It’s been a month since TRAGEDY and NANOWAR OF STEEL toured the UK together yet the fresh memories from the show only make it seem like yesterday. On the Bristol date of the tour, Rock Out Stand Out’s Lotty Whittingham grabbed a chat with lead vocalist and lead guitarist Mo’Royce Peterson about the tour, their new album and mental health. Here’s what happened.
How has the tour been going so far?
It’s been fantastic, it’s been super fun. We did six weeks in the US with Steel Panther and then over here in the UK, thirteen shows in a row without a day off. We then get a day off to travel to France and then we have twelve or thirteen more without a day off. But it’s really fun touring with Nanowar Of Steel, they bring such great joy and positive energy to the stage. It’s amazing to find a band to tour with like that.
I was going to ask if this was your first time in the UK, but you were saying it wasn’t.
We’ve been touring the UK for thirteen or fourteen years. I think it was thirteen years ago we toured the UK with The Wildhearts and then came back with Electric Six. We have been doing tours of our own since then.
Have there been any favourite cities you have come across?
Bristol is one of the most fun places to play consistently. I have a special place in my heart for Liverpool, I think a lot of musicians do for obvious reasons. Those crowds tend to really give it back.
Have you noticed any significant differences between crowds across the countries you have toured?
Yes sure. It’s also hard to judge that too as there can be so many different variables. I remember our first few times playing Sheffield thinking these people were quiet and then the next time we played there, they were so loud. Sometimes it’s the opposite like for example in Liverpool, they can be really chatty but directing it toward us. This time, they were more polite. You never know what it’s going to be like and that’s the fun of it.
Which songs have you found gone down best with the crowds?
Well, we started off only doing Bee Gees disco hits and then we chose the Bee Gees to have a metal tribute to because we knew about their disco hits and that significance they had on the culture. But then we also knew about their pre-disco catalogue which is amazing and their post disco catalogue writing for other artists. We started doing the non-disco stuff of theirs but the audience weren’t taking to it. That’s the way it felt anyway.
So then we decided to try other disco songs by non Bee Gees artists. There are definitely favourites that go in every set and every tour; so Stayin’ Alive, It’s Raining Men and You’re The One That I Want, which is our viral one and was really popular when it first came out.
How do you decide what songs you want to cover?
Ideally, it’ll be a really well known song that’s part of the DNA of the music scene. A song that even if you never owned that record, you know it as it’s been in the ether your whole life. It can’t be a hard rock or heavy metal song to begin with and then ideally it’s in where our identity lays which is in seventies, eighties pop music.
Do you already have in mind how the cover is going to sound or is it a case of playing around and seeing how it sounds? I Will Survive has a real Ghost vibe.
Especially in the case of I Will Survive, that was years in the making. We wanted to do that song as it’s such an iconic disco anthem. Like so many disco songs, especially non Bee Gees, they are very repetitive and made for the disco. It doesn’t lend itself to be a dramatic rock song. So with I Will Survive, I had this idea to really deconstruct it and thought of it as a Bohemian Rhapsody type style with a Greek chorus commenting on what the lead character is going through. That’s kind of how it starts and then also trying to tell more of the journey of the story. In the song, there is a lot of rage in there and the story in the lyrics. In Gloria Gaynor’s version of the song, she’s over it and she’s happy. With our cover; we dig more into the rage, drama and fear. We try to honour the original intent of these songs and hopefully enhance them as well.
You have recently released I Am Woman, what was the most challenging part of recording that?
That particular song. When we came up with the theme, it was clear that we needed to have I Will Survive on the album but it doesn’t work as it’s the same chords over and over again. That was a real challenge. We changed drummers during the recording of it. It was actually fine but with this album, we had some personnel changes. We originally had Garry Bib with us on guitar and had The Lord Gibbith on drums, Garry left before we started recording this album and he had been my main collaborator for developing and producing songs. So then a lot of the originating stuff fell to me and the other guys too started making demos. The change in the guitarist and drummer was pretty seamless musically, we all know each other and get along really well.
Speaking of songs, you had Memory as well.
Yes, we recorded that with a special guest vocalist Mrs Smith who is an amazing drag performer and blazing guitarist. One that made huge headliners winning the Wah Wah contest in a guitar player magazine.
One of our missions at Rock Out Stand Out is to spread the message of mental health awareness. What’s awareness like in your home town?
I’m not really an expert on that to know and comment what the climate is like. It’s certainly there and I know awareness is much higher now than it was when I was a kid.
Is there anything you like to do to unwind?
I wish I could have a day off, sit around with my friends and drink beer. That’s one of my favourite things to do. Especially on a warm, summers day.
Do you think there is anything more we can do as family members, friends and loved ones so people feel more comfortable reaching out if they are struggling?
We can always do better. We’re always learning how to be better. Everyone has to find their own way of being better. Some people aren’t great at opening up but they might be really good at listening. From the time I was kid, I was very politically active and I thought because I was really focused on that, that’s what everyone needed to focus on. As I grew up and became a performer, I didn’t feel I had as much impact when participating in a protest. I did when I was younger and the best way I can make an impact is through my performance. As a band, we expose our own silliness and hopefully make people feel like they can truly be themselves.
Going back to artists you have covered, which one of those would you most like to collaborate with?
It’s funny because my mind immediately goes to the Bee Gees and we have talked to some of the children of the Bee Gees about collaborating. It might happen at some point.
Do you have a message?
Our message is of peace, love, glitter and what can say, Tragedy is the best band in world. Buy our stuff.
Thank you Mo’Royce for chatting with Rock Out Stand Out today.
