Bassists tend to be team players, which might account for why they so often wind up doing interviews -- at least when it comes to media outlets in secondary markets, like the Triangle. That happens plenty, although we do sometimes rate the frontman if we're patient enough. And in the case of Coldplay, we're once again moving through the rhythm section.
So we have an interview with Coldplay bassist Guy Berryman in Friday's paper, to preview the band's Thursday show in Raleigh; and below is a 2005 interview with Coldplay drummer Will Champion. Maybe eventually we'll get to talk with the Coldplay guy everybody recognizes.
"The best life imaginable": Coldplay drummer Will Champion just doesn't see a downside to fame
By David Menconi, News & Observer
Sept. 9, 2005
Some musicians seem to view success as a burden, an oppressive and soul-destroying curse they'd be better off without. But Will Champion, drummer for the soaring rock band Coldplay, will have none of that kind of talk. Ask him about the pros and cons of being in one of the biggest bands in the world, and he becomes almost indignant (or as close to indignant as such a polite man seems to get).
"The best thing about it is everything," Champion says, calling from a tour stop in Columbus, Ohio. "And it would be crazy to find anything wrong with it. How could anything not be positive about this? We get to go around the world and play music every day for thousands of people -- that's a dream come true. It's the best life imaginable, and I don't understand why anybody wouldn't think so. It's the biggest gift you can get."
The band plays Raleigh's Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek on Saturday.
You could say this is glass-half-full time for Coldplay, except its glass truly runneth over nowadays. The British quartet's first two albums sold a combined 20 million copies worldwide, and both won Grammy Awards. But this year's "X&Y" (Capitol records) has taken Coldplay to a whole new level of hugeness, earning the group its turn in the spotlight as Biggest Rock Band on Earth.
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The appeal of mystery
A skillful merger of U2's grandiose yearning and Radiohead's disquieting angst, "X&Y" topped the charts the world over after its release back in June. "X&Y" is a mysterious title, and it wasn't the first one the album bore during its difficult birthing process. Coldplay actually scrapped the first version of the album and retreated to a practice space for some hash-it-out-and-bash-it-out jamming, trying to reclaim a sense of urgency. That's fitting, given the album's lyrical themes of feeling uncertain and adrift.
"At one time, it was to be called 'Things I Don't Understand,' " Champion says. "But that turned out to be a song that didn't quite make the album, and now it's a B-side. 'Puzzles' was another we bandied about. All the titles we considered were along the same lines, ideas about questions you can't answer, not being able to make sense of the world, that kinda vibe."
For all the uncertainty of the lyrics, "X&Y" is a supremely confident-sounding album, with every sonic element arranged just so. Frontman Chris Martin's everyman voice, guitarist Jonny Buckland's atmospheric waves of chiming guitar, Guy Berryman's bass pulse and Champion's looping drum beats all combine into a broad, majestic sweep of sound perfect for big arena crowds.
"Speed of Sound" is the album's money shot, with a piano riff echoing Coldplay's 2002 breakout hit "Clocks" (which unexpectedly beat out songs by Beyonce and OutKast to win the best-record Grammy last year). But Champion cites "Talk" as his current favorite song from "X&Y" -- surprising since it almost didn't make the cut.
"We had gone through a handful of guises and versions, and at one point, 'Talk' was actually going to be the first single," Champion says. "Then we scrapped it, rewrote it, scrapped it again, came back to it, scrapped it yet again and finally brought it back. Now that we have some distance from its tumultuous history, it's pleasing to play that one. We do it toward the end of the set, and it really gets people going. Some songs on the new record, we haven't attempted to play live let. Some we have and they're quite difficult, so they're on the back burner."
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The good with the bad
Critical response to "X&Y" has been overwhelmingly favorable, with Coldplay landing on the cover of seemingly every music magazine on the planet the past few months. That has given the band a platform to talk about some of its favorite political causes. It's rare a Coldplay interview goes by without mention of trade policies, and the credits to "X&Y" include Web site addresses for Amnesty International, Greenpeace and Make Trade Fair.
But there have been a few high-profile nay-sayers amid the media blitz. In particular, New York Times critic Jon Pareles gave "X&Y" a withering review under the headline, "The Case Against Coldplay," in which he called Coldplay "the most insufferable band of the decade." Ouch. But Champion is philosophical about the occasional sling and arrow that comes with the territory.
"That review maybe surprised a few people, and Chris [Martin] took it pretty hard," Champion allows. "But to be honest, I don't really care too much about that kind of thing. The more exposed you become, the more people are likely to have opinions and the more likely that some of them will be negative. I mean, we're on the radar enough for someone to go on for an entire page in the New York Times about how much he dislikes us. I'd say that's a sign we've arrived."
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The spotlight heat
It figures Martin would feel the sting of that one bad review the sharpest. As the band's singer, lyricist and most visible member, Martin has to carry virtually all of the weight of Coldplay's celebrity. Part of that comes down to natural charisma, but it's also because of his marriage to actress Gwyneth Paltrow (with whom he has a young daughter, Apple). The glamorous union of rock superstar plus Oscar-winning movie star makes the couple pop-culture royalty, and an irresistible target for paparazzi and tabloid rumors. Meanwhile, the rest of Coldplay live in comfortable semi-anonymity.
"It almost makes you feel guilty," Champion allows. "We're all in the same boat and the same band, and we all have access to the same kinds of people and experiences. So we're all in the same position, except that Chris gets all the hassle and there's really nothing we can do to redress that balance. I do feel slightly guilty, but I can tell you it's something I'd be very uncomfortable with. So I'm happy he's able to deal with it as well as he does. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to."
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Meet the boys
1. Jonny Buckland, guitar -- Martin's primary songwriting foil, and a man who looks like he could be Champion's long-lost twin brother.
2. Chris Martin - aka Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow. He's the one the paparazzi stalks. The rest of the guys, whom Martin met in school in the mid-1990s, can still walk the streets relatively unnoticed.
3. Guy Berryman, bass -- Apart from Martin, the best-looking of the lot.
4. Will Champion, drums -- Coldplay's archivist, most likely to remember names, dates and places. He is also the keeper of the group's recorded archives, including the first tape he was given to learn the songs when he joined. "I've got a lot of stuff for the box set anthology someday," he says.
