Lee Harveys is a band whch really touched my
punkheart. Good 77-punk with a modern sound.
I was ”forced” to interview and that took time
in the end of june 2002.
Please tell me a little history of the group,
members and what you do when you don´t play
music, what do you work and which ages are you
in? You have done four fullengthrecords before
221 I understand, how can I get them?
...The Lee Harveys formed in early December 2009
and played their first gig two weeks later...the
idea was to play punk cover versions but then we
decided that we still had something to say so we
started writing original songs...
Bitzy is our singer/rhythm guitarist
Paul is our drummer
Peter is our lead guitarist
Sam is our Bass player
Bitzy is aged in his sixties and the other
members are all in their late 50s...
Peter runs his own record label called FOAD and
his own pressing plant called Rotator Records
Paul is an artist and landscape gardner
Sam is a special needs assistant in the
education system
Bitzy is an addiction support worker
Gun City, Still Angry, Bullet For The President,
Resistance is not Terrorism are our first four
records and they can be obtained through
advancerecords.com...bandcamp or by contacting
the band on facebook.
Have it been the same members all the time, or
have it been many lineup changes? Please tell me
a little about every member? Earlier bands?
...Bitzy and Paul are the only members left from
the original lineup...Peter and Sam have been
with The Lee Harveys for the last five
years...we started off as a three-piece band but
added another guitarist after the first
record...there have been six past members who
have been and gone since 2009...
Bitzy was a member of The Strougers who formed
in 1977 and gigged until 1981
Paul was a member of Thee Amazing Colossal Men,
Guernica and Firewater Creed who were active in
the 80s/90s
Sam was a member of At Gunpoint in the 1980s
Peter was a member of The Golden Horde and is a
current founding member of Ireland's longest
punk band Paranoid Visions who formed in 1981...
Lee Harvey is the name, where did it came from
and you wasn´t afraid that some other group
would be named so?
...Bitzy came up with the name for the band as
he had a vision that it could be used as a
mouthpiece to tell all the world all that was
good, bad and indifferent about the USA..''.I
didn't bother checking if another band had the
same name as I knew that they wouldn't''...the
closest is The Lee Harvey Oswalds or The Lee
Harvey Oswald Band...Obviously our name is the
best!
What´s best with playing live ?
Have you been start playing after covid-times?
Where is best to play, which country, town,
place?
...Playing live is where it's at...we feed off
the crowd, ourselves, the atmosphere, the
danger, and the fact that we still enjoy playing
live...no two Harveys gigs are the same...we are
not formulaic...we don't play or say the same
things each gig we play...we are often
spontaneous...most importantly we have fun!
The band has played around six gigs since Covid
restrictions were lifted this year...we
obviously enjoy playing bigger and better venues
whenever we get the chance but smaller gigs are
always the best for me...I like to see the
whites of the punters' eyes...The Academy, The
Grand Social, Fibber Magees and The Thomas House
have been favourite venues for us to play plus
The Button Factory...all in Dublin...
Is it important to give out the record as
physical releases do you think? Would it feel
like you have released a record if you only
release it digital?
...Physical releases are very important...it
connects the people with the band in that they
have an actual hard copy of their record...we
sometimes launch a new record at a gig and the
audience can purchase the record there or later
in the shops...it's also important to chat with
the people who come to your gigs and buy your
records because without them you are nothing!
technology now allows you to download or stream
a song or an album...but all you then have is a
virtual copy that you can only look at on a
screen...boring!!
Do you play any covers when you play live? If
you do, which then?
...We are known for always playing at least one
cover in our live set...
Covers we have played over the years include...
Do you wanna dance...Ramones
Silly Thing...Sex Pistols
Vaseline...Elastica
Police On My Back...The Clash...
First Time...The Boys
Janie Jones...The Clash
Swallow my pride...The Ramones
Ran so far away...Flock of seagulls
Gimme some truth...John Lennon/Generation X
Think were alone now...Tiffany
Suck or blow...Heavy Drapes
Born to lose...Johnny Thunders
Stepping Stone...Monkees/Sex Pistols
I turned out a punk...Big audio dynamite
Action time vision...ATV
At the moment we play Part time punks by the
Television Personalities
Please tell me a little about following songs a)
Generation Kill b) From Russia with love c)
Stand up
...Generation Kill
is
about the state of the world as it is now...war,
war, war everywhere...a generation of worldwide
murder through genocide, famine and ethnic
cleansing
Russia with Love
This
song was written before the current war with
Ukraine...Its about Putins paranoia and his
desire to plunge Russia back into a total
totalitarin state where he can reclaim and unite
Russia of old...
Stand Up
This is about people uniting to fight fascism,
rascism, dictatorships, oppression, apartheid...
Is it important to get out your opinions in your
music, and is it a good way to get out
frustration too?
….There are people who will tell you that music
should not be political...BULLSHIT!!somebody
once said or maybe they didint that'' if you
cant say it in under three minutes it aint worth
sayin'' The vast majority of our songs are
uner three minutes.
Do you think that your lyrics can have effect on
other people who listens to them…any example on
it? Have you changed anyones mind?
...We wrote some songs on the treatment of the
Palestinian people by the IDF and its government
which Amnesty International said is
Apartheid...we wrote our songs a long time
before that conclusion was arrived at..,.I have
spoken about the BDS movement (Boycott,
Divestment, Sanctions) to people who were not
aware it existed...a song we sang called ''One
way in, one way out'' which is on the
''Resistance is not terrorism'' record deals
with some of that and people asked me the
meaning of the song and then became more aware
of what was happening...''no one ever wants to
listen, in Palestine theyre killing children''
check out ''Can you hear the sirens'' from the
Still Angry record which deals with people
fleeing wars.
How is it to play this sort of music in Ireland
which type of bands are you having concerts
with?
...We have a loyal following and a lot of the
people who attend our gigs are good friends of
ours...
We have played with Buzzcocks, Stiff little
fingers, Paranoid Visions, Trouble pilgrims,
Cockney Rejects, The Members, The Beat, The
Dubtones, 999, Penetration, Conflict, The Nilz,
The Outcasts, The Defects, Patrik Fitzgerald,
The Dickies,
Have you been one of all these bands which have
made livestreams now during the covid-19 time or
how is it?
...We did not do a livestream during Covid...
I like beer and also make beer.. If Lee Harveys
would do a beer , what would it be named and
which sort of beer would it be?
...If we made beer it would be called ''Patsy
Beer''...Lee Harvey Oswald called himself ''Im
just a patsy''...So when you order you could say
''A pint of Patsy'' please.
How would you describe your music in three words
to anyone who never have heard you?
...I will use a quote that an Irish music
magazine used to describe us as ''music to sing
along and dance to but with something a little
more sinister bubbling underneath the surface''
(Jackie Hayden)
Which is your own favoritesong among your own
songs? And which song is the people choice?
...My favourite song at the moment is one which
we have not played live yet called ''Just
Because'' other than that it varies from the
''Killing of America'' to ''Dead Pop Star'' the
people attending our gigs shout up different
songs to play e.g Still angry...rock n roll
What´s the biggest difference when you plays
live nowadays if you compare when you first
started to play in a band?
...The gigs are not violent!! back in the 70s if
there was no violence at a punk gig something
was wrong...I´ve played at and attended gigs
where people were stabbed or got bottled or
badly beaten...violence was normal at gigs back
then
Old irish punk/hardcorebands which you really
like?
...Old Irish Punk bands I dig are Radiators from
space, The Sinners, The Outcasts,(still going)
The Threat
What do you know about Sweden? What is typical
Swedish?
......Stockholm syndrome...dont jaywalk in
Sweden (good song title) ABBA of
course...brilliant pop songs...IKEA...Northern
lights...friendly people
Have you ever been here? Any good bands from
Sweden that you like?
...Never been to Sweden...love to go
sometime...I have heard The Accidents...good
catchy songs
Your audience when you play live, which type of
people comes, age?
...People from teenagers to people in their
70s,,,die-hard punks
Please tell me a funny thing which have happened
during a livegig with your band?
...When we played Rebellion punk festival for
the first time in 2013 it was a
disaster...drinking heavily the night before did
not help at all...I forgot to check the band
in...bass player broke a string after two
songs...guitarist broke his guitar strap and had
to sit down to play the rest of the gig...I
forgot the words and my guitar lead fell out, I
did not know this and i played on until someone
told me...we were so hungover that we finished
the set 10 minutes early, said thanks and
started to walk off until the stage manager told
us to ''get back on and finish your time''
still have nightmares about it
Is there any good bands in Ireland today? New
bands which is good? Old bands which is still
good?
...Paranoid Visions
The Nilz
The Blackpitts
Trouble Pilgrims
Which is the record that you always must have in
the tourbus?
...We have not toured much since Covid...we tend
to talk and drink beer when we are travelling
Do you buy much records, or is it only Spotify
and those type of things to listen to music?
...I buy records as much as possible...I use
Spotify when I use the gym
How is it to live in Ireland overall, covid,
racists etc etc?
...Ireland is very expensive but a very good
place to live...we are friendly...racism
unfortunately is everywhere even in Ireland
Do you care about reviews? Which is the most
peculiar you ever had, with this band or any
other band you have been to?
...I couldnt care less about reviews...I dont
bother reading them...Only time I did was when
we opened for SLF in 2011 in Dublin...the
reviewer said we were''punk by numbers'' and I
was taking the piss etc I got a great laugh from
this
If you could choose five bands from the past and
the history and nowadays and both dead and
living bands to have a concert together with
your band. Which five have you been chosen?
...The Ramones, The New York Dolls, The TV
Personalities, The Sonics, Jerry Lee
Lewis...These are my choices, I am sure the
other guys have their own choices
Are you living on your music or what do you work
with on the side of the music?
...There is no money in Rock n Roll...We do it
coz we love it...I work as an addiction support
counsellor
Wisdomword?
...''The path of excess leads to the palace of
wisdom'' |