BEN CHRISTO of SISTERS OF MERCY: Making A Connection.
An interview by Sarah Kidd.
Formed in Leeds in 1980, Sisters of Mercy have always been one of the undisputed heavyweights of the underground scene, forging their very own path with music that did not conform to the idealistic whims of society or indeed the music industry.
Melodic soundscapes that flirted with the darker elements of rock music, wrapped in tendrils of industrial that cavorted across the stage with the synthetic sound provided by Doktor Avalanche; Sisters of Mercy were a band that drew their fans into their crepuscular embrace and there they have remained for the last almost four decades.
Fronted by the enigmatic Andrew Eldritch – a man who is at one with the shadows themselves – the band have indeed seen numerous personnel changes; however, they have never lost who or what they are at their very core.
Joining the band back in 2006, this is something that guitarist Ben Christo [Night by Night, Diamond Black] understands very well, and has adopted himself. The importance of the connection that people have with the music they love something that means a great deal to him.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Ben ahead of Sisters of Mercys Auckland show, about not only his own personal relationship with music, but mutual formative albums and the exciting new directions of Sisters as a band…
Ben, I once saw you speak of the time when you were around ten years old; you had just seen Judas Priest and AC/DC in pretty close proximity to each other and for you it was the defining moment – the catalyst if you will – of when you wanted to become a guitarist. But what was it that made you choose guitar exactly?
“That’s a really good question and what I find fascinating about that is that there must have been other ten-year olds at those shows who wanted to be a drummer or suddenly wanted to be a singer, or suddenly wanted to be a bass player. What was it?
And I think it comes down to, there are certain personality types that are drawn to different jobs basically [chuckles] and I guess I’m someone who does like to perform and to express something on stage…but I don’t want to be the centre of attention. So rather than being the singer, it was the role of guitarist, whereby you’re creating, you’re performing, yet you’re not the one who is responsible for governing the entire room.
I must confess I have never really been asked this so I’m kinda making this up as I go along…”
[laughs]
“…but I think that’s what it is, is that I do like those aspects of performance, yet the responsibility of the whole show being on me, to create that relationship with the audience, isn’t one that I feel comfortable with. I have tried being a frontman before and I always found I was struggling with things to say between the songs and it felt very fabricated. Where I think other people who have that sort of personality, they revel in the opportunity of ‘I have no idea what I’m going to say next, let’s see what happens!’ Whereas for me, that’s quite … makes me feel very anxious the idea of ‘I’ve no idea what I’m going to say’, ‘What if I say something wrong?’, ‘What if they hate me?’, whereas singers I guess – by their own nature – are like ‘I don’t care, I kinda want them to hate me…’”
[mutual laughter]
“So I guess that’s what it is, it’s down to a sort of personality type, because again if you’ve got someone who wants to be a drummer it’s probably someone who loves to kind of hold everything together and who loves to be really, really, energetic, physically connected with what they’re doing, yet again prefers that backseat role”
Yes, a very good point! So that was about when you were ten years old, so when did you physically connect with a guitar and actually begin your journey of becoming a guitarist?
“Well, I feel a bit confused about the timeline here and I always feel really confused about this; it can’t have been long after because I felt so inspired, but then I know I didn’t get a guitar until Christmas and these gigs were in February/March. I don’t know, maybe I went the rest of the year … as you did when you were a kid, maybe like … ‘Please can I have a guitar for Christmas?’ ‘Please can I have a guitar for Christmas…?’”
[laughs]
“They weren’t going to have something before that, so I just gotta wait. So that must have been what it was, so just months and months of looking forward to getting a guitar [chuckles] so yeah it must have been however many months it was later. I think it’s a lot easier for anyone starting young these days on the electric guitar, because it’s so instantly available, the information, ‘How do I make my guitar sound like this?’, ‘How do I learn this?’ whereas back then, I remember I got this electric guitar and I got this amp from my Uncle or whatever but it didn’t have any overdrive on the amp because it was this really, really old amp.
So basically, when I was playing it just sounded like it was Hank Marvin, or Buddy Holly or something. And I was like ‘This isn’t right!’ but no one was there to explain to me why it wasn’t right. So I remember that first period of feeling really frustrated and really sort of disillusioned about ‘Why can’t I sound like bands I like’ and being given this songbook to learn and it was all like old Rod Stewart songs [chuckles] and it was like ‘When am I going to learn to play like AC/DC?!?’”
[mutual laughter]
“But then it really forced me to just listen to the songs and learn them by ear – I can’t really read music very well – but I do think one of my strengths as a musician is that I’ve got a very good ear at just picking things up very quickly and learning them, and I found out also that I’m able to hear a piece of music from like four rooms away, or like really quietly from someone else’s stereo or whatever and within a couple of seconds – if it’s a piece I know – I will know exactly what it is, know if it’s the live version, know if it’s a re-recorded version, just because of years and years and years of listening to try and learn stuff.”
[laughs] I do exactly the same thing! I can be in the middle of a conversation and I will hear a song half a mile away and will have to point it out, while everyone looks at me as if I am mad because they can’t hear anything! It’s like my brain is a permanent radar for music…
[mutual laughter]
“Yeah, well I guess we’re both nerds in that sense…definitely” [chuckles]
I must say I love your account of how you first met Sisters of Mercy – the strange phone call about coming in for an audition, but they wouldn’t tell you who the band was that you were auditioning for. The person on the phone said to you that the band supposedly sounded like a combination of Motorhead and U2 – and I have always wanted to ask if you thought – in hindsight – if that was an apt description of their music?
“It’s a very good question and you can definitely see where there are elements of both of those. I think if you look at the Vision Thing album, some of the songs are quite heavy, driving, almost punk, like ‘Vision Thing’ itself. And some like ‘Doctor Jeep’ whereas it’s quite driving, heavy guitars and just repetitive which is quite a quality of a band like Motorhead.
And the flip side of it is, you’ve got all the atmospherics; the clean guitar sound, the big choruses, the almost stadium like nature of some of the anthems which is quite U2; and I know from having a chat with Andrew [Eldritch] we both really like the Achtung Baby album from U2, which is such an amazing sounding record…”
One of my absolute favourites!
“You’re familiar with that one?”
I played that cassette tape when I was a teen until it died!
[laughs] “What were your favourite songs on it?”
Oh, ‘Love is Blindness’ is probably the biggest one. It wasn’t ever a single, but it was a track that really spoke to me.
“That’s the last song on the album, and it’s amazing. It’s one of those songs; it’s got amazing lyrics, it’s so dark, it’s so brilliant and it’s one of those songs I find myself drawn to again and again. I find echoes of it in a lot of songs that I write. To follow those sort of chord sequences and those kinds of melodies because just that particular song is just so strong. So yeah, I’m really happy you said that one, because that’s my favourite too” [chuckles]
[laughs] Yeah, that album came out at a pivotal point in my life – as it is the same for many people, the music you gravitate towards as a teenager tends to be quite formative, and stays with you for life – and Achtung Baby was an album that I truly fell in love with. Sure, the singles were great, but it was the darker, quieter songs that really spoke to me…
“Yeah totally, like ‘Acrobat’ as well and ‘One’…”
Yes!
“‘Acrobat’ is a great song, ‘So Cruel’ …”
Oh ‘So Cruel’ has such a wonderful rhythm to it!
“Yeah, so again I think we are on the same page there, it was a lot of the ‘other’ songs on that record that were so fantastic. [laughs] There are certain albums I will go and listen to if I’m… drunk basically [chuckles] and that’s always one of them because of those memories that it brings back. And it’s so potent, because like you say, it’s in a formative time and it’s when you are undergoing a lot of emotions isn’t it as a teenager…
And a band like that, and an album like that, really reflects so many of those emotions. Particularly that album more so than their other records, and I do love their other records, but there is no other album by them that I love consistently all the way through, like that one.”
Yes, I agree; I liked their follow-up album Zooropa, but as you said not all of the way through. However, there is one song which I personally think has some of their greatest lyricism, which is a track entitled ‘Stay (faraway, so close!)’. It really is like an exquisite piece of poetry with how beautifully it is written…
“Yes, and again I agree with you in that. Zooropa had elements of Achtung Baby, but it just wasn’t as consistent. I think also that was a slightly confusing time in music for bands around about 93’, 94’ – which had come out of this big stadium, rock era and everyone was paring things down and going grunge. So, a lot of bands like that didn’t really know where they fitted in anymore, and that maybe part of it. Whereas when Achtung came out in 91’ it was sort of the apex of being a big stadium rock band and being able to just be as bombastic as you wanted without anyone going ‘That’s a bit silly’.”
[laughs]
Now you joined Sisters in 2006, so you have been working with the band for well over ten years; what have been your biggest takeaways from working with a band who are undisputed legends in many an alternative scene?
“Definitely learning a lot more about what’s important in song writing and what’s important in playing; when I first joined the band, in my head it was a much more metal band for some reason than it really is, that’s what I brought to it for whatever reasons. And I used to overplay a lot, ‘Oh this is kinda boring, I’ve gotta play this same riff, over and over again’ so I would it just embellish it in ways that were not really suitable for the song and were a bit more like me just sort of being bored, or showing off, or whatever.
After that first period, Andrew said to me ‘Look, you need to listen to this’ and he gave me all this old Motown stuff to listen to like Booker T. Jones and Al Green; and he said ‘Listen to how each instrument has its place, and it fits within almost the machine of the music, and the way that you can just play – even if it is just three notes – the emphasis and the emotion that you give these three notes you’ve been given. Just because you’re not playing for a couple of bars, doesn’t mean you’re not doing anything, it’s the restraint’.
And that was really eye-opening for me, to understand that and then go back and listen to a lot of my favourite bands ‘Oh yeah they are doing that!’ I just…I didn’t realise in fact that a lot of this fantastic music is very simple, because it is the way that the elements are combined rather than necessarily any individual element itself. So that was something really important that I learned about playing and about song writing; so I do feel when I play the live shows now, I have got a much better understanding of my part within in the machine of the music than I did when I started and that’s reflected on the song writing that I’ve done for my personal other bands as well and the psychology behind that.
I’ve recently started a band called Diamond Black, we’ve only got about three songs out but a lot of the song writing that I’ve done for those songs, comes straight from the Sisters ethic of the importance of a really strong bass line, the importance of a really strong three-note melody and that sort of thing. So that’s definitely been one thing. Another thing has been learning about how people connect with music and the importance of having a really strong identity as a band and as an artist and also having a profound connection with people.
I was just chatting to someone before this and this came up and I’m going to say it again because I think it’s very potent – and you’ll know this because you are a music fan – the reason why you like certain bands that you like, almost kind of irrationally, is because you’ve had a profound emotional connection with them at an important time in your life…”
Yes, I get that…
“And that means you’ve created an emotional relationship with them and you can see this reflected…say you walk down the road and you see someone walking, a stranger, wearing a t-shirt of a band that you love, you almost feel like you can talk to that person because of the connection that you have with their t-shirt [laughs] which is absurd, but I am sure you have felt that, like you have a connection!”
[laughs] Yes…
“So, that’s the really important thing I think about being a successful band with longevity, is having a really clear identity, even if that’s an identity that’s kinda in flux quite a lot like U2 or David Bowie or whatever, but it’s still essentially you. And making sure that you’re having that real kind of meaningful connection. It’s not something that you can really fake, it’s just something that you need to make sure that when you’re writing stuff that you’re really reaching inside of yourself and expressing something that is meaningful to you, because the chances are if it means a lot to you, it will mean a lot to a lot of other people.”
Beautiful, and yes, I totally agree with that.
Of course, Sisters of Mercy were just here a couple of years ago, so are you looking forward to coming back to New Zealand?
“Yeah, although I must admit I can’t remember a great deal about it, other than we played the Powerstation, it was really hot in a kind of humid sort of way because it was February/March and also I was just so overwhelmed because we had just flown over there or however long the flight was, and then went off and did Australia. I do remember [chuckles] something the night before, we went to a gig or weird like medieval tavern that they had there, but we seemed like quite out of place, but I remember it all being very friendly, that’s what I definitely remember. Good vibes!”
Yes, we are always very grateful because we understand how long it does take to get out here [chuckles] so we always have very good vibes for the bands when they come here!
[laughs]
People are very excited though that you guys are coming back, because I think a lot of kiwis didn’t think that would happen; so, to have Sisters back is fantastic!
“That’s brilliant!”
Is there anything that you can giveaway so to speak about the show? Obviously, the classics will make an appearance, but is there any chance some new music might make its way into the set list?
“Well! [chuckles] We’ve actually had quite a prolific writing period in the last six weeks and there is going to be some new stuff, and I’m really excited myself because it’s music that I’ve written for the band. We’ve been playing a few songs on the European tour and the response we’ve had has been really, really strong and I’m really excited because to get to write stuff for a band I really care about and grew up listening to and to then also be well received is huge. And I really hope that you’ll like this stuff as well because like me you are someone who grew up listening to this band and I hope that you’ll be into it…”
[laughs] Yes, Sisters were huge for me growing up, Floodland, again is another one of those pivotal albums of my youth, so yes very, very excited!
“…and at the same time, it’s not going to be one of those concerts you come to and the band is like ‘Yeah, so here’s like our entire new album, hope you like it!’”
[mutual laughter]
“It’s still going to be a good balance of two or three new ones and then a whole host of classics that range across the bands career.”
Fantastic! So Ben, just one last thing, any message for your New Zealand fans?
“Yeah! Sorry it’s been so long, and we are really excited to be back and we’re excited that you guys want us to come back and I’m just excited about meeting people! Because myself and the new guitarist [Dylan Smith] – who is an Australian actually, he’s been a friend of mine for a long time, he’s from Sydney – we’ve been making a point of going out after the shows and meeting people, which is something the band didn’t really used to do. Obviously, Andrew mysteriously disappears into the ether, but me and Dylan and obviously Dave who is the nurse for Doktor Avalanche, we will always come out and meet people.
So, stick around afterwards, because we’ll come out, we’ll do some photos and say hi and stuff. We’ve been really enjoying that because the feedback we’ve been having from the gigs has been so positive, it’s been really exciting and sort of a celebration of people’s enthusiasm, and our enthusiasm for the band!”
Sisters Of Mercy will be performing tomorrow night at Auckland’s Powerstation. Tickets are still available from SBM Presents, but get in quick as they’re selling fast!
Image Credits (In order): Feature Image by Christian Wojtysiak | Live Image by Büki Lászlói | Tryptich by Thomas Vanderstappen.
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