Monkeying Around
The Brits Awards, January 2005
The Gorillaz get all, erm, animated as they answer The BRITs mag’s questions…
What do you think of your competition i.e. Oasis/ Coldplay/ Kaiser Chiefs/ Franz Ferdinand etc?
Murdoc: Is that just one big group? The only way they could out-do us is to join forces. Seriously. Gorillaz stand out like a sore thumb in that lot.
Do you think the Crazy Frog gives animated artists a bad name?
Murdoc: Er... Naff. Off.
Could one of Gorillaz’ live shows win the Turner prize?
Murdoc: Only if I filmed you watching it and then put it on a loop for all eternity, so some pompous art critic can marvel at ‘the self awareness and ironic self-referencing that this multi-media thought burp has instigated’. Turn it off, mate, it’s all gone wrong.
You always look sharp. Is image still important for a music career?
Murdoc: As the Clash said, ‘like trousers, like brain’. Meaning if you dress like a turd you probably sound like one and think like one too.
Noodle: One reason behind the way Gorillaz present themselves as they do is actually to remove the ego, the presentation of personality, from the music. It becomes more about the work rather than simply another band presenting their own personalities...
Murdoc: ...who are almost universally boring, turgid, life-draining, soul-sapping morons, with nothing other than a fancy haircut and some kind of grinning baboon-like face. Who wants to buy into that? No-one. Anyway the truth is far less complicated than that rubbish. We look better than anything else out there. It’s that simple.
Did the guest stars on your new album teach you anything new?
Murdoc: Shaun Ryder taught me a particularly mucky stunt with a shoehorn and an avocado stone. But it’s a bit ‘post-watershed’. Think - you’ve got Dennis Hopper, Ike Turner and Shaun Ryder and me in a room together. So rack out the Pringles and dial up Hooters. Why not?
You are role models to our youth. What message are you sending out?
Russel: Don’t accept inferior goods. Do what you want with your imagination and...
Murdoc: Don’t fear the reaper.
2D: Ridicule is nothing to be scared of.
Who’s the plumber in the band?
2D: That’s up to the audience to decide, there’s no fat in this band.
Murdoc: Apart from the lard-arse on drums.
Are you making lots of money?
Russel: Gorillaz is a big operation, but all our cash goes back into the band. We’re looking to clear our overdrafts by about 2123. Seriously, to do what we do takes a team of two-hundred scientists in lab coats just to get the chemical balances of technology, light and sound just right. One slip and the whole thing’ll come crashing down. D’you know how much lab coats cost?
What will 2006 hold in your plans for world domination?
Noodle: Many things. We’re rehearsing for an incredible full-scale live show, which we plan to unveil in 2007. But the...
Murdoc: Look. I’ve gotta go. I’ve got a couple of warm chicks waiting for me in my Winnebago. And if I don’t get back soon Dennis Rodman’s going to have ‘em both.
Official website: www.gorillaz.com
What do you think of your competition i.e. Oasis/ Coldplay/ Kaiser Chiefs/ Franz Ferdinand etc?
Murdoc: Is that just one big group? The only way they could out-do us is to join forces. Seriously. Gorillaz stand out like a sore thumb in that lot.
Do you think the Crazy Frog gives animated artists a bad name?
Murdoc: Er... Naff. Off.
Could one of Gorillaz’ live shows win the Turner prize?
Murdoc: Only if I filmed you watching it and then put it on a loop for all eternity, so some pompous art critic can marvel at ‘the self awareness and ironic self-referencing that this multi-media thought burp has instigated’. Turn it off, mate, it’s all gone wrong.
You always look sharp. Is image still important for a music career?
Murdoc: As the Clash said, ‘like trousers, like brain’. Meaning if you dress like a turd you probably sound like one and think like one too.
Noodle: One reason behind the way Gorillaz present themselves as they do is actually to remove the ego, the presentation of personality, from the music. It becomes more about the work rather than simply another band presenting their own personalities...
Murdoc: ...who are almost universally boring, turgid, life-draining, soul-sapping morons, with nothing other than a fancy haircut and some kind of grinning baboon-like face. Who wants to buy into that? No-one. Anyway the truth is far less complicated than that rubbish. We look better than anything else out there. It’s that simple.
Did the guest stars on your new album teach you anything new?
Murdoc: Shaun Ryder taught me a particularly mucky stunt with a shoehorn and an avocado stone. But it’s a bit ‘post-watershed’. Think - you’ve got Dennis Hopper, Ike Turner and Shaun Ryder and me in a room together. So rack out the Pringles and dial up Hooters. Why not?
You are role models to our youth. What message are you sending out?
Russel: Don’t accept inferior goods. Do what you want with your imagination and...
Murdoc: Don’t fear the reaper.
2D: Ridicule is nothing to be scared of.
Who’s the plumber in the band?
2D: That’s up to the audience to decide, there’s no fat in this band.
Murdoc: Apart from the lard-arse on drums.
Are you making lots of money?
Russel: Gorillaz is a big operation, but all our cash goes back into the band. We’re looking to clear our overdrafts by about 2123. Seriously, to do what we do takes a team of two-hundred scientists in lab coats just to get the chemical balances of technology, light and sound just right. One slip and the whole thing’ll come crashing down. D’you know how much lab coats cost?
What will 2006 hold in your plans for world domination?
Noodle: Many things. We’re rehearsing for an incredible full-scale live show, which we plan to unveil in 2007. But the...
Murdoc: Look. I’ve gotta go. I’ve got a couple of warm chicks waiting for me in my Winnebago. And if I don’t get back soon Dennis Rodman’s going to have ‘em both.
Official website: www.gorillaz.com