HOOTON 3 CAR and TRAVIS CUT

Only found out that Hooton 3 Car were playing the day before the gig, which was a nice surprise. Then, two hours before the gig I learned that Travis Cut were also playing! Despite a poor turnout (well, Snuff and Leatherface were playing a few miles up the road in Leeds) both bands were great, and were kind enough to do this interview before they played. Due to my incompetence I don't know whose voice is whose in Hooton 3 Car, so they're referred to as one. Sorry! Mac represented Travis Cut, with new drummer (ex-Fair Dinkum) Oscar revealing his previous job towards the end...

You've probably been asked this a million times before, but why are you called Hooton 3 Car? It intrigues me; it's a strange name.
H3C: It's just the name of a train in Liverpool where I'm from. It's as stupid as that. It's from a train that goes to a place called Hooton and has three carriages! Nothing exciting.
Another name question: Are you pissed off that the indie band Travis sort of ripped off your name?
Mac: No.

OK! You both played Manchester on Monday. Did it go well?
Everyone: Yeah.
Have either of you played there before, because Manchester's not really got much of a punk scene.
H3C: We've done it a couple of times. It's been alright every time we've been there.
Mac: We'd never done it at all.
Why not?
Mac: Dunno. No one's ever given us a gig before. It's cold and it's raining and stuff!

Which has got the best punk scene: Sunderland or Harlow?
Mac: It aint Harlow! It's not Harlow! Harlow's shit! Really, really shit. Nothing happens there. No one should go there for any reason ever.
You used to promote shows there at The Square, didn't you?
Mac: Yeah. I used to.
Why don't you do that any more?
Mac: Basically me and the venue I was booking had a bit of a falling out over musical tastes and personalities. They're all wankers!
Can I print that?!
Mac: You can print that! Certainly fucking can! [Laughter]
What about Sunderland?
H3C: We don't live in Sunderland anymore. There's quite a few bands in Sunderland.
H3C: There's nowhere to play. There's places to practice and stuff. It works out alright.
H3C: There's not many gigs. Not much gigs to go down really.
H3C: But that's the north east in general. There's not a lot happening in Newcastle either.
H3C: There's probably about three or four half-decent bands, plus loads who are really shite.
[to a Hooton]: You're from Liverpool, yeah? What do you think about Liverpool? There's a few good gigs happened in Liverpool recently.
H3C: I haven't lived there for seven years so I'm probably the wrong person to ask. We did a couple of gigs down there with Crocodile God. I couldn't really say to tell you the truth.

Do you think British bands are respected enough, or do you think that everyone still likes fashionable American bands like stuff on Fat Wreck?
H3C: Yes.
H3C/Mac: I didn't hear the question!
[I repeat the question]
H3C: Says the lad in the Descendents shirt! [Laughter]
I know! I'm really sorry!
H3C: I dunno. I think it's probably American bands.
H3C: I think they get more publicity because of the labels can afford to push them a lot more like Epitaph and Fat Wreck and stuff. And they get bigger tours. They're no better I don't think. Well, in fact I think they're shit most of 'em!
H3C: They wear bigger trousers! [Laughter]
H3C: I think that might have something to do with it.
H3C: You get a lot of good American bands coming over here who aren't on Fat Wreck or Epitaph and they still play to 30, 40 people.
What British bands would you recommend?
H3C: We played with a band called Jayne Doe last night who I thought were really good. It was the first time I'd seen them last night. I was quite impressed with them.
H3C: Broccoli. I like Broccoli. Not the vegetable! I hate the vegetable! I like the band. [to Mac] Any decent British bands?
Mac: Jayne Doe! That's gotta be my favourite English band at the moment.
H3C: There's a lot of bands that have been going for quite a while now, a good few years, that are still going around doing the same sort of thing as us like Chopper and Broccoli, Crocodile God, a few others. As far as new bands, I suppose that Jayne Doe's the only one that I've heard of recently.
Mac: Oh, One Car Pile Up as well. They've got that Fat Wreck Chords sound off to a fucking tee!
H3C: Even the accent!

OK, this is a dull question but would either of you ever sign to a major label?
Mac: You should never say no; you should never say never. If you say never you end up with everyone going "Oh, they're so punk!" and then you sign to a major label and everyone thinks you're a wanker. So you should never say never cos it's always possible.
H3C: It depends how much money they offer us.
Oh, you're so punk!
H3C: The only time it'd ever be worth doing is if you were playing to hundreds and hundreds of people anyway and selling massive amounts of records, more than an indie could deal with. Otherwise you just get chewed up and spat out like loads of bands did, unless you're in a position of being really big and you're able to dictate your own terms. I'm not sure if anybody's really big enough to do that with a major. I really can't see us ever doing it. I mean, it'd be nice to have someone paying me wages and everything, but...
H3C: They don't pick up the option after the first album!
Would you ever compromise anything to get onto a major just for the money? Like, if they told you to write a song about a certain subject would you do it?
H3C: I'd do a world cup song! Y'see, they're talking about having Phil Collins re-recording "Three Lions", so if it was to save the world from that...

[to Mac] Your new album was produced by Dave Smalley. What was it like working with him? Was it good, or is that a dumb question?
Mac: Well, apart from being some kind of God-like figure he's just another bloke in the studio. He just happens to be some kind of hero.
Are you pleased with how it turned out?
Mac: Yeah. Apart from the one-armed drummer! [Travis Cut have recently parted company with their drummer due to his obsession with Michael Stipe. Or something like that.] Yeah, it sounds alright. It's got bad heavy metal solos in it as well!
When's it out?
Mac: February. It was supposed to be out in December, and this is fucking totally true, we were told it was delayed because there wasn't enough room on the shop shelves alongside the Michael Bolton Christmas album! Yes!
That's not true!
Mac: That's what they told us!

[to Hooton 3 Car] Are you pleased with your recent album?
H3C: Yeah. It's a bit of a different sound to the first one. It was recorded in a different place and not with Frankie, but it's good in different ways. I think on the next one we'll go for a bit of a mixture from the first album and the second album as far as production goes. The songs are there.
H3C: It doesn't sound as ideal as we'd have liked it to sound, but it's alright. Not too bad.

You mentioned Frankie Stubbs... what do you think of the Leatherface reunion? Is it a good thing?
H3C: Of course!
Don't you think a lot of bands are reforming at the moment, though? Just recently there's been Tilt and Leatherface. Last year there was the Descendents and Screeching Weasel and everything. Do you think it's getting out of control or not?
H3C: I think Leatherface were always gonna sort of... they were all in different bands so they were all musically active. It wasn't like there was a complete drop off of music altogether. I think it was on the cards anyway cos they were all working anyway. They were gonna get back together at some stage. I don't think it's a bad thing. I don't think many bands do do it really. There's only the Descendents and Leatherface really.
H3C: Snuff!
H3C: Snuff split up and get back together every year apparently!
There was that shitty Sex Pistols thing last year. What did you think about that?
H3C: Doesn't interest me at all.
H3C: No comment!
H3C: You've got to be prepared to actually get some new stuff together and go on tour and not just do one or two gigs for a bit of money.
H3C: You've gotta write new songs for it to be worth doing. If you're just gonna play all the old songs then it's probably not worth it.

[to Mac] Do you still run Incoming?
Mac: Yeah.
Have you got any plans for that? Is anything coming out?
Mac: We've got plans to turn it into a major and sign all the punk bands who said they'd never sign to a major! [Laughter]
H3C: We're the first in line!
H3C: Please sign us!
Mac: We stuck out a split single with two bands from down our way and they disappeared totally without a trace but it's a great record!

You were on a split single on Speedowax recently. Are you going to do anything else on that label?
Mac: Yeah, he wants to do another two split singles with us. Some split single with some local band that he wants to help out, and then he wants to do another split with us and The Marshes, I think. We'll happily put stuff out cos he was just some guy on the mailing list who wanted to set up a record label and put records out and we're all in favour. And it was on lime green vinyl! Yes!

Plans for next year?
H3C: New album, Japan...
Have you ever played Japan before?
H3C: Yeah, we went last year. It was excellent.
Mac: Record the pop crossover classic single, be on Top of the Pops, get designer drug habits and blow our heads off!
H3C: Yeah, that's our plan too, just rewind that...
Mac: I'd just like to say that our new drummer was the News Bunny! And this is true! Ball, explain yourself!
You were News Bunny? You're my hero, man!
Oscar: Do you watch Live TV?
Not very much. I've seen it when I've been flicking. What was that like? Was that fun?
Oscar: No. I was working there doing sound and floor managing and shit and I just walked past and they roped me into it. It was horrible. No, it was alright. I did it twice. I just had to sit there and wave.
Don't you think it's a strange idea having some sort of rabbit behind the news?
Oscar: Yeah, I think it's fucked!
But you did it for the money! You sold out to Live TV!
Oscar: I know! Shut up! No, it was good fun.

Hooton 3 Car's "Monkey Mayor" album is out now on Rumblestrip. Travis Cut's "Seventh Inning Stretch" will be out in February on Fluffy Bunny, if there's enough room in the shops...

 (from Scary Sheep #1)