Wohlfühlen, Abtauchen und Spass haben
Während des Konzerts der 'Editors' in Wiesbaden im Schlachthof hatte ich die Gelegenheit, nach dem Soundcheck, bei dem ich fotografieren durfte, Ed ein paar Fragen zu stellen. Seine ruhige, ja fast schüchterne und bodenständige Art ist so ziemlich das Gegenteil eines lauten, egomanen Musikers, der immer im Mittelpunkt stehen muss. Dabei hat der Engländer Einiges zu sagen und er macht einen Teil des Sounds der Editors aus. Auf der Bühne spielt er mit einer großen Präsenz, die fast im Widerspruch zu seinem sonstigen Auftreten wirkt.
Vielen Dank an Thomas von Sonor, ohne ihn wäre das Interview nicht möglich gewesen.
DF: When did you start playing drums and why did you choose this instrument?
EL:It began for me when I started playing side drum in the marching band. When I got to high school, I tried to pick up the guitar but just never felt comfortable with it. One of my friends had a drum kit and I immediately felt at ease on that, so I was constantly round his house playing and trying to write tunes together.
DF: What is the meaning of drums for you?
EL:It’s my outlet really, physically and emotionally it’s always been a way to escape reality. I had a really solid, normal upbringing and lead a pretty quiet life outside of the band, but when I play or write I immerse myself in it. It’s like I’m leading a double life.
DF: When did you start playing professional?
EL:When I joined Editors we all moved into a house in Birmingham, UK. We were all working various jobs in the day and rehearsing at night, but it got to a point where we just had too many shows so we all quit our jobs and went full time with the band in 2004. Our first album, The Back Room, came out in 2005 and the band has been the focus of our lives ever since.
DF: Can you tell some impressions of Germany?
EL: It’s a great place for us. The venues are all full of their own individual spirit and it’s a real pleasure to tour here. We have always tried to get out to the regions and feel that it is important to invest a lot of time here and build our relationship with the fans. There is a great loyalty that the German people have shown us, we certainly feel at home here.
DF: What do you like on your job as a professional drummer and what is not so good?
EL: I love touring as I get to explore and I personally get a lot out of just wandering through the towns we visit. I could do without living out of a suitcase and trying to get laundry done properly.
DF: How would you describe a good drummer and what is his/her part inside a band?
EL: I think they have to let the songs lead the way at all times, but it’s great if a drummer is involved in the writing process so you can hear their personality come through on the track.
DF: How important is human communication in a band and able to deal with it?
EL: Well, it’s vital as we have already lost a band member in our time and that was mainly due to a breakdown in communication. We all depend on each other, not just in terms of being creative but all the other stuff that we have to sacrifice to make a success of the band. It’s a true family.
DF: Are drummers a special type of musicians?
EL: Drummers are doers. To start off being a drummer in a band, you basically have to lug all the gear about, unpack, repack, repair and do it all over Day after day. I guess we like repetition and don’t mind putting in the energy to make a show happen under all circumstances.
DF: What are your future plans?
EL: Touring is going great for editors. We are in the middle of a big European tour at the moment, and shows have been some of the best of our careers. We are going back to America for the first time in nearly ten years this spring, and have plenty more live shows lined up for the coming months, playing mostly stuff off our new record, Violence.
I’m a big bus fan, it’s like a cocoon. And mostly I manage to see parts of the city we’re playing in. Luckily I’m able to switch quick between tour live and family live. In a way to be on stage it’s a different person of me. The feelings like aggression and passion I don’t take with me at home.
DF: During the sound check, I saw, you‘re playing with in ears. Do you use a click?
EL: Yes, ‘cause we have addictive stuff like percussion running at several songs. For the band, it’s easier to play songs like ‘No Ham’ on stage while using loops and so on. Well, do I like playing with it? The answer is that I have to in matter of fact of the loops we add on certain songs. For light effects we don’t use midi time code. If you use it, all effects are solid on time but you can’t change anything. So we have a light operator.
We like to have more theatrical structure on stage. For example last tour we have big fans in the background and it was a great effect. On the festivals we played people love that.
DF: How does the band write the songs? Are you jamming in the rehearsal room?
EL: We’re not big jammers. But sometimes we got bought in sound check and then we play around with different ideas. Never the less we are a demo based band. Tom usually comes up with new songs. We use a lot of electronic stuff but the last record we went in a nice studio in Wales with a great Drum sound and the drums were recorded naturally.
DF: What is the meaning of the editors for you? Do you have some projects beside?
EL: No, The Editors are my focus. That has been since we started. My live has been built around the band. We went through struggles like changing the guitarist but still it’s fun to play and hang around with the band. I like to be on tour.
DF: How will you describe the future of the music industry and how important is the internet for you?
EL: Everything is available to stream all of the time, which is great in some respects, but makes all our attention spans a bit too short and our relationship with music quite impersonal. I guess it’s here to stay though, so we have to get out and connect to our audience by playing shows and develop our relationship with our fans that way.
DF: Your tip for young drummers and the user of Drummerforum?
EL: Join a band! Enjoy playing with other artists and learn off all of them, I get so much more out of playing drums in a group and contributing to it then I ever did playing drums on my own.
Weitere Infos: https://de-de.facebook.com/editorsmusic/
