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by Whitney Weiss
Ambulance LTD is the best band off of TVT Records since Nine Inch
Nails. If I was a member of the British press, I'd be giving them the
same amount of rabid attention that The Strokes got not so long ago. I
got to speak with Marcus Congleton, the five-piece's singer/guitarist,
whose enthuiasm could inspire the most jaded of hipsters.
Movement: So where are you right now?
Marcus: Manhattan.
Oh, so you're done opening up for Placebo?
Yeah, we just came off that tour about two weeks ago.
Now how was that?
It was amazing. It was really great.
Is that the first time you've opened for a
band of Placebo's stature?
Yes. The first time we've really been on tour also.
Oh wow. So was touring what you expected?
It's hard to say. I really didn't have any expectations going into it,
but uh, I was really surprised. Placebo, well I didn't know the band
that well before we did this tour but they were, well first of all
they were really nice to us. They were really supportive, supercool.
And uh, they just had a huge draw. I didn't expect to be playing in
venues as big as ones we were in.
What was the largest capacity of venue you
played?
I think it was in Toronto we played in a place that had 2500 capacity
and it was more or less full. It was unbelievable.
So what's the biggest difference in going
from playing clubs in New York and playing in another country in that
size venue?
Well the first thing I noticed, well I don't know about playing in
that size venue because that was really Placebo's crowd. You know what
I mean? Like these kids had never heard of us and didn't really know
what to expect. But, it seems like as soon as you leave New York kids
are a lot more excitable about music, and about new music. I was
really, really amazed by how many people just gave us the benefit of
the doubt, having never heard of us, or heard our music before, a lot
of kids were just right away really into us.
That's really good. So is it harder to open
for a band and play for an audience who hasn't heard you but is
willing than it is to be on stage in a New York club where people know
you?
Yeah. Well in New York I think, you know, audiences are always a
little more jaded. But yeah, it is a huge difference when people who
know you and know your songs, as opposed to playing for kids who have
paid their money to see a different band. Especially so many of them,
like over a thousand of them, that was a really really bizarre
experience but ended up being really great.
Well, that's awesome. Now your band has been
getting a lot of good press and you're starting to get more attention,
you know, you just opened for this huge band, how is this affecting
you?
Um. Doing more interviews. Not really sure how it's affecting me yet.
So, how do you feel about interviews? Is it
weird for you?
I don't know, I'm still new at it. Sometimes their fun, sometimes when
a person seems distracted or boring then they're not fun.
Right, that makes sense. The E.P. that just
came out, it was on TVT records, yes?
Yeah.
What are you planning to do now that that's
been released, any plans for a full length?
Yeah, we actually have done most of the full length. We were in London
a couple of months ago and we recorded ten songs over there with a
producer named Jim Abbiss and that's what led to the Placebo tour. He
just produced Placebo's new record. We met them in London and I think
that led to us getting this opening spot on their tour.
Well that's really great. Your sound on the
E.P. is really unique. You’re doing things that are kind of rooted in
other music but I think your sound is one of the most refreshing
things I've heard as a reviewer.
Oh, thanks. Thank you.
You're very welcome. Would you say it's kind
of the same or are you taking a different direction on the album?
Um. It's hard to say. Because I think on the E.P. there's a bunch of
directions on there, so it's basically a bigger version of the E.P. I
would say. But I would say, obviously since we didn't produce this
album and we had a professional producer it's a lot bigger. But yeah,
there's more directions on there.
Now, do you prefer working with a producer to
self-producing?
I'm not sure about that. It was a really new thing for me to work with
a producer on the album, and sometimes it was great because I could
just kind of relax and let him do it. But sometimes I would get
stressed out, you know? Feeling like I was losing control of it. In
the end I think it came out great. But I do like being able to
self-produce.
So you like having more control over the
final product for your music?
Yeah, I do. But at the same time there are so many things to learn
from people like Jim that we worked with. That's really invaluable you
know?
Now, since you've been getting more press in
New York have you been playing any shows since you got back, or are
you just taking a break and doing press?
We've been doing a lot of shows since we got back. I think we did a
couple sporadic shows right when we got back, then we did a few dates
with this band from San Francisco called The View, They were really
great. And then we went out on this Placebo tour. And since we
finished that we've done one show. So we've been busy, we've been
doing a lot of playing.
Has your reception in New York changed any
since you got back from the Placebo tour? I know you've only done one
show, but...
Actually. yeah. We played a show at Don Hill's on Saturday night a
couple of days ago. It wasn't packed or anything, but the people who
were there knew a bunch of the songs. Which is really a nice surprise
after the Placebo tour of like kids having no idea of what we were
playing to come back to New York and we'd go into a song and people
would start clapping because they knew it. That was really exciting.
Well that's awesome.
Yeah!
How did you end up in New York?
Oh boy, I guess um, well I'm from Oregon. I'd never been to New York,
but I was thinking about moving to San Francisco to start a band. And
then I went to Chicago, and I thought, well Chicago is a lot cooler,
I'm going to move there. And then from Chicago I had a friend in New
York, I visited New York and once I was here I just said, 'This is it
I can't really go anywhere else from here.' You know?
Right. Now everything is kind of picking up
and you're in a band in New York.
Yeah.
Is this really, really exciting for you or
are you also kind of nervous?
Oh boy, no it's exciting.
That's great.
Yeah, yeah.
And what kind of music are you listening to
right now?
Let's see, right now, I'm listening to some 60's Jamaican dub and
reggae stuff. It's really cool. I'm really into like mid 60's and late
60's Dylan. And I've been listen to Neil Young a lot.
That's a healthy combination of different
music.
I like 50 Cent too.
Oh really?
Yeah.
Do you think what he's doing is good or do
you like it for kitsch value?
Well, I don't know. It's hard to separate it with him you know? I
think it's really good though, I do like it.
And people in New York seem to be getting
more interested in music again?
Yeah, they have over the past few years?
So who right now who's one of your peers in
the music scene who really deserves the attention but hasn't been
getting their fair share?
Oh boy, that's easy actually. There's this band, you haven't heard of
them but you probably will soon, they're called Inouk. And they are
very new, they've only done a few shows, they've played with us a
bunch of times. They just got management and I think they're getting
offers from record labels, but they're incredible. And they have a
sound that is totally, totally unique. I don't think people are really
even ready for them.
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