Home has been lucky enough to get access to each of the members of the current lineup of Nitzer Ebb, to ask them about reuniting, rehearsing and playing together, as well as their reissues with Mute and Pylon Records.  In the final installment of the interview series, Pete caught up with Bon Harris, to discuss his time with NEP, but also to reminisce about supporting DM on the World Violation Tour, side projects with Marilyn Manson, and his “day job”, composing music for film and TV.

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Home: It must be pretty exciting to be heading on tour with the full complement of Nitzer Ebb guys. How has it all been going?

Bon Harris: It has been excellent. Things have been going great. It has been a very fun atmosphere, but with good, solid work to combine everybody’s talents and tastes to put together the best show we can. Lots of fun and everybody working hard to put their best work forward.

Home: A Highlight for any Depeche Mode fan would be the 1990 tour with Nitzer Ebb supporting, what memories do you have of your support dates?

BH: Well, I remember getting advance copies of Violator from Mute. We had visited the studio from time to time to hear progress, as Flood was working with DM and NE concurrently at the time. It was obvious from first listen that it was a classic – not a bad track on the album and anthem after anthem. We were lined up for a support slot on the USA leg as we had been denied entry on the Music for the Masses tour. It was clear that DM were at a very high creative point and were hitting peak popularity in the US. We found ourselves in a similar position, relatively. We were starting to get some attention in the US, and there was some anticipation for some fans at seeing both bands play together. It was pretty much a perfect convergence of favorable circumstances, and we had a feeling it would be something very special – and it certainly was. Specifically, I remember:

• A power outage at Giants stadium that took all our equipment down. The house was pretty much full – around 75k people, and…..total silence from the Chelmsford lads! Doug had to improvise some banter while we rebooted. Took a few minutes but we got going again. Those few minutes took several years off my life.
• Parties. Lots of parties. DM were still very much into going out clubbing after shows at the time. Their crew was very close, like a family really, as was ours. So we would all descend mob-handed into some club or another and just have a blast. Some heavy nights, but a lot of dancing, laughing and just raucous good times – for the most part.
• “Stripped” hot dogs. Doug, our manager Steev and I would go front-of-house, we’d each buy a hot dog and watch “Stripped” every night. It was our little routine. Purple lights, descending hydraulic stage props, mustard, onions, and a very fine song. Lovely.
• The combined force of nature that was Ginger Barwick and Willie Whitelaw on DM and NE merchandise respectively. There is no way that mainland USA could have prepared for that combination – total, unbridled, hilarious CHAOS – 24-7! They smashed it and I miss them both hugely. Legends.
• Meeting Tony Hawk. One of the promoters we worked with also handled some pro skaters – Mark “Gator” Ragowski was hanging out at the San Diego show. So we got word that Tony was a fan and got his number from Joe Johnson at the Vision Streetwear warehouse. Tony came to the DM show at Universal City. We hung out and really got along, he invited us down to go boogie boarding in Oceanside, then on to his house to skate the infamous Animal Chin ramp complex. It was the beginning of a friendship that lasts to this day. Mr. Hawk is a truly great human being, not to mention being the finest skater to ever step on a board.

Home: Nitzer Ebb have been going since the early 1980’s. What have been the lows and highs?

BH: Well, the highs would include: Signing to Mute and working with Daniel Miller. As soon as that was raised as a possibility, I wanted it to happen so badly. Daniel and Mute had been such an inspiration, honestly, it was a dream come true to have that become a reality. I felt Mute was where we belonged. Well, it was in the beginning at least! Working with Flood was incredible. I was still very young and new to the studio when we signed to Mute. To have somebody like Flood help shape my methods and thinking over successive albums and a considerable period of time is basically priceless. An invaluable and irreplaceable experience that I was so very fortunate to experience. A truly great creative mind, and again an exceptional individual. Meeting DM, working alongside them and becoming good friends with them has been a high. A real insight to see the human beings behind all the grandeur and epicness. Behind all that you have these very sweet, good-hearted, super talented and actually very down to earth bunch of blokes. They have done a lot to use their success to highlight new bands, and non-mainstream film, photography, fashion and culture. They are a hugely successful band that has managed to maintain an original approach, high standards and good taste, and they remain champions of progressive, independent art and artists. I admire and respect them very much indeed. Yes, there have been lows. The entire “Big Hit” period was very dark and difficult. I still think it’s a great album, but we sure paid a heavy price to get there.

Home: The Procol Harum anthem “Whiter Shade of Pale” made it into some early NEP shows. What cover(s) might you be interested in putting the Nitzer Ebb spin on in 2018?

BH: Well now, that would be letting the cat out of the bag would it not? Although I quite fancy seeing Simon Granger do the lead vocal and guitar solo on Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”. We’ll see.

Home: What is it about the evolving collaborators in Black Line that’s interesting to you and how do you see the collective in relation to your NEP family?

BH: One of the things that I really enjoy about Black Line is playing with a larger group of people. And added factor is that Cyrus, Zack and Ken are all very savvy and experienced in music production. That leaves me a lot of freedom to just play music, to be a smaller part of a larger whole and just find the spots where I want to fit in. It allows a lot of freedom, with much less pressure and responsibility. Not surprisingly that shows in the results. BL also is a bit more layered and expansive musically. It’s a great outlet for the more musical side of things, and it allows other projects, like NE, to remain fairly minimal and uncomplicated, which is a good thing.

Home: It’s genuinely heartwarming to hear how you guys talk about each other, there is clearly a strong bond. Could this set of dates lead to further Ebb projects?

BH: We are keeping an open mind. There is a lot of existing NE material that can be creatively re-interpreted. That is what we are focused on now. I saw a review of the recent shows that said something like the tracks had been lovingly restored and updated. I love that, that is really what we are going for. There is so much to work with there, so we’ll go with that for now. Of course, Dave and Simon have Stark, and I love what they have going on, Doug and I are working on new stuff in Black Line, so who knows? For now, though, we are just having fun playing the shows and being creative with the existing tracks.

Home: What can fans expect to experience on these dates compared to earlier Ebb shows?

BH: An expanded lineup for one. That opens up some musical and performance possibilities all around. We are interested in extended and alternate versions of the tracks – after 30-odd-years for some, it will be nice to do something new, but always respecting the originals. We like the idea of some improvisation within the structure so that every show is not exactly the same each night. That keeps it fresh and interesting for us onstage and for the audience, I think.

Home: Your work with Alan Wilder was amongst your best. Could you ever see a time where you guys could work together again?

BH: I would always be open to working with Alan. A superb musician, and he has a great ear for arrangement and production. Some elements of Black Line remind me of his style, it has a depth and maybe a sophistication that reminds me of Alan. Who knows? It’s a nice idea.

Home: What music are you listening to at the moment?

BH: I had been going to Modular On The Spot in LA a lot before I left. It’s an ad hoc modular synth meet where invited performers set up a patch and perform on it for about 15 mins before handing over to the next performer. The pieces are created for that event, often never recorded and possibly never heard again. I’ve heard some really nice things there. Lots of experimental music, I feel like the conventional song structure is a bit worn out for now. Modern production has gone kind of over the top also, too much compressed, hyped, plastic non-realism for my current taste. I like rougher productions at the moment. I’m enjoying a lot of stuff from Late Junction on BBC Radio 3. They played Richard Devine’s Sort/Lave the other day, of course, it’s beautiful. Also still a lot of orchestral stuff, Stravinsky, Bartok, Debussy, and some of the late 20th century experimental composers. Big band swing is a perennial fave also. Ellington, (well actually Billy Strayhorn in a lot of cases), Basie, etc. That was an era where musical giants truly did roam the earth! So much talent and so much great music from that time.

Home: What are your thoughts on recent Depeche Mode material and live shows?

BH: DM live are always going to be a force to be reckoned with. One of the all-time great live bands, very few can summon that energy, emotion and magic. Studio wise, I like the recent stuff well enough. Can’t help feeling that pairing DM with an off the Wall producer who is willing to take some risks would produce some interesting results. I’d like to hear something like that here and there on a track or two.

Home: To commemorate the band’s reformation, Mute has gone all out with planned re-releases on CD and vinyl. They’ve also announced the first release of the Body of Work compilation on vinyl. What was your involvement in the selections for bonus material to be included with any of the reissues?

BH: Mute always work closely with us, keep us informed and seek approval on important things. Having said that, we leave it pretty much up to them to decide what to include. If there’s anything we feel strongly about we’ll pipe up, but they are generally pretty much on point with their choices.

Home: Will we see you letting loose on vocals at any of the shows on this tour?

BH: Oh yes! I like a good lung out. Also a good reminder of how hard Doug works out there. It ain’t easy belting them out and bouncing around a hot stage for over an hour. Kudos to him, he’s still smashing it night after night in his own fine style!

Home: Your career in composing for TV and film has been a nice fill between stints with Nitzer Ebb and other musical and touring projects. There’s no question when you listen to the composed tracks that these have connective tissue to NEP. How much of those tracks for shows like ‘Top Chef’ or ‘Project Runway’ or for the film ‘Stigmata’ was what you brought to the project vs. what was in the brief from the music supervisors?

BH: Well, I’ve been lucky enough to be picked for some projects because it was felt my style fitted the mood of the show. Given that a lot of the time I was the musical impetus behind NEP, it stands to reason that strand will run through subsequent compositions. It’s kind of my “default” setting after all these years. In some ways, that is how I sound, whether it be channeled through NEP or a film score. Or at least one of the expressions of my musical personality. A lot of it comes down to my rhythmic sensibilities. I’m a rhythmic little chap. An all-day groover, uh huh yes, for sure.

Home: Besides the well-documented connection to Depeche Mode, you’ve done some creative work with Marilyn Manson on his ‘Holy Wood’ album, and Manson returned the favour with vocals on Maven’s Nick Cave cover of ‘Hard on for Love’. How did you and Manson get connected?

BH: I met Manson at one of Nancy Berry’s infamous Hollywood parties. I was standing in line for a drink. He tapped me on the shoulder and said hello – we knew each other from previous tours when he was a journalist and came to interview NE. He mentioned they were in the studio and needed somebody to run Pro Tools and wreak some audio havoc. I said I was free, and the next thing we were doing a song for “Celebrity Death Match” where Manson fought Ricky Martin. I was still sitting at that Pro Tools rig 2 years later after working on “Hollywood” and about 50 tracks for an unreleased movie. It was hard work, but also a lot of fun. Manson and I have a great understanding and a lot of respect for each other. A very good experience that taught me a lot.

Part I with Douglas J. McCarthy
Part II with David Gooday
Part III with Simon Granger

The Smashing Pumpkins performed their Depeche Mode cover “Never Let Me Down Again” last night in Madison, WI. This was the first time the band have played it since 1995, so we’ll see if it stays in the set list. Aside from some new songs and classics, they also covered “Friday, I’m In Love” from The Cure.

Setlist:
Solara
Zero
Today
Never Let Me Down Again (Depeche Mode cover)
Knights of Malta
Tonight, Tonight
Dross
Friday I’m in Love (The Cure cover)
Disarm
Bullet With Butterfly Wings
Porcelina of the Vast Oceans
Travels
Cherub Rock
1979
Ava Adore
Heavy Metal Machine

Encore:
Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)
Muzzle

Encore 2:
Siva

For Part 3 of Home’s exclusive interviews with the recently re-formed Nitzer Ebb, we check in with Simon Granger, the art director behind much of NEP’s early creative brand presence, designing album covers, band merchandise, and the overall artistic output. In this interview, Simon speaks to Home’s Pete about getting back with the boys in both an artistic and, for the first time, a live musical performance capacity.

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Home: Can you tell us how you first got involved with Nitzer Ebb?

Simon: We all grew up in the same town of Chelmsford, which is now a city. There were very few places for people who liked alternative music to congregate, so we were drawn to the same record shops and pubs. David, Bon, and Douglas would be roaming the streets on any given Saturday, inevitably drunk, shouting abuse at anyone who was a bit like them, I responded in kind, and this went on for a few months before a friend mentioned that Bon was now in a band that was influenced by DAF and he was looking for a synthesiser. So that was it, I was in, armed with a WASP and with ideas for art all ready to go.

Home:  How does it feel to be back working with the original members?

Simon: Truly excellent, as ever. We have never really been 100% apart, although separated by geography, work and life in general, the connection has always been there; strong, childish, funny, independent and unbreakable.

Home: The Artwork for Belief was simple but incredibly effective, often seen worn on T-shirts by various members of Depeche Mode. Can you tell us how it came about?

Simon: This is my favourite of all the NE designs, the main influencers were Max Ernst, the Dada artist, and the timeless elegance of classic Chanel. Max Ernst was not just an influence because of the work he did, but also for his face, and specifically for his eye, which is on the wrap-around section of Belief. This was shot by process camera from books liberated by myself and Douglas. The spacing of the typeface and sparseness of the design was from Chanel packaging – using a very simple design with high-quality materials, so we had metallic silver ink with reflective spot varnish over the black areas, and the wraparound was designed to cover the barcode, which I thought looked unsightly. This caused problems when distributors were trying to scan the first pressings of the vinyl. Mute was very understanding.

Home: You have never performed on stage with Nitzer Ebb, what will your role be in the new live setup?

Simon: I am contributing a small amount by using live sequencers controlling a Moog DFAM and Minitaur with effects by Eventide. This comes from my role in STARK where myself and David use a mix of live hardware and programming for our live sets. These will be mainly percussive simple patterns and small insistent riffs.

Home: Did you spend much time in the studio with the band over the years, any memories you could share?

Simon: In the early days yes, we were all in the studio together. We would receive a call to be in London around midnight to go into PWL on the end of a previously booked session, usually either Dead or Alive or Kylie, where we would work with Phil Harding through the night, who was using the 48 track SSL to create and mix the tracks. I do remember top-end Acoustic Energy monitors being blown, and someone saying to Phil “You really work with some shit bands.” which may have been Pete Burns, or possibly the other Pete, Waterman.

Home: You have been working with David Gooday as “Stark”, can you explain your involvement in Stark?

Simon: David was talking prolifically about this for a while and would often phone up and drunkenly play tracks down the phone at colossal volume whilst shouting over the row that I needed to get involved. A short while after, on the way to one of Douglas’s weddings, David was playing some music which I thought was excellent, and it turned out to be him that was responsible. So I was in. Again. STARK then evolved to become what we are now, live electronic music, a digital record label Starkfutures Recordings with our friend Paul, a physical record label Stark Editions, and soon, merchandising by Starkthreads. We all run the labels and I do the artwork with David overseeing everything. Musically I control some of the live hardware sequencers and sequencers, which David blends into the overall live experience.

Home: Douglas and Bon spoke of the very close friendship and respect for yourself and David Gooday in a recent promo video – clearly you are all very close, so why has this reunion taken so long to come about?

Simon: It has been a mixture of different projects for all of us for a while, and full time working. Over the last couple of years, we have been seeing more of Bon when he was over from LA. We regularly inflicted STARK on him whenever he was about, and he saw and heard the progress and liked the idea of taking elements of what we were doing and making a reconfigured Nitzer Ebb for now out of it, and, after talking to Douglas the concept became a reality.

Home: Do you still have your old Wasp Synthesizer?

Simon: Ah no – that was the infamous device that helped to kick start everything. I sold it to Bon. It had a good, if erratic sound, coupled with appalling build quality. You could make it play itself by putting water on the touch-sensitive keyboard. I always wanted the Spider sequencer but could never afford it.

Home: The Orange/Black design for Showtime was really eye-catching, again very simple but very effective. The associated T-shirts again were worn by Depeche Mode. Will you be reissuing classic shirts on the new tour?

Simon: We do have a reborn version using elements from That Total Age. There is an all-black-on-grey limited version and a regular red-on-dark grey. I have attached a file showing the limited edition front.

Home: Who decided on the “Nitzer Ebb like their balls empty” text on the infamous 1992 T-shirts?

Simon: That level of wrongness could only come from the combined effort of Steev Toth and Douglas McCarthy I think. I may be wrong. Steev was the NE manager around that time.

Home: How much involvement have you had in the reworking of tracks that will be performed?

Simon: David asked me what kind of thing I would like for a re-engineered Nitzer Ebb. I replied with something along the lines of more space and more of the funk and disco. The tracks have now been opened up so the melodies and countermelodies that live and breathe in Bon’s basslines are more easy to hear. Percussion has been enhanced and a low end from techno has been discreetly employed. When David played back what he had done, there was nothing I could even criticise or want to change. It is a perfect evolution. So my role for this has been purely at the annoying ‘critical listener’ level.

Home: Douglas once showed me a newspaper article in 2010 about the repercussions of a music critic listening to Nitzer Ebb too loudly. Did you ever see this story?

Simon: Yes – it’s brilliant – that still makes me laugh.

Home: It was a dream come true for many fans to see Alan Wilder producing Nitzer Ebb, and the finished material was excellent. If the band ventured into the studio again, would you guys be interested in working with Alan if he was up for it?

Simon: That would be a question for the more musical elements of the band, Bon and Doug I think. I don’t don’t really feel qualified to answer that one. I’m pretty sure they would.

Home: The Tour starts at Electrowerkz in London which is now Sold Out, as is Berlin, are there any further dates to come?

Simon: There are now additional shows in Sweden, [Germany, Poland, Belgium, and the UK], as well as the existing Gothenburg and Stockholm dates – the latest news should be here: http://www.nitzer-ebb-produkt.com/ 

Home: Thanks, Simon.

Simon: Thank you. It was very enjoyable to answer your questions.

Part I with Douglas J. McCarthy
Part II with David Gooday
Part IV with Bon Harris

This week, HOME’s Pete interviewed David Gooday, who was among the earliest members of Nitzer Ebb, and is part of the newly re-formed act. Gooday brings us up to speed on his most recent projects, as well as shedding some light on early NEP history.

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Home:  As an original member could you tell us about your earliest recollections of the band?

DG:  A wasp, A Jen-SX 1000 and a BOSS DR-55. Then an SH-101 [Roland]. A handful of drums, some lumps of metal and Douglas singing. Well, I say Douglas singing. When we first started out as Nitzer Ebb, we all sang – shouted, in my case – swapping roles for whoever was the best at the task in hand at that time. Wanting to stir a few things up, wanting to do whatever we wanted to do, knowing there probably would be some consequences (the general musical tastes in those days were very narrow if you had no guitars then ‘how can you call it music?’ LOL.) Feeling I had something to change in the world and wanting to leave my mark on music.

Home: Why did you leave the band?

DG: At that time in my life, I wasn’t enjoying what was going on. I had a lot of outside pressure, and it was time to go. I felt at that time I had done within the band what I personally had set out to do.

Home: Having remained very close personal friends with the band, how was it to see other musicians filling your initial role?

DG: I never had a problem with anyone else taking over my part. We had all been friends since school, and we’d been through a lot together…achieved a lot together, actually. I think it was me who suggested that Julian drummed after Duc. It was what it was. The band was going to go on with or without me, and I would have been really upset if it hadn’t.

Home: What is your favourite album that the band recorded after your departure, and why?

DG: I suppose I would have to say ‘Belief’, probably because Bon and I had already started on that album – or the ideas behind it – before I decided to leave. Blood money is one of my all-time favourite songs by the boys probably because it was the last thing Bon and I wrote together. Saying that I have favourite tracks on all the albums. As they grew musically, so did the sound. And that is something I would have wanted it to do.

Home: You and Simon have been busy with STARK. For those who don’t know, what is STARK?

DG: Ok STARK is a project that Simon and I do together, along with collaborating artists. I was writing again for a few years after Douglas gave me and my second wife, Karla, a music program for a wedding present. I had gotten a few tunes together and was starting to enjoy making music again, so I started hassling the shit out of Simon to come [and] listen. (Usually when I was drunk and excited about whatever I had done…) We were on our way to another one of Douglas’ weddings, and I played Simon a few of the tracks I had just done, and he was into them. So, Stark was born. (Simon named it.) And we began to work together again on the music.

I think it’s been five or six years now, and we are still enjoying playing live sets, releasing music and learning all processes and everything that goes with. We also have STARKFutures Recordings which is our digital label…run with Paul Eiger Fosset. Also, STARKEditions which is all physical forms of release (vinyl and live recordings), and we are in the midst of creating STARKThreads, which will be our clothing line. We endeavour to write, record, and play live anything that takes our fancy. We do not follow genres or fads. We only release, play, and enjoy what we like. Below you’ll find a few links to the things we do.

STARKFutures: https://starkfuturesrecordingslabel.bandcamp.com/

STARKFutures: https://starkfuturesrecordings.greedbag.com/

Home: How was it performing several years ago with the guys for the first time in many years, and how did that come about?

DG: I can’t actually remember how it came about. LOL. But that was quite a strange evening, as it had been a good few years since I had banged a drum. No rehearsals for me, so straight on and go for it. (I completely forgot how hot and physical it was on stage. Not prepared. LOL) But I fully enjoyed it, and it seemed that the audience did too.

Home: I have personally been down the front at many Ebb shows over the years, and I’ve come out battered and bruised. Have you ever been down the front at an Ebb gig?

DG: Got to say, “yes,”…a good few times. And I watched one of my sons doing the same as he fully reveled in the whole experience. For me it was nothing new. It just felt like being a teenager and going to a show that you wanted to give your all for.

Home: One of the old videos of an early Ebb gig has a bit of a scrap going on down the front. Do you remember that?

DG: [That was a] very long story, and it’s to hard to explain.  But we did end up with our first publishing deal that evening.

Home: Will you be getting out the big spanners out and performing “Whiter Shade of Pale” by any chance? What was the story with that track?

DG: Absolutely NO Chance!! I think back in those days, we really weren’t big fans of all the dross rock shit that was around. So I think Bon thought it would be fun to try and do our version.

Home: Are you looking forward to getting on the road? What excites you most: festivals or more intimate shows?

DG: Yeah, really looking forward to doing these shows. It’s been a while. And I am really looking forward to Simon being up there with us.  In to doing either, I prefer intimate shows. But then a big stage is a great place to perform. They both have their places and create a different show.

Home: Have you guys worked out a set list yet for the tour?

DG: Yeah, we have a set list. But that will probably change as we go along. The guys have written too many outstanding tunes over the years, so there are a few to choose from.

Home: Any plans to record any of the shows?

DG: No plans at the moment. Again, I guess wait and see. You never know.

Home: Douglas said that there had been “reworkings” of tracks. Can you shed any light and explain the procedure?

DG: OK so a year or so ago, Bon asked Simon and me if we would be up for getting involved again.
And asked if I could rework some of the tunes. I really didn’t want to do remixes, so I would call them reworks. As we have never been ones to keep doing the same old thing time and time again, we decided we would put our STARK spin on them and then work together to create something we would all enjoy. They are a little more spacious than the originals, with room for us to add a lot of live interpretation; which is what Simon and I do with our STARK shows. Expect live mixes.

Home: What can you tell us about the Iggy Pop Cover you guys have recorded?

DG: This is a project that Simon wanted to do and has been in the pipeline for the last five years.
We had been seeing a lot off Bon in the last two years. And thankfully, as we are talentless keyboard players, Bon played the Bowie organ parts for the tune. We had already got a local singer in mind for the vocals, David Arscott. And [we had] a rough idea of how we wanted to interpret the song. So we went ahead and got the first version down. Very sadly, whilst in the process of doing the tune, a dear friend, Donald Rody, passed away. Donald was a massive Iggy fan, so we decided to dedicate the release to Donald, and all profit would go to a charity of Donald’s wife Sharon’s choice. In the meantime, we thought it would be a great idea if we all got involved. So there will be two versions on a double A-side for release next year. A STARK version and an Ebb version.
The Ebb version has both Bon and Doug contributing on the vocals, and Simon and I did all the arrangement and production.

Home: Thanks for your time. And best of luck with the projects ahead.

You are more than welcome. – D.T.G.

Part I with Douglas J. McCarthy
Part III with Simon Granger
Part IV with Bon Harris