Music Q&A: Blaenavon

Ben Gregory, lead singer of the indie three-piece, tells Big Issue North the band have no idea how to succeed in the music industry. He’s hoping to get some sleep before their gig at Liverpool’s Studio Two on 4 April.

What informs your music and songwriting?
I dwell on human experience like the greatest idiots. I almost always screw everything up and find it either hilarious or remarkable enough to write down. I like to question other people’s motives because I’m a very self-centred and non-existent man. For goodness sake – why would you do that? That is my question. I haven’t slept.

How have you evolved as a band over the years?
I used to just write a lot of nonsense but now I spend a lot of time writing and rewriting that nonsense. I now crave the impossible balance between the deeply personal and the universal – trying to make people see that we have our idiosyncrasies on one level, but deeper into the core of the human banana we are all just the same.

What are you up to at the moment artistically?
I’ve fallen in love and therefore am writing endless odes to someone I would describe as “noteworthy”.

What’s it like to operate in the music industry today?
Fucking funny, because no one has the slightest clue about what’s going on or how to succeed. We just flummox about, constantly falling over until someone is grateful that we’ve trodden on them. You throw a lot of desserts at a wall until the jam makes a pretty enough picture to sell for £4.99 on iTunes.

What’s on your rider?
Fags, gum and johnnies.

Tell us your most embarrassing or surreal experience.
On my birthday in Texas, Harris and I watched strong British gentlemen choke on their Hawaiian pizza.

What’s your worst lyric?
“Pray for Ben/my mopey friend/he’s lost his touch”