Scuba
Drivers
This article originally appeared in NFH #21 in
the winter of 1991.
I warned you about
these French bands last time, and here's the start. The Scuba Drivers, from Perigueux in
France, had a fabulous mini lp called Welcome To Hard Times reviewed last time, and
the blend of pop and punk that they showed such a great knack for made me want to hook up
with them for a feature as quick as possible. Out went the list of highly personal, stupid
questions and back came the answer from Alain Feydri, the band's manager and brother of
bassist Philippe and drummer Didier.
The Scuba Drivers
started in the fall of 1986 when three members of the French garage band the Pretty Boys
(who have a Closer mini-lp out) split off to join up with Francois Berry, who had been
singing in another local band. Francois became the vocalist and played guitar, while
Didier Feydri plays drums, his brother Philippe thumps the bass, and Patrice Poulvet
slashes out leads on the guitar. Tongue in cheek, one presumes, Alain says "The
others were shit, but Francois was great!". The band doesn't claim to have any
specific influences as far as the sound they were after, but spiritually they were after
the sort of approach of the best French bands like Les Thugs, Fixed Up and the City Kids,
namely, do your own music the best you can, take it very seriously, and if other people
don't like it, too bad, but if they do, then great!
The Scuba Driver's
musical approach favors loud, fat guitar leads, catchy melodies, great, tough vocals, and
a slightly roughened up production style to give them a punkish edge. Recording
opportunities have been scattered over the years of their existence, but they've
established a track record for consistency during that time that's pretty impressive;
every Scuba Drivers record I've heard is well worth having.
Their first gig was
in Perigueux supporting the Swedish band Shoutless, who they felt were very pretentious.
As for their own part, they were well received, but they felt that the development of a
forceful stage presentation was still to come. The band's first recording came soon after;
a cover of a song written by Fred "Sonics" Smith called "Sweet
Nothings". It's a bit slower than their subsequent material, but it shows the sort of
guitar sound that makes them so much fun right off the bat. The song was released on a
Closer compilation called Eyes On You, and the Scuba Drivers were quite happy for
the chance to do it, since at the time the lp was regarded as sort of a "Best of
Froggie Rock" record (Alain's words). "Just add Chameleon's Day, City Kids,
Cherokees and that's it!", he adds. Being on a record among other bands like Les
Thugs, Fixed Up, Batmen, Shifters or Kid Pharoan was a real kick.
At the same time, the
band were recording for a single on Spliff, which Spliff proprietor Buck had offered to do
with them. The Drivers knew Buck well and liked him, knowing they'd get a good deal with
him. So they recorded "Don't Need Spell" and "The Useless Runaway"
(reviewed this issue) for the single, and another track, "Distress Town", for a
second compilation entitled An Emotional Beat In A World Of Fury, released on
Gougnaf Movement records. The single is much more representative of their sound. Alain
says that the band aren't so happy with the results on "Distress Town", but I
think it's fine; maybe just a little different mix would help it some, but it's a
typically well constructed power pop song where the verses are just as catchy as the
chorus. The single sold out 1,000 copies, which is regarded as fairly successful for an
independent 45 in France.
Francois is a big
rockabilly fan, in fact, Alain says he listens to little else. His nasally voice sounds
almost like another instrument; although he sings in English, the French accent is thick
enough to render most of the songs indecipherable. Never the less, the band doesn't feel
at ease with French on a musical level. French rock culture is very English and American,
and they never even considered singing in French. Alain says he doesn't like French
singing in rock because the language is too rich for the basic rhythm of rock. The Scuba
Drivers don't want to be received as a French band, but as a rock and roll band that
happens to live in France, so they strive for an international feel. They feel that they
have a lot more in common with people outside of France than some of what Alain calls
their "right wing neighbors".
The lyrics are
important and meaningful as you can tell from song titles like "Don't Answer The Call
Up" from their great Welcome To Hard Times mini-lp on Spliff. But the band
members claim to not want to have messages, but rather just sing about the way they feel
about life in their own modest and specific point of view. "We don't take our heads
in our hands and try to say something profound; it just comes naturally", says Alain.
"Heaven Or Paradise?" talks about growing misery in France, but according to
Alain it could have been England or the US. "Call Up" is obviously an anti army
song, but it has more meaning in France where all men of age 20 have to serve, one factor
that makes it hard to organize bands and keep them together, aside from the larger social
consequences that it has.
But not all the Scuba
Drivers songs are about the state of the world; Hard Times delivers four other hard
blows to the body; songs that power with energy and bristle with enough hooks to keep them
interesting and enjoyable after loads of plays. Me, I just can't get enough of their
guitar sound...it's great!
I asked what the
usual routine is for the Drivers in terms of being in a band. As is true for other bands
elsewhere, they find that there's not much interest in guitar rock bands in France. Though
rock is everywhere, in TV, radio, and fashion, it's all safe mainstream rock with no
conviction. The tough and real stuff doesn't seem to attract interest. The Scuba Drivers
have noticed that the French scene is getting better, but what is really needed, they say,
is a more established rock circuit so that bands can play more and get better live. Right
now they don't have a situation with lots of colleges and pubs to play at as in England or
in Sydney, but things are improving some. Still, they find themselves appreciated more
outside of France, in places they've played like Spain, Switzerland and Belgium.
They do notice that
it's much harder to get accepted being a French band, though Alain says that English bands
like Mega City Four, Cateran, the Senseless Things or the Seers can blow most French bands
off the stage, with the possible exceptions of Les Thugs or the City Kids. He attributes
this to the constant opportunities to play that these bands have. But he then says that he
thinks that the average French band is equal to any German act, and that even compared to
Swedish bands like the Shoutless or Nomads they do OK. Alain's favorites among French
bands in addition to those already mentioned are Chameleon's Day, Real Cool Killers, Mad
Monster Party or the Backsliders with ex-Fixed Up frontman Francois Lebas.
There's unfortunately
some rocky times ahead for the band as Francois has left to pursue his interest in
rockabilly (Alain says he doesn't like any bands after 1959 except the Stray Cats and Dave
Edmunds...you'd never know from listening to the Scuba Drivers!) and they are now looking
for a new singer. In the meantime the band are rehearsing and have written a pile of new
tracks for their next record. Hopefully they find somebody soon, because I hate to think
of these guys languishing for long.
Meanwhile, if you
have to have all the records,here's the list:
"Sweet
Nothing" on the Eyes On You compilation (Closer) Dec. 1987
"I Don't Need Spell"/"The Useless Runaway" (Spliff) Jan. 1988
"Distress Town" on the Emotional Beat In A World Of Fury compilation
(Gougnaf Movement) March 1988
"Sweet Nothin" on the K7 compilation (What Wave, Canada) May 1989
Welcome To Hard Times mini-lp (Spliff) June 1989
"Way Too Long" on the La Chair Humaine Ne Vaut Pas Cher compilation (Go
Get Organized) Sept. 1989
"First Time" cover of a Boys song on a compilation single with Abus fanzine 1990
"Looks Like It's Gonna Be Late" cover of a Hitmen song on cassette free with
Rock Hardi fanzine, 1990
