Christian Reilly interview @Edinburgh (24th Aug 2003 )

• C: Christian
• P: me ( phobos )
• F: my friend

P: When did you start playing with Damian ?
C: Oh, could be.. I just got to take a guess really. Now let me try to work out.... 1992 ? Maybe ? something like that ? It's been....I think it's been approaching 10 years. Certainly by 94. so it's nearly 10 years, if is not 10 years its nearly 10 years.

P: How did you know each other ?
C: We're in bands in Nottingham, in different bands in Nottingham has this kind of small cosy band scene, everybody kinda knows each other. (in a serious voice )Competitive...hehehehehehe. Ah.. you know, so yeah, that was it, really and then one day, I was writing an article for a magazine in the office of the magazine, it was a Nottingham magazine called "Over All There is a Smell of Fried Onions", and Damian came into the office to drop off a demo tape of his new band. And I'd, booked my first solo gig, because I'd been in a band and then it'd just been broke up. I wanted to do something on my own. So I ..erm...I did first my solo gig. and I... it was in the pipe line and Damian came into the office and he was going "Hey, how are you doing ? What you're up to now ?"and I said "I'm just about to do my first solo gig, do you fancy doing it with me ?" And we had a couple of rehearsal and we really clicked and Damian was playing the guitar. I really admire Damian's guitar playing actually. ah.. for the most part. And so we really clicked. That was it, really. and anytime I had some free time and I had a gig and we played together. And eventually we got a drummer but he wasn't a normal drummer, he was a DJ, therefore we need somebody play bass. Damian started learning double bass in order to fulfill that need. 'cause he had a double bass at his house that was like an ornament. He'd been looking after it for somebody, he was looking after it for about four years, so I just said "why don't you learn how to play that thing." The very first time I met Damian, that was in a super market. the first, I knew who he's and he knew who I was. in a supermarket and I was buying..something like. tined, tined ..ah Ravioli, tined he was lecturing me you shouldn't buy the tined stuff, you know. It is a easy to make this kind of sauce, you know, he was very concerned about my nutrition. At that point, I was 21 and he was .. oh ..I don't know about 38. And he was obviously took a kind of paternal, his paternal instinct came out.

P:Was that the start of Novalounge ?
C:Yes. First of all we just used our name, we were "Christian and Damian". And we used to go around doing gigs under that. When we had a line up, when we had a three piece line up that's when we had to think of a name. Yep, that was the beginning of Novalounge. Yes it was.

P:Who decided on the name ?
C:Oh..I have to take credit for that. That was my idea.
P:I'see and then why ?
C:I liked the way sound phonetically. It sounds good but also, yeah Nova meaning new, lounge meaning hey! sit down. hehe. that is nice. Then "New! hey! sit-down" I like that.
P:Is that French ?
C:No, Actually I don't know where it comes from. Is it Latin ? Nova ? I don't know. Could even be Spanish, maybe Spanish, I don't know I'm bit of an idiot. Hahahaha, I don't know, shit. Hahahahahaha.

P:Same question for the Black Liars ?
C:Rich came up with that. Rich Hall came up with that. 'cause, when the first time we did "Otis Lee Crenshaw", it was gonna be a three piece band. So rather than Orson Carson and Alvy Ronson, we wanted to give it a title. and.. so we were called the Black Liars. And the third person couldn't make it. So therefore me and Damian were the Black Liars. Orson and Alvy of The Black Liars.
P:Orson Carson and Alvy Ronson, What ?
C:They are our stage names.
P:Yes, but why do you have those different names ?
C:Sounds more Texan.
Christian Reilly and Damian Coldwell aren't Taxon, are they ? I don't think. Orson Carson and Alvy Ronson is, yeah we had to come up with pretty fast, We were about three gigs of working with Rich, and we worked out we needed to have an identity we are from Texas or something.
P:When you started with Rich Hall, You already had this name ?
C:No, no, no, no. We, me and Damian, thought of them in the car. I think Damian thinks he thought of both of them.hahaha. Well you know. I won't dispute that. I thought I thought of Orson Carson but apparently and Damian's always wanted to be Alvy Ronson.
P:Really ?
C:Yes, yeah, yeah.
F:And Reverend as well?
C:Yes, He fancies himself as a man of the cloth.

P:This is her question.
F:In your gig, you did an unplugged version of Hawking. Of course it was quite funny. It's a kind of universal thing, Actually after that, we went to see Ross Noble show and he did something about Hawking as well.
C:Oh, really.
F:It was kind of a coincidence, or is it any reason of he became hot again ? among comedians.
C:Steve Hawking became a hot topic. I don't think..
C:I don't know why. It's just one of those things. Everybody knows it, I think when you do comedy, You looking for emotions and situations that everybody can relate to. Problem is if its too common an experience and then you're doin' "hey have you ever noticed men do this and women do that ?" and becomes a little bit aaammm, too well trodden. But if you pick those things that everybody knows but they didn't know they knew it until the comedian reminded them, That the best stuff, you know I mean Ross is an amazing comedian, yeah. I mean, he's just..., I wouldn't, I can't quite... I am not clever enough to think a words right now but you know he's extraordinary what he does, I'm just starting out. So my premises are going to be not as esoteric or not as well put together at this point. but you know. I'm getting there.
F:Because ten years ago, actually I saw him, Hawking. He came to Tokyo and we went to his lecture, as you said it is quite common knowledge among many people.
C:There is a lot of..a lot of. I mean the things ..He is so intelligent...so it just amazing the situation he's in. And he ran a way with his secretary. That's an amazing thing. How did he manage to a.. how do you, you know, how did he manage the put the moves on her. You know It's almost, he can't even.. you can't write that.
F:It is a kind of contrast, also you put the song about "Cornwall", taking that kind of material, contrast case like only the people in U.K. knows what kind of place it is like. Also we laughed at the Luton joke of your colleague. We laughed and he asked us "Do you have Luton in the Far East ?"
C:You see that's the thing I think when you travel with comedy, I mean, for starters, you've got go to places with, you know, similar culture or, you know, you just completely go and try and absorb the culture and write about it. but it is good to have a foundation, you know, some shared experiences rather than completely..
F:Because he took a story mentioning about Golders Green at his first gig. We have idea what kind of place Golders Green but most of the people in Edinburgh from international....
C:You have to be careful about that. That's, I mean, that's why I'm here. I'm here to understand, you know, what I need to be writing about what,,,, I don't know. I'm going to try and write closer to.., I'm going to try and write about my emotions.
F: At the same time some kind of common sense with audience.
C: But.. yeah, just try and discuss my emotion in it a bit more 'cause nobody else can sell that material unless, that's unique to me, you know. It's gonna take a while to tap into, a rich seam of humour. I cannot wait to get back home and start writing again. I'm very busy at the moment performing it's not a good time to create I think I have lots of ideas but no time to work on themselves. yes, just notes. Fresh them out later.

P:Then yeah, tell me about the plan after Edinburgh.
C: Yes, so, I'm going to a...do ah....I've got lots of gigs. A lot of stand up gigs lined up. And I'm just gonna write and try the material out.... Trying to get more closer and closer to the artist I wanna be, as a comedian. And along side that, me and Damian are just we're recording a demo for Novalounge I'm gonna trying to get more gigs for Novalounge. We've just finished.. we finished recording it needs mixing, so we've mixed one track, we've got another two to mix. And yeah I think, once we start getting booked, we'll probably get a lot of work for Novalounge because I think what we're doing is quite unique. I don't mean that in a big headed way, but no one else is doing it .

P:I want to ask about your plan for a CD release or something.
C:Yeah, not. We're not gonna release a CD maybe maybe in a long time in the future. I'm not gonna release CDs. I've got a recording of some songs I've written on a CD. I can send you that if you like. Sort of, like old stuff. I don't know, a few years ago, Hip Hop and stuff, But ...Yeah, you might like it.

P:What do you think of your own gig, this time.
C:How do I think my own stand up ? I'm quite happy with it, but aaam, I want to be a lot better. That's it, really. You know, I think anybody, anybody who's doing any kind of work, really just want to get better if you were satisfied you just wouldn't get out of bed in the morning. So.. Yeah, I just wanna, that's what I wanna do. Just wanna get to be better and funnier, try, you know, try and find that magic that my heros have.
P:And what do you think about Rich Hall.
C:Rich Hall! Yeah, he's one of my heros, as a comedian, definitely. So I'd love to,,, I'd love to be a comedian like that, you know. Not his style but the way he's found his style and his voice, the way he fills the space when he's on stage, the way he fills the space verbally, the way he paints pictures. You know, it's really admirable. And an inspiration I've been very fortunate to.. ahh it's been a great apprenticeship, I've been very fortunate, to have been working with him, very inspirational.

F:Could I ask you another question about Rich Hall. Do you find anything, kind of part of him ? Funny... character..
C:Like funny ha ha ?
F:Funny in real life.
C:In real life ? Yeah, he's surely funny off stage. He's really funny off stage. He's also a normal person. huhuhu. He's very funny off stage but he's a proper ... you know, he works so, he proves what he has to prove on stage and he's so good what he does. You know, I think a lesser performer gonna get off stage and they've still got something to prove off stage ....They're always trying to crack jokes things like that. He does it all on stage.. gets it all out of his system... yeah, he has very dry sense of humour and aah, I think but he's a lot nicer than people think he is. People thinks he's so grouchy his stage persona is very grouchy and..actually... He IS quite grouchy but also very polite..he is very polite. Yeah... he's old fashioned.
F:I agree with you.
C:He's got old fashion manners. He's a nice guy.
P:We felt that, when we met him.

F:You are from Nottingham but are you from the city side of Nottingham ?
C:Suburbs. Suburbs and then when I was in my later teens I moved into the city. For action.
F:So you are kind of a city boy.
C:Yes, yes definitely, Definitely, I've not been, I haven't not lived in a city for long time since I was nineteen.

P:When did you start playing the guitar ?
C:m...when I was fourteen ? and I'm thirty-one now, so seventeen years.
F:What kind of music did you listen, what kind of record did you buy first ?
C:The first record I bought was Adam and the Ants. Ant music by Adam and the Ants. That what I bought with my own money. yeah. I went to see Adam and the ants when I was, I cannot remember, eight or nine ? That was a kind of birthday present. I went to Manchester with my mother and my grandmother who really fancied Adam Ant. And my baby sitter of my best friend arranged a couch trip from Nottingham to Manchester to see Adam and the ants. What a night.

P:When I come to the U.K. next time, how can I find you ..
C:O.K. Well comedy wise, there is a publication called "Time Out" it's called "Time Out London". There's all the listing in there. And wherever I'm playing, if I'm playing in London it'll be in there.
P:OK, Thanks
C:Thank you !

Transcribed by Phobos with a help of Elaine,