This week’s Talkhouse episode is a special deep dive for me, as it features two bands whose records from the ‘90s I was super into, talking about a really important record label, their various successes and failures, the steamroller of a bigger band called Oasis, and much more. It’s Mark Gardener and Pete Fij.
Mark Gardener was—and is, in fact—one of the two singer-guitarists for the band Ride, whose legendary status was cemented in the early 1990s with the advent of shoegaze. Their first two albums, Nowhere and Going Blank Again, are rightfully considered masterpieces of the genre. Things got a bit messy for Ride for a while after those records, though, as Gardener and his musical partner Andy Bell drifted apart, making a pair of wildly different records before eventually splitting up in the mid-'90s. But the Ride story has a happy ending: The increased interest in shoegaze led to a reunion tour in 2014, which led to some great new Ride records. Oh and not for nothing, but Bell actually joined Oasis on bass in 1999, and he’s been on tour with them playing massive shows recently. Here's a Ride classic, in case you're not familiar.
The other half of today’s conversation, Pete Fij, was also the singer of a highly touted band that signed to the legendary Creation Records label in the ‘90s and looked ready to conquer the world… but then didn’t. But despite the fact that things didn’t work out commercially for Adorable, their records are absolutely amazing—some of my favorite of that entire era, like a poppier Jesus and Mary Chain. It just goes to show that sometimes the best songs can get left behind when circumstances aren’t right. After Adorable’s breakup, Fij went on to release more great music with the band Polak, then entered a musical partnership with another Creation Records alumnus, Terry Bickers of House of Love. Now, 30-ish years later, Fij has just released his first proper solo album, called Up’s The New Down. It comes after a lot of downcast music in various guises, and feels like a reaction to it: It’s much more guitar-centered, upbeat, and positive. Those sentiments are reflected in this song: Check out “Love’s Coming Back” right here, and the album is out now.
This conversation starts with some catnip for Creation Records fans: Gardener and Fij talk about their experiences signing with the legendary label, specifically about their interactions with the notoriously enigmatic label head Alan McGee. And of course both bands were making records right when Creation Records signed Oasis, so that juggernaut changed things for everybody. Beyond that, these two chat about what they’ve been up to since—and how they feel differently about those times, even if they wouldn’t necessarily change a thing. Enjoy.
0:00 Intro
3:00 Start of conversation
3:19 On meeting Alan McGee and Creation Records
07:55 On developing trust with Alan
10:37 On Creation’s unique office
12:57 On Oasis’s impact
15:18 On feeling competitive with Oasis, and seeking guidance
19:13 On success and falling out with bandmates
23:05 On solo work vs. collaborative work
26:04 On 80s and 90s bands, making new music, and the creative process
30:41 On Shazaam, listening to each other’s new music, and younger generations finding their music
33:22 On the first songs they learned, music that influenced them, and band roles
36:48 On seeing gigs and playing with their heroes
39:20 On songwriting and emotion
41:53 On Adorable reuniting
48:33 On Ride’s comeback and what comes next
51:35 On rediscovering chemistry, and reflecting on why they love music
54:11 On defining success
56:53 On bands being nice to audiences
58:00 On Pete’s first solo album, and the experience of solo tours
1:01:23 On vocals, feeling nostalgic in Oxford, and Pete’s Coventry days
1:04:23 On historic sites and DJing together
Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Pete Fij and Mark Gardener for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and be sure to check out all the other great shows in our network. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!
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