Nerve - Interview

  by Alex Halls

published: 22 / 1 / 2002

intro

One of the freshest new bands to enter the punk arena in the last few years, Nerve have recently finished touring with Therapy. Alex Halls catchs up with the Glaswegian trio at a Sheffield date to talk about the tour.

Nerve are undoubtedly the freshest band to come onto the alternative arena in the last couple of years, going from strength to strength, and constantly adding new dimensions to a sound that lives and breeds on the wit, power and energy of its three Glaswegian protagonists. Featuring what the band describes as "rocky punk", which sounds as if Nerve are auditioning for an alternative version of the 'Rocky' film series, their latest mini-album, 'Psycho Poetry', has moved into waters once unchartered, but now familiarised by a sound that blows every listener away. After recently parting with their drummer, Jason, new man Ali has fitted in splendidly, adding an extra dimension to what Jim (Vocal/Lead Guitar), and Pete (Bass) have already achieved. This revamped sound, which Jim describes as "faster, heavier and harder", is noticeable in their live performances and takes their recorded material onto a completely new level. Initially inspired by bands such as Kiss, Guns ‘n’ Roses, and Metallica, Nerve got together at the end of 1993, and have marched fervently onwards ever since. I met up with them shortly before they were due to walk on stage at a a gig playing support to Therapy and was amazed at the direction the band now seem to be heading in. Nerve. speaking about their recent tour, appeared to be more than pleased to be supporting Therapy?, but feel in no way inferior to the Belfast legends. Describing Therapy? as '"nice guys to be on tour with", Nerve carry this sense of enthusiasm onto the stage with them, giving a truly great performance. PB: To be on a tour with Therapy? must be a step in the right direction. How is this current tour going? Pete: Yeah, it’s a good tour to be on. We’re having a great time. Jim: We played London two nights ago and the venue was out of this world. It was stunning. We were standing at the back while Therapy? were doing a sound check, and it struck that these are the guys who you pay to see and here you are on tour with them, just jamming out. We’ve done some great shows which proves that you get great opportunities. Pete: You’ve just got to grab them and go for it. PB: Who were you on tour with before? Pete: This is the first main support tour with been on. PB: So you were headlining before, with local support bands? Jim: Yeah, this last year, its been fucking great. Ali has noticed this already. We did Extreme back in the summer and then moved on to our own tour. PB: Extreme had some decent bands on it, a good bill. Ali: We just played the Glasgow Extreme and there were some great bands there. That day was great. Nerve, speaking further about their growing fan base and their desire to "have a real tour bus", have a fixed image of where they want to go in the next few years. PB: Did you envisage you would get this far and what do you now expect from the future? Pete: The more you get, the more you want. If you’re playing to 200 you want to play to 500. I want it all, 30 000 arenas, with the whole crowd jumping up and down. How about the whole festival circuit with a decent stage and all that ? That would be good. Jim: You should have seen Ali’s face back at Extreme. Ali was like, ‘this is fucking amazing.’ We were all sitting there thinking how brilliant it was and how we’d just played to thousands of people. It was magic. It couldn’t get better than that. Then we got a phone call, and the phone was handed round each of us, then to Pete. We all knew about it then, as we’d just been told we were doing the Therapy? tour. Just looking at everybody’s faces when Pete heard the message. We just didn’t know what else could happen to us. When Nerve got onto stage, they were met by a reasonably buoyant crowd, but one that had not yet got into the atmosphere of the night. In kicking off in their usual dynamic style, Nerve captured the crowd and did themselves justice, cracking witty remarks and seemingly all enjoying themselves thoroughly. All 3 members gave fiery performances, providing the Leadmill with some much needed vitality and making a name for themselves yet again in front of an impressed audience.

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