Martin Gore Plugged In (Creative Loafing, 1993)
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Hey y'all!
I had quite a few requests for the rest of this article, so I'm posting the whole thing to the list. Remember that it is from last
October, so some of the info will be old news. Those of you who wish to do so, may delete this now.
Lisa
>From Creative Loafing (Atlanta Georgia), October 2, 1993:
PLUGGED IN
by Katherine Yeske
Martin Gore is certainly not what one would expect. Soft-spoken and amicable, the Depeche Mode songwriter/guitarist seems amazed that anyone would be interested in >him<. Yet, considering the press, both good and bad, concerning the band's supposed detached "Rock God" attitude, his subdued demeanor isn't the image most people associate with members of the English band who, in the early '80s, helped usher in the synth-pop revolution.
Gore becomes very vocal, however, when another stereotypical Depeche Mode subject is brought up: the much-discussed differences between the members and their roles in the band. According to this thought, Gore writes lyrics, lead man David Gahan sings, Alan Wilder is in charge of the music and production, and Andrew Fletcher is responsible for the business end of things, with overlapping duties a rarity.
"That point has really been overstated," interjects Gore the moment the subject is raised. "Even though we do have individual roles to a certain extent, they do merge quite a lot. Andy, I think, finds it most annoying when he goes into interviews and has to basically just talk for the whole interview about the business side of the band. Everybody thinks that he's totally incompetent as a musician, and think that even when he's onstage playing with us that he doesn't play a note 'cause he's not capable."
Depeche Mode hope to set the record straight during their current world tour in support of their latest release, 'Songs of Faith and Devotion', which made its debut at number one in the Billboard charts.
The album's success is a relief for the members, whose last album, 'Violator', resulted in a tour that played to over 1.2 million people worldwide, establishing Depeche Mode as somewhat of a "supergroup". The success naturally raised people's expectations for 'Songs of Faith', which Gore acknowledges made their work all the harder.
"Suddenly you realize there's so many people out there waiting for the next record, and I think that just adds pressure. You suddenly realize how big this thing is, whereas before I suppose it never really hit me."
The tour is the most ambitious the band has ever attempted, featuring an elaborate stage design with eleven full-size screens, simulated thunderstorms and other high-tech machinery. The stage was designed by longtime Depeche collaborator Anton Corbijn, who is responsible for all the band's photography and videos since 1986. "Everything that's presented to the world goes through him first," says Gore. Corbijn also worked with U2 for their "Zoo TV" extravaganza. Comparisons to Irish group are inevitable, but this doesn't faze Gore, who feels there are enough differences to make accusing his band of copying pointless.
"The people we work with, and U2 work with, happen to be good in their field. I don't think it's that unusual for us to be working with the same people," he says. "It's just that both of us happen to use films and screens, which I think is a natural progression for shows. We used the screens on the 'World Violation Tour,' which was out in 1990, so that was before U2, anyway."
Comparisons have also been made because of the bands' mutual involvement with producer Flood. Gore dismisses the similarity here, as well. "After 'Music For the Masses' we decided we really wanted to work with a producer who had a strong opinion and someone who'd take more control that someone who would take a back seat," he explains, adding that "If you work with nice people you can't go wrong, I think. If they're nice people and they're good at their job, it's just a real bonus." The message is clear: ability and experience have more to do with the band's collaborative efforts than does a person's association with certain bands.
Touring concerns Gore more than these comparisons, though, and he says the decision to go after a "bigger" onstage look this time was easy for the members. "After we used the films and the screens on the last tour, it's very hard to go back to the standard, conventional rock show without screens because you really feel that it's lacking." He also added that it "really makes a big difference to the audience reaction. It really does affect things. There's somehow a very different feeling at the concerts, in a positive way."
Though most dates on the 'Violator' tour were done at outdoor amphitheaters, this tour was deliberately booked at indoor venues to enhance the concert experience for audience and band members alike. "We prefer playing indoor places, generally, because the atmosphere is really contained and it seems so much more exciting, even if it's not. When the audience screams or sings along, the whole thing gets captured, rather than just escaping off into the air."
Despite all the attention being paid to the staging, it's safe to say that Depeche fans probably wouldn't care if the members played on a bare stage. Theatrics come next in line to the intense, richly orchestrated Depeche sound, and many fans are incredibly loyal. "There's quite a few people who actually travel around to ten, fifteen, twenty dates," says Gore, amazed. A suggestion that Depeche Mode is becoming an electronic Grateful Dead for the '90s elicits a good-natured laugh and "Oh, thanks a lot!"
Going on tour is a welcome diversion after the grueling task of writing and recording 'Songs of Faith'. The process itself took over a year and a half. As in the past, reviewers are making a special point of scrutinizing Gore's lyrics, especially the ones concerning religion. "I think a lot of people missed the point. The songs are not obviously religious. They're not songs about religion in a conventional sense, and I think that's what's missed a lot. It doesn't really bother me that much. People who are real fans seem to get the point. Generally there's enough pointers for people to get the drift, even if they're off slightly."
And, as he's quick to point out, "We do balance things quite well. Half the time we'll play with that sort of imagery. We might have pictures of us taken - there's some in the tour program of us in a missionary, we'll balance that with pictures of us in front of a sex shop." But he adds with a laugh, "Of course, all the shots you have done in a mission or a church are acceptable, and all the shots you have done outside a sex shop, your record company has a problem with."
Singer David Gahan especially "connected" with the lyrics on the album, and his public admissions of this seems to catch Gore off guard. "Especially with this album, [David] claims that he feels that they're almost tailor-made for him, that I was writing from his perspective, which isn't true, obviously, 'cause I don't do that sort of thing. I don't ever try to write from Dave's point of view... If you start writing and try to imagine what a third person's thinking, the emotions are gonna get dilluted somehow. If you write what you're feeling, you know exactly what you're feeling."
Although Gore is thrilled with the outcome of 'Songs of Faith', he has more of a general appreciation for the work, rather than impressions left by each song. "I don't actually have a favorite song on the album. That sounds like a cliche, but I really mean it. We spend so much time recording an album, and we hear each of the songs so many times, that you totally lose perspective. I like it as a whole, but I think you tend to lose any kind of fondness you have for a song."
Gore has no plans to begin writing new material until he's off the road again, since he finds writing on the road to be too difficult, because he "... think it's quite good for getting ideas, but we don't get time usually." He says most of the band's free time during tours is spent visiting popular nightclubs, or, as he somewhat sheepishly admits, playing Game Boy Golf while lounging around on the tour bus.
For Depeche fans, this probably means another three-year wait for another album. Another bit of disappointing news comes with Gore's denial that rumors about the band doing an MTV Unplugged show are true. "I really hate the way this word "unplugged" is being blown all out of proportion recently, this word that sort of sprung out of nowhere. I find it being done so much now; I find it really too much. I don't think we'll do it."
Still, there's a lot to celebrate as Depeche Mode kicks off the American segment of the band's most ambitious tour. Gore is enthusiastic about the shows, and 'Songs of Faith and Devotion' proves once again that fans have every right to be devoted.