the cyril lords
march 1, 2003
location: johanna's apartment
mayuko - drums
marty - guitar + vox
sean - bass
j: how did the band get started?
marty: we started as a two piece - mayuko & me. when we moved up to detroit, we met sean and he joined the band. we changed our name and that's where we're at now, so there ya go.
j: how did everyone meet?
marty: i met mayuko in toledo at a bar. she said she wanted to be a drummer, so we started playing together. we met sean through ben swank - he told us that sean wanted to play bass. we needed a bass player, and that was that.
j: did you have to audition?
sean: i showed up and i was in the band.
marty: we make fun of him 'cuz he first came over with a guitar. we didn't know what to do 'cuz we wanted a bass player. we were like, "yeah man - sorry dude! we just want you to play bass!" he's like, "okay, i thought you were kicking me out!" that's a hilarious story, isn't it?
sean: i kept my pants on the whole time.
marty: we cast him without doing the deed.
j: why did you leave toledo for detroit?
marty: mayuko and i just wanted to get the fuck out of toledo and never look back. we actually lived in tennesee for a year and then moved up to detroit.
j: (to sean) were you in any bands prior to the cyril lords?
sean: not any good ones - not in any that played out, at least recently. i had a band with some friends of mine called the panties. i was trying to put together a band that i would play guitar for for about two or three years. my friend ben swank was like, "oh yeah, my friends marty & mayuko need somebody to join their band." eventually, i called them, and we discovered we had the same guitars. i went over and joined the band. there wasn't an audition.
marty: well, come to think of it, the audition was over the phone. i said, "what gear do you have?"
sean: oh yeah...
marty: you're like, "i've got a vox bass" and i'm like, "cool, i've got a vox..."
j: which genre would you classify your band to be a part of?
mayuko: i don't even know what that means!
(laughter)
sean: i dunno. we look good! we jump a lot!
marty: if you like good looking bands that jump and play instruments, we're the kind of band you should go see. we write and record all our own material and play are own instruments. we're pretty proud about that.
j: why did you choose to change your name to the cyril lords?
marty: you have to refer to dougal butler's "moon maloon" - the glossary section at the end of the book. look up "cyril lord" - that's where we found out about it.
sean: no one else is using it which is the important thing!
j: mayuko, have you been in any other bands or did you learn how to play drums in the bloody hollys?
mayuko: i've been in seven other bands. i played drums in all of them except for one - i played guitar. i played one big show...
marty: it was a famous show...
mayuko: it was the soledad brothers record release party at the bottle rocket in toledo. it was the soledads, the numbers, and my band, candy snatch.
j: why was it such a memorable show?
marty: 'cuz it was 5 really beautiful girls dressed up to the nines and it was the soledad brothers record release!
j: what do you think makes a great band?
marty: i think a good drummer.
mayuko: i think a drummer is important. if the drummer sucks, i don't like the band. overall, i think the stage performance, showmanship and songwriting is really important.
sean: that's a tough one. i don't know that we are a good band! you might have to ask someone that is actually in a good band! maybe they would know!
marty: i look for a band to be bold in what they do. i just like a band to get up there, to be confident in themselves and have a good time.
sean: there are a lot of bands that are very confident that they're doing something good when they're really not, though.
marty: yeah, but it's a process. you can't have it all right away. i don't think any great band just developed overnight. you have to work it out. i'm happy to see a band of seventeen-year-olds try something new even if they suck.
j: any particular bands that inspire you to do what you do?
sean: yeah, but they'll probably all read this and be like...i dunno. i don't want to say everybody's name! all the bands i really like, i know them...i like a lot of early british r&b stuff and garage. generally i listen to anything that's rock 'n roll and not slow and boring....i listen to a lot of punk rock.
marty: for me, it depends on when you ask me. when i was six, it was chuck berry. when i was fifteen it was mudhoney, nirvana and the pixies. now, it is hard 'cuz we're in detroit and there's so many great bands there. i am influenced by our friends. like sean said, i don't wanna look like i wanna butt fuck my friends. you can't go wrong with classics like otis redding...
sean: everybody says otis redding! every motherfucker says otis redding!
(laughter)
marty: mayuko was classically trained in something...you should ask her about that.
j: you were classically trained in drums?
mayuko: no - piano. i played for nine years. i always wanted to play drums, though.
j: any particular drummers that really made you wanna play?
mayuko: ben swank, keith moon, mitch mitchell, john bonham, rose from embrook...
j: did he teach you:
mayuko: no, he doesn't know how to teach!
j: what is the best song to sing at karaoke?
mayuko: i dunno - i don't sing.
marty: last week, i was over at dave buick's house, and i sang "the greatest love of all." i think i blew the doors off the place. for me, that's gotta be it.
j: how about you, sean?
marty: (to sean) "i love rock 'n roll?"
sean: no, that one's kinda bad. "jessie's girl" - that's my karaoke song. that's what i always sing.
j: why?
sean: it's friggin' rick springfield, man - he was on general hospital!
j: what are your goals for the band?
sean: i just wanna go on tour all the time! i'd really like to play in japan. i think we'd do well over there.
marty: i'd like to go to england 'cuz my family lives there. i've never been. i'd like to screw around with the motherland. short term goals are to get the current single out and start supporting that as best we can.
mayuko: i wanna play for the japanese emperor!
j: what do you think he'd have to say about you guys?
mayuko: anybody from japan that makes it the united states gets a lot of credit. i think if i get to play for the emperor, he would be proud of me.
j: has anyone played for the emperor?
mayuko: i'm not sure.
j: tell me about lorain, your van. how'd you acquire it and what's the story behind the song?
marty: i really like my van! it's not as important as writing a song about it might suggest; it was more about not having anything else to write about on that particular day. i bought the van a few years back from a lady that drove it to the grocery store once every two weeks for fifteen years. it was built in lorain, ohio.
sean: you're gonna edit out all the dumb stuff, right?
marty: right...so what are you saying, sean?
sean: nobody needs to know, "well, this lady had it and drove it to the grocery store and back, so it only has 20,000 miles on it..."
marty: it's a great story, man!
j: if you got an unlimited budget to make a music video, what would you do?
sean: i dunno...if you had all the money that you wanted then you'd be able to make lots of videos! you wouldn't have to put everything in one video. if you could only make one video, i suppose you'd have to put everything in it. but, if you really did have all that money, then you could make a lot of different of videos. you could have one where you're playing in an alley or something, or you're walking down the street during the intro of the song while they focus on your feet. they can slowly pan up and reveal your faces without make up. i've seen that in a video before and that worked pretty well. other than that, i don't know.
j: what video is that?
sean: you don't know that video?
marty: is that randy and the redwoods?
sean: no! you know what - actually, that's what i would do. if i had unlimited money, i would hire randy and the redwoods to be in my video.
marty: i would take a page from the smashing pumpkins - take an old movie and exploit it and rip it off in every possible way so we look like we're smart and artistic and have some relevance.
j: i hated that video.
marty: yeah, me too! (to mayuko) would you want to turn into a werewolf?
sean: i like that! i like when people turn into werewolves in videos!
marty: it's worked every time!
mayuko: i have a couple of ideas, but those are top secret.
j: if the cyril lords have a message, what would the message be?
*long pause*
sean: "if there is a message"?!? that's the qualifier right there!
marty: that should be our motto for our band...i think we've stumbled onto a goldmine there. we don't reply! for me, i think that we have been through been through really rough times, but we're gonna persevere and everyone else should do the same.
sean: if i had to come up with a message, it would be "rock out!"
mayuko: i don't think we have a message! *thinks* actually, my message would be "take this!"
j: what advice do you have for bands that wanna put a record out?
marty: we could use some advice ourselves! the best advice i've ever heard was shortly after i met jack from the white stripes. i said, "we're trying to get a record out. what do we need to do?" and he said, "stick together. just keep doin' it." i think that's really true. as long as you stick together, everything will kinda flush itself out.
sean: i think the best advice would be if someone tells you that they own a big record label in england, and they could give you a big record deal, be sure to check their credentials before you give them a handjob in the bathroom. you can really get burned that way.
marty: that guy got you too?