Interview: Craig B
I'm not so sure there would be enough people out there right now to justify us playing again. There is so much great new music to find and support. I think that's more important right now.
It seems the age of the reunion has arrived for bands in multiple genres that were around in the late 90’s and 2000’s. However, still missing from the stage is Scotland’s Aereogramme. Whilst much loved there is a enigmatic aura as to the demise of such an important band which will be reaching 20 years since its end. During a rich history that crossed paths with other Scottish giants such as Idlewild and Biffy Clyro, there was always an appreciation from the industry and scene but it didn’t reach levels of sustainability that allowed for a continued endeavour. Even gracing stages and a collaborative record with post-metal titans ISIS didn’t provide the rewards deserving of such talent. After a skin full of enthusiasm and another late train ride pondering about how important Aereogramme continue to be, Gary Davidson reached out on Bandcamp to see if Craig Beaton, guitarist and vocalist, fancied answering a few questions. Graciously Craig replied via email to talk about the pleasure and pain of touring, the scant prospect of a reunion and the positivity in acknowledging the past but continuing to look forward.
E&D: It is approaching 19 years since the announcement went out on Myspace that Aereogramme was to split up. With the passage of time and hindsight, if you could go back would the outcome still be the same?
Craig B: If I had a time machine and could go back, my old self wouldn’t listen to my future self. Nothing could have convinced me to do anything else. I think the ending was inevitable though, which I think I’ve explained in more detail in one of your other questions. What I would do though is tell my old self to take the time to try to take it all in and enjoy the experience while it lasted. I probably didn’t appreciate the good things as much as I should have, at the time.
E&D: Financial struggles were one of the factors pointed out in the statement, were there any particular moments that stood out as being (most) costly?
Craig B: Any artist, musician, actor or anyone in a creative role has to decide how much time they should dedicate to pursuing what they love when it’s not providing a reasonable income. Even back then, the money bands would make from touring was generally only covering the cost of the tour. We would make a bit of money from t-shirts and selling crudely made CDRS burned in the back of the van but that would get you a month’s rent/food if you were lucky. The routine was basically, leave your job, go on tour, come back and find a crappy job that needed to hire someone fast, then leave that job when another tour came up and repeat. But those crappy jobs were typically low paid, cash in hand jobs so the pattern involved scraping by as best you could. We were absolutely driven in the first few years and money was not the thing that was spurring us on but this way of living inevitably caught up with us and the reality of the situation and the lifestyle started to weigh heavier and heavier on ourselves and our relationships.
E&D: I am not sure if you recall but ten days before the split was announced, on May 5th 2007 you played a gig in Inverness at the Ironworks at the end of a short Scottish tour. It felt like I was one of the few paying customers there in quite a large venue. It could very well have broken many bands, was the decision to split made before that tour and did it have any bearing at all?
Craig B: I remember that gig at the Ironworks. Campbell (Aereogramme bassist) wrote some incredibly articulate and eloquent liner notes for the Aereogramme boxset that is well worth hunting down if someone has a pdf of it online somewhere. In it, he recounts that we decided to call it a day in the middle of Alabama on our last U.S. tour, which was in April of 2007. I can still recall what that hotel room looked like when we made the call. So by the time we got to Inverness, the decision had already been made. It’s likely that the Inverness gig might have added fuel to the fire that things were just not working out the way we had hoped. The thing is though, we went into our last album knowing that the end was potentially in sight. Calling the album, My Heart Has A Wish That You Would Not Go had that sense of ending not so subtly referenced, and this was at the back of all our minds even then. Plus it was an exorcist reference and we loved that film.
E&D: As well as there being negatives, what were your favourite times of being in Aereogramme?
Craig B: This is a lovely question and I’ve spent the last few days trying to remember some of the highlights so forgive me if I selfishly list them. I am incredibly grateful for many things I got to experience in Aereogramme. I got to tour all the way round the U.S. four times in a van which was a life changing experience. We got to record at Maida Vale studios, I got to see the fjords and had one of the best nights of my life walking through disused train tunnels in Norway after the show, got to see so much of Holland, Switzerland, Belgium and especially Germany, got to tour with some incredible bands like Isis, Idilewild, The Delgados, Biffy Clyro, The Twilight Sad, Rilo Kiley, LIfe Without Buildings, Oceansize, Hell is for Heroes, Thursday etc. We supported Low, The Dirty Three, I got to scream on stage with Will Haven, play guitar very badly with Superchunk, watched…Trail of Dead burn a drum kit backstage and (allegedly) throw a TV out of a hotel window and over all those years I met some amazing people that I still keep in touch with (and ended up making more albums with, in the case of Graeme Smillie). I also really appreciate that after all this time, I can still meet up with Campbell, Martin, Iain and pick up wherever we left off the last time we spoke. Writing and playing music with those guys was absolutely the best part about being in Aereogramme. I learnt a lot from them.
E&D: Do you think Aereogramme would have landed differently if it had been releasing its first music in the last ten years with the evolution of the internet, social media etc or be fighting a different battle with the same outcome?
Craig B: A different battle with the same outcome sounds about right. I genuinely believe that I, personally, wasn’t good enough. I think it can still be true that we created something quite unique at the time, wrote some great songs and made a positive difference to some people’s lives but to make a career out of music is something that takes a certain level of skill and talent that in retrospect, I am aware I didn’t and don’t have. I have made peace with that. I’m not hoping to be told something different and it hasn’t stopped me making music. I’ve released six albums since Aereogramme split up but I recognise that what I do isn’t at the level that’s needed for a sustainable music career. I don’t think the last ten years would have made any difference. Some of my favourite bands, whose music completely changed my life, never “made it” either. I think that’s ok. I don’t feel hard done by and I don’t feel cheated. I also don’t regret anything. I was always going to give it a shot and I’m glad we did.
E&D: Were there any particular tours, support slots, reviews, interviews etc which you felt really benefited and aided the financials of the band?
Craig B: I can’t really say much aided the financials of the band but Rocksound magazine in the UK and Visions Magazine in Germany were incredibly supportive of Aereogramme and they championed us consistently when I’m sure it wasn’t really financially beneficial for them to do so. I’m sure that’s how many people heard about us. A lot of bands were also kind enough to take us on tour as the support band but we often felt like we struggled to win over their audiences very often.
E&D: Has there ever been any talk of reunions of Aereogramme between band members? Surely it would be quite the Aereogramme thing to celebrate 20 years of splitting up?
Craig B: Despite the fact that Iain and Campbell (and Dok who was a major part of My Heart Has A Wish That You Would Not Go) have had so much success with Chvrches and rightly don’t need to consider an Aereogramme reunion, I don’t feel that a reunion is needed. I have always tried to avoid nostalgia because it is a very tempting thing to become fixated on. I’m much more interested in creating new things rather than trying to recreate the past. One of my favourite pictures of Aereogramme is one that I’m not even in and it reminds me that I doubt we could recreate something like that again. It was a specific moment in time and I’m glad it happened but I just don’t have any desire to chase after it again.
E&D: Outside the band members do you get a sense of a desire for this? Spotify still shows over 12,000 monthly listeners.
Craig B: That’s lovely to hear but put it this way, you are the only person to reach out for an interview around an anniversary I wasn’t even aware of! Don’t get me wrong though, over the years there have been enough people kind enough to write to me and explain how much Aereogramme meant to them and that means a great deal to me. At the very beginning of the band, one of my hopes was that I might be able to make music that moved people in similar ways that some of my favourite bands had moved me. I think we managed that but I’m not so sure there would be enough people out there right now to justify us playing again. There is so much great new music to find and support. I think that’s more important right now. For example, Martin (Aereogramme drummer) is in a new band called OMO so you should check them out).
E&D: Is there any music you have written since Aereogramme that you felt would have been perfect for it and not actually used it for any other project?
Craig B: No. I’d say The Unwinding Hours is probably the closest sounding music to Aereogramme that I’ve written because Iain was so closely involved in that but those songs were never written for Aereogramme or with Aereogramme in mind. A Mote of Dust was not written for a full band either and Slovenly Hooks is a different beast altogether.
E&D: Do you ever listen back to any of the songs or albums?
Craig B: From time to time, if something comes up in conversation or if I’m reminded of a song, I’ll go back and have a listen. The last time I did that, I remember thinking “Was the song Wood really as heavy as I remember?” and yes, it was, which made me happy. However, I still love and prefer listening to new music. So I spend my time trying to explore that as much as possible.
Craig has been in numerous bands and there is a decent list on this tweet.
Some bands can be found on bandcamp
Aereogramme: https://aereogramme.bandcamp.com/
The Unwinding Hours: https://chemikalunderground.bandcamp.com/album/the-unwinding-hours
A Mote of Dust: https://amoteofdustofficial.bandcamp.com/
Slovenly Hooks: https://slovenlyhooks.bandcamp.com/
