Misty's Big Adventure are a nine-piece from band from Moseley in Birmingham. They feature a brass section, a DJ and a dancer who dresses in an outfit made from rubber gloves.

Misty's have released two singles 'I Am Cool With a Capital C' and 'Night Time Better Than The Day Time', with their first album ready to come out in September.

They have recently been playing gigs and festivals with cult American 60's crooner Brute Force.

Grandmaster Gareth is also the creator of 'Minute Melodies', a collection of 60 second songs. One of the tracks 'Dr Dre Buys a Pint Of Milk' was voted at number 45 in John Peel's Festive Fifty last year.

Phill: Hello Grandmaster Gareth, how are you?

Grandmaster Gareth: I'm very well thank you.

So you guys are one of the biggest local bands in Birmingham and you've been around for quite a while.

Yeah we've been around for a number of years, we're doing alright. I guess we've been playing since 1999/2000, so yeah it's been a few years…

And has there always been so many of you?

No we started out as a three-piece and just added members as we went along. We got up to ten and then one left, so now we've ended up with nine.

Grandmaster Gareth (Photo by Katy Ross)

So how would you decide if someone was right to join the band?

I don't know if I'd get any more new people in! I think the payroll for nine is enough… (laughs)

Do you see yourself as the leader, or are the band a democracy?

It's a friendly dictatorship! It's my band, but everyone has input.

Are all the band from Birmingham?

Yeah, we're pretty much Moseley based, though we've got one member from Solihull. We're just all friends really, people joined because they were mates as well as musicians.

Your band has a unique sound, how would you describe your influences?

Well it's a tricky one, but it would be 30's screwy jazz and I like a lot of lounge records and anything from the 60's until it goes blues-rock is pretty good but particularly psychedelic stuff, but then I like techno and hip hop and reggae and funk, so I try and mix them up together.

What do you think about the local music scene in Brum at the moment? Do you think it's healthy?

It's going alright I think. I kind of prefer the more experimental bands like Pram and Broadcast, but I've seen a few good young bands around so yeah I think it's going well. There's not been a major scene for a while, the last one was in the late 90's I guess, but hopefully something will start to take root.

Do you think there's a split, because you've got the Moseley people and the Digbeth people. Do you think there's a bit of a divide there?

There is a bit of a split and I think the promoters need to get together. I heard ages ago that they were having meetings but I'd really like to see a bit more of a united effort.

Could ever be a big music festival in Birmingham?

Misty's Big Adventure (Photo by Katy Ross)

Well we played Moseley Park festival last week! (laughs) And Cotteridge Park the week before. I think they tried to do something about a year ago, but one of the best promoters who did Tokyo Lucky Hole have stopped doing stuff for a while, so I think it misses them really because they were getting musicians together and people would meet up and that would be a good thing just to kind of get to know each other.

Tell us about your 60 second songs.

They're called minute melodies. That's more done on a computer and more spontaneous than the Misty's stuff

And did you do a Peel Session for that?

Yeah I did that last year and it went really well. Instead of doing minute melodies I did a big 17 minute one. My first solo album was released on Awkward Records recently, which is a Birmingham label.

Misty's Big Adventure (Photo by Katy Ross)

So you've got Misty's Big Adventure, but I believe there's sometimes a Misty's Little Adventure as well.

Yeah, that occasionally happens…we did a couple of tours last year as a three-piece for economic reasons! (laughs). That was just guitar, sax and drums…but that's only when we're really stuck…

Do you think you could take the whole band on a full UK tour?

That's what we're planning. Our album is coming out in September and we're going to be touring around…we've just got a rusty old minibus from an old Scout troop and we're trying to get it ready (laughs).

I wanted to ask you about the guy in the hand suit - has the suit got a name or anything and who made it?

It goes by the name of 'Erotic Volvo' and it was made by his gran, she makes costumes.

'Erotic Volvo' (Photo by Steven Hicks)

And does he always wear the same suit or has he got a range?

He had an exact copy of the one he wears now and we kept it in a bin bag, but it got put out for the dustbin men so we had to get another one. I think when the next album comes out he'll be like Dr Who and morph into something else, but I don't know what yet…

Could you tell us about the old guy Brute Force who has been touring with you. Was he a singer from the 60's?

Yeah he's from New York and he had an album out on Columbia in '67 and then The Beatles heard him and George Harrison produced a single for him called 'The King of Fuh'. Basically it got put out of Apple Records, but was instantly banned.

Why?

Well I don't know if you can print this on your website (laughs), but the guy in the song was the King from a land called Fuh and if you switch those two words around, you can probably get an idea of how the song went…..

So how did you meet him?

Well I'm a big fan of his first album and I found him on the internet. When I went to New York a few years ago I met him and we had the idea of playing together.

How old is he?

He's 63 but he's fitter than me! (laughs)

So was he famous in the 60's then?

Yeah he's been covered by people like The Chiffons and Del Shannon and loads of strange 60's bands, but he's pretty much from the psychedelic time.

Brute Force (Photo by Katy Ross)

Does he still have a cult following?

Yeah, more so in America than here, but it's starting to build a bit - his album has just been reissued.

Does he just perform with you guys?

Well he's a piano player, so he plays piano and sings when he's in New York, but when he came over it was the first time he'd ever played his songs with a band. Even in the 60's he didn't have one…

So is there anything you want to say to the good people of Birmingham?

Well I guess I should probably plug the album (laughs). It's going to be our first proper official album. It's coming out in September on SL Records who are based in Scotland and we've got a single coming out on August the 30th. The album title is 'Misty's Big Adventure and Their Place in the Solar System', I only just worked out how to say that properly… (laughs)

Mat Priest the former drummer from
Dodgy is involved with you guys, is he your manager?

Yeah he is, we actually met him at this festival last summer, but he's been helping us out for a few months and that's really cool.

If you could have your own festival and choose anyone from history to be on the bill, even if they are now dead, who would you choose?

Julian Cope definitely! Faust and Can, the Krautrock bands. The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Spike Jones and the City Slickers and I'd go for Raymond Scott as well, who was a 30's jazz guy….so yeah that's my line up…no one would come but it would be a really good day for me!

OK, one last important question - who is your favourite TV detective?

Quincy! But I guess he's not really a detective (laughs). Am I allowed my favourite TV pathologist?

Well I'm not too sure about that.

OK, well I'll go for Quincy, but if couldn't pick him then I'd go for Columbo I guess.

That's a sound choice, you've got to love Columbo haven't you?

Actually, who's that 70's guy who then became Inspector Morse

John Thaw? The Sweeney?

Yeah - I saw The Sweeney movie recently, have you seen it?

The original one?

Yeah! It finishes with him saying the line "He didn't kill him, you did" and it just ends like that….

What a cliffhanger!

I know! So yeah, he's my favourite English detective.

Thank you Grandmaster Gareth, it's been a pleasure to meet you.

You too!

'Misty's Big Adventre & Their Place in the Solar Hi-Fi System' is released in September on SL Records.