Cédric : We met accidently on the beach in Goa, India. Joe just found a room for me and my girlfriend. He dropped us to a nice hotel. We liked him and he liked us. We were supposed to stay just two days in Goa. We wind up spending more and more days. The rest went on…
Joe, how did you felt the first time you met Cédric ?
Slow Joe : When i saw him he was playing the guitar. A three feet, four strings guitar. I love music. I loved the way the guitar sounded. He had the rhythm, he had the beat. Not only he was playing well, he was singing also. Actually i was going to have a cup of tea and go on. I saw him and he had his wife next to him, a very, very, nice girl. I sat down, i was fascinated by that guitar. Three feet, four strings, i never saw one before. I just sat there. When he was done, I walked towards him and introduce myself. That’s how we met.
Cédric, how did you felt the first time you heard Joe singing ?
C. : On the beach, i was next to my girlfriend and i told her : « Shit, he’s got a good voice ! » (Everybody is laughing out loud). He took the guitar, but he didn’t know how to play. He was hitting it (he’s miming). He was drumming on it, like on a table, not touching the strings. I thought, shit he sings well.
The first gig the ginger accident ever played, was at the Transmusicales de Rennes (a french festival in Britanny) ?
C. : Wrong ! It was on the France Culture radio. We did two tracks. On the way to Rennes, we stopped in the Paris studio and did two songs for the radio. Rennes came just after that.
And 3000 people were in the audience, in Rennes…
C. : We did three shows. The first show was at the UBU, a 300, 400 people venue. The second one was on a theatre. The last one was on the main stage, which is actually a big hall, 3000 people.
Joe, did you ever sang in public before that (he’s 67) ?
S.J : Yes.
And how was it to sing in front of such a big crowd ?
S.J : For me that’s the same. Because, mainly i sing for myself. I mean, i love the people who came to our shows, don’t get me wrong. But it doesn’t matter if 5 or 5000 people are actually there.
Joe, did you sang your whole life (he’s 67) ?
S.J : Yes i did.
And do you have any favourites singers ?
S.J : Yes i have. Elvis Presley, and he’s still my favourite one since i was young. Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Ella Fitzegerald, Peggy Lee. A lot of them. It’s very difficult to say i like this one better than that one. I can’t choose between Presley and Ray Charles. They sings differently, each of one has his own style and both are fantastic.
Cedric, how did you formed the Ginger Accident ?
C. :In the beginning, many of my friends came to play on the home made recording i did. I also met a lot of people who came and play on the EP, like the first guy who played keyboards with us, Lucas. I never met him before, he just came. When we met Chris, from the studio 109 in Lyon, he said let’s record something in the studio. The problem was that many people showed up. So, who are we choosing ? We talked to everybody about it, many of them were good friends and became better friends after that. But the band didn’t exists before the first home made record we did in my place.
And right from the start, the idea was to play some kind of vintage 60s rock n’roll ?
C. : Yeah it was the first idea, because Joe comes from this time period. He’s a dinosaur (laughs). And we love dinosaurs so we were happy. We all listen to this Aretha Franklin, James Brown sound. We love all this garage bands and psychedelic bands from the sixties. We wanted to play that music. But Joe is the one who made us play this music for real. We all sings, we all write but Joe personified it so well. This is real music. There is no use for use, young people, to sing and play like they used to in the sixties, we don’t come from there. But i’m so happy to play this kind of music with Joe. As soon as we stop playing together, i won’t play anymore vintage sixties music.
S.J : I have sang with many bands, in Bombay. Many, many bands. I know very good musicians, very good professionals, i have sang with them. And they also liked me. But when i met Cédric, when i heard him playing the first time on the beach, and afterwards the others boys Alexis on bass, Jocelyn on drums, Lucas who was very good on the keyboards and left the band and now the new guy, Denis who is also very good. Since then, i know one thing, i can sing much better with them than with any band i have sang before. This is the truth. I can’t sing as well when The Ginger Accident is not with me. This guys Cédric and The Ginger Accident is a gift from God to me. I love music, Cedric loves music, but i never thought that one day, i would get musicians like him. Right so deep, i can feel it in my bones.
Is it like the meeting of a lifetime ?
S.J : Yes, you can say that.
C. : Of course.
So Joe, i believe that you are quite happy with the way The Ginger Accident sounds ?
S.J : Yeah, yeah, i’m more than happy, man ! I’m flying high.
Joe, singing for so many years, before the ginger accident, at some point have you ever gave up on singing ?
S.J : What are you talking about ? Tell me how is it possible for me not to sing ? It’s impossible !!! Impossible !!! What kind of a question is this ?
C. : You need to understand one thing. The big difference between Joe and other musicians is that Joe never asked or waited for anybody’s approval. Never. He never questionned himself about what other people may think about his voice. He just sings. He just loves that. He never wanted to be a rock star or whatever. He could have been. But he’s a wanker and likes to spend his time on the street. He never gave a shit about a carreer and all. And the beautiful part of the whole thing is that now he is becoming a professional musician. He wants to do it well.
S.J : He’s the guy. He’s my guru ! In India, we say that guru means the master. The man who teaches. And as far as music is concern, he is my guru.
The first record ever from The Ginger Accident is a 45 RPM...
C : Yeah !
Yeah ! (laughs) That was a real desire from you guys to have your first record ever on vinyl ?
C. : Yes, it was feeding the project. We needed something to sell, after the shows. We thought fuck it, let’s do a 45 RPM.
S.J : We had nothing to loose.
The first album is on its way ?
C. : Yes but don’t ask me when… March, april, may (2011), who knows…
Do you have a lot of songs ready ?
C. : Yes, lot of songs, lot of influences… Our instruments will always sounds that 50s/60s way. But we are using nowadays tools, pro-tools, computer… It’s wonderful to build an album with it. We may love the vintage sound, that doesn’t make us vintage guys. We are living in our time, nowadays time.
Joe, did you knew anything french before coming here ?
S.J : I knew about Napoleon Bonaparte. I have met french people and i found them very nice. There’s a lot of humanity here. They’re not like many other people. I like them.
C. : You knew also Alexandre Dumas.
S.J : Yes, Cyrano de Bergerac.
C. : We don’t know that much about India.
Joe if some young kid, trying to make it in the music business, come to see you after the show, what would you say to him ?
S.J : He would be most welcomed. But that depends on the kid. Depending on what experience he has about people. I have to know him before telling him anything.
C. : Just do it !
S.J : Go to every record company without an apointment and tell them !!! Go ahead do It ! Bye !
Cédric, you used to be a teacher ?
C. : I am still one. I give only private lessons. Not much anymore. That way i can manage to be in the band.
Joe, you had an amazing journey through life so far, what’s the biggest lesson you’ve ever learned from life ?
S.J : NEVER GIVE UP ! If you came across a bridge ask yourself « ok how am i gonna cross this ? » Cross the damn thing man ! Don’t go back home and start all over again. Never give up in life. No matter what it is. Life is not easy. Life is also tough, difficult. But when you don’t give you have the strenght to take life as it comes not as you wanted it to come. You’re gonna make it !
Thank you !
www.myspace.com/slowjoethegingeraccident
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