they must have passion. It's the only test that counts.
Where did you record the album and who produced it? Did the label finance the production? I think it’s really good, on the same level as the bands performance.
We recorded it ourselves at a local Glasgow studio for drums and our home studio for the rest of the recording and mixing. Rob Aubrey, at Aubitt studios Southampton mastered it and gave us excellent advice while adjusting final mixes.He's worked with Yes,Spock's Beard, IQ, BBT etc.Originally we had planned a deal with a distributor (hence the ACH label is mentioned on the album cover) but in fact we decided to finance and distribute it ourselves. I think we made the right decision.
It’s been a while since the release of ‘’Disobey’’, so you pretty much have a picture of the waves it made, big or small. Are you satisfied with the reviews it got and the response from prog rock fans? Did this release open any new opportunities for tours, record deals etc?
We are delighted with the reviews it got. We hadn't a clue what to expect. I had no idea what the prog scene was like and certainly didn't tailor the music to what was expected. We just made the album and hoped for the best. The response has been fantastic. Not everyone 'gets us' but so what? We are very much a gigging band and looking forward to our opening dates in England in Feb and the strong possibility of some festivals to be announced.
What are you planning for the near future? Should we expect another release anytime soon?
We are kicking off with some dates in early Feb this year with our mates Credo. (I'll put in the dates at the end) As for future releases, the second album is already written and partly recorded. We will be playing some tracks from it in our live set. We have been working hard on this and can promise that we will be creating something pretty special and different. Like most of the first album, none of the songs have ever been released before.Haven't left out good tunes though and of course the required passion and drive. With the second album ,musically,I think we have gone to a higher level.It may be a little more demanding to the listener so it'll probably please the out and out progsters with the grandiose epics but with some quirky numbers as well. I personally can't wait to get this finished and get it out there. We are aiming to release it late summer/early autumn.
From all the neo-prog bands the only one I can really relate to your sound is Pallas, I can sense some similar qualities, especially the emotional depth and dramatic melodies. I’m sure your influences go way beyond the genre you are labeled, so which bands have influenced you both individually and as a band?
Well Pallas are Scottish too so maybe it's in the water ! I think though they are probably a bit more 'rocky' than us. In fact we recorded a version of SP 1 at their studio years ago which appeared on vinyl. Haven't seen the guys for years but we will be playing in Glasgow as their guests on Feb 24th so it'll be great to see them again. Influences? Personally...probably the classic prog bands...Genesis Pink Floyd Gentle Giant Mike Oldfield. That said I rarely listen to anything other than Classical music .In fact that has always been my ever present influence. Especially music of the renaissance-though I'm currently obsessed with Mahler . The rest of the guys in the band have tastes which vary from prog to hard rock.
If you had the chance to address every potential listener of the album what listening instructions would you give? Would you point something out as being potential to understanding your musical vision? Or did I just come up with the lamest question of all times?
Yes, you just did ! Ha ha ! I would say to the listener, sit back, close your eyes, turn it to eleven and let the whole emotional experience wash over you. Forget if it's complex or simple, tuneful or dissonant. Forget what 'genre' you think it is. Music is music ,the rest is noise.
I enjoyed performances by all members on the album but I cannot but point out how great the guitars are; everything about them, the beautiful tone, the inspired melodic solos with absolutely no nonsense showing off and the wonderful fills. That being said Mark Spalding has to give up his influences on guitar playing.
Shhhh I've been trying to keep that a secret. If he begins to realise how good he actually is, he'll be turning solo. He's actually a brilliant bass player too. Mark says there's a real mixture of influences in his playing but as a start he'd say Dave Gilmour,Wishbone Ash,Gary Moore.Eddie Van Halen but most of all probably Nigel Tufnel !!!
You were active during an interesting time for prog rock, the rise of the neo-prog movement. What are your memories of the times? Which bands did you share stages with back then?
Years ago we supported IQ Pendragon Pallas Solstice Quasar and probably a few others i've forgotten about. At that time we were very young and though we had lots of melodic ideas the structure of the songs were rather naive.I think the writing has improved dramatically since those days.
Now things are a bit strange, anything odd within rock is labeled progressive and quality gets lost in quantity. Do you like any new bands (prog or not)?
I tend now not to follow individual 'bands' as such, but individual songs. There are many great prog songs from the past but I think they are still being written even today. I like listen to radio shows which have a real eclectic mix of music and suddenly something magical will come on and stand out from the pack. My top 100 hundred songs may have very few prog songs in them. For current prog bands I am probably less aware of their music than some of the other members of COE. Rob Aubrey sent me an album from Big Big Train which I liked, and I enjoyed Credo's live set when we played with them in Glasgow. Then again, there still is a prejudice against prog more than any other genre of music. And yet, what is prog other than ambitious music which doesn't fit a category and that attempts to say more than the superficial. Maybe it doesn't always succeed. However I think prog music does try to aim higher. The internet has made what became 'uncool' as acceptable again. We can gather our numbers in each country together via the www.
I’m pretty sure the chances for a Comedy of Errors cd to show up at my local record store are practically zero. Is the album being distributed in bigger markets like Germany, US, etc or is it available only through online sellers? What do you think about unauthorized downloading? Good or bad for independent bands?
Can't see us ever signing to a big label. Whether it should be or not, prog for the moment tends to appeal only to the more serious listener. People for whom music is irreplaceable in their lives. One prog fan is worth 100 pop fans ! We are selling our music direct from our website and via distributors to all continents of the world. We don't need a label to relinquish our creative control. The release of Disobey taught us that.As for distributors, we sell to them world wide and Germany is one of our biggest markets. Unauthorised downloading is good for getting our music circulated but bad from those who would otherwise have bought the CD or downloaded legitimately. I don't know if technology wise this can be stopped. Most prog fans I think like to have something tangible in their hands such as a CD. We spend a lot of time and thought on the artwork and cover which is all part of the package and ritual of listening to a CD.
Add anything you want to, feel free to come up with questions I should and send a message to our readers.
Thanks to you and your readers for the passion and belief in serious music and the success of our album 'Disobey'. Check out our website for tour dates and news of our next album.
