A collection of 4 interviews from '97-'02.
I saved the text from the Alain Whyte 'Syte' (post-Geocities) a long time back, but as Johnny Panic is being mentioned again - thought it worthwhile dusting them off.
Lots of Morrissey content.
All credit to the original interviewers, any named within & Alain Whyte.
Regards,
FWD.
(1997)
Tristan McKay
Daily Staff
It's not everyday that a young, aspiring musician has the chance to audition for Morrissey, but six years ago, Alain Whyte did.
Whyte joined up with Morrissey when he was 24. Morrissey was looking for new musicians to form a band to tour in support of his then-current LP, Kill Uncle. Whyte knew Morrissey was going to be looking for musicians and he had the foresight to practice many of Morrissey's songs with Gary Day and Spencer Cobrin, two other members of The Memphis Sinners. When it came time to actually audition, they were very well prepared, and impressed Morrissey with the extent of their repertoire. “We knew 15 [of his] songs from day one, and he was just flabbergasted. Three weeks after that, we were on a world-wide tour for six months,” recalls Whyte during a telephone interview.
Alain Whyte has been the guitarist and main songwriter for Morrissey on the last three albums. Whyte is a charismatic performer, charging his live playing with remarkable energy, exuding coolness and style from every pore, and all the while providing impeccable musical foundations for Morrissey's emotive singing.
Whyte joined Morrissey at a crucial time. If it hadn't been for his consistently cohesive and musically diverse songwriting, Morrissey's career may well have faded into obscurity after the meandering Kill Uncle. Even Morrissey's wonderful voice could not continue to captivate without the support of catchy tunes behind it.
For Whyte, writing songs is an organic process. Ideas come into his head and he writes them down on the spot, figuring out the song's chord sequences then and there. If he gets stuck on a song, he will leave it for a while and then come back to it later when he gets another idea. For Morrissey, Whyte records demos of songs in an eight-track recording studio Whyte has in his home, and then Morrissey adds vocals to the music by either writing the words around the music or fitting words to it that he has already written. Oftentimes, when the whole band plays the songs on an album, they are very similar to Whyte's original demos.
Other times, however, Morrissey takes a more active role in the arranging of a song. “He'll make a suggestion, possibly to a tune that he has a really good idea with, and if he's made up in his mind how the song goes, he'll take parts of your song and say, 'I want that to go around another four times,' like verse, chorus, verse, chorus. He'll kind of chop and change a song around if it's not bang-up, but a lot of time, the songs are exact. He writes exactly to the tune that you've put down.”
In addition to playing guitar, Whyte also sings the backing vocals for Morrissey. He has done some impressively haunting, ethereal singing on Vauxhall & I and Southpaw Grammar, and he has a remarkable amount of range in his voice. “I've gotten good with harmonies and stacking up vocals. On Southpaw Grammar, I did a lot of backing vocals actually singing down my guitar pickup. I'd do about three or four tracks harmonizing, especially on 'The Teachers are Afraid of The Pupils.' It's really kind of ghostly and strange.”
Of his work with Morrissey, Whyte's favorite albums are Your Arsenal and Southpaw Grammar. The chance to work with glam-guitar legend Mick Ronson, and the rich variety found on Your Arsenal, from “slow moody songs” to the “up-tempo rocking songs,” make it a real stand-out in Whyte's mind. With Southpaw Grammar, he appreciated the “complete attack” of the album. “I think it's really underrated, that album and I'm really sad about that. The press were quite vicious towards us in England. I think they're pretty negative in England in general, especially about bands. I find that in America, people and press seem to be a lot more keen on artists and basically write more fair reviews.”
Whyte is excited about the new Morrissey album, which is called Maladjusted, and is scheduled for release in early August. He describes the record as, “really mature. It's a cross between Southpaw Grammar and Vauxhall & I. That sounds really silly, but it's pretty much that. There are some great songs. Lyrically, it's a very strong album. I think a lot of fans are going to be impressed.” Whyte is confident that Morrissey will have a world tour to support the new album. “He has to, really,” states Alain. He expects the band will tour the United States this October or early 1998 at the very latest.
Whyte was born and raised in London. From a very early age he enjoyed music. Thinking back, he says, “I was brought up on a healthy diet of Jimi Hendrix and The Doors. I was quite a hippie child; outrageous, really. I remember, I used to have a little turntable, and at the age of four, I was sticking on Doors LP's, The Who and The Beatles.” His interest in music really took form following Elvis' death when Whyte was eight. After The King's death, all of his movies were played on TV, and Whyte was deeply inspired. “From then on, I wanted to be a singer or in a band,” he said.
Although his first instrument was drums, Whyte eventually gave it up to learn guitar. “I wanted to sing, and I strummed an acoustic, and just kind of learned. I just picked it up as I went along,” states Whyte. His playing has kept improving with practice, and he is actually contemplating returning to school some day to attend music college in order to broaden his musical abilities even further. He feels his playing has really become much better in the last couple of years. “It's weird, for me it's like I've taken one more step up a big stair,” he said.
As a teenager, Whyte listened to rockabilly music and was in several rockabilly bands, including the Rugcutters, Born Bad and the Memphis Sinners.
In addition to his work with Morrissey, Whyte has recently joined a new band called Johnny Panic and The Bible of Dreams. He is very enthusiastic about the new band, because the singer is a fine lyricist with lots of great songs already written, and Whyte has a lot of unused tunes and new musical ideas as well. He sees a great potential in the future of their combined efforts at songwriting. Whyte describes the band as “indie pop sort of stuff. It's kind of a cross between The Jam, and I hate to say it, Blur and The Smiths, that kind of thing. I guess it's got Alain Whyte sound on it, because that's just the way I play.”
Johnny Panic are currently looking for a record label on which to record and release their material. There seems to be a lot of interest from some big companies, like Geffen Records, and the band should get an album deal soon. Whyte has been touring recently with Johnny Panic, doing a lot of smaller shows, and he hopes to eventually come to America with the band. He may actually sing lead vocals on a couple Johnny Panic songs that he has written. “Look out for Johnny Panic,” quips Whyte, “I think you guys are going to really dig them. They're going to be a real college radio band, without a doubt.”
I saved the text from the Alain Whyte 'Syte' (post-Geocities) a long time back, but as Johnny Panic is being mentioned again - thought it worthwhile dusting them off.
Lots of Morrissey content.
All credit to the original interviewers, any named within & Alain Whyte.
Regards,
FWD.
(1997)
a chat with Alain Whyte
Morrisey's manTristan McKay
Daily Staff
It's not everyday that a young, aspiring musician has the chance to audition for Morrissey, but six years ago, Alain Whyte did.
Whyte joined up with Morrissey when he was 24. Morrissey was looking for new musicians to form a band to tour in support of his then-current LP, Kill Uncle. Whyte knew Morrissey was going to be looking for musicians and he had the foresight to practice many of Morrissey's songs with Gary Day and Spencer Cobrin, two other members of The Memphis Sinners. When it came time to actually audition, they were very well prepared, and impressed Morrissey with the extent of their repertoire. “We knew 15 [of his] songs from day one, and he was just flabbergasted. Three weeks after that, we were on a world-wide tour for six months,” recalls Whyte during a telephone interview.
Alain Whyte has been the guitarist and main songwriter for Morrissey on the last three albums. Whyte is a charismatic performer, charging his live playing with remarkable energy, exuding coolness and style from every pore, and all the while providing impeccable musical foundations for Morrissey's emotive singing.
Whyte joined Morrissey at a crucial time. If it hadn't been for his consistently cohesive and musically diverse songwriting, Morrissey's career may well have faded into obscurity after the meandering Kill Uncle. Even Morrissey's wonderful voice could not continue to captivate without the support of catchy tunes behind it.
For Whyte, writing songs is an organic process. Ideas come into his head and he writes them down on the spot, figuring out the song's chord sequences then and there. If he gets stuck on a song, he will leave it for a while and then come back to it later when he gets another idea. For Morrissey, Whyte records demos of songs in an eight-track recording studio Whyte has in his home, and then Morrissey adds vocals to the music by either writing the words around the music or fitting words to it that he has already written. Oftentimes, when the whole band plays the songs on an album, they are very similar to Whyte's original demos.
Other times, however, Morrissey takes a more active role in the arranging of a song. “He'll make a suggestion, possibly to a tune that he has a really good idea with, and if he's made up in his mind how the song goes, he'll take parts of your song and say, 'I want that to go around another four times,' like verse, chorus, verse, chorus. He'll kind of chop and change a song around if it's not bang-up, but a lot of time, the songs are exact. He writes exactly to the tune that you've put down.”
In addition to playing guitar, Whyte also sings the backing vocals for Morrissey. He has done some impressively haunting, ethereal singing on Vauxhall & I and Southpaw Grammar, and he has a remarkable amount of range in his voice. “I've gotten good with harmonies and stacking up vocals. On Southpaw Grammar, I did a lot of backing vocals actually singing down my guitar pickup. I'd do about three or four tracks harmonizing, especially on 'The Teachers are Afraid of The Pupils.' It's really kind of ghostly and strange.”
Of his work with Morrissey, Whyte's favorite albums are Your Arsenal and Southpaw Grammar. The chance to work with glam-guitar legend Mick Ronson, and the rich variety found on Your Arsenal, from “slow moody songs” to the “up-tempo rocking songs,” make it a real stand-out in Whyte's mind. With Southpaw Grammar, he appreciated the “complete attack” of the album. “I think it's really underrated, that album and I'm really sad about that. The press were quite vicious towards us in England. I think they're pretty negative in England in general, especially about bands. I find that in America, people and press seem to be a lot more keen on artists and basically write more fair reviews.”
Whyte is excited about the new Morrissey album, which is called Maladjusted, and is scheduled for release in early August. He describes the record as, “really mature. It's a cross between Southpaw Grammar and Vauxhall & I. That sounds really silly, but it's pretty much that. There are some great songs. Lyrically, it's a very strong album. I think a lot of fans are going to be impressed.” Whyte is confident that Morrissey will have a world tour to support the new album. “He has to, really,” states Alain. He expects the band will tour the United States this October or early 1998 at the very latest.
Whyte was born and raised in London. From a very early age he enjoyed music. Thinking back, he says, “I was brought up on a healthy diet of Jimi Hendrix and The Doors. I was quite a hippie child; outrageous, really. I remember, I used to have a little turntable, and at the age of four, I was sticking on Doors LP's, The Who and The Beatles.” His interest in music really took form following Elvis' death when Whyte was eight. After The King's death, all of his movies were played on TV, and Whyte was deeply inspired. “From then on, I wanted to be a singer or in a band,” he said.
Although his first instrument was drums, Whyte eventually gave it up to learn guitar. “I wanted to sing, and I strummed an acoustic, and just kind of learned. I just picked it up as I went along,” states Whyte. His playing has kept improving with practice, and he is actually contemplating returning to school some day to attend music college in order to broaden his musical abilities even further. He feels his playing has really become much better in the last couple of years. “It's weird, for me it's like I've taken one more step up a big stair,” he said.
As a teenager, Whyte listened to rockabilly music and was in several rockabilly bands, including the Rugcutters, Born Bad and the Memphis Sinners.
In addition to his work with Morrissey, Whyte has recently joined a new band called Johnny Panic and The Bible of Dreams. He is very enthusiastic about the new band, because the singer is a fine lyricist with lots of great songs already written, and Whyte has a lot of unused tunes and new musical ideas as well. He sees a great potential in the future of their combined efforts at songwriting. Whyte describes the band as “indie pop sort of stuff. It's kind of a cross between The Jam, and I hate to say it, Blur and The Smiths, that kind of thing. I guess it's got Alain Whyte sound on it, because that's just the way I play.”
Johnny Panic are currently looking for a record label on which to record and release their material. There seems to be a lot of interest from some big companies, like Geffen Records, and the band should get an album deal soon. Whyte has been touring recently with Johnny Panic, doing a lot of smaller shows, and he hopes to eventually come to America with the band. He may actually sing lead vocals on a couple Johnny Panic songs that he has written. “Look out for Johnny Panic,” quips Whyte, “I think you guys are going to really dig them. They're going to be a real college radio band, without a doubt.”