Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Modern English melts fantastic
English new wave group tours through town behind their latest, Take Me To The Trees
Robbie (right) remembers a local show with the Ramones: “They played their whole set at double speed in their dressing room.”
Modern English will always be “I Melt with You” to America — an essential ’80s love song that singer Robbie Grey once admitted is about sex during nuclear war. They’re back with a new album, Take Me to the Trees, and four of the original five members. They play the Casbah on Wednesday night, March 22. Grey took some email questions.
Your favorite memories of playing San Diego?
“The Ramones, at a big festival there in the ’80s in the baseball stadium. They played their whole set at double speed in their dressing room before the gig.
Video:
"I Melt With You"
...by Modern English
“Last year was great at the Hideout, a small, sticky, packed venue.”
How long had it been since all four of you were in the same room at the same time?
“All in the same room, 25 years. Mick Conroy, the bass player, suggested getting the whole original band back together when he moved close to me.”
Were the initial reunions awkward?
“Not awkward. We have known each other since we were kids. Once we got back together, we wanted to get back on the road.”
How did the songwriting start up again?
“We got together in a room and jammed like we always did. If we like a part I will put some lyrics to it and we take it from there. Using Logic, the music program, to write is new.”
How did you get producer Martyn Young to un-retire? How did he go about contributing ideas to the sound and to the songs?
“Martyn first and foremost is a friend. He wanted to do music again and we were ready to make a new album — hey, presto. He is more musical than us, so could bring more notes to the songs. Also he understood the importance of each individual member’s sound.”
Past Event
Modern English
- Wednesday, March 22, 2017, 8 p.m.
- Casbah, 2501 Kettner Boulevard, San Diego
- 21+ / $20
Which bands, fashions, books, films influenced the band in the beginning?
“Wire. Joy Division. A Clockwork Orange. Punk rock. Vivienne Westwood. Le Grande Bouffe. Salvador Dalí. David Bowie. It’s the feel of England in the late ’70s.”
How have your influences changed?
“Over the years, more thoughtful and less manic.”
You’ve recorded “I Melt with You” three times now. Which version is your favorite, and why?
“The first version of ‘Melt’ is the best. Analog, not digital. Never get tired of playing it.
People have been married to it, and lots have made love to it. Fantastic.”
Here's something you might be interested in.
Modern English melts fantastic
English new wave group tours through town behind their latest, Take Me To The Trees
Modern English melts fantastic
English new wave group tours through town behind their latest, Take Me To The Trees
Robbie (right) remembers a local show with the Ramones: “They played their whole set at double speed in their dressing room.”
Modern English will always be “I Melt with You” to America — an essential ’80s love song that singer Robbie Grey once admitted is about sex during nuclear war. They’re back with a new album, Take Me to the Trees, and four of the original five members. They play the Casbah on Wednesday night, March 22. Grey took some email questions.
Your favorite memories of playing San Diego?
“The Ramones, at a big festival there in the ’80s in the baseball stadium. They played their whole set at double speed in their dressing room before the gig.
Video:
"I Melt With You"
...by Modern English
“Last year was great at the Hideout, a small, sticky, packed venue.”
How long had it been since all four of you were in the same room at the same time?
“All in the same room, 25 years. Mick Conroy, the bass player, suggested getting the whole original band back together when he moved close to me.”
Were the initial reunions awkward?
“Not awkward. We have known each other since we were kids. Once we got back together, we wanted to get back on the road.”
How did the songwriting start up again?
“We got together in a room and jammed like we always did. If we like a part I will put some lyrics to it and we take it from there. Using Logic, the music program, to write is new.”
How did you get producer Martyn Young to un-retire? How did he go about contributing ideas to the sound and to the songs?
“Martyn first and foremost is a friend. He wanted to do music again and we were ready to make a new album — hey, presto. He is more musical than us, so could bring more notes to the songs. Also he understood the importance of each individual member’s sound.”
Past Event
Modern English
- Wednesday, March 22, 2017, 8 p.m.
- Casbah, 2501 Kettner Boulevard, San Diego
- 21+ / $20
Which bands, fashions, books, films influenced the band in the beginning?
“Wire. Joy Division. A Clockwork Orange. Punk rock. Vivienne Westwood. Le Grande Bouffe. Salvador Dalí. David Bowie. It’s the feel of England in the late ’70s.”
How have your influences changed?
“Over the years, more thoughtful and less manic.”
You’ve recorded “I Melt with You” three times now. Which version is your favorite, and why?
“The first version of ‘Melt’ is the best. Analog, not digital. Never get tired of playing it.
People have been married to it, and lots have made love to it. Fantastic.”
Comments