10 Fragen / 10 Antworten
Interview with Nick Clift – Guitars from Folk Devils and Ski Patrol
Folk Devils, the London group that took their name from a well-known academic text on social scapegoating, have returned with their first new music in 33 years.
1.When and why did you become a musician ?
I was born in 1959. For me it was initially about emulating the mid-70s glam heroes, but not so much the cock-rock types like Deep Purple. I loved T-Rex, Roxy Music, Be-Bop Deluxe, David Bowie, I enjoyed that they married style with musicality.
2. What are your characteristics? What makes you special?
I like to combine simplicity with thoughtful chord progressions, I don’t need to be clever or a virtuoso.
3. Who and what inspired you?
Glam Rock of the early 70s and rocksteady/reggae music. 70s pop music was trashy and occasionally subversive, there was a lot of sexual ambiguity and a promise of adventure, then the punk scene created a new excitement and the idea that you could use music as a form of personal protest and borrow from other cultures.
4. How do you imagine listening to your music? Where do you like to listen?
When on the move or with a sense of urgency. Like in the car or in the bathroom! (im Klo!)
5. Who are your most important role models and why?
Friends and family who taught me to learn from my mistakes
6. What role do social media play in your career? How important is YouTube or Instagram for you?
It has allowed us to be known beyond our initial audience and age group. That alone is a blessing. We grew up without internet or cell phones. If you weren’t written about in the music press you were invisible. Now the music press is almost extinct.
7. Do you actually do anything besides the music?
Of course. I am a parent, that is a full-time job in many ways. Also politics, football, film, and design. Very important for any musician.
8. What has been the best performance you’ve seen so far?
Probably David Bowie’s 50th Anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden in 1997
9. Who should play you when your life is filmed?
My twin brother
10. Last question: What do you want for the next 10 years, what do you need for it?
To be free of authoritarian plutocrats like Trump, Putin and Bolsanaro. At this rate there could be no hope for this planet in 10 years unless people demand radical change on the big issues of the day like the environment, rampant inequality and economic servitude.
