Dead Writers - Interview

by Steev Burgess

published: 20 / 3 / 2023

Steev Burgess talks to singer Paul Shine about Dead Writers' breakthrough and what comes next.

Article

Dead Writers recently came to the attention of a wider audience after ‘Lisa’. Their latest single, with its exciting video, was voted Single of the Week by readers and listeners of ‘Classic Rock’ magazine. It came from last place before finishing the clear winner within a week, going against some seasoned big name contenders. Having been roped into a cameo in the video, knowing very little about the band, I chatted with singer Paul Shine about the band’s journey to this point. PB: Paul, how exciting was it for you seeing ‘Lisa’ become single of the week in ‘Classic Rock'? PS: It was something of a dream come true. 'Classic Rock' was the first rock magazine I bought as a teenager, and it's obviously hugely prestigious in the genre. To get ahead of very big bands in the vote in half the time they had proved to be an almost heroic feat that we couldn't have achieved without the support from our fanbase and supporters. We had faith, but we couldn't quite believe it when it happened. PB: It’s a well thought through and well crafted song. Tell us the idea behind it. PS: I wrote 'Lisa' after reading Dostoyevsky's novel 'Notes From The Underground' a few years ago. It's an adaptation of one of the main characters in the book, Liza, a young woman trapped in a sordid world of prostitution in turn-of-the-century St Petersburg. I wanted to portray her solitude and resilience from a different point of view, making her the heroine of the story in her journey to freedom, as well as depicting the idea of celebration of life in the middle of despair. A brothel becoming a temple of momentary joy through the power of music. PB: The video has been compared to ‘Peaky Blinders’, ‘Ripper Street’ and more. What were you going for there? PS: The main aesthetic inspirations were 1920's European cabaret, with a touch of ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ breeziness, and indeed the smoky atmosphere of ‘Peaky Blinders’. The moment I saw the venue (The George Tavern in London), I knew it was just perfect for it. We send them our thanks from here. PB: How long have Dead Writers been in existence? Are all your songs for this project based on literary works? PS: The band's inception took place in 2017, although it wasn't really until 2019 that we started figuring out the musical and image direction more clearly. With a few different line-ups since the early days, it's an ever-evolving project. But we're getting closer to the essence of it, I think. Not all the songs are based on literature, but I would say most of the language used in the lyrics contains the love of words that I've inherited from the books and poetry that have influenced me, as a songwriter and as a person. PB: On watching a piano-based video of a previous song ‘Among Spirits’, I was struck by the emotional content projected into the lyric. Do you disguise real experiences you've had into your storytelling? PS: I don't disguise them; my experience as I see it is the story. You can only write well about what you know. 'Among Spirits' deals with the real feelings of real people within real relationships. My songs stem from my own life, but they are not exclusive. Therefore other people can relate to what we're singing about and how we're singing about it. Of course, it translates to the music as well. Emotion is the universal language. PB: I've heard that a cover version of a Nick Cave song that you did was commended by the man himself. How did that come about? PS: During lockdown 2020, Nick opened a worldwide competition inviting fans from all over the world to send in videos with covers of his songs.There would be a selection, and the picked videos would be featured on his YouTube channel uninterruptedly during a whole weekend. We filmed a very lo-fi but heartfelt version of '(Are You) The One That I've Been Waiting For?' in my room, all dressed in kimonos, and submitted it. I also sent a solo one, 'Push The Sky Away' on the piano. We didn't hear from it again. Next thing we know, my friend texted me saying she had just seen our videos on Bad Seed TeeVee! It was a beautiful surprise. Some of Nick's fans loved it and became our fans too. He then wrote an entry on his website section The Red Hand Files saying that our performance was "astonishing"'. I said to myself I could die a happier man that day. PM: Apart from Nick, which other bands or artists have been an influence on Dead Writers ? PS: I think it's quite impossible to narrow it down to a handful of direct influences because we listen to very different kinds of music and all of it leaves a sediment somewhere. We integrate the melodic sensitivity of The Beatles, the explosiveness of Queen, the melancholy of The Cure, the sexual energy of The Doors, the wistful abandon of The Waterboys, the poetical thinking of Leonard Cohen, the frailty of Nick Drake and the atmospheric soundscapes of Pink Floyd into our language, but we don't necessarily sound closer to one or the other. We've been compared to all sorts, from Jarvis Cocker to Sisters Of Mercy, go figure. I don't necessarily always agree, but we remain happily open to interpretation. PB: What are your plans for the rest of 2023? PS: We have a few more releases coming up, with new music videos, all leading up to our debut EP. The next one is called 'Meet The Shadow’, a Jungian post-punk obsessive nightmare. We're also planning to go on our first UK tour, as well as playing some festivals, and we really want to record new music. It's shaping up to be a full-on year for the band and we're really excited to grow our wings as big as we can. PB: Paul, thank you for your time. PS: The pleasure is all mine, Steev. Thank you and may the spirit of the 'Lisa' video never leave you – thank you for the cameo!