Backstage with Master of None

We talk bizarre comparisons, Robert the Bruce and embarrassing moments after a song’s finished with the multi-talented Stroud-based duo, Master of None.

Who are Master of None?
We’re a semi-professional folk band with jazz, rock and classical influences, consisting of Alex West on vocals, flute, saxophone, piano… and beginner guitar, and Howard Sinclair on vocals, guitars, bass, mandolin and piano. We write and arrange all of our own material.

Where did the name come from?
When Alex was in school she refused to specialise in one instrument, and her sax teacher said that she risked becoming a jack of all trades and a master of none. She decided this wasn’t such a bad thing and we’ve made a good name playing lots of instruments in various styles, from traditional folk to rockier originals to, accidently, avante garde jazz-folk!

And how did you get together?
We got married! The current line-up’s been going since 2003.

Who are your main influences?
Have you got a pen? Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, Indigo Girls, Marillion, Altan, The Eagles, Sheryl Crow, REM, Crowded House, Paula Cole and Mindy Smith.

Who do you get compared to?
Alex keeps being told she sounds like Judy Collins. She hadn’t heard her until last year. The more bizarre comparisons are to angels, fairies, sirens (we hope they mean mermaids and not police cars) and birds. The Joni Mitchell comparison is inevitable with any woman who writes her own songs.

The really, really unfortunate comparison was to Mindy and Mitch from A Mighty Wind, a film which takes the mick out of the American folk scene of the 1960s, all because we often kiss after playing a song. Well, it avoids the embarrassing thing of what to do when people start clapping and you’re really shy!

Who goes to your gigs?
A really wide range of people, from the under 5s to the over 80s. We get a lot of other musicians, also artists, fellow hippies, Christians, neighbours, family, friends and total strangers who have seen us out busking in Gloucestershire.

Latest material?
We released our first album, Childhood Substitute, in 2005, and we’re currently working on our second album to release in the autumn. We also recently entered some new material in the Folk Quest competition, a national competition hosted by Johnny Coppin’s Folk Roots Show on BBC Radio Gloucestershire, and were runners up in the bands and duos category.

What’s your favourite venue you’ve played at in Gloucestershire?
The best indoor venue would have to be The Sundial Theatre in Cirencester, which has excellent sound and lighting and a good atmosphere. Outdoor-wise it would be the Stroud Fringe Festival, where we’ll be playing for the fourth time this year on Saturday 8 September.

Where would you most like to play in the county?
The Subscription Rooms in Stroud. We’ve done a short slot there, but would love to do a longer one.

What local gigs have you been to recently and who do you rate?
Most recently we saw Spenley’s Guitar Shop (which is actually a band!) at the Star Anise Café in Stroud. We also rate Mark Wilderspin who is the lead singer in our other band, Winbush, and plays solo as well. Then there’s Finnegan’s Wok, a local ceilidh ban, Pete Taylor, who won the solo category in Folk Quest and Ami Kaelyn, a Tetbury-based singer-songwriter. We couldn’t possibly name everyone but there’s a huge wealth of talent at Minchinhampton Folk Club.

Who would you most like to support?
Indigo Girls!

What do you do when you’re not making music?
We own a German Shepherd-Labrador cross and walk her every day. We also like vegan cooking, swimming, and we attend church every week. This is the stuff we can tell you about…

Have you ever… thrown a TV out of a hotel window?
No, what a waste! And who wants to watch TV when they’re in a hotel room?

Have you ever… had a groupie stalk you?
Well, we did have an obsessive fan once, but the less said about that, the better. Alex fairly regularly attracts ‘interesting’ people whilst busking alone, and once had to call the police.

Done something you really regret in the morning?
Yes, it involved the local scrumpy!

Can you recommend one album to our readers you don’t think they will have discovered?
Everything by Marillion and by the Indigo Girls.

Number one ambition?
To tour in a VW camper and to leave something beautiful behind when we’re gone.

Any claims to fame?
Howard is descended from Robert the Bruce and Alex is distantly related to Patrick Troughton, who was a really, really old Dr. Who. That’s about as good as it gets. We have to make our own luck, or notoriety!

What advice would you give to local artists trying to make it?
Don’t bother with the industry! Treat music as a business (and go legit when you’re making money), make it grow slowly and sustainably, treat everyone as well as you possibly can, be part of your community, take every available opportunity (even if it’s not glamorous) and build something which will last. Be in it for the music, not for fame.

Catch the inspirational duo Master of None live at Gloucester Farmers’ Market on Friday 13 July, at Star Anise Arts Café in Stroud on Friday 20 July, at Stroud Farmers’ Market on Saturday 21 July and at Summer in the City in Gloucester on Thursday 26 July 2007.

SoGlos.com
1 July 2007