So, one of my favorite singles as a teenager was "Same Song" by the Llama Farmers. It was the sort of track that would often make it on to mix-CDs for girls. To this day, it still affects me to hear it. It's deceptively simple, yet inscrutable at the same time. Despite playing shows with the likes of Foo Fighters and Green Day, the band never quite made the leap into household consciousness. So all these years later I wondered, what happened to the Llama Farmers? Frontman Bernie Simpson was generous enough to give me some of his time to let me know what he's been up to, and was more than happy to discuss that gorgeous little single...
So
firstly, how on earth are you, and what have been up to?
I
am very well thank you. I've been writing and performing under
different guises. Most recently I'm involved with new band, Pronk.
Why
did the Llama Farmers split?
We
didn't so much split as come to the end of what we were doing. You
know when the party's over, right? All the bombay mix was gone and
the anonymous vomit was piling up in the tour bus. We still meet up
and play together regularly. We reformed under the name Bear Hug
years ago and tried writing new stuff together. ALL together, not
just me this time. We drifted apart again though. We all had separate
commitments.
When
you look back on it all, do you feel grateful for the ride, or does
seeing the success of people you played shows with like Biffy Clyro
and the Foo Fighters etc stir up frustrations?
Wow,
I had no idea you wanted to write my obituary! When I look back on it
all? Oy, well, remember Llama Farmers played those gigs when we were
around 17 – Jen was 14 - so we were incredibly fortunate to play
shows with the likes of the Foo Fighters and Green Day. I'm still not
really sure how it happened!. It's especially fantastic to see Biffy
Clyro doing what they're doing now because they were such lovely
people to tour with. Beautiful people. (How could I have any
frustrations? Llama Farmers also played on the same bill as Atomic
Kitten and Lionel Richie at a Japanese festival once. So...yeah).
I
wanted to talk about Same Song. I bought that single after hearing it
on a Virgin Megastore listening booth. It's one of my all-time
favourite singles, but actually nothing like the rest of your stuff.
Did it confuse many people at the time? Were their people turning up
to shows that maybe only knew that song and were a bit taken aback?
I
think you might be one of the few who bought that single! That song
kind of evolved directly from one of my home-demos in the studio. The
record label really liked it and said why didn't we put it out as a
double A-side with another of our songs 'Movie'. So we did. Beggars
Banquet were good like that. As much as we were a tight rock band, we
also had a gentler side. We all listened to Wheat, Red House
Painters, Flaming Lips, Elliot Smith on the tour-bus. We attempted to
play it live a couple of times but it sounded a bit limp so we saved
it for acoustic radio shows/solo shows etc – just played 'Movie'
instead.
In
a way it's a very simple song isn't it, but the production gives it
such a dreamy feel, and it's so moving. Did you realise the potential
it had when you wrote it or did it come to life when you got into the
studio?
Well
I suppose the sampling and the drum loop on the record was something
we added in the studio which could have been said to bring it to
life. Clive Martin our producer was always interested to see how far
he could push us. The demo sounds pretty similar except for the drum
loops and samples. I still don't really understand the lyrics. I like
the down tuned bass and guitar that Jen put on at the end best. Makes
it dark and heavy far back in the distance.
You
printed your personal email address on the inside of that single too,
did you get any really weird emails from fans?
I
don't think I even checked my email back then. It was all pre wifi
and pre smart phones!. It was just me and my discman in those days
unless I was back home from tour.
Have
you ever noticed the intro to Pornaco sounds like a drunk band trying
to cover 'Message In A Bottle'?
Ha!
We were
a
drunk band trying to cover “Message in a Bottle”.
What
do you listen to for pleasure these days?
I'll
listen to anything i'm recommended but recently I've been listening
to the new Beach House album incessantly. Today I've had some
Leadbelly, Kelis, and Savages intermittently.
What's
next for you musically?
My
latest incarnation Pronk will be supporting wunderkind producer Ethan
Johns as he strikes out, undoubtedly to blaze a more commercially
successful career than I. I like collaborating with other
people/musicians at the moment. Solo stuff is fun, but it can get
lonely. Also, bands are like really intense relationships. Starting
and breaking them hurts a little bit more every time.Pronk can be heard at http://pronk.bandcamp.com
"Same Song" by Llama Farmers is available to stream on Spotify
