Upfront
Paul Casserly
by Philip Matthews
Philip Matthews talks to Paul Casserly [strawperson, media lunch eater].
Paul Casserly has two reasons to celebrate this week: his eighth album as Strawpeople, titled Count Backwards from 10, is out through Sony Music, and the second series of Eating Media Lunch goes to air on TV2. The media satire and commentary show had a baptism of fire last year after a send-up of comedian Mike King brought on a threatening phone message from King aimed at Media Lunch host Jeremy Wells; when the Tony Soprano-like message was leaked, media-on-media frenzy ensued. Casserly is the show’s producer and director. So, what does Eating Media Lunch do for an encore? The Listener found out when it visited Casserly in the St Mary’s Bay house that he’s minding for his LA-domiciled friend Greg Johnson.
What’s different and new about this album? Different and new …
Or is it not? It’s pretty much business as usual. People always say, “What style are you going for this time?” As if we chopped and changed styles. It’s always been a mishmash. It’s kinda cheesy pop music, but in a good way. Although this album is actually faster. The last one droned on a bit.
How long’s it been since the last one? More than three years.
A lot’s happened in electronic music since then. Oh God, yeah. When we started out, it was bloody easy, because no one was doing it. Now I listen to stuff from local acts that it is more advanced than what we do. People like Conray and Phelps & Munro. The quality and the professionalism, the artistry, is really high. That’s kinda scary.
You say “we”, but it’s a one-man band? It’s usually me and someone else. There’s one track that’s just my doodling, but the rest of it is in collaboration. I’m not really musical. I don’t know how to make music in a traditional way. I get people in to do the music and I direct what they do, really. But then I usually spend about a year working on my own. I can be a bit of a hermit.
You have Pearl Runga – sister of Bic and Boh – singing on “No One Like You”. Has she recorded before? She has. The first time I heard her singing was on some Christchurch drum’n’bass track, five or six years ago. She’s a schoolteacher and she likes to sing, but she’s not seeking to be a professional singer. She is good – her voice is similar to Boh’s voice, but also kinda different.
The music is “cheesy” – for most musicians, that’s an insult. Maybe that’s me trying to get in before other people do. But, no, it’s good cheese. I like Classic Hits. I used to have this job on 1ZB on Saturday nights, on the nostalgia session, taking calls and playing tapes. I got to hear a lot of good, old cheesy stuff.
Good pop music, of course, being harder to make than it looks. I’ve got a friend who says, “Why don’t you write more hits!” That’s brilliant.
The band started 18 years ago – so the secret of longevity is to have as few members as possible. Well, there are pretty few now! Me and Mark Tierney formed it together. But he hasn’t worked on the last three albums. Also, it’s not a going concern. It’s not like a band, we’re not on the road. It’s a bit like seasonal work. Every three years, it’s “Should we do another album?” I usually ask … myself. It’s not fulltime.
But you have played live. We played once. It was an absolute disaster. It was supporting the Headless Chickens at the Gluepot, so that’s how long ago it was. We hadn’t rehearsed enough. We had technical problems. A friend recorded it from the audience. I can hear him saying on the tape, “Jesus, this is terrible”. I’m not a performer and I’ve never had any interest in being on stage. I want to see proper musicians on stage, anyway – I’m not even that keen on seeing electronic acts.
There’s a take on the Psychedelic Furs’ “Love My Way” on the album – you’ve always had a knack for a good cover version. I’ve picked some good ones over the years. There have been a few that other big acts have done subsequently – not because they heard ours … There’s a Mandy Moore version of “Have a Little Faith”. And … who’s that spazzy older guy …?
Joe Cocker? He did a version of that as well. With “Love My Way”, in a way it’s foolish because the original is so much about the voice.
Did you watch NZ Idol? Yep. Not every week. I was watching it in the capacity of Media Lunch as well. There has to be the true shocking story about NZ Idol, the exposé …
What is it? I don’t know. We’ve just got this whiteboard with the title – “The story they didn’t want you to see.”
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