weareweagain - Tumblr blog

weareweagain · 6 years

Text

Simon Tellier - Pet Shop Boys/Gloria Gaynor/Charli XCX/Taio Cruz

There's an air of effortless grace and composure that the French bring to the table. They even invented the name for it; a certain je ne sais quoi. A certain thing that is hard to describe, and harder for the non-french to imitate. These are qualities that I think of when I think of Simon Tellier, certainly one of the most talented and yet humble drummers I’ve ever worked with. And he is indeed, very French.

I've known him since I was eighteen. He later told me that when we first met, I spoke much too fast for his new understanding of the English language. We met attending the same music College - Tech Music schools where Simon had landed himself a scholarship to come over from France to study. Eventually we learnt to communicate, and I’ll never forget teaching him the word ‘cobbles’ on the streets of Edinburgh.

A year or so after we met, we both auditioned to join an in-house band at the successful pop production house Xenomania. We got the gig, and it was the most unusual entrance into the music industry for both of us. It was a very structured job - 10am to 7pm, Monday to Friday. Every day, we travelled forty minutes outside of London to a gorgeous house in the country, where our rehearsal space was in fact the pool house by the pool in the vast garden. A wonderful Spanish cook prepared a feast for us all once a week and we were on a salary (although we were not extraordinarily well paid, to have regular money for our first jobs as session musicians was a huge comfort). It was very bizarre, and it's probably safe to say neither of us will work a job like that again.

Everyone in our school knew what a fantastic drummer Simon was, and working with him 5 days a week for many months in that job meant I really got to see it first hand. He had certainly put a lot of work into it, playing drums since he was 4 years old and doing shows with his musician parents around France. He was the youngest endorsee of Mapex when he joined them in 2005. After he embarked on his move to London to attend the music school, and his stint with Xenomania he went on to play with many high profile acts, such as Tinchy Stryder, Taio Cruz, Christophe Willem, Charli XCX and Gloria Gaynor. He’s most recently been busy touring with the legendary Pet Shop Boys. I got on the phone with him one Saturday afternoon to ask him for the details of his tours, past and present…

V: You’ve worked with a string of great artists. I’m so interested to hear all of your stories, especially about working with Gloria Gaynor…

S: Yeah, I’ve done a few shows with her. I was working with another artist who had the same MD (musical director) as Gloria, so she put me forward when they needed a dep drummer. They asked if I could read music, which I could. It was all the original band apart from me, and there was no rehearsal, so I met them all at sound check. The gig was on this beautiful beach in Italy. I started to set up and organise my charts on my laptop, but I realise I had forgotten to bring a foot-switch so I could turn the pages of the charts during the show. I ended up having to have a very sweet local crew guy sit next to me for the entire show, turning the pages on my laptop every time I nodded at him, all whilst my snare was smashing his ear drums.

V: It just shows you’ve gotta be nice to your local crew, they’re worth their weight in gold! You never know what you might need to ask of them!

S: Yeah, luckily he was happy to do it, but it was really funny. My next show with her was a Russian wedding, in Greece. After a horrible long journey there, we eventually turned up to a beautiful resort. All our rooms had balconies, it was beautiful. I had greek coffee for the first time. The whole place stunk of money, and the audience didn’t really seem to care when we played. Of course everyone got up for ‘I Will Survive’ but it was a shame. The most glamorous show we did with her was at an artist’s (who won’t be named!) end of summer private party in St. Tropez. It was in a club with a tiny stage, and there wasn’t even a line check before the show. The party was crazy; it was like a champagne spraying contest in there. It was filled with A-list celebs; I even saw Simon Cowell there. There were girls walking round in nothing but lingerie, handing out cigars and cigarettes that we could smoke inside.

V: Wow. And what is Gloria like?

S: She’s great, really lovely. And all her gigs were kind of like that. We played a yacht designers birthday party at the yacht club in Monaco which was nuts.

V: Fair enough, I’m sure she’s only going out for the right money and shows. Those all sound like fun, glamorous shows. What other shows from your career have been some of your favourites?

I really loved playing with Birdy, and the French artist, Christophe Willem. It was nice to be in France so much, and playing with him was surreal as I watched him on TV when I was sixteen, winning Pop Idol. Fast forward five years later, and I’m playing shows and getting drunk with the guy.

V: Yeah that must have been really strange. It’s funny how music can put you in those scenarios; it can elevate you from being at home watching someone on TV, to then being on stage with them. What other moments have been surreal for you?

S: I remember when Taio Cruz had his big hit, ‘Higher.’ Myself and my girlfriend at the time would always be singing it, almost in parody as it was on the radio and being played absolutely everywhere. Then the MD, Kojo, gives me a call and asks me to come audition for him. It was funny. The Gloria Gaynor gigs were always surreal too. Obviously ‘I Will Survive’ was such a big hit, but I knew so much of her music from listening to it at my grandmothers house growing up. She would always be played on this french radio station called ‘Nostalgie.’ Of course, my current shows with Pet Shop Boys are surreal. Every time we play ‘West End Girls’ it’s really great. It’s such a good track, I never get bored of it.

V: Yeah, to be playing tracks you’ve grown up to, with the artists themselves must feel so great. How has it been with touring with Pet Shop Boys, since they are such an established act?

S: It’s been really great; the venues and crowds have been amazing. The craziest bit for me was the second South American leg we just did. It was mostly festival shows, and we played at ‘Rock in Rio.’ It’s the biggest festival and stage I’ve ever seen. When you’re playing, you can’t see where the sea of people ends. There were 150,000 people there.

V: That’s amazing. I find playing to big crowds so addictive. It’s such a buzz. Do you crave big crowds or prefer smaller venues?

S: I love the adrenaline of the big crowd, but it’s fun to play in small clubs too, and have that close proximity to a crowd. You can actually see the people’s faces. Sometimes there’s more energy in the smaller clubs too. But the audiences were great in South America. Pet Shop Boys are big in Brazil, but it can be a dangerous country, so they had to make sure everything was a safe as possible. We flew by private jet a lot, which was obviously amazing. One night when we were in Brazil, Chis and Neil invited the whole crew out for a big dinner at a Brazilian BBQ restaurant - which is the best food ever! We were eating, when I noticed there were two big, intimidating looking guys sitting near to us. I didn’t think much of it, but when we got up to leave the restaurant, they got up too. We walked to a petrol station next to our hotel to get some drinks; in Brazil the petrol stations are a place to drink and socialise. There’s seats outside, and people pull up their cars and play loud music. It’s a bit shitty honestly, but it has great vibes. It’s warm, and people are in a great mood. The two big guys follow us there too. We go back to the hotel and everyone is in the lobby saying goodnight, and I notice the two guys are sat at the hotel bar. Everyone but myself and two others have gone to bed. I go out for a cigarette and one of the guys follows me. I’m getting really worried now. He comes up to me and says ‘hey, you must be Simon.’ I’m assuming he must be a big fan or something… it turns out he was our security guard.

V: What a weird way to be acquainted with your security! You think he would’ve been introduced to you...

S: I guess he didn’t wanna intrude, and wanted to find the right moment to say hi. They decided to get security because they got mugged before in Rio. By drag queens. It was in the Daily Mail the next day.

V: Wow, well that’s a story! How did you get on with your security after that introduction?

S: I had really funny but awkward experience with one security guard. I had met this girl in Brazil. She wanted to hang out with me after our show, so I suggested grabbing some drinks from the petrol station next to the hotel. What I didn’t realise was that Victor, the local security guard had to come with me to meet this girl. Everyone else had gone to bed, so he was free to monitor me. So, all three of us go. He sat on a table next to us whilst we tried to talk and have a date. Every time I went to the bathroom he had to come with me. I felt bad; I told him it that he didn’t have to, but he said it was his job and he had to. After a while it just got too weird and we just invited him to join us. The thing is, he was a really attractive guy, and it turned out he went to the same school as this girl and they were starting to really get along.

V: Did he poach your date?!

S: No, but I caught her looking at him! Eventually, she hinted that we should go back to my hotel room to be alone… but he had to take us up the elevator! He finally left us at the door, thankfully! That was definitely awkward.

V: It sounds like an eventful tour.

S: It was a great year touring with them, but after that year of working really solidly, I wanted to go home. I’ve never had that before, but I was just so tired. I got sick in Brazil too, which made it harder. You’re just with the same people all the time. You can’t really write music. I missed my friends and family. You’re sick of airports, cars, hotel rooms. You feel like you don’t have your own space, and nothing is yours. It gets really strange. And strange because it was the first time that I had ever felt like that. I was getting pissed off for no reason. At the peak of my frustration, I had a situation with airport security when they took my drum key away. I just kicked off at them, and that’s not like me at all.

V: Do you prefer to be at home then?

S: Well, I’m creating and inventing the other side of my career when I’m at home. I want to be both touring and spending time at home; it’s about getting the balance. I love touring, but I love writing too. Ideally, I can be comfortable enough to choose where I put my focus and not just take gigs just because I need the money.

V: Yeah, I think it’s great if you can strike a balance. So what music are you producing when you aren’t touring?

I compose a lot of library and advert music. For the last three years I’ve been doing a lot of it. My housemate Sarah (DeCourcy - Musical Director) got me into it and has been helping me so much. She said to me, “you know, you’re making music in your bedroom and you’re not making any money from it.” I thought, “fair point!” Every quarter its nice to get that PRS cheque. It’s really good for when I’m not touring… since touring can be so sporadic, writing is the regular thing. It’s not always instant money, especially to begin with, but it’s a good investment of my time.

V: Where did you learn your production chops?

S: I’ve been producing for a long time but only recently started taking it seriously. Sarah taught me a few things, and I learnt from videos and things online. I’m not really a mixer, but it’s important to have some mixing skills to get something simple sounding good.

V: Yeah, I guess job one is getting the programming and live recording right, because well, you cant polish a turd! You can’t mix it to make it sound good if it wasn’t in the first place. Do you use Logic?

S: Yeah, and a little bit of outboard gear. I use a Fat Man compressor. I would love to get some Neve preamps, but it’s two grand for a little piece of gear… it’s a lot! Honestly, I don’t really have anything fancy, I’ve got one mic - an SE G3500, and I’ve got my bass and guitars. The rest is all in the box. I learnt how to use synthesisers properly, what they actually do rather than using presets and just hoping for the best. Producing library music really changed the game for me. I just talk to lots of other people who give me tips. The musical director with the Pet Shop Boys is a producer too. I always call him up to ask questions. I would also love to release my own music, and make my own animation movies to accompany it. I guess it would be like Gorillaz; I don’t want to be the face of it. I’m still searching for my sound and who I am musically. I’m not sure which direction I will go, but its part of the process. I’m not going to release anything until I know what I am.

V: Is there anything else you like to do when you come off the road?

I do love going out and being social.

I’ve been thinking about drawing a lot…I would love to design my own clothes. The Pet Shop Boys have a wardrobe designer, Jeffery Bryant who has really inspired me. He dresses Duran Duran, Lady Gaga - everyone. He’s one of the most talented people I’ve ever met. He can make an outfit out of anything. We were at a festival in Spain, and he took a table cloth from catering and made me a jacket out if it. I wore it for some photos that night. He really inspires me.

V: I remember you telling me the team were really into your natural style and ‘look’ for the band. Weren’t you also dressed in cloaks or something strange for the show too?

S: We have a big plastic helmet we wear at the beginning of the show, and we put back on later.

V: How do you find it performing in that?

S: It’s not easy, we have to sing and play in them, and you can’t really see very well in them. On some songs we have to sing and walk, so you have to be careful where you’re going! We got used to it though.

V: Have you ever had embarrassing moments on tour that spring to mind? Or a time where things went wrong?

There was this one time during a Christophe Willem show in France. We were playing Amneville Arena. It was going great, and it was the middle of the gig during the acoustic section, where it’s just a pianist and Christophe. I go off stage to get my usual sugar rush, eat a chocolate bar or something. All of a sudden, it all goes dark and there’s a power cut. The generators should have kicked in, but the power had cut a while ago and they had already been keeping the show going for a while and ran out of juice. So, we decide to go and grab the acoustic guitar. The crew took their torches and lit up Christophe’s face. The audience, all 25,000 of them, start shushing and we play a few songs like that until the power came back. It was a technical problem, but it made the show really special. I think that should be part of a show one day, a fake power cut!

V: That sounds amazing. Did you have any big learning curves on tour, or learn any big lessons quickly? I always remember on our tour together opening for Paolo Nutuni, I learnt quickly to respect the headliners space. I passed the band quickly in the corridor whilst they were waiting to go back on for their encore and the tour manager really told me off later for ‘getting in their way.’ I think in reality, he was much more strict than most tour managers, but I certainly learnt my lesson quickly…

S: I’m always prepared for the worst, as anything can happen. During a show with Birdy, the metal parts of my kick pedal broke. It was an acoustic gig, so it was really obvious. Luckily, I was also using drum triggers, so I quickly programmed a kick sound that I could trigger with another pedal. I feel like you always need to have two snares with you. If the kick drum skin breaks, you can always turn it. It was good lesson, to always have some kind of back up pedal. I also learnt not to do too many stick tricks when I started working with Xenomania. I remember missing the ‘1’ a few times because of them, so I stopped doing that quickly!

V: Do you have any fan stories you can share?

S: I have a big fan who created a website about me, a big Christoph Willem fan. She lists current projects and posts things regularly; it’s a really professional site. I should be paying her!

To find out more about Simon visit his website: https://www.simontellier.com/

Or if you’re the curious type, visit Simon’s fan site: http://oh-stelliers.tumblr.com/

Vicky Warwick

#drummer #sessionmusician #sessiondrummer #french #je ne sais quoi #petshopboys #charlixcx #gloriagaynor #iwillsurvive #tinchystryder #t

1 note · View note

weareweagain · 7 years

Text

Sandy Beales - One Direction

The word boyband conjures up certain images. Fan mania. Handsome, fresh-faced looks. An abundance of hair gel. Low V-necks. Embarrassing dance routines. Ballads. All standing up from their bar-stools for the key change. Knickers thrown around like caution to the wind.

One Direction had all these things, and a little more too.

If you haven’t heard of them, you must have been living under a rock. Although currently on hiatus, they are still undeniably the biggest boy band the UK has given the world for some time. Birthed from the 2010 X Factor TV series, they are the most successful thing to have come from the show, despite coming only third place in the competition. Formed on the show from five individual participants hoping for solo success, they made a winning combination and had one of the fastest climbs to worldwide success. They have had a colossal amount of hits, including 95 international number one singles, and their ‘Where Are We’ Tour was the highest-grossing tour of all time by a vocal group.

Although they were very much a pop act, with thousands of young girls’ affections in the palms of their hands, they weren’t the squeakiest of clean; their live show was heavy hitting, with shredding guitar solos Brian May wouldn’t kick out of bed. Harry Styles did his best to channel his inner Mick Jagger at all times. They certainly had more to offer to the adult fan base than people perceived. I got to meet them in person during the filming of the X-Factor series, and Niall came strumming in my direction, singing ‘Wish You Were Here’ by Pink Floyd.

Surprising.

Sandy Beales had been building his career as a session bass player when he got the call for the One Direction live band audition, shortly after the series finished. Hailing from Devon, Sandy had moved to London to attend Tech Music Schools and study for his degree in Popular Music Performance. He had worked with many artists including Loick Essien, Ben Montague, Leddra Chapman and Franka De Mille performing on TV shows and touring across Europe.

Little did he know, joining the session band for some X Factor contestants could blow up to be the wild journey that it was. He was on the road for nearly five years with the notorious 1D boys, so he must have some stories…

V: So Sandy, you were touring with One Direction for 4-5 years. Over that time you must have a lot of experiences to share. I wanted to start with asking about how you got the One Direction gig.

S: I got put forward for the audition and went from there. They were at Grove Studios and it was the typical thing; go in, have a two minute chat and then play the track that they sent us. It was pretty full on, especially the second day of auditions. Everything was thrown at us, making sure we could handle high pressure scenarios.

V: I read that you thought it was just a UK tour you were auditioning for.

S: Yeah, we were told we were needed for just three months. I think I realised it was going to blow up when we went to New York to play the Today Show. We were pulling up to the TV studio at 4am in Manhattan, in this little van. As we got there we could see queues of fans, going half a mile back around the corner. It was one of these moments where we were like “wow, this is crazy.” It suddenly became apparent that this gig was going to be a bit different.

V: Yes, I remember watching that performance and thinking how mad it was. You were performing outside amongst a sea of fans. When the tour began, were the venues you were playing already quite big?

S: We played theatre sizes, relatively small venues but still a really good size for a band’s first tour.

V: I remember I came to your show in Brighton on the first tour and even then, I remember it being ridiculous. I came in after you guys had already gone on stage and I’ll never forget walking into that venue being absolutely blown away by the wall of sound that was the screams of fans.

S: Yeah, it’s just absolutely that wall of sound, from start to finish. Pure screaming. It was like that everywhere in the world apart from Japan. They scream right up until the minute you start playing. Apparently, for them it’s a respect thing. They want to respect the other audience members and that everyone wants to hear the show. The concept of that is pretty amazing. One time, on a Japanese TV show, the security guards had to make a human chain, to stop the fans pushing through. But the show started, and they stopped. It’s the only place it’s been almost silent whilst we’re playing. One time, the boys put their mics down and sang a song a capella. They couldn’t have done that anywhere else.

V: Speaking of security guards, I know that eventually even you guys in the band had your own. At what point did that happen?

S: I can’t really remember, but it got to a point when the boys fame was so big, that that attention and following spilt over to anyone attached to the project, ourselves included. Our security wasn’t just to protect us, but to make sure we were never causing a scene or problem for the rest of the team. It was mad…as session players you never think you’ll need security.

V: Yeah, I think it’s quite unusual for session players to have their own dedicated security. There must have been some really crazy fans as well. Did you have any experiences with them that were good or bad?

S: It was just amazing always seeing a sea of fans 100%, giving it their all in the audience. That was the cool thing about it, it was amazing that the boys and their music brought that out in people. It’s great to get that intense a reaction from people.

V: Okay, tell me the craziest fan story?

S: Well… there are loads I won’t mention but here’s one! There was one time when myself and the other musicians were in our hotel, coming down in the lift. As we got to the bottom there was a girl wheeling a huge suitcase. The hotel security decided to stop her and ask which room she was going to, and to see inside the suitcase. They opened it up and her friend was inside. They were trying to pretend they were staying in the hotel, to try and get to the floor where the boys were. She just spilled out on the floor.

V: Wow… That’s really, really wild! Do you remember any other stories like that?

S: The trouble is my memory is so bad.. it’s funny when I talk to other people on the tour and they’re saying “do you remember that time this happened?” and I had totally forgotten about it.

V: This is the trouble, when you’re moving around so much you really can forget where you are. It sounds ridiculous and cliché but it’s really what happens. That’s why I called this blog ‘where are we again?’

S: Yeah, there have definitely been times I have been on the phone to my wife and she asks where I am and my answer has been, ‘I couldn’t even tell you what country I’m in right now.’ It sounds dumb but genuinely you’re not sure. One time we got out of the bus to go get a McDonalds or something and we were really not sure what currency we were meant to use.

V: Yeah, especially if you go to sleep on the bus somewhere, you could wake up somewhere else. In America, my way of figuring out at least what state you’re in, is looking at what the state number plate is on the majority of cars.

S: I remember especially in 2013 when we were in a lot of arenas, the bus drives straight into the arena. You wake up inside, with literally no idea what city you’re in. Each day is like the previous, and it becomes a bit of a blur. As a fan, going to see an artist like Prince at the O2 would be really memorable day, but for everyone on stage and in the crew it’s day 51 of 200 on the road. Each day is special, but it’s a different experience as a fan and as a musician.

V: There must have been some really memorable shows though. What were they for you?

S: Definitely Wembley Stadium and Madison Square Gardens in New York. The first stadium we ever played with 1D was in Bogatá, Colombia. It’s so fanatical and intense there anyway, for that be our first stadium was pretty amazing.

V: Obviously it was such a whirlwind, it must have taken some adjusting to get used to. Was it hard at times?

S: It wasn’t really. It was just so much fun. It was what I always I wanted to do, and to be doing it was amazing. Lets be honest, as musicians however much faith we have in ourselves, we all have self-doubt too. I’m not sure that I’ve ever met someone who knew ‘Yes, I’m definitely going to do all these things I dream of doing.’ It’s one thing saying it you’re going to do these things, and it’s another actually really believing it will happen. That self-doubt is not always a negative thing, it can be a good thing. It’s being realistic. But I was doing it, thinking wow, this is actually happening. It was just special, so it wasn’t hard at all. I enjoyed every moment.

V: I think that’s the thing, when you’re on a tour like that, you’re living out your wildest dreams so you just feel….really chuffed!

S: That’s it, and I think you need to allow yourself to have that buzz and excitement and just love it; just let yourself be part of it. I feel like some musicians think you need to act really aloof or stand-offish, and I just think, just enjoy yourself! Let loose and be yourself. Your façade is always going to get found out.

V: Well I’m sure for a lot of people on that tour, it was their first experience of a gig that massive… constant stadiums! I always thought it was particularly special that you and Dan (the 1D guitarist) had known each other since you were teenagers, went to college together in Devon, then both went to the same university in London and then ended up on this huge tour together.

S: Yeah, it was mad, because we’re from such a small place - it’s not a music hub by any means. I remember seeing him when I parked up at the auditions. There we were, both auditioning and it was crazy. I did a masterclass tour last week and I was saying to the students in the schools, “you’re making your contacts now. You might not think it, but it’s already begun.” You never know what’s going to happen in the future and who you’re going to end up working with.

V: So, it’s good to know it wasn’t ever a struggle to be on the road for you. I remember before I went on my first big tour, a musician friend sat me down and said “there’s going to be some days where you’re going to find touring really hard, and you might be sad and want to go home.” I took it on board and was a little worried, but for me there were actually never times where I was really feeling down. I certainly never wanted to go home. Were there any days that you wanted to go home?

S: I felt the same, there was never a day that I wanted to book a flight home. It’s being away from your friends and family that’s the hardest bit about touring. I like to think that we’re not really being paid to play music, were being paid to be away from home.

V: Yeah, and some people say we get paid a lot to be on stage for an hour, but it’s not the hour that we’re on stage that we want to get paid for really, it’s all the hours of bullshit surrounding that!

S: Yeah, its a 24 hour job. You could be working any time, getting up at 4am for a flight every day of the week. That’s the unique thing about our job. The actual music part is amazing, but everything else… isn’t necessarily not fun, but there can be times where it can be full on. There can be times when you don’t know why you feel a bit upset on the road; you’re just run down. It gets everyone to some extent. Though this is the thing people don’t really talk about much; the fact it can be hard sometimes.

V: I think the difficult thing to wrap your head around is the highs and lows. One minute you’re on tour, playing to thousands of people and the next you could be back home doing the dishes. I think you have to get used to that. I remember one week I was doing a TV show with Cee Lo Green, and Snoop Dogg is there in the audience dancing along - it’s great. The next day I was back in the pub, pulling pints. It’s just a bit mad.

S: And that’s the nature of our job, that you can go from those crazy highs, experiencing some of the things that artists do and then the next day, that’s it. You’re back at your flat, eating Chinese food or whatever.

V: Yeah, making beans on toast.

S: Exactly! It’s crazy, but it’s amazing, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. That’s probably what got me through any hard times. Just telling myself; this was your dream, you wanted this.

V: Throughout your years of touring, you must have found yourself in some very surreal situations, in places you’d never thought you’d be. What were some of those moments where you thought, ‘is this real?’

S: Oh man…so many. We all got to go to the Real Madrid training ground and meet the team, including Christiano Ronaldo…it was insane. We went to watch a Manchester United game in Chicago, and I’m a big United fan. We got to go to the locker room afterwards and meet some of the players. It was proper childhood dream stuff. You don’t think music’s going to get you those kind of dreams, it’s crazy that side of it. We did a TV show in Japan and Katy Perry was performing on it too. This was when she was dating John Mayer, and he was watching the show backstage. I was sitting next to him watching it too, and I love John Mayer, and there he was, right there. It was surreal the first time I played with Brendan (from the band Wheatus). Josh (1D’s drummer), him and I were in his studio and we jammed ‘Teenage Dirtbag.’ I just look at Josh like, “we’re playing Teenage Dirtbag, with Wheatus.” There was also a show we did where Ronnie Wood came up and played. Lots of things like that happened, and you’ve gotta keep your cool but you’re thinking, “this is crazy.”

V: Where there any other people or celebrities you met that were memorable?

S: Will Smith… Katy Perry… again it was the really nice people that stood out. People like Olly Murs and Dermot O’Leary; not necessarily global mega-stars, but just super nice people. That’s what sticks in my mind.

V: I would love to know about your favourite ‘day off’ between shows on a tour. What was yours?

S: There’s been a lot of good ones…. we had a few days off in Australia so Jon and I took a trip to the Great Barrier Reef. You’re at work, and then suddenly it feels like you’re on holiday. There was a time in Minnesota where someone we know took us out on a boat on Lake Minnetonka…

V: Oh, was that Doug?

S: Yeah!

V: I did that with him too! Dan told me to go hang out with him in Minneapolis.

S: (Laughs) There you go, we had a shared experience! That’s the thing that’s great, when people tour and they end up with friends all over the world and then we all get to meet through each other. It’s always nice to have a local show you around too.

V: I’ve read that your advice for aspiring session musicians is to be a chameleon and be multi skilled. What other qualities do you think make for a good musician?

S: Firstly, being a great player is most important. Then I would say punctuality and personality. Just being a pro. Wanting to be the person that someone would recommend when they’re asked about bass players. Our industry is word of mouth.

V: What were the qualities in yourself that you think landed you the One Direction gig?

S: I spent at least two years saying yes to everything. There were bad gigs, there were great gigs and so much in-between, but you just meet so many people that way. It’s about not closing any doors and doing as much as possible.

V: So you ultimately got the One Direction audition because the person who put you forward was someone you’d met as a result of saying “yes” to something?

S: Yeah, it was somebody who had seen me in the studio one time. Saying ‘yes’ led me to all those things. Sometimes you do things that lead to nothing, but what have you lost really? You still performed that night, and I think any time the bass is in your hand is a good thing.

V: So since One Direction have stopped touring for now, what have you been up to recently?

S: I’m touring with a new artist JP Cooper, teaching and presenting masterclasses. Just keeping busy! Also taking the time to decompress after the tour was important too. I think you need to give yourself that little bit of time to get back to normal life. It was nice to get back and have a few months of doing nothing.

V: Yeah, plus you came off tour and had a wife and a new house to spend time with.

S: Yeah, if I didn’t have my wife I don’t know what I would’ve done. The start of 2016 would’ve been very different, and I don’t know how I would’ve coped with it. But we had a family unit, a house to decorate, and all these other things to take my mind somewhere else. It was also important to take the time to enjoy how all the hard work had paid off. It’s about being able to look forward, and put yourself in that mindset to think “what’s waiting for me at the end of this tour?”

- VW

#sandybeales #one direction #1d #1d news #bassist #sessionmusician #touring #whatgoesontourstaysontour

4 notes · View notes