Exclusive Q&A with Rich FownesQuestions by L?szl? Reszegi and Anna Cseh
/nin.hu, 2008. ?prilis 09./
How did this collaboration come about?
Rich: I was playing guitar in the UNKLE live band. We supported NIN in Tel Aviv and Trent got in contact after that.
What is your function in Nails? What instruments do you / will you play in NIN?
Rich: Bass, guitar and synth.
Do you know any member of the band personally? Have you started rehearsing yet?
Rich: Yeah, I was invited to LA for a few days to meet and jam with everyone. It was incredible, everyone was so nice, but most importantly, it clicked really well when we were playing.
What do you think of Ghosts I-IV? How will the new material sound live?
Rich: I think the new stuff is great, and a really good example of Trent 'keeping up with the times'.
Are you going to tour outside of North America? Where?
Rich: Haha, I got the Bass / guitar role, you'd have to ask the booking agent, that's a whole different audition.
What kind of guitar/bass equipment do you use?
Rich: I have a rig in my head, but until I've used it with the band properly when we start rehearsing, I can't be too definite. There'll be alot of adjustments, I'm sure, so it'd be silly to say now.
What do you think of Trent Reznor? What is it like working with him?
Rich: I haven't 'worked' with him really; you would have to ask Atticus or Alessandro that. But from my experience, he's a totally reasonable, nice and pretty funny guy.
What about With Scissors? Did you leave the band or is it just a pause?
Rich: Just a pause in gigs, I'll still be writing for them and a mystery band while I'm away with NIN. We may even sneak in a couple of shows when I have weeks off here and there.
Have you been a NIN fan before you joined the guys?
Rich: Yeah, I always loved certain songs loads, wish / terrible lie / march of the pigs / hurt etc.. but I got really into it when Aaron joined as I was a fan of other stuff he'd done, and it peaked my curiosity to the Nth degree.
What bands are currently out there that you would like Nine Inch Nails fans to check out?
Rich: In With Scissors we spend alot of time touring with bands that are so special and individual, there's really something going on in that scene, and everyone should check out ORION ARM / THE WANDER PHANTOM / TAKE A WORM FOR A WALK WEEK / WHORES WHORES WHORES / CHICKENHAWK / ROLO TOMASSI / MOTORBIKES / LAPSUS LINGUAE / VILE IMBECILES and of course with scissors, haha.
So, where do you live right now? Brighton, LA or somewhere else?
Rick: Brighton.
Who are your favourite guitarists?
Rich: East Bay Ray, Omar Rodrieguez (however the fuck you spell it, rodgrriwughowgez?), Poison Ivy, all make the best dirty noises in the business.
When and how did you start playing guitar? Are you self-taught?
Rich: When I was about 12, and yeah, taught myself until about 20 when I went to music college, but I spent alot more time getting With Scissors together than going to lectures if I'm honest. That was why I was there.
What do you think of Aaron North's guitar style?
Rick: The man's got a screw loose. I watched and learned from him in the old days long before I got a band together. I would go and see Icarus Line on my own because my friends in London would rather spend their nights acting like barbarian assholes to last year's bangin' drum bass anthem, than go and watch the punk rock revolution unfold before their eyes. And that's what that band definitely did for me, Aaron in particular. I loved how he did not give a fuck, it felt dangerous again.
Is there anything else that you're working on at the moment?
Rick: Yeah, I've started writing for a new band. It won't see the light of day for a while but I'm a few songs into it, and it's going really well. I think it might be called Mongoloid Porn Inferno...
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