Like all great rock'n'roll stories, THE MORENAS' is one of heartache, false starts, excess, musical differences and plain old dedication to working at what you love. Judging by the sound of their brilliant second single "Coming Home" (out on the Bleach label), these experiences were worth it, however, as the Essex trio are poised on the cusp of something very special indeed.
Suitably stoked, W&H did the sensible thing and made a call to vocalist/ guitarist PAOLO who was more than happy to fill us in on the London scene, how to drive a customised American police car in a race to Monte Carlo and how he has the urge to be Pete Townshend once in a while. As you do.
Paolo is a natural conversationlist. A simple inquiry into his background brings forth an in-depth story of a music obsessive since the age of 8 who moved to London from his native Essex at sixteen, cut his teeth in bands in Amsterdam and then went on to play music in a band called Race Car in Chicago before moving back to London again. It's a rollercoaster ride of a story and told with great gusto and enthusiasm, and we haven't even got to the formation of The Morenas yet. Talking to Paolo is infectious and W&H are immediately struck by his charm and charisma as he gets around to the formation of The Morenas a couple of years back. Serendipity, it seems, played several aces on Paolo's behalf.
"Yeah, I'd been up In London in a band called Kicking Billy who played for a while but it was frustrating," Paolo reveals.
"I was the songwriter, but it was the usual story of finding the others weren't really that committed after the initial burst of enthusiasm. I went off to Australia for two years with my girlfriend and over a spell of about 6 months I wrote all the material we have know. Very creative time."
"Then I went back to Essex, crashed with my parents for a bit and finally found a place near the Army & Navy (indie rock venue- geographical ed) in Chelmsford and formed what became The Morenas. I met Steven (Wilson - drummer) at a Francis Dunnery (ex-It Bites) gig and that was through a mutual friend. We were doing the door together and I found out Steve was a drummer and not only that but that he cares about music like I do. It was brilliant."
Sounds like it. What was the gig like?
"I dunno. We didn't get to see Francis Dunnery in the end!" Paolo howls.
So that's the next piece in the jigsaw. How did you get to meet up with Tim (Jackson) the Morenas' bassist?
"Well, me and Steven worked for months on songs and ideas and it became horribly apparent we needed bassist as the songs were taking shape. We were in this rehearsal studio and there was a covers band playing next door. Turns out Tim was the bassist in that band."
You're going to tell me about another happy accident, aren't you?
"Yeah," Paolo laughs.
"There was a power cut while both bands were rehearsing and we met up with the other musicians in the hallway and had a chat while we waited for the power to get restored. Tim really liked the sound of what we were doing and came in to check us out. An hour later, he'd moved his gear in with us and that was it. Unlucky for the other band, but brilliant for us. That night we stayed in the studio all night honing songs and ideas. It was fantastic. Just what we'd all been looking for."
Paolo relates this story with glowing passion and it's something that spills over into their songs. The first time this writer heard both sides of the current Morenas single "Coming Home" and "Filthy" he was bowled over. He heard a band to potentially rival Razorlight and perhaps even more. A band who write corking, experience-fuelled songs delivered with passion and nostril-flaring aggression in the great powerhouse trio tradition. Just what music always needs, no matter which way the prevailing wind of fashion is blowing.
Paolo, are "Coming Home" and "Filthy" indicative of The Morenas' current sound? If so, we're having more thanks very much...
"Thank you," Paolo replies, genuinely touched.
"Yeah, they are representative of what's going on at the moment. Steve and Tim are just awesome musicians, so it's great for me because I don't have to try too hard to be flashy on the guitar. It's amazing playing with them, because they're really like-minded and they entirely understand dynamics and bands like Led Zeppelin. We're after a drum sound like John Bonham's and a bass sound like Ben Harper's. "Heart & Soul" from the first single has that kind of heavy groove going on."
OK, well I have to ask the obvious question as you're at least regularly in touch with the London scene even though you're based outside: what do you make of the much-hyped Londoncentric scene so beloved of the dear old NME right now? Do you feel any kind of kinship with the likes of The Libertines, Bloc Party and so on?
"I think the thing about it is that however much you hear it's about the kids, it's not really," replies Paolo, who's clearly not impressed.
"I mean, it's still big names like Alan McGee and Poptones who are really behind it. I've no problems with the bands themselves, but I do with the people pulling the strings, you know what I mean?"
Yup, reckon I do. But before I can expand at all, Paolo's off again:
"You can't kick against that, really, but our approach isn't hype-related. That's not our thing at all. We're interested in people who really connect with our music and the fact it makes a difference to them. It's a slower approach and it won't have us on the cover of the NME every week, but our philosophy is to keep our heads down and keep pushing. It's the songs we produce that count - if the music's not up to scratch, the rest of it's so much bullshit. I don't really care if that doesn't sound fashionable. The Morenas aren't a quick fix band."
Well said. But before we put that subject to bed altogether, what do you make of Razorlight? They are the one band who've come out of London of late who really have the hairs on the back of my neck standing up and I feel The Morenas have a similar tight, powerhouse guitar sound.
"Yeah, well I haven't actually heard their album, so I can't comment on that, but from the few songs I've heard, I do like them and they play really well," replies Paolo evenly.
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"I saw them do...what is it...yeah, "Golden Touch" at Glastonbury and they did this a capella thing with it that really hooked me in. I likd that and began to think they were a band with a lot going for them. I'd like to hear their album actually."
I'd recommend it. But then I guess if you're working on your debut album (which I believe you are) you'd maybe want to switch off a bit from outside influences. What an we expect from the debut Morenas album next year?
"We're trying to hold off going headlong into the rocky edge with the songs," replies Paolo.
"I've always been conscious the guys love the heavy stuff, but I can strip back on the guitars and on our album there'll certainly be about 80% full-on pulsing grooves, but the other 20% will showcase something more. There are songs like "Time & Pressure" and "Revenge" that might really surprise you. What's great is that I sent out tapes and invites to musicians I really admire and amazingly some of them have agreed to play on the record with us!"
Nice one. Tell us some more...
"Well, we workd with Lawrence Parry who's UB40's trumpeter and he's really added something to some of our more melancholy songs. I was amazed by him being so into us - I sent him a tape and he called back from Hawaii, saying he loved the stuff and when was the session....bloody incredible. He came back home and laid down all his parts in one afternoon. It's phenomenal."
I can imagine. But have you got a big name producer in the chair as well?
"No, we're producing ourselves, with help from Mark , our manager from the label (Bleach). But we have a lot of conacts within the Essex music scene who we've been bugging and calling in favours. Whenever we need advice on a drum sound or whatever, it's "oh, we'll call such-and-such" and sort it out," Paolo laughs.
"It's really funny - we've drawn up a hit sheet and we just phone someone on the list when we need some technical expertise. That's the way to solve problems, I tell ya."
Cool. But tell us about the the band's live work. Your agressive, driving sound suggests being down the front is the obvious option. How have the recent Uk shows been going?
"Gigs are really intense with us," Paolo muses.
"It's really that we don't do enough for me," he continues.
"I mean, we take an entourage and fiim as much stuff as we can too. We've recently inherited a new crowd who do this crazy moshing thing at the front. I can't really describe it, you have to see it for yourself, but we've taken some softer tunes out of the set since these started coming along to the gigs. The last time at The Borderline was bloody crazy. We had to hold off from being Pete Towhshend - I think it was our manager standing by the side of the stage motioning at his wallet that stopped us wrecking our gear in a Who-like frenzy..."
As if to say "I'm not paying for that - it's down to you"?
"Yeah, right," chuckles Paolo. "That did just about rein us in alright. Maybe not next time though."
And talking of letting loose, tell us more about the band's passion for car racing. I believe you recently represented London radio station Xfm's Lauren Laverne in the Cannonball 8000 Rally that goes from London to Monte Carlo via Paris. How did you get embroiled in all that?
"I come from a family of engineers and Steve, Tim and I are all into bikes as well," Paolo divulges.
"It's not something that rivals our musical obsessions, but we love cars and racing and we do like a bargain. The police car we entered for the race we actually got for less than £1500. It's an old 1979 Chevy police car and driving it's a blast."
Cool. But set the scene about the Cannonball Rally event in September. How did you end up representing Xfm?
"It came about because of an online competition Xfm were running and they knew we were into racing," Paolo replies.
"We were sooo pleased we did so well. We finished 69th out of 100 and our car was really slow compared to a lot of the entrants and we couldn't believe we did so well."
And surely the race itself must have been amazing too?
"Yeah,. it was just incredible," Paolo enthuses.
"When we stopped off in Paris, we bumped into The Rasmus. We all ended up at the Black Cat cafe and before we knew it we were all up onstage at 2AM. Just total madness. Then, after the rally finished in Monte Carlo we ended up playing at the aftershow party and we were just wasted! The race itself was hilarious, driving like maniacs through all these sleepy villages and screaming stuff over the car's PA."
But you didn't get arrested?
"No, mate, we didn't, but my God we tried," says Paolo laughing uproariously.
"It's official - despite being on their best rock'n'roll behaviour, The Morenas couldn't get arrested. We'll have to do better in the future, eh?"
Maybe Paolo, but if the current single's anything to go by, raising your game is something The Morenas are beginning to excel at. With their album looming, this could all kick off big-style. How about a vintage Silver Shadow for next year's race, lads?
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