The Curator Podcast: Episode 28 – Ewan Grant from WOMPS
Ah, dear listener. I apologies for missing a week. I feel terrible about it. The fact that I didn’t post an episode on my regular schedule has kept me up at night ever since. I value you. I value your time, your attention and the fact that you choose to make me a part of your day.Let me explain what happened in the hope that you might be able to forgive me.Usually I like to have an interview or two in the bank for eventualities such as this, but I left myself short on content. After I conducted this interview with Ewan I formatted the SD card in my recorder thinking that I had removed the file, then I promptly took a week off and went to Marrakech for my 30
th birthday. When I returned the interview was nowhere to be seen. I started to make plans with Ewan to re-do it.Then I ran some recovery software on the SD card and managed to retrieve the interview. The crisis somewhat averted, I decided just to treat the missed episode as a holiday week and return to my regularly scheduled programming the following week. And so here we are, back on track with an interview I once thought lost but has now been found.And it’s a really good interview!I sat down with Ewan in the 13
th Note Café in Glasgow, the lovely staff there allowing us to sit in their restaurant type bit to have a chat. Ewan is a lovely guy and I had a really good time talking to him and talking about all things WOMPS, Algernon Doll, Steve Albini, Black metal and feminism, amongst other things.Highlights include:
- Wanting to be a footballer but not liking the lad culture
- Skateboarding leading to guitar playing
- Being in hardcore bands as a teenager and losing those people he played with
- Expressing feelings of loss through songwriting
- “You can only feel sorry for yourself for a certain amount of time”
- Algernon Doll being terrifying
- Moving from WOMPS to Algernon Doll
- The influence of Elliott Smith
- Not searching for a songwriting partner but finding one anyway
- Songwriting influences – John Lennon, George Harrison, Frank Ocean, Danish Post Punk
- Not being able to mention good Paul McCartney songs
- Separating art from the artists (specifically talking about Michael Jackson, R Kelly, Lostprophets and Burzum)
- Some black metal discussion and Deafheaven
- Recording with Steve Albini and how he feels about being asked about it a lot
- Being put up by Steve Albini when stuck in Chicago for the second time
- Getting a pass from Partisan Records and how Steve’s attitude helped them move on
- The advantage of having a booking agent instead of booking shows themselves
- Having a team of women around them
- How the punk scene is trying to avoid misogyny but shows are still 90% male in attendance
- Is the indie scene better for women?
- Lots of love for Make that a Take and Book Yer Ane Fest
- How the DIY ethos is still important
- Getting involved with Damnably
Ewan’s worked very hard over the years and it’s brilliant to see that it’s now paying off with WOMPS. Their sound has definitely evolved from his older solo stuff and I’m really excited to hear their album next year.I hope you enjoy this episode. And I hope that you forgive me for being a week late.
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