The Answer To Your Prayer
“The measure of a good song is if it makes you smile. And ours do!” - Phil Wallbank.
I meet Ripchord’s Phil Wallbank to talk of the Wolverhampton quartet’s debut album and to discuss Brit-pop, bassists and Busted members.
This is a perfect introduction to the band from the Midlands. The other members of the band that make up the foursome are James ‘Sulli’ Sullivan (Lead guitar and backing vocals), Tommy Beal (Bassist) and Rozalind Duignan-Pearson (Drums).
Now sat down at a table in the corner Phil recalls how the band came into being. “We formed when we were in sixth form at school. Me and Sulli were in various bands together previously, but wanted to start something new” he says with a hint of nostalgia. He continues “It was hard to find others into 60’s and 90’s pop music at the time. But we were determined and got to know people by seeing the same faces at local gigs. That’s how we met and gained Beal and Rozalind as band members.”
Asked about the name of the band Phil explains that it is taken from the Radiohead song ‘Ripcord’. He attributes the christening of the band to his brother. Explaining that he came up with the idea and a ‘h’ was added in order for it to sound more interesting, snappy and like a band name.
The band started to gain momentum in 2005 through entering a competition on their local news. Ripchord went on to win the competition and their society savvy ditties started to generate more publicity. This rewarding them with gigs further a field from their local circuit. The singer explains “We found ourselves playing in new places like Manchester and Liverpool.” It was here they gained their big break. The front man recounts “We got noticed by James Endeacott, from Rough Trade records, who signed The Libertines.” He continues “We started hanging around with him which was surreal and he signed us to his label 1965 records, which is also home to The View.”
As we finish our drinks and head over to the pool table conversation turns to recording and gigging. In between his break off shot, which results in him sinking the first red, Phil discusses the positives and negatives of touring. “Service station sandwiches are a drawback of the whole process. They do not make the best of meals everyday. Also tiredness is another down point.” He continues “I enjoy meeting a huge amount of new people though and that comes with life on the road.” With a smile on his face he adds “It can be fun to be out on tour with another band also. The camaraderie is good and the togetherness is inspiring.”
Pressed to shed a light on gig stories the vocalist spins the yarn about Ripchord’s biggest appearance to date, supporting the Kaiser Chiefs at the Manchester Apollo. “Most of our best tour stories revolve around Beal, our bassist. He is what I refer to as an unhinged character, an essential member I feel for any band.” He says “At the Manchester gig there was a bit of the stage that we were not allowed to use, being the support band. So our manager said to us ‘make the most of what you have got.’ And I just remember Beal slowly strolling around in this space in front of us stalking the stage. It was weird and rather humorous” he concludes with a chuckle.
After potting another couple of red balls the front man tackles the question, whether he prefers playing live or recording. He answers in a strained manner “They can both be stressful.” He elaborates “The stress at recording comes from trying to re-create how you imagined the tune to sound. And touring can be stressful because of tiredness, but then again you can go out afterwards.” He summarises in a happier tone “They are both hard but rewarding. I prefer recording though because you are creating something.”
And what have Phil and his cohorts in Ripchord have created in their debut album entitled ‘Beginners Luck’. They have created a glorious modern slant on pop via the 60’s and traditional pop music charged with the tunes from the best bits of 90’s Brit-pop.
I slot some loose change into the near by juke box and invite Phil to select the tunes. His selections, The Beatles, The Kinks, Bee-Gees and Blur talk for themselves as the influences behind Ripchord’s sound.
Whilst on the brink of victory in the pool match the front man describes the process of the bands writing. “I write lyrics about the little things in everyday life from my own personal point of view. I aim to do this uniquely though by taking thing which are stupid and try to make them mildly humorous.” Pressed for the secrets behind writing the music he says “I get a tune in my head and record it on my phone.”
Phil tells of his most interesting recording moment as I shape up to sink my first yellow. “When recoding the song ‘Heartbreaker’ we had James Bourne from Busted come to lay down backing vocals which was a bit peculiar.” he goes on “Anyway, I remember him sitting in the corner playing a song about a girl that he had met over MySpace. I just recall thinking to myself how strange it was that he was recording with us and playing this random song to us!”
The album was recorded three times as a result of trying to achieve the correct sound. It took nearly two years but finally with Steve Power twiddling the knobs it is done. Phil talks of the album in an excited tone, he exclaims “I’m really proud of It.” adding “I measure songs by if they can make you smile and do something to you emotionally. And our songs make me smile so I’m hugely proud.” With this Phil lines up his shot on the black and sinks it. Put that down to Beginners Luck.
