Interviews....

Meet On The Ledge's, Allen Maslen....

September 2003

Covfolk: Many thanks for agreeing to take part in this interview for the Covfolk Website! First question has got to be, how was Cropredy? Was it everything you thought it would be!? Must be have felt strange sharing a stage with Fairport after being just an audience at previous festivals!

Allen: If we are lucky we get one or two occasions in a lifetime where we can say 'if I die tomorrow I will die happy'. Cropredy was one of those occasions. The feeling of fulfilling a massive, impossible ambition like that is something I can't put into words.

CF: You and Ron were originally in a band that covered Santana and Thin Lizzy. How did you come to form a folk rock band?

A: Ron had always been a Fairport fan, and had followed them since the 60s. He had always had a bit of a yearning to do something folky, but had never really done much about it. Then one day he just asked me if I fancied doing an acoustic duo thing with him, as a sideline from the rock band, so I agreed without really thinking what I was letting myself in for. I grew a beard and bought a tankard and everything.

CF: Do you come from a folk music background?

A: Being born in the valleys of South Wales, my musical background as a youngster was male voice choirs and rugby songs. So I suppose it's only a short step from there to folk music.

CF: When did you start playing and what was your first instrument?

A: At the age of nine (33 years ago!!!!!). My dad gave my big brother his old four string ukelele that he had bought during he war. Like most younger siblings I was keen to be better at something than my big brother, so I secretly practised on it when he wasn't looking.

CF: You play a number of original compositions at your shows. When writing, do lyrics or melodies come easiest?

A: Either - or sometimes neither! Sometimes I will write a whole set of lyrics without the vaguest idea of what the music will be like, and sometimes I will write a melody and worry about the words later. And then very occasionally the two happen at the same time. The weird thing is - I never, ever, write anything down or pick up an instrument until the song is at least three-quarters finished. The whole thing happens inside my head. I think the official term for this phenomenon is 'paranoid schizophrenia'.

CF: Are there any musicians, songwriters that you admire or that inspire you when writing?

A: If I were to pick one, it would have to be Steve Knightley, who I think is an awesome song writer, musician and vocalist.

CF: Have you got a favourite song you enjoy playing live?

A: Modesty forbids me from picking one of my own, so I'll plump for Steve Knightley's wonderful 'Man of War', which still gives me a shiver whenever we play it.

CF: You’re playing The Symphony Hall in Birmingham on September 25th! Do you prefer playing at more intimate venues or at the larger theatres?

A: This will sound like a really sitting-on-the-fence answer, but the size of the venue and the audience really doesn't make any difference to me personally. I always try to approach a show as if it was the most important one I have ever done, even if it is in the back room of a pub. I always get slightly nervous before any performance, but we are never overawed by a really big one. At Cropredy we were playing to 10,000 people, but we just went for it in the same way we always do, and thoroughly enjoyed every moment.

CF: If there were one place in the world that you could play a gig, where would it be? – Other than the Symphony Hall!

A: The Albert Hall, and The Jools Holland Show - both of which we WILL do within the next five years.

CF: Few short questions to finish off with:

What is your current favourite TV show?

A: Phoenix Nights

CF: What music are you currently listening to?

A: Bowling For Soup, and the Blue Tapestry CD I bought at Cropredy.

CF: When you’re not touring and playing at the Symphony Hall, what do you like doing in your spare time?

A: Spare Time??????? Next time I get some, I will swim, gym, sauna, do the Azed crossword in The Observer, cook a huge vegetarian curry, drink some Southern Comfort, and watch the entire series of The League of Gentlemen on video. Probably in February at this rate.

CF: Thank you for taking the time out to answer these questions Allen!:-)

Visit the Official Meet On The Ledge Website at http://www.motl.co.uk

Live photographs of Allen and Meet On The Ledge (Taken at Cropredy 2003) thanks to Zoe Kemp

© Copyright Covfolk 2003