Punk Rock in Bethesda

I found a great interview with Gruff from a Welsh mag called Planet Magazine. Malcolm Lewis talks to him about growing up in Wales in the 70s, his family background, the Welsh language and the impact of music on him as a child. It's nice to read a bit more about his background, in particular the impact his parents and siblings had on his music tastes and his early musical influences. I found this one of the more insightful interviews I've read with Gruff and I really recommend having a read.

Unfortunately it's only half an interview as the magazine haven't made part 2 available online. You can, however, still order both back issues on their website.

The following link is to the PDF file (PLEASE NOTE, the following link will download the PDF, but I can't guarantee that this file is safe to download, if in doubt, don't download it!);

Punk Rock in Bethesda

If you'd prefer to go straight to their website, here's the link;
Planet Magazine

If you liked that...
If you have an urge to find out more about the Bethesda music scene that Gruff was active in as a member of Ffa Coffi Pawb, then I recommend having a look at the 2005 Sioe Gelf Documentary Special 'Pesda Roc'. You can view it online on Huw Roberts YouTube channel, in a nice edited form in Welsh but with English subtitles (woohoo!);

Pesda Roc

Fast forward to 6:50 to catch a clip of a young Gruff Rhys touting Ffa Coffi Pawb tapes with a ridiculously glorious haircut. Aside from that, there are a couple of clips interviewing Gruff, Les Morrison and other Welsh musicians that came from the same area around the same time.

And Gruff has another funky hat on. Groovy.

Video killed the radio star

Huw Roberts' YouTube channel is probably one of the best resources for SFA videos on YouTube. He's found a lot of great live performances and some quite rare/old interviews and documentaries. Includes some pre-SFA titbits, mainly on Ffa Coffi Pawb (you'd need to be a Welsh speaker to understand all of the Ffa Coffi Pawb vids, though)

For me, however, the stranger the live performance the better. Here's a wonderful video from Dutch programme (Behind) Closed Doors;

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JmYaXXsv_d4

I love how pared down this performance is and it shows the genius of SFA and Gruff Rhys. A lot of people just think of SFA as the slightly potty techno-inspired Welsh band and expect all their music to be mad, fun and turned up to 11. I know some fans, especially in the UK, respond to those kind of songs better than the slower numbers, but I always feel a bit sad when I hear Gruff say that the Furries are going concentrate more on their rockier numbers for future albums and live shows, and this clip just shows how good their songs can be when they are played really simple and lo-fi. My love for this style of their music is probably why I respond so well to Gruff's solo stuff. I'm really intrigued by the DIY sensibilities of his solo live gigs.

Another one in a similar vein, for Other Voices;

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=otAIYvIiJXc

Note: I haven't embedded any of these videos here because if I do, YouTube automatically know you've viewed these vids, even if you don't press play. Which I don't think is very fair, privacy-wise. So, I'd prefer to give you the choice of whether or not you want to view YouTube.