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Bevis Frond

We took the Bevis Frond through Kindamuzik's looking glass and discovered that frontman Nick Saloman is rock'n'roll renaissance man incarnated. Not only does he front the Bevis Frond and publish the Ptolemaic Terrascope magazine - He also runs the Woronzow Records label. If that wasn't enough, he used to have his own record shop! Take a deep psychedelic breath and read more...

Tekst: Nathalie Claeys

Publicatiedatum: 22 mei 2000

First of all, can you explain the meaning of the name Bevis Frond? Who came up with the name and why did he (or she) pick it?
"This is Nick Saloman here, hope you're well. I got the name from a friend of mine while I was still at school. It was about 1967, and I'd just started my first band. I was 15. I planned on calling the band 'The Museum', and I asked my friend Julien [Temple, later a famous film maker] what he thought. He said "not bad, but Bevis Frond is much better." I don't know where he got it from, but I always liked the name. So when I decided to do some solo stuff, after years of playing in bar bands, I went back to the first name I'd ever had, and called my new project The Bevis Frond. It actually means a leaf of a variety of fern!"

People always seem divided about which is the classic Bevis Frond record. Some prefer 'Inner Marshland', others pick 'Live at Great American Music Hall'. What would be your favourite Bevis Frond record and why?
"I always like the album I've done most recently, as the tunes are still fresh in my head, but I guess in retrospect my favourite would be 'New River Head', basically because I think it more or less covers everything that's good about what I do. I also think the songs on that one are particularly strong."

You started playing music in the sixties under the name The Bevis Frond Museum, right? Before that, were you already playing music?
"Yes, I started playing guitar when I was about seven, but as I've already explained, my first band was when I was 15. We were trying to be a psychedelic/punk band. I think we were actually quite good, but unfortunately no one else did!"

The musical influences are not hard to discern but apart from the Beatles, Pink Floyd and the like, do you have any other (nonmusical) influences?
"Well, I've always been a big music fan. I bought my first pop record at five ('More & More' by Johnny Duncan, still got it), and I've never stopped."

You had a motorcycle accident which nearly resulted in you not being able to play the guitar. If that had happened, you not being able to play the guitar, what would you be doing now?
"I'd be a brilliant one-handed keyboard-playing songwriter. No, I've got no idea"

For a period you were a secondhand record dealer. Was that in London as well? Did you specialize in any kind of records? Had any weird experiences/customers?
"I went round the country selling albums at record fairs and did a bit of mail order too. I specialized in beat, psych and prog, with a hint of folk and punk. As I'm sure you know, the world of record collecting is populated by a really strange crowd. So yes, I had lots of odd experiences and customers. Odd, but not really very interesting."

Can you tell us more about the Woronzow label? Why did you set it up?
"Simple. No one wanted to release The 'Von Trap Family' EP, so we did it ourselves. We all grew up in the St. John's Wood area of London, which is where Abbey Road is, so we decided to name our label after a street name as well. Woronzow Road, London NW8. After the band broke up and the other guys got out of music, I kept the label going, basically to release my own stuff, but also as a vehicle for people who, like me, had the ability, but had never had the opportunity."

What are the prerequisites for signing a band? Do they need to be friends, produce a particular sound..?
"They certainly don't need to be friends, though of course it helps to be on friendly terms. I guess the only real criterion is that their music gets me really excited. Of course, if they're unbearably conceited, demanding, unpleasant and unreliable, so much the better!"

Any interesting upcoming Woronzow releases we should know about?
"Naturally. The Lucky Bishops, The Alchemysts, a band in Australia called The First Third."

Apart from running the label, you also produce bands. How did you learn about producing?
"I don't think I'm really much of a producer. I never learned any technique other than listening to what comes out of the speakers and trying to make it sound better. I guess I just try to make the music sound the way I like it."

You also produce Ptolemaic Terrascope, a magazine. What kind of role do you play in that project?
"Not as much as I should. Phil McMullen does the lion's share. I kind of run around getting it printed, delivering it to the distributors, and contributing the occasional article. Though I'd like to think the direction the mag takes is more of a 50/50 thing."

What I really like about the magazine is that it introduces old bands as well as new bands like Neutral Milk Hotel. How do you decide what gets published and what gets rejected?
"We more or less publish everything that gets to the finished stage. It's all personal taste after all, and if we didn't like something, we wouldn't write about it in the first place."

Do you intend to keep having Terrastock events in the future?
"You'd have to ask Phil about that. I have to admit that while I thought all three Terrastocks were absolutely THE BEST festivals I've ever been to (and I was at The Isle Of Wight, The Sunbury Jazz and Blues in '68 - actually that was wonderful - and all the Hyde Park ones among many others), I was never very into organizing them. They really were Phil's babies. If it had been down to me, they never would have happened. Just too much of a logistical nightmare."

How important is the internet when it comes to the magazine and also the Woronzow label?
"I suppose it's essential. I'm not personally on the web. I don't even have email, but Phil spends most of his life on his computer for the mag, and as far as the label is concerned Ade Shaw (my esteemed bassist and partner in crime) is all webbed up. They both love it, but though I recognize its importance, I have to say I have no interest in computers, webs, dungeons and dragons, model railways or car maintenance."

You've been described as a a neo-psychedelic renaissance man. How would you describe yourself?
"Well, doesn't 'renaissance' mean reborn, which implies I've been dead sometime before renaissing? God knows, how do I describe myself? Just a bloke who loves his family, music, football, and his friends, and who wants to have a nice time."

http://www.kindamuzik.net/interview/bevis-frond/bevis-frond/358/
Meer Bevis Frond op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/bevis-frond