Comics and Music with the Small Faces (and Regular!) Ian McLagan.

Ian "Mac" McLagan is the king of the British rock keyboard, and he's been in the business since the early sixties, when he backed up blues legends like Howlin' Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson. He joined the Small Faces, the consummate mod / psych-pop Brit band, in late 1965.  They hit the charts with a vengeance, scoring hits like "Tin Soldier" and "Sha-La-La-Lee" and birthing one of British rock's most beloved albums, "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake." Small Faces served as one of the standard bearers for just plain having a damn good time, until the band dissolved when singer/guitarist/Artful Dodger Steve Marriott left to form Humble Pie.

The rest of the Small Faces promptly teamed up with Rod Stewart and Ron Wood as the (regular-sized) Faces and began another brilliant run, based on Rod's gravelly vocal stylings and bassist Ronnie Lane's sublime folk-tinged songwriting (Go and find some Ronnie - you won't regret it). When that band dissolved in the mid-seventies so Rod could become a full-time ponce, the Small Faces tried again briefly, but Mac began a great session career when that didn't pan out, touring and recording with the likes of the Stones, Dylan and the Everly Brothers.

Thanks again to one of the genuine diamond geezers of rock n roll for taking the time out to do this!  You can read more about Mac here: http://www.macspages.com/

But first, without further ado...

Nine Questions with Ian McLagan!

CM: You said you had a paper round as a lad and you used to pick up American comics back then; what did you read and who was your favourite? Did you ever used to read them back in the 70's as a 'boredom bus buster'? Do you still seem to find yourself keeping up to date with what's going on in the comics world; say, like seeing some of the more recent super hero films that have been released?

IM: I read Fantastic Four and The Hulk, then got the very first issue of Thor, then Spider-man etc etc. I was interested in the art as much as the stories, though I never tried to illustrate, because I wasn’t good enough at figure drawing. I never kept up with comics after that because I was learning graphic art at art school, which soon got buried by my interest in music, and then I turned professional musician, which meant I was doing it full time even though I was broke.


CM: Some of Ronnie Wood's art work seems quite pop-arty and comic book influenced; do you think Ronnie took any inspiration from comics?

IM: You’d have to ask him, but he is an illustrator, so it’s quite likely.

CM: Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson, Rick Wright and Brian Wilson (as a keyboard player) are some of your peers; can you tell us a little bit about what you think and how you rate them?

IM: I wasn’t so aware of Rick Wright’s playing, not really being into the Floyd, but I’ve played with Richard Manuel, and he was a very soulful singer as well as being a great pianist. I’ve met Garth a couple of times and he is a giant among keyboard players, brilliant. I saw a documentary on Brian Wilson and to see him sit at the piano playing Caroline No or any other of those early Beach boys hits, and you realise the whole arrangement is in his piano playing and voice.

Nona: As a keyboard player, who is the best at dabbling on keyboards as a secondary instrument, say like McCartney and Townshend do?
IM: Paul’s a really fine piano player, but you should hear Albert Lee, unbelievably great.

CM: In your book All the Rage, you mention the Marx Brothers.  You see bands from the60s and 70s reference them.  Should they be counted as much as an influence as some other musicans? You guys seemed like you were always up for a laugh, would you say they influenced you with their style of humour?

IM: The funniest people I’ve ever met have been musicians, and I wouldn’t have someone in my band that wasn’t amusing, because you spend so much time together you’d better be laughing because sometimes it’s all you have to keep you from going nuts! The Marx Brothers are still a major influence, as is Jacques Tati, the French actor, writer and director.

CM: American music historians indicate delta blues as the source of inspiration for the British skiffle craze.  Blues music wasn't easily obtained in the States at that time.  How did the blues get to the UK?




IM: It was much harder to find those records in the UK than in the States, I had to mail order them, but once I heard Muddy Waters I had to get my hands and ears around the music. It was, and still is an addiction.

CM: How has it been to connect with the source of blues music- perhaps when you were recording Texas?

IM: I’m outside the current blues scene in Texas, because blues players tend only to play the blues, and I play rock’n’roll as well as other genres, so I’m not the guy that gets the call.

CM: I'm a child of the 90s and Izzy Stradlin' was a major player in music when I was growing up.  You played on his album "Ju Ju Hounds".  Does Izzy take control when he's in the studio, or does he still have the laid back attitude which his image suggests?

IM: He does, but he’s straight ahead and focused, and quite easy going at the same time. Not a stressful situation by any means.

CM: Your band The Muleskinners backed up Howlin' Wolf on his UK tour in 1964-65.  What was it like to be part of Howlin' Wolf's backing band?  And how did that come about?

IM: The Muleskinners were booked by the Marquee Agency, who organised The Wolf’s tour of the UK, and there were several bands they had who backed some of the great bluesman, but we just got lucky, and backed him and Hubert Sumlin on one show, and he liked us so we did a couple more, which led to us backing Sonny Boy Williamson on a couple, and Little Walter Jacobs once as well. The Wolf was very kind to us, and Hubert too was very sympathetic and warm to us. The Wolf was nothing like his frightening on stage persona, he was really sweet to us, put his large arms around us and said, ‘My Boys’.

32,000 Year-Old Plant Brought Back To Life!

A report released today reveals that a Russian team of scientists have discovered a collection of flowering seeds which were native to Siberia, which had been buried by an Ice Age squirrel!

Radiocarbon dating confirmed that the seeds were 32,000 years old.

The seeds which had been encased in ice, were unearthed from 38 meters below the permafrost, retained viable plant material.

According to a new study, the team extracted tissue from the frozen seeds, placed it in vials, and successfully germinated the plants. The plants grew and produced seeds themselves after a year.

This new study suggests that permafrost could be a "depository for an ancient gene pool," a place where any number of now extinct species could be found and resurrected.

Some scientists say regenerating seeds that have been frozen at 19 degrees Fahrenheit  for so long could have major implications on biodiversity, but insight gained on seeds which have been frozen and how to thaw, and sprout them could be very valuable in saving plant species which are on the brink of extinction.