thepocketgod: thepocketgod meets The Metatrons

I have found the future of pop! They are called The Metatrons.

HI PEEPS. SO TELL US A LITTLE A BIT ABOUT YOUR BAND;

Polly - We are The Metatrons and we are very nice. My personal best achievement so far with the band was at Rhythm festival last summer when I took a flying leap at Steve Diggle. I don't think he minded that much, he'd been quaffing pints of champagne on stage.

Simon – The band started as Polly had some poppy pop songs and I had some noisy pop songs that I didn’t have an outlet for, so we put them together and got on with it. We recorded our “Between Planets” album before we’d played a lot of gigs, so we used the record as a way to get the name about.

We’ve gone quite far in a short space of time and the reaction to the songs has been great. Achievements-wise we got to play on the BBC Introducing stage at ROTW last year after only a couple of gigs, and then we were booked for the afore mentioned Rhythm Festival with a bunch of our favourite all-time performers, Buzzcocks and Nick Lowe in particular so that was very cool.

Steve- I'm the new boy !

WHERE DID THE NAME COME FROM? IT GIVES OFF A 1950’S SCI-FI VIBE TO ME BUT I BELIEVE IT’S THE NAME OF A JEWISH ANGEL.

Polly - I blame Simon. I wanted to be called The Scandalles.

Simon – The name has a lot of meanings but the one I choose to use is “Messenger” or “The Voice”. I have no interest in any religious connotations. Interesting that you should mention the 1950’s sci-fi thing though as “Between Planets” is the title of a Robert Heinlein novel from that era.

Steve- we're all a bit sci-fi keen really- robots and spaceships etc.- so the feel of it suits- but the metatron is the hebrew name for the voice of God (as explained so well by Alan Rickman in 'Dogma'), but we're not religious- just divine!

WHAT MUSIC ARE YOU GUYS AND GIRL INTO AT THE MOMENT?

Polly - Girl is listening mostly to the Hedwig and the angry inch soundtrack in her car and a best-of The Primitives album at home.

Simon – mostly the same stuff I’ve been listening to since I was 15 – Dinosaur Jr, Black Flag, The Dead Kennedys, Bad Religion..Five Star..

Steve- I seem to be listening to the Devils music mostly at the moment.

Dez - Tom Waits latest album. Billy Bragg re-issues. Burhan Ocal and The Trakya All Stars.

WHAT IS THE STRANGEST GIG YOU’VE EVER DONE?

Polly - A cameo appearance at a working mens’ club where the audience halved when I got up to sing.

Simon – The Metatrons gigs haven’t been too weird yet, I’m sure we’ll have some though. The strangest gig I have ever played otherwise was in a bar in Bedfordshire to a bunch of pretend punks who were waiting for a Sex Pistols tribute act in another venue. We were not popular. No sir.

Steve- strangest for me was playing in the middle of the countryside for a gang of outlawed Hells Angels- strange and dangerous by turns.

Dez - A French crazy golf course. The police shut us down too.

HAVE YOU EVER PLAYED IN BELGIUM? HOW DID IT GO? WAS IT WEIRD?

Simon – I’ve never been to Belgium. What’s there?

Polly - No. I have not. Is Belgium fun?

Steve- me neither- weird huh?

Dez - I’m not really sure.

HAVE YOU HAD ANY SPINAL TAP MOMENTS? IF SO PLEASE SHARE.

Polly - I saw Bad News first so prefer that as I'm quite stubborn. Plus Peter Richardson is involved.

Simon – I think Steve will explode one day, I can just see it happening.

Steve- it must be the throbbing veins (in my temples)

Dez - I watched it on television once.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN A GOTH? HAVE YOU EVER HIT A GOTH?

Polly - At school I described myself as a new romantic when yelled 'oy are you a goffic' at by trendies. I was blatently a goth though just in denial who surprisingly wasn't then hit.

Simon – I’m more gothy these days than I used to be. I’ve not really hit anyone, not with any real frequency anyway.

Steve- I've always worn black alot, but i've never gothed out proper. I wouldn't hit one- I think they're rather sweet.

Dez - I used to have a Welsh goth bodyguard for a while.

DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS TO COME TO THE STATES? NEW YORK COULD DO WITH A METATRONS INJECTION!

Polly - Only if you buy my ticket and I can visit my friend in SF too.

Simon – I’d love to, that would be great. For any interested promoters out there we work very cheap, don’t eat much and smell pretty good.

Steve- that would be really good- I reckon i could even get a mate to put me up.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE RAMONES SONG?

Polly - Ooooooooooow thats almost an impossible question. Needles and Pins today. but it might be Sheena tomorrow and Blitkreig Bop the day after. All of them. I can't answer.

Simon – that is tricky………The KKK took my baby away or Commando probably.

Steve- there are too many great ones to answer that properly- so it'd have to be the first one i heard- 'Judy is a punk'

Dez - The KKK took my baby away.

WHOSE YOUR FAVOURITE RAMONE?

Polly - PJ Soles

Simon – Johnny, but with Joey’s politics – so I’ve just created a mutant….Mutant Ramone. He lives in the sea and feasts on the flesh of mermaids.

Steve- Grae J Ramone.

Dez - I met Dee Dee once.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BOOKS?

Polly - Diary of a Madman and other stories by Nikolai Gogol and Mog the forgetful cat by Judith Kerr.

Simon – A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein and Watchmen by Alan Moore.

Steve- American Gods- Neil Gaiman, Holes- Louis Sacher

Dez - Zorba The Greek.

CIDER, ABSINTHE OR MAGIC MUSHROOMS?

Steve- No- I'm always like this.

Polly - Most definitely Stowford Press.

Simon – Yep, sounds great – are you buying?

Dez - Absinthe

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON FINDING EXTRA TERRESTRIAL LIFE?

Polly - I hope they don't have concentrated acid for blood.

Simon – I’d be pleased overall but scared………also fascinated. It’s that thing of being careful what you wish for…I read something recently that the reason they turned off a lot of things that were searching for ET was because they decided that they didn’t want them to find us in case they were hostile!

Steve- it would be great! I would like this opportunity to be the first to welcome our alien overlords.

Dez - I think it is highly unlikely.

HAVE ANY OFF YOU HAD ANY PARANORMAL EXPERIENCES (AND THAT DOESN’T MEAN HANGING OUT BACKSTAGE AT THE HORN)

Polly – Our song Debris is about the mess and havoc of being at The Horn on a regular basis. Or maybe it was just once and it was deja vu. Which is about as close as I've got.

Simon – I’m having one right now. It’s nice.

Steve- I'm convinced that i recently saw the ghost of one of my old cats.

LIFE IS IT RANDOM OR PART OF A BIGGER PLAN?

Simon – Random, and all the better for it.

Steve- Totally random- even when you feel like everything is against you.

Dez - Luckily random.

Polly- what kind of bigger plan? as in Ikea?

DAWKINS, DARWIN OR DALAI LAMA?

Polly – Dostoevsky

Simon – Darwin. I’m sure the Dalai Lama is very nice though – did you see he was a judge on a cooking programme? Now THAT is random.

Steve- Charles Fort.

Dez - All three please.

WHAT WOULD BE IN YOUR DREAM RIDER?

Polly - Champagne and dancing girls. And maybe some Applewood cheese being delivered by Johnny Depp

Simon – A live goat, two bottles of vodka and a towel.

Steve- a ghost rider in the sky.

Dez - Beer and a nice sandwich.

DO YOU HAVE ANY WEIRD PRE GIG RITUALS?

Polly - A 2 drink maximum pre gig ritual is quite weird being friends with The Trailer Trash Orchestra.

Simon – Just the goat thing really – I don’t find it weird but it has upset some people in the past.

Steve- total sobriety- weird.

Dez - Try and find the venue.

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR 2012?

Polly - More of the same but with less concussion.

Simon – We’ve a micro-tour in February – London, Hitchin and Brighton. Try and play as many festivals as we can over the summer and we’re going to record a session for Dandelion Radio in a few weeks….other than that just keep the momentum going and see where we end up! In a ditch probably.

Steve- to keep my spirits up and my head down.

WILL WE ALL STILL BE HERE AT THE END OF 2012?

Polly - I hope so, it's quite fun once you get going.

Simon – We better had be, I’ve got loads of gardening to finish off.

Steve- oh yes- it might be a little different- but we'll be here.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE SCIENCE FICTION FILM?

Polly – Aliens

Simon – Either 2001 or Capricorn One – as long as it has a “1” in the title I’m happy......Oh no wait , I think it’s The Empire Strikes Back.

Steve- I love so many of them- probably 'Forbidden Planet'.

Dez - Either Solaris by Andrei Tarkovsky, or The ALF Christmas special.

WALT DISNEY – DEMON OR ANGEL?

Polly – Deeeemon

Simon – The devil wears mouse ears

Steve- Racist devil.

Dez - Animator.

WILL YOU BE WATCHING THE SUPERBOWL?

Polly - I will not. I know nothing about sport and frequently fail quizzes for this reason.

Simon – I used to watch it but now it’s on too late and I’m usually asleep.

Steve- 'fraid not- maybe the toilet bowl.

Dez – No.

WHAT’S YOUR BEST SONG AND WHY?

Polly - My Sympathy cos I get to play 2 notes on the £5 keyboard

Simon – We have lots of new ones, one called “Please Mister” I think is the best. In the current crop though I’d go with My Sympathy too, it’s got so much in it – a real Spector-type of intro and the guitars on the record are really naughty. Great fun to play.

Steve- They're all the best.

BEST BAND T SHIRT EVER?

Polly – Simon has one advertising Marky Ramones’s pasta sauce.

Simon – I have, it’s true. My favourite one is an old Black Flag one with a Pettibon drawing of a nun kneeling in front of a mans’ naked legs.

Steve- Psychic T.V. used to have some great ones.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE BIT OF MUSICAL KIT AND WHY?

Polly - I've got a fuzzbox and so I like to use that.

Simon – My Big Muff (fnar) and my Marshalls. Together they are unstoppable.

Steve- My lovely Slingerland Studio King and Ludwig Coliseum Snare.

Dez - My harmonium. Looks like a sideboard and doesn’t need electricity.

HOW DO YOU RECORD? NAKED (LIKE U2) OR CLOTHED?

Polly - Yuck what an unpleasant thought. Clothed thank you very much and I'll have no more of your insolence.

Simon – I often record in my pyjamas as I tend to have my ideas early on in the day. I’m pretty useless in the afternoons.

Steve - True- never like U2.

Dez - Not like U2.

WHAT RECORDING EQUIPMENT DO YOU USE?

Polly – Simon

Simon – I have a little set up so I can record demos….I use an decade-old Yamaha AW16G 16 track to record ideas and have done some recordings for other people on it, it’s pretty good..

Steve- yeah- Simon, and Dez.

DANISH PASTRIES, CROISSANTS OR BAGEL?

Polly - Hula hoops.

Simon – is this before, during or after the Absinthe, Mushrooms and Cider? I’ll have a bagel please.

Steve- all of the above- just at different times of the day.

Dez - Danish pastry please.

WIZARD OF OZ OR PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT?

Polly - Wizard of the desert

Simon – Priscilla I think. The Wizard of Oz gives me a headache.

Steve- Tough one- Priscilla is great but the flying monkeys steal it for me every time.

Dez - Priscilla queen of the desert every time. I never trusted that wizard.

FINALLY IF YOU WERE SUBJECT TO AN ALIEN VISITATION HOW WOULD YOU GREET THEM?