Interviewed in person at Leeds Fest
Barrie from Milk White White Teeth was relaxing on the sofa interviewing with the BBC until I dragged him onto the floor for a rock and roll interview [the BBC had claimed the sofa for most of the day]. Barrie, who plays keyboard, glockenspiel, electric guitar, harmonica and adds some vocals to the textured sound of his eight piece band, was utterly charming and may well be the nicest rock star in Leeds.
Altsounds: Ok...So! Milk White White Teeth, there’s many of you, what’s your name?
Barrie: Barrie.
Altsounds: Barrie or Marry?
Barrie: I think I’m going to go with Barrie today.
Altsounds: Sorry I'm pretty deaf now. [Sunday interviews were troublesome to say the least].
Barrie: No, I'm awful. People try to talk to me and I do the thing where I am listening but my mind just goes, I can’t quite hear so my mind just gives up.
Altsounds: Yeah, I'm the same … but obviously not while I'm interviewing because I'm very professional.
Barrie: Obviously, and I am the same when I am being interviewed.
Both: Ha ha!
Altsounds: Could you tell me your favourite joke please?
Barrie: No, no I can't because I’m really bad at jokes. I'm more of a situation man, I'm all about the comedy that’s happening right now.
Altsounds: Good with the one-liners?
Barrie: I'm just good with a number of things as it happens. I am really funny you know! But actual jokes I can’t do. My dads good though!
Altsounds: So the situation thing, is that why you carry a cow bell around with you?
Barrie: Ha, well there was this band on after us, and the band was really distressed because they’d lost their cow bell and they noticed that we had a cow bell. So they asked for it and I took it up to the stage for them. I went all the way to the car and came back and they said 'we've found ours' and I was like... [angry face]. They were quite apologetic, but I was still quite downhearted about the whole thing.
Altsounds: I think I would have just lied to you and said ‘thank you very much.’
Barrie: Yeah, but then I’d have watched them on stage and been like 'that’s not my cow bell!'
Altsounds: True. What was the turning point when you realised this is it, this is what I want to do?
Barrie: When I was 12 or 13 I just decided that writing songs was a lot of fun and that maybe I could do that as a career. I gave up on education, which people think is most important and proceeded to do very badly from then on. I got Cs but I just coasted it, that’s all. Then I went to Music College.
Altsounds: Where was that?
Barrie: I went to Music College in Leicester. It turned out to be one of the best colleges there is. It has some of the best access to music, its free, I like free.
Altsounds: You can’t look at your phone!
Barrie: Hang on, he’s sent me a joke
Altsounds: Who?
Barrie: The man heard [previous interviewer] and sent me one… it’s just updating cos its 2 messages long. Have you seen my phone?
Altsounds: Oh, have you seen mine?
Barrie: Actually, yeah, yours is slightly older as well. Every time I turn this one on it says 2005. Here we go...
A guy walks to a pharmacy to find a man leaning against a wall. He asks the shop assistant, "What’s with the guy over there by the wall?" The shop assistant answers "He was complaining of a cough, I couldn’t find cough syrup so I gave him a whole bottle of laxatives." The guy replies "You idiot, you can’t treat a cough with laxatives." The shop assistant replies "Of course you can, look at him, he's shit scared to cough now!'
Altsounds: That was good!
Barrie: I enjoyed it...
Altsounds: You were disappointed?
Barrie: No I just think I didn’t communicate my joy properly.
Both: Ha ha!
Altsounds: If I was a princess locked in a tower, how would you rescue me?
Barrie: Well, me personally, I can fly through the power of music. As soon as I sing I take off. Didn’t you see us?
Altsounds: No, I live in the press area.
Barrie: Oh, well I was the one that was up in the air. So I would just sing my way up to the tower, grab you by the hair and pull you out by it. Then I'd gradually get quieter as I got closer to the ground. Is that the worst answer you’ve had?
Altsounds: No that’s pretty good! So...Do you like marmite?
Barrie: No I hate it.
Altsounds: So if you were on death row, what would be your last meal?
Barrie: Erm, some sort of pizza. Vegetarian pizza, one of them.
Altsounds: Do you know what, I interviewed a vegetarian earlier and he also said pizza.
Barrie: It is such a good food. I stopped eating meat when I was 4 and the only meat I can remember is ham and corned beef.
Altsounds: Jesus! No wonder you turned vegetarian!
Barrie: My dad is an old man.
Altsounds: Old man!?
Barrie: Nah, he is old. He was 50 when I was born, and I've got a little brother.
Altsounds: Christ I thought my dad was old; he was 40 when I was born.
Barrie: Not as old as mine then.
Altsounds: No.
Barrie: So instead of saying, my dads harder than your dad I can say, my dads older than your dad.
Altsounds: Ha ha ha!
Barrie: I actually used to get people at school to guess how old my dad was, cos y’know, you’re proud of your dad for certain things. I’m proud of him because he remembers the war. He was born in 1935. So anyway my dad used to give me corned beef. I just thought I’d best bring it round [to the question] cos otherwise it would make no sense… because the rest of the dialogue is quite sensible.
Altsounds: So have you heard of Altsounds before?
Barrie: Can I be polite?
Altsounds: Just be honest.
Barrie: No, no I haven’t.
Altsounds: Altsounds is independent music journalism, and our readers come to us because we review everything we can showcasing what music is good out there and what is awful. So bearing that in mind do you have a message for our readers?
Barrie: Michelle, who’s in the band as well - She’s the one at the front, I'm the one in the middle with the big face, there’s eight of us in the band. [Pointing at the photo in the programme]. The BBC were hassling us saying if you don’t get a photo now you wont have one and we were like...ok. Well anyway, she’s a nurse as well, she works as a nurse in St. James' hospital in Leeds. She’s trying to get a thing called ‘A Spoon Full of Sugar’ organised which is basically live music in the hospital because there’s nothing there really. They’ve got Artwork but that’s just pictures, it would be great to have live performances going on. It will get sorted at some point from our website and myspace. John from the band has designed all the leaflets. While I'm just helping with the morale. So check that out Altsounds readers.
Altsounds: That’s such a brilliant idea. And the photo’s not nearly as bad as you make out… Don’t worry about the BBC.
Barrie: Yeah, well they’re not very big anyway.
Altsounds: Yeah, not in Yorkshire.
Barrie: Yeah, I only watch Yorkshire telly.
Altsounds: And go on Altsounds...
Barrie: Yes, GO ON ALTSOUNDS!
Altsounds: Thank you!
Milk White White Teeth are currently unsigned and only gigging in local Leeds. milk white white teeth on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads
Altsounds: Ok...So! Milk White White Teeth, there’s many of you, what’s your name?
Barrie: Barrie.
Altsounds: Barrie or Marry?
Barrie: I think I’m going to go with Barrie today.
Altsounds: Sorry I'm pretty deaf now. [Sunday interviews were troublesome to say the least].
Barrie: No, I'm awful. People try to talk to me and I do the thing where I am listening but my mind just goes, I can’t quite hear so my mind just gives up.
Altsounds: Yeah, I'm the same … but obviously not while I'm interviewing because I'm very professional.
Barrie: Obviously, and I am the same when I am being interviewed.
Both: Ha ha!
Altsounds: Could you tell me your favourite joke please?
Barrie: No, no I can't because I’m really bad at jokes. I'm more of a situation man, I'm all about the comedy that’s happening right now.
Altsounds: Good with the one-liners?
Barrie: I'm just good with a number of things as it happens. I am really funny you know! But actual jokes I can’t do. My dads good though!
Altsounds: So the situation thing, is that why you carry a cow bell around with you?
Barrie: Ha, well there was this band on after us, and the band was really distressed because they’d lost their cow bell and they noticed that we had a cow bell. So they asked for it and I took it up to the stage for them. I went all the way to the car and came back and they said 'we've found ours' and I was like... [angry face]. They were quite apologetic, but I was still quite downhearted about the whole thing.
Altsounds: I think I would have just lied to you and said ‘thank you very much.’
Barrie: Yeah, but then I’d have watched them on stage and been like 'that’s not my cow bell!'
Altsounds: True. What was the turning point when you realised this is it, this is what I want to do?
Barrie: When I was 12 or 13 I just decided that writing songs was a lot of fun and that maybe I could do that as a career. I gave up on education, which people think is most important and proceeded to do very badly from then on. I got Cs but I just coasted it, that’s all. Then I went to Music College.
Altsounds: Where was that?
Barrie: I went to Music College in Leicester. It turned out to be one of the best colleges there is. It has some of the best access to music, its free, I like free.
Altsounds: You can’t look at your phone!
Barrie: Hang on, he’s sent me a joke
Altsounds: Who?
Barrie: The man heard [previous interviewer] and sent me one… it’s just updating cos its 2 messages long. Have you seen my phone?
Altsounds: Oh, have you seen mine?
Barrie: Actually, yeah, yours is slightly older as well. Every time I turn this one on it says 2005. Here we go...
A guy walks to a pharmacy to find a man leaning against a wall. He asks the shop assistant, "What’s with the guy over there by the wall?" The shop assistant answers "He was complaining of a cough, I couldn’t find cough syrup so I gave him a whole bottle of laxatives." The guy replies "You idiot, you can’t treat a cough with laxatives." The shop assistant replies "Of course you can, look at him, he's shit scared to cough now!'
Altsounds: That was good!
Barrie: I enjoyed it...
Altsounds: You were disappointed?
Barrie: No I just think I didn’t communicate my joy properly.
Both: Ha ha!
Altsounds: If I was a princess locked in a tower, how would you rescue me?
Barrie: Well, me personally, I can fly through the power of music. As soon as I sing I take off. Didn’t you see us?
Altsounds: No, I live in the press area.
Barrie: Oh, well I was the one that was up in the air. So I would just sing my way up to the tower, grab you by the hair and pull you out by it. Then I'd gradually get quieter as I got closer to the ground. Is that the worst answer you’ve had?
Altsounds: No that’s pretty good! So...Do you like marmite?
Barrie: No I hate it.
Altsounds: So if you were on death row, what would be your last meal?
Barrie: Erm, some sort of pizza. Vegetarian pizza, one of them.
Altsounds: Do you know what, I interviewed a vegetarian earlier and he also said pizza.
Barrie: It is such a good food. I stopped eating meat when I was 4 and the only meat I can remember is ham and corned beef.
Altsounds: Jesus! No wonder you turned vegetarian!
Barrie: My dad is an old man.
Altsounds: Old man!?
Barrie: Nah, he is old. He was 50 when I was born, and I've got a little brother.
Altsounds: Christ I thought my dad was old; he was 40 when I was born.
Barrie: Not as old as mine then.
Altsounds: No.
Barrie: So instead of saying, my dads harder than your dad I can say, my dads older than your dad.
Altsounds: Ha ha ha!
Barrie: I actually used to get people at school to guess how old my dad was, cos y’know, you’re proud of your dad for certain things. I’m proud of him because he remembers the war. He was born in 1935. So anyway my dad used to give me corned beef. I just thought I’d best bring it round [to the question] cos otherwise it would make no sense… because the rest of the dialogue is quite sensible.
Altsounds: So have you heard of Altsounds before?
Barrie: Can I be polite?
Altsounds: Just be honest.
Barrie: No, no I haven’t.
Altsounds: Altsounds is independent music journalism, and our readers come to us because we review everything we can showcasing what music is good out there and what is awful. So bearing that in mind do you have a message for our readers?
Barrie: Michelle, who’s in the band as well - She’s the one at the front, I'm the one in the middle with the big face, there’s eight of us in the band. [Pointing at the photo in the programme]. The BBC were hassling us saying if you don’t get a photo now you wont have one and we were like...ok. Well anyway, she’s a nurse as well, she works as a nurse in St. James' hospital in Leeds. She’s trying to get a thing called ‘A Spoon Full of Sugar’ organised which is basically live music in the hospital because there’s nothing there really. They’ve got Artwork but that’s just pictures, it would be great to have live performances going on. It will get sorted at some point from our website and myspace. John from the band has designed all the leaflets. While I'm just helping with the morale. So check that out Altsounds readers.
Altsounds: That’s such a brilliant idea. And the photo’s not nearly as bad as you make out… Don’t worry about the BBC.
Barrie: Yeah, well they’re not very big anyway.
Altsounds: Yeah, not in Yorkshire.
Barrie: Yeah, I only watch Yorkshire telly.
Altsounds: And go on Altsounds...
Barrie: Yes, GO ON ALTSOUNDS!
Altsounds: Thank you!
Milk White White Teeth are currently unsigned and only gigging in local Leeds. milk white white teeth on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads
