Friday, May 23, 2014

New interview with Robert

From SFGate:

Cure makes up for lost time with marathon shows
By Aidin Vaziri

The Cure returns after a five-year hiatus to headline this year's BottleRock Napa festival alongside Outkast and Eric Church. The British band has been making up for the lost time with its recent marathon sets, which cover everything from the hits ("Just Like Heaven," "Pictures of You," and so on) to deep, deep cuts. Robert Smith, the group's 55-year-old front man, known for smeared lipstick and gravity-defying locks, tells us why every set still matters.

Q: You have been playing four-hour shows. Where do you get the energy?
A: Well, I'm not known for my onstage gymnastics.

Q: I know, but you've written so many songs. How do you remember them all?
A: A lot of the songs are just embedded in me. If I get the first line to any Cure song, I can just sing the rest. But I do believe you should be feeling the words you're singing.

Q: Is it difficult to get in the headspace of your 19-year-old self?
A: I remember who I was when I wrote (the songs), which is good enough. Sometimes at the end of a song it's like coming out of a weird trance. I go right back in time to when we first started performing and the joy and excitement we had when the lights went down.

Q: How has being in the Cure for so long affected your personal life?
A: Well, I suppose when we started to get really well known, in the mid-'80s, that was a strange period for me. But I wouldn't swap the experience. I did think that when I was 55 I wouldn't have to deal with people camping in my drive, but that isn't the case.

Q: Did you read the Morrissey autobiography?
A: Strangely enough, no. I haven't got to that one yet. There are about 101,000 other books I would like to read first.

Q: I figured there might be some shared experience there.
A: I doubt we have a shared experience. I'm not interested in reigniting a feud, but I don't think our approach to life has been similar in any way. I don't read biographies. I'm more interested in fiction.

Q: Will you ever write one?
A: No, I will never, ever write a book. I struggle enough with writing lyrics - that's the outer edges of my ego. But a 16-page comic might do the trick. {sbox}

11 comments:

  1. 101,000 other books first.... Made me laugh out loud! :)

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  2. love the smiths and morrissey has a done a couple of great albums (viva hate & you are the quarry) - but as a person i have no time for him at all. also seen him twice and both were very poor. also won't be reading his book.

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    1. I agree with you. Morrissey's music can be amazing, but his character is really a disappointment.

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    2. I feel pretty much the same way. Loved the Smiths, loved early Morrisey. Saw him at the Greek in Berkeley for Viva Hate it his show was great.

      But he is so ego driven it is hard to take him seriously.

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  3. Cure comic book! That would be awesome.

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  4. To go thru all the headache of CAPTCHA....luck out to get a ticket in nose bleed, pay big money for ticket and then get an hour show or a cancellation....you all can have Moresissy. I did get burned by The Cure once in Italy...1986 ....but it was not the bands fault and when they returned to Italy they went out of their way to make up for the fire marshall. It taught me the lesson of not taking anything for granted....appreciate what you have while you have it!!!

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  5. I love the subtle derogatory comment against Morrissey, though he's just being honest. Morrissey's still a prick (especially how he treated Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce) and Robert's still largely a class act and incredibly interesting politically.

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  6. "There are about 101,000 other books I would like to read first." Cutting without being unkind. Something Morrissey's "wit" seldom achieves these days.

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  7. what happened to The Glass Sandwich?

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  8. Dude, I would gladly take a hiatus from my monthly comic book drawing gig to draw a 16 page comic written by Robert! Sign me up!

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