Foto: Pressefoto

Nach dem 2002 erschienen Album "Glass" wurde es recht ruhig um THE FRANK AND WALTERS. Nun erscheint ihre B-Seiten- und Raritäten-Compilation "Souvenirs". Mitte April folgt eine Mini- Deutschland-Tour und im Herbst wird endlich ein neues Studioalbum der Band aus Cork /Irland veröffentlicht. Grund genug, um unter anderem mal nachzufragen, wie weit die Band denn mit den Aufnahmen ist.

You started making music in the early 90`s. Is it still of the same kind, still the same fun?

I guess our music at the moment would be similar in style to what we were doing in the early days. It did change for a while and we sort of went all 'electro' on the Glass album. I suppose we have ended up comming full circle. The new album will be the classic Franks sound with plenty of melody and the emphasis on positives rather then negatives.

Your new album will come out in autumn this year. Will it be a continuation of the last album "Glass", or was that something like a musical experiment?

Glass was very much an experiment. It was a record we had to get out of our system. We really wanted to get away from our own sound and do something that didnt sound like the Franks. It was also a tribute to bands we had listened to when we first got into music, artists like NEW ORDER and DEPECHE MODE and GARY NUMAN...

Where does the name THE FRANK AND WALTERS come from? Do they exist, the Franks?

The name came from 2 guys we knew when we were growing up, one was Frank and the other Walter, they were a lot older then us and totally crazy,they lived on our street but moved away when we were about 9 years old. The phrase "Frank and Walter" became our word for anything out of the ordinary or somebody who acted strange. When it came to naming the band it just fitted our outlook on life,we havent seen or heard of the guys for 25 years. Maybe we'll find them during the German tour!!!

You began in Cork. How is the music scene like there? Is there any music scene?

The music scene is very good in Cork at the moment. For a while during the mid 90's there were very few bands because the dance scene had taken over. Now there are lots of bands again and plenty of good venues. Bands to watch out for would be THE DRIVEN, LOTUS LULLABY, FRED, STANLEY SUPER 800 and us THE FRANK AND WALTERS! Can I mention us???

Where do you live and record your albums nowadays?

We still live in Cork and for this album we will be recording a lot of it here as well. In fact the drums were just finished in Dublin last week and the bass and drums are being done in a place called Inchadoney which is an Island west of the city. Its lovely with great views of the Atlantic ocean. The album will be mixed in London by the best mixer in the world - I forget
his name.

Any bands that influenced you?

Our influences have always been the same, 60's music and bands which inspired us to learn instruments like NEW ORDER, THE SMITHS, THE CURE etc.
Some modern bands have inspired us rather then influenced us - people like BELLE AND SEBASTIAN...

How is it for you to play in germany?

We love to play in Germany. People seem to be very receptive to our sound and the Indie scene seems to be quite strong. Most importantly German people understand the message of our songs even though we sing in a different language...

In 2002 you published a Best of- album. Was it for a special reason at that time?

It just seemed that the end of Phase 1 of the Franks story had been reached.
The journey from 'Trains Boats and Planes' to 'Glass' had been a complete journey and it felt right to draw a line under it.  We knew after Glass that we would have to go away and think hard about where to go next musically.
Luckily we are not very good at thinking so it just happened that the new songs had a feeling of early Franks about them. It felt right so we just went with it...

Why did Niall Linehan left the band and how is the work with Kevin Pedreschi?

Niall left because he just didnt feel lke touring and recording anymore. He got married and had a baby so I suppose his focus on life changed. It was a hard thing to take at the time but we were lucky to find Kevin, he's a brilliant guitarist and a great guy to work with. The change in dynamic also added to the new found sense of purpose the band has at the moment...

How was it to be supported by bands like RADIOHEAD or SUEDE, which are quite famous today?

It was good to see both bands go on to do big things, it was quite a shock with RADIOHEAD because you couldnt have predicted that they would have been so innovative and groundbreaking, if your talking to them ask them to return the favour, as far as i can remember they owe us 30 support shows!!

Is success important for you?

Not really. We just want to earn enough money to be able to carry on making records and maybe buy some solid platinum suits encrusted with rubies...

Why did it take so long untill the release of your double album "Souvenirs"?

Souvenirs was one of those things that just happened out of the blue, we bought our back catalogue and found lots of stuff that was never heard, we compiled it along with some cover versions and remixes...

Have you already finished your new album?

We are smack bang ion the middle of it, it should be finished by the end of may...

Is it true that you will tour Germany in autumn again?

Yes, this tour is only going to be 3 dates but we will be back in September to do a proper tour with the new record which will be called "Renewed Interest In Happiness"

Thanks!!!