still life - A Seriously Serious Band By Cilla

So, what do reckon to a story about a gasman, a B&Q manager, a policeman, a PC salesman and a graphic designer? Can you think of a connection? Bet you can't. Seemed pretty obscure to me, too, until I met Mike and James. Then it all became clear. still life, the band.

Mike had sent us an email a couple of weeks back, letting us know that still life, after a brief disappearance into obscurity, had returned, armed with new songs, a new attitude and ready to hit Hull, at the very least. Feeling flattered that they bothered to contact us, we were quick to invite them round for an interview, just to see what they were like, who they were and what they thought about.

It turned out to be a really interesting meet. These guys are seriously serious. Intelligent, articulate and vocal. They really know where they want to go. They have such a lot to say. And they're really not too bothered about being famous. They're on a mission. From my point of view, it's kind of fateful that we met when we did. There's a link between what we want to do - attempting to raise the profile of this 'pioneering' city of ours in both the eyes of the rest of the world and in our own. And these guys have thought about that a lot.

So what's the history of the band? still life have been in and around the music scene in Hull since 1996 when they worked the pubs and clubs circuit in Hull, venues such as O'Neill's and Moriarties, gaining recognition and a certain amount of fame within the city. No, that's not quite true. They hit the ceiling in Hull. And found themselves on the dreaded 'plateau'. And then the disillusionment set in. So many cover bands on the circuit and the inevitable 'who do you sound like?' on the phone from every potential gig. Suddenly nobody wanted to know about original music in Hull. But this band wanted to be recognised on its own merits. They were not prepared to apologetically sprinkle a couple of their own creations amid the covers of whoever was famous at the time.

Enough was enough. Time to take stock and get sorted. They had to learn how to be original and successful. Mike, James and Andy enrolled on an Access to Music course in the hope that they could learn more about turning their ambitions into reality. And in the meantime, they all carried on with the day jobs - the gasman, B&Q manager, policeman, PC salesman and graphic designer. continued below

still life - A Seriously Serious Band continued By Cilla

And that's where they've been. They've been out for nearly 2 years now, getting their act together, practicing and writing, practicing and recording, practicing and renewing themselves, ready to have another go at the live music scene in Hull. And that's the story so far. So today, what does the new, 21st century still life have to say now? What about the Access course (still running in Hull for young musicians)? Mike said 'That course helped a lot - all 3 of us who went on it thought so. It gave us grounding in how to get where we wanted to go.'

Mike makes it a habit to see live music every week. He said he'd like to tell Hull 'Change your attitude, get out and enjoy it! Educate yourself - help raise the profile of live music in Hull'. And he'd be right. It's all here, it's just that we need a push to appreciate it and take advantage. 'Geographically, Hull is a hard catchment area. Surprisingly, it's the 8th largest city in the UK, but continues to be seen by those both within and without it's boundaries as stuck out on a limb - at the end of the railway track, the end of the motorway, cut off on one side by water (and you're looking at a fiver to travel across to the south and back). But what about Liverpool? That's no more of a backwater than Hull and yet look at it's record for producing talent.'

We talked about what's going on in Hull - why don't the audiences appreciate the richness of talent anymore? Why is it so uncool to go and see something fresh, new, undiscovered; something nobody's heard of before? I've seen it myself - really superb music being played to a virtually empty gig. It's shameful. They'll stop bothering to write and perform at all and then, where will we be? Devoid of something important, that's where.

We talked about the great talent and big names in the past - Pink Floyd, The Beatles (of course), U2, Oasis - who's to say the next isn't breeding in Hull at this moment and they need the chance. Look at Emma Rugg - brilliant singer/songwriter who still performs basically for the love of writing and singing. And now we have KC stadium - Hulls opportunity to make a name for itself, and encourage its more creative elements. Lets hope it does something for lesser names than Sir Elton.

I got my old Queen scrapbooks out for light entertainment. I'd gathered from somewhere that one of the band members was into Queen - and as luck would have it, James, the Queen addict was here! I proudly presented my cuttings from NME and Melody Maker (as well as a couple of tickets to one of their concerts at The Liverpool Empire back in 1974 - £1.50!) and he was impressed (or very polite). I think this stuff was from before he was born!

Hey, what a really ace afternoon and what an ace couple of blokes, not to mention Tim Dooley, their friend and mentor - a Robbie Coltrane of a bloke - who came along too, there on hand to help them and give advice , being long in the music fraternity in Hull. still life have a message for their potential audience (and for that matter, to any live bands audience) 'Tell us what you want - tell us where and tell us when. We'll support anyone; we have no hang-ups about where we are on anybody's play list'

I wish them all the luck in the world. I'm really looking forward to seeing them play live - that's what it's all about.

still life is playing at the Welly Club on Thursday 13th November - see you there! A new still life cd is due out later this year so please check their website for further details www.stilllifeonline.com or contact still life: band@stilllifeonline.com band@stilllifeonline.com

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