Tony Wright of Terrorvision – Stop The Presses!

We saw Terrorvision giving a spirited performance for their fans out at Ramblin’ Man Festival. Given the chance to chat with the group’s mainman about his new solo album, Glenn made contact to discuss the tracks and much more:

JLTT : How are you doing Tony, are you OK?

TW : Yeah, I’m doing good, Glenn

Thank you for taking the time to do this, it’s much appreciated. So I’ve been listening to your second and self-titled album..’If Music Can Be The Food Of Love’?

Well the first album I did was a little dark, maybe – so for this one it’s a brighter outlook, a sunshine environment. When things started to pick up and life was getting to be good again..well, that’s where it’s all coming from at the moment and that song reflects it. Cos music is something that..you know, it can pick you up. Obviously it’s a Shakespeare quote and it’s connecting music to the people I know in my life and them being the reason for living. The power of the birdsong and all the rest of it, positive stuff. Also, the album’s title it actually ‘Walnut Dash’.

The next track, then – ‘One Size Fits All’, very interesting lyrics and what would you like people to get from this song?

(Thinks) There’s reference to shadows…it’s maybe a Yorkshire thing, in a way. Life drives you to different locations. About making the right decisions, at the right time

The song ‘Lost Property’ – I like this, it has a real groove to it but I think lyrically it seems quite sad. How do you explain to the other musicians what mood you’re after?

Well I get the other players to jam along to the song and when it sounds the right mood or ambience I shape it up with them. To say : ‘That’s the sort of feel that I’m going for, here’…it has a lonely element, this song so it needs the kind of rhythm that puts it over

I absolutely love the album cover artwork

That’s a local lad, here called Drew Millward…he did come to the printing studio  I own called Oldfield Press and he was just taking an interest. So I gave him some thoughts and sent him away to see what he would produce…and kept it touch with him, really..there’s hills, electric guitars, a city on the background, and my dog who unfortunately we lost this year..so it’s a picture of the last year of my life, really

So it’s your last twelve months in a graphic

Yeah – and he’s done a cracking job ! I was blown away like you when I first saw it all..

Amongst all this new material, is there perhaps a particular song that finds Tony Wright at his most positive?

I think it’s a more positive album or collection overall..it’s more accepting of what might happen to anyone in life..one’s about a guy who is from a well-to-do family and all he wants to do is play blues guitar, he has that dilemma of nit being able to feel the stress of the blues from a position of comfort…that mental attitude to what confronts you. Indeed. A bit like playing in a rock band…the last track is about writing a song, where something taps you on the shoulder as an idea and if you at that point grab that and listen and learn it..it’s your song. It can come from a conversation you hear of the box or the radio, it can come from a thought in your head. You’re picking upon things in the airwaves. There’s one song called Life’s Too Short, about a good friend who died..these things come up on your Facebook timeline, your Home Page. All of his friends were posting on his timeline saying what a great person he was and how they knew him, and I think that really helped his family being able to read those positive comments about him. He was a great mate. A member of the football team, too. So there’s a song that tapped me on the shoulder, to write it.

To be honest, I think that song is a perfect radio single. Do you like the Rolling Stones ‘Exile On Main Street’?

(Laughs) (Ponders) Hmm…I can hear some riffs in my head now you’ve mentioned it…maybe I’m not consciously aware of it…if you can hear it, you’re probably correct!

‘A&E’ has some very fluid electric guitar lines

That is a kind of road song..and the last place you want to be is in A&E! Either the casualty or a colleague of A&E

How would you describe your hometown in a few words?

Where I live now is open, very green, very quiet, beautiful

If you could put together some music for a new film based on a novel, which one?

Hmm – maybe…Lord Of The Flies. That’s quite an adventure, isn’t it ..it has different personalities and tension

Your current songwriting method?

I write all my songs acoustically, on the guitar then develop them from there..we don’t always go out with a full band, it depends upon the gig…the guitarist Milly whose been with me since the first album …on the bass we have Laika Dog, drums Stevie Clarkson, he plays with a lot of rock bands, metal bands.

When Terrorvision started, which bands were your contemporaries? The ones you most related to or got on with?

Faith No More..Guns & Roses..Red Hot Chili Peppers..all of which are different to each other, of course BUT probably came from the same background as ourselves..inspired by Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, The Carpenters and Elton John.

Those rock and pop influences brought our sound together, I’d say. If you have one songwriter in a band it can get a bit limited after a while. The albums start to sound the same….

Are you planning to tour this new album?

We have done some gigs already on this album, in September we’ll be down on the South Coast, playing London on the 15th I think? Alongside a lad called Tim McMillan, if you’ve heard of him..he’s an amazing guitar player and my manager has been working with him. Can play it in a virtuoso way, where it can sound like a piano or whatever..it’ll all be on the Facebook and the site and everywhere.

Glenn Sargeant