PART 4

Fourth and final part of the interview!

Judith Howard: Away from the music slightly, in recent months you've started your own blog, you've also set up MySpace and YouTube accounts - perhaps you could tell us a bit about this development?

WB: Each one was set up for different motives really. As far as MySpace is concerned, after speaking to some people at some of the shows last year it dawned on me that MySpace was where people look for information, like concert and release schedules, for the band - bypassing official sites. Furthermore, there seems also to be a new generation of people that use these social networking sites for most of their communication - email almost being secondary - so overall it seemed a good idea to establish a presence there even though on a personal level I find the experience quite a hassle to manage. I've also come into contact with some great individuals there who I'd otherwise never have known.

JH: You mean on a personal level or for music?

WB: Actually for both.

JH: And the blog?

WB: The blog was set up on a complete whim and I've found it a lot more fun than I'd have ever expected - my initial feeling was one of what the hell am I actually going to say! It's even quite therapeutic when you've got something to get off your chest to no-one in particular; and I think the practice of regular writing helps keep your thoughts active and provoked, just as I always enjoy reading others' responses or comments.

JH: How about YouTube?

WB: Well, YouTube is very useful for the label for storing clips of archived video footage online for people to see because we were rapidly running out of space at the official site anyway.

JH: Finally, I know you've been doing talks and seminars, can you tell us how you think this fits into your work?

WB: Doing talks is something I really enjoy on a personal level, it seems to come quite naturally, and I know with that crazy music it's hard for many people to reconcile it with the human being. That's something I accept as part of the territory, and at times have even encouraged, nevertheless there's a definite value to providing a clearer framework to the thought processes and ideas and motivations; I was always a bit afraid of demystifying, and now on the contrary, I've learned that there are in fact useful ways of making certain aspects of one's work explicit, or discussing or sharing one's specialist interests, that can further enhance the experience and I think without in any way losing any of the magic.