As a music journalist (though sadly I've had to drop out due to severe illness..) I was scheduled to meet Gary Murphy for an interview at The La's rehearsal room. Gary calls and says to meet him in his car, Lee's there with him. We decamp to Gary's house as it's far too cold; it's the same street Pete Wylie, Wayne from The Crescent and The Dead 60's all lived on at some point or another. In Gary's words; Liverpool's very own "Stella Street"!
First thing I noticed was all of the guitars were in Gary's house, the Danelectro, the acoustic and Gary's bass, the one he'd been using for all the gigs. (The bass he used at the Liverpool gig was one of Lee's that he uses in the practice room). Lee and Gary banter back and forth, with is hilarious, either of them could be comedians. They are on the same wavelength musically and seem very passionate about the music. Lee taught Gary the basics when he was a kid and it wasn't until later it all made sense to Gary when he was writing songs like "Take it and Run" for The Bandits.
Gary asked if I'd heard the radio session they did in France, they played "I Can't Sleep" "My Generation" and probably "There She Goes".
But, it's the first I've heard of it. "We came out to the Pink Panther song, some French bird going "it's the ooh la la's!""
Gary nipped out the shop and left me and Lee to listen to the London bootleg that was on SoundCloud. Later when I ask his favourite gig, both Lee and Gary claim the London one was the best and was most enjoyable.
At first, I was unsure how to take him (Lee). He's funny and serious at the same time. So we sit there in relative silence, watching their video of the London gig, we nod and stamp our feet to the beat. He describes the guitar sound like a champagne glass, most impressed with "Knock Me Down", the crowd's backing vocals on "Doledrum" and "Callin' All".
Finally Lee opens up to me a little, all about the tuning and pitching. Lee's tuning techniques; brilliant, totally brilliant. At first it might be all too much,
and then it begins to make sense. He engages you on another level; never breaking eye contact. I'll elaborate a bit more when I've listened back to my recording and get the name of it. But as Lee said, it's all puzzle pieces that have been put together.
"we aren't human's having spiritual experiences; we are spirits experiencing a human life..." was the most profound quote from him.
"New record" from a scrap of paper I saw, it read "Callin' All #2" the usual suspects were on the list "Was It Something I Said?" "Rebound" "Gimme The Blues" "The Human Race". Lee tells me he doesn't want to get the 2nd record wrong. He says "The La's were always different, even when we were signed and they tried to change us, so I just left it all"
Gary said he really wants to do this record, it's not about the money (this is very clear without him even saying) and that the new tunes are that good, and it will happen"
A LOT more was said, but I don't feel right in posting all sorts about our chat. Feel free to post any questions I'll try and answer. If either Gary or Lee see this, thank you for your time and generosity. I recorded a large proportion of Lee's theory, so I'm debating uploading it.