With:	Jamie Cavanagh [Bass]
Conducted by:	Jeff (in person)
Published:	20.01.2008
Band profile:	Anathema

It was not so easy to catch one of the members of Anathema after their show with Porcupine Tree? I was just extremely lucky to see, when I was leaving the venue, Les Smith who said to me that they were all just a bit busy with some bottles of red French wine but that it was possible to do an interview with one of the members of the Cavanagh family now - and the chosen one was Jamie. This interview was really cool, with a simple and extremely friendly dude who, by the way, knows and use to read Metal Storm. You'll be able to discover some interesting information about the band and about the upcoming album here and I hope that you'll enjoy to read it!


-Jeff: Hi Jamie! How are you, how was the show?

Jamie: Well, I'm personally feeling great, the show was really good and I love this new Bikini place!


-Jeff: The sound was exceptional tonight!

Really? Did we have a really good sound tonight?


-Jeff: Yes definitely! You and Porcupine Tree.

That's great! But we use the same crew and the same sound engineer. The same guy does the sound for them and for us and he knows our music and their music so it's good.


-Jeff: And how is the tour with Porcupine Tree?

All the other dates were absolutely perfect. It's going really well. The thing is that Anathema and Porcupine Tree? well we know each other already for a long time. People are friends, especially Anathema's and Porcupine Tree's crew. It's just so good to be playing again with friends.


-Jeff: So let's talk a bit about your upcoming album. What can you say about it and when will you start to record it?

Well actually we wanted to record it "now" (Jamie is talking about the month of November). We've talked about it with Porcupine Tree and well we chose to do the tour first and play some of the songs live. So we will record it after the New Year and then we will release it as soon as possible. So it will be out just before the summer of next year. Steven Wilson will produce the album!


-Jeff: I did an Interview with Steven Wilson this afternoon and asked some news about it.

Ho, so what did he say?


-Jeff: Well Steven said "We're still talking about it but I will probably produce it yes".

Yeah, probably, we're talking about it but he will produce it yes. There are things that I cannot say but we're talking about it and he will probably do it because he has some free time now. He has been so busy? But we want him to do it!


-Jeff: That's a great news!

Well he is a good friend and he knows our music and our band. So we think that it will work well. We're really most looking for the recording and we will release the album asap after the recording. Then we will do some summer festivals.


-DarksideMomo: Great! Have you found a record label yet or no?

We've found lots and lots of records labels. But you know, it depends of which label you want to go for. Now we have a new management system and they're busy with sorting out some "manager things". So right now I cannot say which label will work with us. Just check out our website maybe after the end of tour or after the New Year, we will make an announcement with the name of the label where we will be on. We realize that it's been a long time that we didn't release an album but we're really busy sorting our things properly this time. It's a bit like with our last album that we've released via Sony/BMG (via the label Music For Nation) we won't do that anymore. We want to do things the way we want them to be done.


-DarksideMomo: That is the best!

Yes! So it's been a long time we realize that but I promise you that in the future, with new releases, we won't never take so many time to release our new albums. Because now that the business is sorted out we will try to release albums every years or every two year instead of four years? The music business is a difficult business everything is changing right now. So it can take some time to find the correct way to act in the music industry but we're on the right track now and we will try to record a new album just after the upcoming one.






-Jeff: But maybe that you were also looking for some promotion in the USA because as I know, not a lot of people know Anathema there and unfortunately the last album didn't have a good?

A good publicity there! Yes definitely, this is true and we were also looking for a good promotion there. You know USA is a market that we've never really touched. We've only been there three times and it was only for festivals? We really want to sort out this thing as well. Metal Storm is a worldwide-based webzine right?


-Jeff: Yes, definitely.

So I can say to our American fans that we have plans for the US, to tour the US next year with new songs but also with old songs. We will tour everywhere we can basically. We will be busy next year because when the album will be ready, we will tour in a lot of places including places where we haven't been before.


-Jeff: You've played two new songs tonight?

Three new songs!


-Jeff: The instrumental was a new song too then.

The instrumental also, yes. It gonna be the last track of the album and its name is "Hindsight".


-Jeff: Ok. What are the reactions of the fans when you talk about these songs with them?

They love it! But well you know we don't write songs for anybody else we write them for ourselves. If they like them it's good but it's up to them. But the new songs that we have written, everybody seems to like them so? We've published three songs on our website and MySpace and the fans love these songs. You'll have fourteen songs on our new album if plans go as we wish. And honestly I like every one of them. I believe in every track. We, as a band, are really excited about the new songs and we're really excited to record them. We just want to play live all these new songs. Expect some good stuff, I don't want to talk about it too much but I can hear the songs in my head and it's driving me crazy. I really want all the people to hear them.


-DarksideMomo: Will all the songs published on the website be on the album?

Yes! Yes!


-Jeff: I read somewhere that the new album and the lyrics will be a bit more happy. Is it true and why did you choose to do that?

It depends of what you find happy or not. The old stuff is all really introspective and it depended of the personal situations of the songwriters back in time. Now it's still the same but the people are feeling differently so in some ways some songs have a really positive message yes? because? we're not depressed anymore! And we're not a Metal band anymore? You know this?


-Jeff: Yes, we all know that I think!

The new songs have some good messages in them, but I don't want to talk a lot about it! You'll see when you'll listen to them. Ok?


-Jeff: Ok!

We're really happy with the new album, we're really happy with all the new writings. We just hope to bring it to you as fast as we can.


-Jeff: Is Lee Douglas an official member now?

She has no choice! She is an official member [laughs] She has a beautiful voice and she will sing a lot more on the new album and she will be touring a lot more with us as well.


-Jeff: Will you do a tour as a headliner after the release of the new album?

Of course! Yes! Yeah yeah yeah we will be here in a big fucking way! And we're gonna rock your fucking?


-Jeff: [laughs] Excellent!

Of course we will be back here!


-Jeff: Now Jamie, I have a question about an incident. Do you remember the infamous Metalliance in Beauvais? I was in the crowd?The Metalliance festival was one of the most infamous festival ever. The director of the festival ripped off all the bands and I wanted to know the opinion of Anathema which was one of the few bands (with Vanden Plass, Paradise Lost, Ocean Size?) who have decided to play even without any guarantee of their payment

Hoo yeah I remember?


-Jeff: Did you get your money finally?

No. We got ripped off by one of the oldest fans of the band? I don't remember his name?






-Jeff: I don't want to remember his name?

I don't want to remember his name too. The guys got tattoos of the band on his fucking body... We trusted him because he did a good promotion for the show and he was an old fan? He did everything well apart send "things"? Well he went wrong anyway but the point is? well nevermind this, nevermind him. If he ever reads this, I hope that he will get in touch with us because he used to be a friend of mine. I haven't been in touch with him since that problem because he ripped me off and he ripped off all of us. But we played this show for the people who were there.

-Jeff: Thank you for that! It was one of the best shows ever done!

Yeah? Well great but you know Paradise Lost has played too even if they didn't get paid too. We played this show for the people who were there. I just hope that he will never show his face again in the business?


-Jeff: I don't think so?

It's just things which happen sometimes but we've lost a lot of money to come to France? The most important thing in the end is that we've played for the people who paid to see this concert. NO WAY that we let them down?


-Jeff: Nothing to say! You rock!... You'll play in Paris at the Olympia, what are your feelings about this legendary venue?

I don't know I've never played there. It's a magical venue I know? I know that Jeff Buckley has recorded his live album there but this is the only thing that I know about this place? Well we gonna do the same things that we do everywhere, we gonna try to play the best we can!


-DarksideMomo: So it will be great!

Yeah! Personally I'm really proud to play there but honestly I will treat it like all the other venues! I want to do the best everywhere!


-Jeff: So Jamie it was my last question, do you have anything to say to the Metal Storm readers?

To the Metal Storm readers? hum well? what can I say?. There are three songs from our new album on our website that you can listen for free. It's been a long time that we didn't release a new album but it's gonna be a really really good new album with about fourteen new songs and you're gonna love it because I love it! And I'm a pretty good judge of our songs (Note from Jeff: I can tell you that everybody laughed a lot there because Jamie was really serious on a side but really funny on the other side (and a bit drunk too that's right )) You can tell to everybody that this band Anathema is back and that we will touring next year and we gonna try to play everywhere we can. We don't care where we will play we just want to play! Thank you to anybody who likes our music, send my congratulations to your colleagues of Metal Storm, you're doing a good job and I like your site? Sorry if we've been so long to release our new album, but Anathema is back!