Interview with Freddie Cowan (Freddie and the Scenarios)
The Vaccines' former lead guitarist on how his faith influenced his new solo album, 'Answer Machine'.
“Are you ready, Freddie?,” The Vaccines’ lead singer, Justin Young, could often be heard asking the band’s lead guitarist, Freddie Cowan, as they prepared to launch into another high-octane track (such as ‘If You Wanna’ or ‘Nightclub’) on stage.
Freddie has now parted ways from the iconic indie band. Last month, he released a “life-changing” album, ‘Answer Machine’ under his solo project, Freddie and the Scenarios, on which he has collaborated with former Vaccines drummer Pete Robertson and another former bandmate, Timothy Lanham.
When we spoke over Zoom, Freddie was in his home in Somerset. I was very starstruck and I admitted as much, which I normally never do!
Being a frontman obviously comes with the territory for Freddie’s new venture, but it’s not quite his goal.“I guess, technically I’m a frontman but I don’t really feel like one. The Scenarios for me is about musical exploration, spirituality. It’s a reflection of everything that I’m interested in, and I’m not really interested in being a frontman so it would be dishonest of me to try and figure out how to be like Mick Jagger. I’ve got no interest in it. There’s space for everything.” He makes the point that the frontmen of bands famously come with their various personal styles, citing Thom Yorke and Noel Gallagher as examples. He adds: “Everyone’s doing it in a different way.”
‘Answer Machine’ is a world away from the at-times boisterousness world of The Vaccines. Fans of the band may be in for a surprise. Meanwhile, Freddie didn’t immediately know what he wanted fans of his music to feel when they heard his latest offering. “It’s kind of none of my business, really,” he admits, before adding, “I do have a slight agenda…” It’s not the type of album that is going to “make people want to do drugs or party,” but there’s no way to tell. “Maybe it will,” he laughs. “I have no idea.”
‘Answer Machine’ is quite psychedelic-sounding. “To me, the music is spiritual, so if I have any agenda, it’s to contribute an iota to someone’s spiritual growth; the same way that all my mentors and the music that I really like have been a call to spirituality for me.”
Freddie and the Scenarios are playing their first UK show on July 22nd. It will be at The Lexington in London. About the gig, Freddie says: “I’m really excited for that.” He’s also excited to meet his fans on a more one-to-one level. Freddie described playing some shows in Mexico, where he spent some time last year, and how he enjoyed meeting fans and interacting with them after the shows, including thanking them. “In The Vaccines, for years, we must have played to a million people over ten years. It was almost so many it was surreal. Later on, it’s been really interesting for me to talk about to everyone and get those experiences…”
There was some trepidation about starting down a new path but, while in the studio, Freddie experienced an “almost transcendent experience”. It taught him “how to live” and “how important faith is”. He learned how to “lean on his faith” despite being “scared”. Current single ‘Sensei’ is a collaboration with guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei (HOTEI).
When asked about leaving The Vaccines, Freddie thinks on it for a moment, before saying: “I needed an intense moment in order to do it. So, I was intensely committed to making the move, but now that it’s been a few months…You know, I feel very close to the guys in the band and I think we’re going to be friends for the rest of our lives and I’m sure we’ll play together again at some point.”
The shift felt like a long time coming. “I’m not an innocent party. It’s definitely…I, already having been out the band for a few months and pursuing Scenarios, pursuing a different life, I already have a greater appreciation for the guys and what we managed to achieve together…just what an incredible privilege it is to be in a band of that position because there [are] so many good artists - thousands and thousands - and there’s really no…It’s not a meritocracy when it comes to who’s chosen to be the recipient of all the attention.
“Because that’s all it is. Everyone’s judging everyone on the amount of attention they’re getting. Everything’s statistics. It’s how many plays, how many likes, how many followers you have and I don’t know, I guess that would be the secret, million dollar question, ‘how do you crack that?’ Certainly, with The Vaccines, it was the right place, the right time, the right people, the right moment and [it] came together and gave us that amazing rise, which doesn’t happen to many people so it was a real privilege to live through that.”
Tickets for the London show, July 22nd, can be found here.
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