Mark Richardson (Skunk Anansie) interviewed by BeatIt, Pt. 3
One of iconic rock outfits of the 90s, which Skunk Anansie undoubtedly are, at least in Europe, came to Poland in late February this year to play four club gigs. On Feb 20, they performed at the Teatr Łaźnia Nowa in Krakow, on the 21st, they were at the Stodoła club in Warsaw, on the 22nd, they continued at B90 in Gdańsk and followed it all up with a gig at Centrum Kultury Zamek in Poznań. The beatit.tv team attended the latter show to interview the band’s drummer – Mark Richardson.
In the third part of this interesting conversation, our guest talks, openly and without beating about the bush, about how he couldn’t cope with being on the road or in studio for 6 years without a break, about the break-up of Skunk Anansie in 2000, as well as his addictions. Mark also discusses how working with his band has changed over the years when writing or recording, how modern technology has influenced the process and how he copes with injuries on the road.
“I joined Skunk Anansie in June 1995 and I had maybe 11 weeks off between then and when we split up, which was 2000. We had 2 weeks at Christmas and that was it. We were either touring, writing, recording or doing promo. So I didn’t cope with it towards the end. I drank myself into oblivion and took drugs to cope with it.”
“Addiction is a very intricate, difficult, complicated illness and it just wants you to isolate and isolate and isolate. That’s what happened. I became more and more alone, more and more isolated but surrounded by people.”
“There’s no rules when it comes to recording but we’re certainly not shy of putting samples in. When there’s a four-on-the-floor bass drum, I always layer up the bass drum and make it as big as possible. The best example is “Love Someone Else”, which is essentially a dance track played in a rock band. We like to make that bass drum really electronic and punchy.”
“I would love to be more prepared (in the studio), always. I always want to have a version of the song with no drums on it and I never, ever get one.”
“I’ve had a couple of injuries. (…) I’m 46, I don’t warm up as much as I should. You’re gonna get problems, aren’t you? I’m now in my 25th year of playing professionally and doing everything wrong. This is what happens.”
You’ll find much more by watching this episode of the interview. Drummers and Drummerettes! Here is Skunk Anansie drummer, Mark Richardson, in the third part of an exclusive interview for beatit.tv!
