Mountain Men Anonymous & Teflon Monkey

Mountain Men Anonymous are: Adam (bass), John (drums), Lorna (guitars), Sam (guitars)
Website : www.mountainmenanonymous.freeserve.co.uk

Teflon Monkey is Rhodri ("spiritual guru", guitars, vocals)
Website : www.tefmonk.co.uk

They both feature on a split 7" as the first edition of the And The Duck Bit Back singles club and are doing a mini-tour where I caught up with them before their gig at the Flapper & Firkin in Birmingham.

Before we got to the juicy questions that do not mention the M, G or N words (that's a lie sort of), we got straight to the adverts on what they would both be doing records wise after the split single.

Mountain Men Anonymous will be releasing their debut album towards the end of March initially as a limited edition vinyl of 500 and then on CD afterwards. It will be released on independent label, Siberia records.

Then came the MMA hard sell

Mountain Men Anonymous: 5 tracks, 40 mins, loads of noise. Buy it

MMA 2 : What was that, what was that?, interrupted another member of MMA, Don't buy it, it's absolute tosh. There's loads of wicked bands around, you don't want to buy crap like that.

Teflon Monkey's debut single was to be released on January on Super Fury Animals Placid Casual label until the split 7" came in first so we asked him when it would finally released.

Teflon Monkey : It was supposed to be January, February, March and now it's going to be April. Soon, probably never!

With Gloucestershire being a halfway house between Cardiff and Bristol I asked MMA how this influenced them.

MMA 1 : I think it's shitest place in the world and second shitest place in the world

MMA 2 : It is the shitest place in the world

The conversation moved to discuss The Attic and The Axiom, both ex-music venues in Cheltenham

MMA Lorna : they're both shut down now

MMA 2 : We probably would be playing the attic and the axiom if they existed when we were around

MMA 3 : We've never like played any like proper gigs really

MMA 4 : Well not in Cheltenham but in Gloucester we have

MMA 5 : Gloucestershire's culturally dead

It was Teflon Monkey's turn to say how living in Bargoed influenced him

TM : only the fact that I hate it there. It's not culturally dead, it is dead.

MMA : no it's not

TM : You've never been to Bargoed......."

MMA : I have, I dropped you off

TM : You dropped me off and drove away very quickly. Horrible place, worse than Gloucestershire it's gotta be

MMA : If were' gonna argue which is the worst place

MMA 2 : I live in a shit place I live in a shit place

TM : Biggest coal tip in Europe that's their claim to fame

I then asked MMA about their fave bands which they have said range from heavy metal all the way up to embrace

MMA Lorna : You liar! (replying to the fact that on their website it says that Embrace are her favourite band)

MMA 1 : No it's not

MMA 2 : Lorna's a big embrace fan went to see embrace at Glastonbury instead of the flaming lips

MMA Lorna - NO!

MMA 2 : Sorry instead of Yo La Tengo, which is still as bad

MMA 2 : One of the best bands in the world but I think we'll go and see embrace instead

TM : Compared to embrace obviously

MMA : They're not brilliant but they're good

MMA : This is not a good topic

How do you think those influences have added to your sound?

MMA 1 : Our influences are good actually

MMA 2 : I think Lorna learnt a lot when she jumped off that bridge, oh it hasn't happened yet!

MMA 1 : it's getting very nasty now children

MMA 2 : Lorna likes indie

MMA Lorna : I don't like indie

MMA 2: Unless we put it in your face and you go oh that's quite good actually

The conversation crept over to the subject of nu-metal

MMA : There's nothing wrong with metal, it's better than pop

TM : I like electronica more than anything but I can't do it on my guitar but I try my best

Are you bothered you might be pigeonholed by journalist scum..............

MMA : What, like we haven't already

................Like mogwai, godspeed and new acoustic movement in the case of Teflon Monkey

MMA : NAM

MMA 2 : 10 years time you'll be able to say I was in that

TM : I only do the stuff I do cause I haven't got a choice, if I had a band then but I'm too lazy to get it together and I'll be doing more stuff.

MMA : Just threaten people to do it, is the advice MMA give TM

Does it bother you at all?

MMA : Absolutely, I hate it. It's mainly cause if someone hears an instrumental band they think oooh
I've only heard of 2 instrumental bands. About 20 secs before they think godspeed you black emperor or mogwai cause they've never heard of anything else in that sorta line of music

TM : They don't know anything so they just mention Nick Drake

MMA : Some bits of our stuff do sound like GYBE and Mogwai but a lot sounds completely unlike it as well. We probably sound like bands that are in that genre as well but people only know 2 bands it seems and that's godspeed and mogwai well journalists anyway. Even journalists we know and we sorta know they like loads of other stuff they still because they think everyone else in the world only knows mogwai and godspeed YBE they write that anyway. It's become a bit of a joke now cause every time we get a review the word godspeed is in it.

MMA : We haven't got any cellos, we haven't got any violins, we haven't got any dead cats

TM : Not yet anyway!

MMA: That is the climate in journalism, it is like a marketing thing half the people that write are told what they should write. It's like as soon as they hear its a post rock band or is instrumental or stuff they've already written down loads of words and they just have to listen to it to add a few extra bits.

If you did another split single with band would you like to do it with?

MMA : Not Teflon Monkey

MMA 2 : aphex twin, just to meet him
MMA : Want to do something different no point in doing a split single with like mogwai or something cause they'll just go oh its a rip off band there just wouldn't be any point really you want to make different people hear your music that wouldn't otherwise be interested.

MMA 2 : Alice Deejay!
MMA : Alice Deejay defiantly

TM : Someone worse than me
MMA : That's difficult
TM : pretty much everyone
MMA : Manics?

MMA : Would you prefer do it with another folk artist?, MMA ask TM
TM : No that's boring. Godspeed

As you know today is Valentines day, What's the perfect love song

MMA : I think it should be a slipknot B-side
MMA : Keep the light on
MMA : joy division love will tear us apart
MMA : Something depressing
MMA : Exit music

MMA : I think we should be called post rock cause we like radiohead and were not allowed to
TM: I shouldn't be called folk cause I like radiohead.
MMA: exactly yeah

MMA Lorna : Fireworks
MMA : That;s by embrace by the way, it's on an nme tape she got about 3 years ago don't worry she doesn't really like them

TM : I'd go for a Burt Gansch song
MMA Lorna : Hallelujah

MMA : We've got like a whole album of love songs
MMA 2 : I think I should do a compilation now my fave depressing love songs"
MMA : The equivalent of shine. I've got a CD writer, I could do it tomorrow, probably will actually
MMA 2 : It's going to be on vinyl

Is there anything you love or hate about each other?

MMA : We are just a mutual admiration society for each other

MMA : He thinks we're shit and we think he's shit

TM : No you think you're shit, I think I'm shit but we like each other. I love these people! this month split single next month orgy. That's my plan.

Teflon Monkey then grabs hold of the Dictaphone to tell us his secret plan....

TM : Idea for song 10 min long ambient instrumental, 1 note on the guitar. Every single string on the guitar tuned to a. It's gonna have a lot of discord so that'll be good.

Lets hope he follows up this plan!