AVANT GARDAI

avant gardai

interview in CrIB - november, 1999

Depending on who you listen to, AVANT GARDAI are either the future of experimental music in Ireland, or the world's most arrogant piss-artists, engaged in some sort of elaborate mind game with their "potential" audience, the desired result of which mind game is known and understand only by themselves.

Having released a CD EP, "DEATHLY SILENCE", consisting of 3 silent "tracks", AVANT GARDAI have just commenced recording their debut "album". I went to meet them in their rented house in Killarney to discuss their past, present and future.

AVANT GARDAI consists of John (the talkative one), Dessie (the taciturn theoretician) and Bren (the reluctant one). They've been together now for almost a year.

JOHN - "We all played in various bands and groupings around Killarney over the years, with no great success. We felt it was time to do something different, to make some sort of impression, so we organised a gig under the group name of THE MINDPOLICE and just went apeshit, using loads of feedback, detuning our instruments and smashing-up the place..."

And the reaction?

DESSIE - "Brilliant! We were barred from the pub after a fist-fight started with the bouncers!"

BREN - "Me drum kit ended up on the footpath in bits. Two skinheads were kicking the shit out of it around the street. Cost me nearly a grand..."

DESSIE - "I was only sorry we didn't get to play the full 90 minute set we'd planned."

Deciding that they'd got more reaction out of one anarchic gig than out of years of slogging their guts around the pubs of South Kerry, the boys felt that they had no option but to pursue this new musical route. Well, most of them felt that way anyway...

BREN - "I'm a rocker at heart. I like tunes and beats and real bands. Real bands have real drummers. I love gigs. AVANT GARDAI is different. It's a different approach to music, and it's taken me a while to get used to things..."

JOHN - "Bren's right in saying that AVANT GARDAI is a different approach, but that doesn't mean it's not valid. The music scene in Ireland is really boring at present. You've either got pathetic guitar bands, and we've all played in those in our time, or spotty-faced geeks with computers in their bedrooms, churning out this awful fuckin' dance music shite. Soulless."

DESSIE - "Our music is environmental music. We reflect what's going on around us, and because we're human beings, we try to inject elements of our humanity into our music."

So where's the humanity on "DEATHLY SILENCE", then? 3 silent "tracks"?

DESSIE - "There's nothing more human than the sound of silence. My parents haven't spoken to each other in years."

JOHN - "Much of the world we live in is shaped by silence. The silence that allows dictators to oppress. The silence that allows corruption to flourish. The silence that leads to famine and disease and death. That's the negative aspect of silence. But there's a positive side to it, too. Peace and tranquility."

But do you actually expect people to buy a CD with no music? Bren looks decidedly uncomfortable...

DESSIE - "No-one would have thought 10 years ago that anyone in Ireland would buy bottled water. But now it's huge business."

JOHN - "Again it's an environmental issue. More and more people in Ireland are buying bottled water because the quality of tap water is so bad. So people are now spending money buying good quality water that's safe to drink. It's the same with 'DEATHLY SILENCE'..."

?????

JOHN - "There's so much noise in the environment that's it's so hard to escape from it. We can provide a few moments of peace and tranquility with "DEATHLY SILENCE". We think that people would be willing to pay for it."

DESSIE - "The phrase 'buying silence' has intriguing connotations, don't you think?"

How did they manage to convince any record label to release the EP?

BREN - "It was cheap to record..."

DESSIE - "The producer of the EP, Dan Prenderville, is on some kind of a head trip with his little label. He desperately wants to release material to give the label some sort of legitimacy. We heard about him and made our move..."

So now you're doing an album with him?

JOHN - "Yeah, we've finished one track already and we've started on a second."

And presumably there are going to be actual sounds on the album?

JOHN - "Oh yes, loads of sounds. Music, too..."

DESSIE - "...but no drums!"

Bren looks really uncomfortable now...

But you've got a drummer!!!

DESSIE - "A drummer without a drum kit no longer has the status of a drummer. Like a de-frocked priest."

But how about Bren? Where does he fit in to AVANT GARDAI?

DESSIE - "Denying Bren his ability to use his talents in the group creates a unique inter-personal tension which must impact on the creative process. So long as that tension can be managed and channeled correctly, wonderful things can be achieved."

JOHN - "None of us use our natural talents on the album. We'd only fall into the same old musical traps of melody, harmony and playing in time, and we don't want to be constrained in that way."

So what does Bren do?

JOHN - "He picks the track titles which will help create the desired mood for the album."

DESSIE - "And he's the one with the car..."

And what does Bren have to say about this? Not much...claiming a need for fresh air, Bren has left the room and gone out for a walk. It's an environmental issue...

How about doing gigs to promote your music?

DESSIE - "Gigs are so predictable. They're meaningless. The audience are like sheep. They'll clap and boo and shout for encores. We need to find a way to make a "public appearance" a truly memorable and meaningful event and one which enhances our creative spirit, and there's no point going at it in a half-arsed manner."

So no gigs, then?

JOHN - "Bren is anxious to gig. He's the real musician amongst us, and he's itching to get out there and bash a kit around. But you know, Dessie is right - there's no point in putting on a show that isn't gonna blow peoples' minds and perceptions apart."

DESSIE - "People need to be re-educated in order to appreciate the potential of live performance. They need to be aware that the scope of reaction is broader than applause and abuse. I would love to put on a show that would stun people into total silence."

JOHN - "Unfortunately, we haven't got the cash to put on the type of show we'd really love to do."

So no gigs, then?

JOHN - "No.."

Watch this space...