Debriefer: Brit Musician Dan McLachlan
A rocker with a serious work ethic, musician, singer-songwriter Dan McLachlan has his work cut out for him; in between rehearsals and gigs with two different bands, Four Letter Friend and Pistols at Dawn, he finds moments to play his own solo music and jot around the city he calls home.
We're going to imprison you in the city of your choice for the rest of your natural life. You can do anything you want there, but you must stay in that city forever. Where would you choose?
I would have to say London.
Why would you live in this city forever and not somewhere else?
The big love in my life is music and I don't know of anywhere better to play and watch concerts. The music scene here is insanely active, and you can pretty much guarantee that every decent band will play here while on tour. In terms of playing concerts, there are numerous wicked venues and hundreds of bands. That does mean that you get a lot of utterly crap ones, but we've played with some great bands and met a lot of like-minded people.
In what part of the city would you reside?
I'd probably reside somewhere a bit further out with more green bits. While I love going out in the more lively parts of the city - round Islington, Camden, Shoreditch etc, I'd rather wake up somewhere a bit more chilled out. I've just moved to a place in the South East called Honor Oak Park, near Dulwich, which is more like a little village, but with great connections to London and a really peaceful atmosphere.
Where and what would you eat?
One of my favourite restaurants is the Hawksmoor on Commercial Street. They serve massive bloody steaks from the Ginger Pig butcher (some of the best beast you can buy in London) with bourbon cocktails, and that's pretty much my desert island meal in one. Other than that, Scoffers in Clapham Junction is good for a more relaxed meal. There's an indoor tree in the middle of the main room, low lighting and really nice comfort food, including a big wedge of bison steak which is actually pretty delicious.
What would you do for fun?
Obviously I'd play a concert or go to see another band. My favourite places to see bands are the Astoria on Tottenham Court Road and Brixton Academy, but it kind of depends how big the band is. The smaller the venue the better if you ask me.
Where would you go for a night on the town? No worries, money's not an issue.
Definitely my favourite rock bar - Project Orange in Clapham Junction (south west London). There are plenty of decent, traditional pubs to choose from, but we're seeing more and more 'trendy' bars which tend to be soulless, chain establishments geared towards feeding the crowing masses with cheap shots to prepare them for a night of awful music at a meat-market nightclub. That ain't really my scene, but that's the good thing about London - you can do what you want. Project Orange is one of the few places that has retained its identity and not been seduced by the yuppie dollar. Red and green lights, very selective bands playing in the tiny downstairs venue with music videos on a big screen upstairs, a brutal selection of beers and shots, all sorts of weird bits of decoration on the walls, rocking staff and the best playlist you'll here this side of Slash's bedroom.
What kinds of shops are worth going to?
Depends if you can face shopping or not. Personally, I loathe it. Approximately 34 seconds of barging through huge crowds of gormless shoppers walking at impossibly slow speeds and the red haze descends. I do most of my shopping on the internet. Much more civilized. I don't like being herded like cattle.
And on the flip side: What city would you never, ever visit again, if you had a choice?
I've never really visited a bad city. It's more about the people you're with and where they take you. If you're with a bunch of idiots in the best city in the world you'll still have a crap time. I spent a year studying in Russia, in St Petersburg, and loved it, but we went up to Murmansk on the Arctic Circle. That was the epitome of a grim city. Stacks of grey ice 10 feet tall, nuclear submarines rusting in the harbour and the weirdest meal I've ever eaten, in the basement of a school with seriously unattractive strippers dancing around in the altogether. Not good. Still, I was with a superb bunch of people so we still had a cracking time.
Tell us your top six (or more) favorite places or spaces in your favorite:
(in no particular order...)
Spitalfields Market - cool stalls, wander round, have a drink, get some food samples and find some bargains; Project Orange, Clapham Junction - rock; Richmond Park - deer, bracken, woodland and lakes. True British countryside in a big grimy city; Camden Town - markets, music and plenty of weirdos to keep you amused; Wandsworth Common in the summer. Chill out, drink cider and play Frisbee; Denmark Street - guitar shops abound, loads of vintage instruments and a dangerous place to go when you've got money in your pocket.
You're currently involved with two bands: Pistols at Dawn and Four Letter Friend; how do you balance the work (and partying) involved in writing and performing with two bands and still make it out with a functioning liver?
I love playing and writing music so I can never get enough of rehearsing, composing and playing with either band. Pistols At Dawn has been around longer - born from the embers of my school band with two really good mates from school and university. Four Letter Friend was formed just over a year ago with three guys who used to be in a band called The Pinch. Everyone I play music with is a good friend. Being in two bands, and doing my own acoustic stuff too, while working full time, can mean I don't get a lot of downtime, but I'd be out partying with the same people if we weren't playing music, so at least it's productive...
How does touring influence your songwriting?
We haven't really been on a proper tour. I've been to other cities and towns with both bands to play gigs and festivals, but only one-off nights. Four Letter Friend are planning to do some touring round the UK next year which I'm really looking forward to. Playing with other bands can sometimes influence the writing of a song. If you hear something you like, whether it's a drum intro or a riff, then it all goes into the pot.
Which city that you've played for, has the best audience?
Some of my favourite gigs that I've ever done were a series of 'unplugged' concerts that Pistols At Dawn did. Most of them were at this wicked little bar in Islington called Lush and organized by Bear, a friend of ours. They weren't really unplugged in the strictest sense of the word - it was pretty much exactly the same style as one of our electric ones, but with all of us sitting down and me using an acoustic guitar, but it was the smokey, friendly, relaxed atmosphere that made it. We're currently sorting a series of similar gigs for next year and we can't wait.
If you were stranded on an island, in a post-apocalyptic world, with only your iPod that had about 5 minutes of battery-life left, what song would you be listening to?
Jesus. That's tough, but 'Song For The Dead' by Queens of the Stone Age would probably quite suitable. Massive riffs, Mark Lanegan roaring and some fantastic drumming to put me in the mood for some pig hunting and life in a loin cloth.
Debriefer is a weekly interview of random individuals about their favorite cities. If you'd like to be interviewed for Debriefer, let us know.
