Interview: Roger O'Donnell - of The Cure

[The Seeker of Good Songs]

Roger O'Donnell - I use the name The Cure whenever I can, but it doesn't help unless I release a goth album which I am not about to do.

Posted on 19 Jul, 2009

Roger O'Donnell (born 29 October 1955) is an English keyboardist best known for his work with The Cure. O'Donnell first joined The Cure in 1987, replacing Lol Tolhurst on keyboards. He played with The Cure during their "Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me" tour and co-wrote songs for the next album "Disintegration". He also features on the live album from this period "Entreat". Following the band's "Prayer Tour" in 1989, tensions intensified between the band members and O'Donnell left the band temporarily in 1990 to rejoin the band in 1995 to record the albums "Wild Mood Swings", "Bloodflowers", and "The Cure". The collaboration with Smith and co abruptly ended in 2005.

Apart from having an on and off relationship with The Cure, O'Donnell has also performed in the Psychedelic Furs, the Thompson Twins and Berlin, and is also an active solo artist with a stress on vintage gear. Not surprising as in the early 1980s, while with The Thompson Twins, Berlin, and The Psychedelic Furs, O'Donnell was a big fan of synthesisers produced by Sequential Circuits, which produced such classics as the Prophet 5, Prophet T8, and Prophet VS. While on tour with The Psychedelic Furs, O'Donnell for instance set the record for having the most Sequential models onstage at one time.

O'Donnell equally started up his own label "99 Times Out of 10" or "99X/10" for short, and is assisting on Erin Lang's work, material that deserves a broader audience for sure. Side-Line contacted this keyboard fetishist par excellence for a chat on the past, present and future. (By Bernard Van Isacker)

SL: You started your own label a few years ago, "99 Times Out of 10". What bands are actually signed to it or do you just keep it as an outlet for you and Erin at the moment?

RO: Yes, Erin and I started the label in 2005, we released an amazing sampler (editor's note: featuring material by Alka, Dead Waiter, Ecce, Erin Lang, Goddamn Electric Bill, Pale Amber Glow, Roger O'Donnell, Sensory Factory, Somnolent, The Maybe) but it was just at the time when the record industry was starting its upheaval. We then made it a digital only label but we are once more reviving it and blowing new life into it. The most recent release is a 7" vinyl, "Fifi", by the band I manage, Machetes.

SL: Tell me, how did you come about this 4 piece all girl punk/glam/rock band? From the material I have heard they sound nothing like I would imagine from you... what are your plans with them?

RO: I found them in Toronto when I was forced to go to their second ever show. I saw something in them I hadn't seen in a long time and the next time I saw them they were better and just kept getting better I was a punk in art school so I can associate with the music even if its not something I have listened to in a long time. I manage them and look after everything. My plans are global domination ! We will see...

SL: Being digital only is not yet the way to go for a label?

RO: It was that physical production is so expensive and really not required. I think you can make a label work with just digital if you have some artists who sell !

SL: When can we expect the release of Erin's debut "You are Found" ? I noticed that the EP's "Choose your own adventure" and "Foundlings and strays" were out on iTunes via your own label?

RO: Later this year we are going to release Erin Langs debut album "You are Found" which we recorded in Weilheim, near Munich with Mario Thaler. I mixed my first album with Mario because I loved the sound he got on The Notwist and Lali Puna records. We asked him if he would produce Erin and he said yes, we jumped at the chance... We have everyone in mind who loves good music , Erin is an incredibly talented musician and I am very lucky to be able to work with her.

SL: I guess you will self-release the album as well? Wasn't it the plan to shop the album around?

RO: We have tried unsuccessfully to shop the record which has been very disappointing. Erin has always held out for a proper deal and release but we recently came to the decision that we should release it now. It was finished over two years ago and its time to move on. We are currently waiting on artwork and mastering then it will be pressed and released in September I hope.

SL: You run the label together?

RO: Yes we run the label together, she is level headed one haha I make all the wrong decisions!

SL: Your second solo album "Songs From The Silver Box", after 2006' "The Truth In Me", was released earlier this year on Great Society records in New York, people loved it but it didn't sell all that well you said. But what is selling well these days?

RO: Simply? Nothing hahaha! Its a challenging time for musicians and labels but there are huge opportunities for something different we just have to work out what that is.

SL: Why not releasing your 1994 album "Grey Clouds Red Sky" on iTunes?

RO: I have thought about that and I might do it , thanks for reminding me! It sounds so 90's though and I don't think it has aged well somehow.

SL: The same goes for "Big Buildings" which you wrote and recorded in the period 1994-1995. You talk about the material not being relevant enough, then again, collecting dust is not all that relevant either no? The same goes for "My Days Beyond" which you wrote in 1997-1998.

RO: You make good points but these recordings are more of a demo standard, maybe I will just give it away on my site?

SL: Do you actually use your Cure past to get things moving?

RO: Yes I use the name The Cure whenever I can hahaha! But it doesn't help unless I release a goth album which I am not about to do. I think it actually harmed me in the electronic world.

http://www.side-line.com/interviews_comments.php?id=43303_0_16_0_C

 

[The Seeker of Good Songs]

(interview continued)

SL: I gather from your comment that the environment in The Cure has always been rather tense? Was that a perfect ambient for you to work in?

RO: The environment in The Cure is very particular, I wouldn't necessarily say tense although the making of the last album was very tense. No it was the exact opposite of a creative, nurturing ambiance. It was driven by ego and stupidity. I hate tension in any form. I need harmony in which to create...

SL: Having played in The Cure, you don't have to worry about daily live any longer. That is what many think, but is that also the case?

RO: Hmm, well in a purely financial way I suppose 'yes' but we have to create to live. Again though I have the luxury of making music that I like and not chasing success, I would like success but on my own terms...

SL: By the way, there's this rumour that has been widespread. After his split from Depeche Mode, Alan Wilder was approached by Robert Smith with an offer to join The Cure around 1995. I guess that was just before you actually rejoined the band? Were you aware of this at the time?

RO: Hahahaha! That's not true and I'm sure Alan would have lasted about 5 minutes in that environment especially after having left Depeche Mode for the reasons he did! I met Alan a while ago and consider him a friend although we don't hang out and don't talk... I think he does his thing and I do mine, a collaboration would be fun though.

SL: Back to your own work, the jazz project Charlie Crow, formerly known as Vincenzos Moustache, offers a mix of jazz and electronics sounding quite lounge. Have you abandoned that project? You said you had enough songs for an EP so...? I especially liked the trumpets, that's Erin playing right?

RO: Yes, Erin plays trumpet and I am releasing it in September as well ... I really like it and was thinking earlier today of how I could play it live.

SL: I saw on MySpace you based the project in Lithuania for some reason?

RO: Ha, just a joke...

SL: Something tells me that marketing your own products is not really what you like to do? Music has to be found on its own? Are you someone who would enjoy doing what for example Nine Inch Nails does as far as distribution is concerned or has distribution another meaning for you?

RO: I am currently talking to a major distributor which would allow us to do so much more with the label, without distribution its very very difficult. It's easy for Trent to do what he does he has money and an audience. The Cure could do the same but Robert Smith doesn't have the confidence and likes to be treated as a star by his label.

SL: Running a record label, what kind of social media do you like including in your mix and why? Or are there media where you don't really see the relevance of it? Twitter for instance, just saying because it remains a mystery to many...

RO: Twitter is a bit mental isn't it ? Facebook is cool because its mainly my friends. I don't think any of these new media things really make much of a difference in the end. They are an excuse, I call it "busy work".

SL: How do you adapt as a musician and label owner to the current music market?

RO: I am trying my hardest but they keep moving the goal posts every day I wake up!

SL: In the current electro scene we often hear stock sounds or sequences, the craft of research seems more and more disappearing from the mainstream. Is this research in contradiction with having commercial success nowadays or have you heard proofs of the opposite lately?

RO: Everything , virtually everything I hear these days seems to me I have heard before it is very disappointing isn't it ?

SL: You are some kind of a fetishist when it comes to keyboards. Which ones have you been playing around lately and why exactly?

RO: Haha, I love my Moog Voyager but I have been playing my Steinway more recently as I am working on a piano and cello project with a friend in Toronto. The project is called Deux and my friend's name is Paul Vandongen. You can hear the first track on my website on the news page. He's a very old, very close friend of mine. I love the cello, I love my piano so its a perfect combination.

SL: How does a normal day look like for you?

RO: No such thing as normal right now, in fact I don't even know what normal is but it's not 9 to 5... I have a lot of work to do in my studio so that will be my home for the month of August.

SL: What websites do you visit daily?

RO:

* http://www.autosport.com/news/
News about F1 my other passion
* http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=aapl
to check on my shares in Apple
* http://www.new.facebook.com
to see what's going on in the rest of the world
* http://www.guardian.co.uk
newspaper

SL: And can you also give me an insight on what you actually listening to these days ? what albums?

RO: I don't really listen to anything. Especially when I am absorbed in creating. There is a wonderful unknown Canadian band though called Luxury Pond that I love and Efterklang from Denmark.

Label and online shop : www.99xoutof10.com
Band: www.rogerodonnell.com

from: http://www.side-line.com/interviews_comments.php?id=43303_0_16_0_C

(there are various youtube clips within the article that I didn't copy here)

 

[myboyracer]

thanks for the nice read.

 

[Scarlet Ibis]

I know Roger. I've met him in person and after that we used to talk online off and on. It is my opinion that he is an ass. I really can't tolerate him. In interviews he tries to come off as a great guy, but he's nothing like that, really. He talks behind people's backs, insults former colleagues (as you read here, only much worse) and he's very flippant and insensitive... IN MY OPINION. (<- Gotta make sure that it's clear that it's my OPINION.) Also, he has the spelling, grammar and punctuation of someone who never made it out of primary school... Which I wouldn't mention if I didn't dislike him so.

Hi, Roger. (He likes to google himself.)

 

[lilikoi]

I know Roger. I've met him in person and after that we used to talk online off and on. It is my opinion that he is an ass. I really can't tolerate him. In interviews he tries to come off as a great guy, but he's nothing like that, really. He talks behind people's backs, insults former colleagues (as you read here, only much worse) and he's very flippant and insensitive... IN MY OPINION. (<- Gotta make sure that it's clear that it's my OPINION.) Also, he has the spelling, grammar and punctuation of someone who never made it out of primary school... Which I wouldn't mention if I didn't dislike him so.

Hi, Roger. (He likes to google himself.)

he sure seems like whiner. been reading his tweets... he is one of those people who should not tweet...lol...

 

[Spicer]

I know Roger. I've met him in person and after that we used to talk online off and on. It is my opinion that he is an ass. I really can't tolerate him. In interviews he tries to come off as a great guy, but he's nothing like that, really. He talks behind people's backs, insults former colleagues (as you read here, only much worse) and he's very flippant and insensitive... IN MY OPINION. (<- Gotta make sure that it's clear that it's my OPINION.)

I heard that too! There were rumours about him, a chatroom and a webcam when the-cure.com first launched.

 

[lilikoi]

I just read on his twitter that he just found out you need to crack some eggs to make an omlet. wow. such insight

 

[Scarlet Ibis]

I just read on his twitter that he just found out you need to crack some eggs to make an omlet. wow. such insight

I despise him. Everything out of his mouth lately is anti-Robert, anti-Cure fan, etc. And he HATES anyone who is fat and goes on and on about it. As a fat person, I'm very offended. The assumptions he makes are just insane and mean-spirited. He called Antony of Antony And The Johnsons some nasty name or another. I don't know what he thinks he's doing. He's alienating everyone.

He's recently come out as a Morrissey fan. I'm certain this is just to piss Robert off. It's pathetic.

It's a good thing he doesn't matter. Have you heard his "music?"

 

[lilikoi]

It's a good thing he doesn't matter. Have you heard his "music?"

nah, I haven't been aware of anything he has done past cure. who has? but a few months ago he wrote on twitter that for the first time in his life he is content with his career. (???) well that REALLY makes sense now... lol.

 

[Scarlet Ibis]

nah, I haven't been aware of anything he has done past cure. who has? but a few months ago he wrote on twitter that for the first time in his life he is content with his career. (???) well that REALLY makes sense now... lol.

Yes, now that he is financially comfortable enough (thanks to Robert making sure that every songwriting credit goes to every member of the band) to relax.

Sorry I sound so irritable... That man just makes me so angry.

 

[lilikoi]

Yes, now that he is financially comfortable enough (thanks to Robert making sure that every songwriting credit goes to every member of the band) to relax.

Sorry I sound so irritable... That man just makes me so angry.

well, he did get fired and is sulking... but if he's as whiny as in his interviews and tweets then I can really understand why Robert fired him ;-)

 

[Scarlet Ibis]

well, he did get fired and is sulking... but if he's as whiny as in his interviews and tweets then I can really understand why Robert fired him ;-)

He was behaving this way long before he was fired. In fact, I'd wager that it's one of the reasons he was let go. The things he said to me about Robert... I couldn't believe it.

 

[lilikoi]

He was behaving this way long before he was fired. In fact, I'd wager that it's one of the reasons he was let go. The things he said to me about Robert... I couldn't believe it.

now you got me curious my dear... what DID he say?

 

[LolliWheel]

I met him a few times and I think he has a mood disorder, or just a total tool.

I remember him saying Simon was bipolar crazy, Jason was the easy skeeze when it came to groupies in the band, totally ripped on Robert's look and this was while he was still with them. He also said Robert was a total drunk polishing 2 bottles of red wine prior to each show.

I also remember on the chat on IRC people used to attack him for constantly singling out the much younger girls on the forum and apparently getting weird on camera with them. People would say he was a pedophile, which as I recall drove him CRAZY. While he does seem to fixate on youth, the jury is still out.

When it comes to fat comments, I do recall someone saying she mentioned to Robert about Roger on chat and while she wasn't gossiping Roger freaked and told her she was fat and ugly and not suited to live. Apparently he has never looked in the mirror.

Whatever or whoever he is, karma is kicking him in the face. He is obsessed with looks, but he's not even attractive. He only got women because he was in a band, a band he didn't even deserve to be in. I mean Carrot Top probably gets groupie action, he fails to see his own mediocrity.

He's not bright, nor witty, ugly yet plain, aging poorly and failing at an alarming rate. He doesn't have a humble bone in his body which makes barely any sense to me because he's not even a big deal to begin with.

As you can tell I don't like him. I don't hate him but finding a post where people agree to his asshatness, plus his tweets I just had to release my feelings on said tool.

/end rant

 

[Scarlet Ibis]

Lolliwheel - Yes! Yes to all you said!

I first met him backstage at a Cure show where he was chatting to two blond teenage girls who were giggling at every dumbass thing out of his mouth. It was downhill from there.

It amazes me how he speaks of Simon. Simon's a really nice man. No matter if he's bi-polar or not, why would he need to tell people that? I've always had the feeling that he resents the deep friendship between Simon and Robert.

 

[LolliWheel]

Roger just hates everyone because he is miserable and has nothing really to feel good about. To bash other musicians is usually looked down on. To go after your own band PLUS when you are the weakest yet oldest, least liked, etc? I just don't get it. Even someone of average IQ would IMO shut up and be grateful.

I assume this is why he likes the really young girls, they buy into anything.

Does he Google himself? I do hope he reads this. I wonder who else knows what we two strangers do!

He looks like the lovechild between Madeleine Martin from Californication and James Spader. Who was born with that disease where you age too fast. And with a major dose of the uggos

 

[inverse midas]

ok i've just seen this a bit late and am annoyed to see roger getting slagged off like this

i was there in those days on IRC circa 97 or so, i was quite young, roger was never inappropriate to any of the young girls and never did a thing on the webcams. much of the band/crew would go on them. the non-band members in the chat were the ones f***in around on there and it was always for a laugh. he may have talked to women and formed friendships but he did with men too. he helped a LOT of fans get tickets and backstage invites. have other members of bands so famous reached out to fans the same way? he could not have done even a tenth of the things the regular chatters did to each other, he's being held to an unfair standard.

i also cannot recall him ever insulting any fan (or band member even)'s looks. i know he has been extremely kind to some in particular who were not beauties.

i'm not his top fan, yes he speaks his mind and can come off pissy and harsh, that's his personality, he's a human and all people in bands are. you can say someone's a jerk but don't call them a sleaze or pedo when that wasnt the truth at all. i know this all for a fact because i was f***in there and had rumors started about ME as a chatter that werent true. the cure cult rumor mill is nasty and everything's secondhand.

robert does run his band like a control freak jerk. this has been confirmed numerous times. geniuses are going to be mad arent they?! robert smith has still made amazing music. but roger sticks to his gun and doesnt suck up to what robert always wants and thats why he got sacked.

 

[Scarlet Ibis]

inverse midas:

That's your opinion of him. I have my own. You keep saying you were there. Well, I wasn't on those chats, but I've met him backstage (where he was picking up -- or at least concentrating on chatting up -- teens) and I've talked with him privately numerous times. I just do not like the guy. He is, in MY book, a giant ass. Inappropriate and petulant.

That's how I see it. Sorry that I've offended you.

 

[inverse midas]

scarlet: i'm not roger, i have no reason to take personal offense. i do find it odd that you would spend so much time talking to someone you dislike.

my personal opinion of him is irrelevant. you can say whatever you like about someone's attitude, personality, whatever, but you are talking here about real people with families and lives and PRESENT careers...don't throw out shit like pedophile and sleazer with nothing to back it up hon.

the cure have many, many teenage fans. i became one as a teenager, as did my friends. the IRC ranged from high school students to adults. a lot of bands talk to their young fans. none of us experienced anything inappropriate from anyone affiliated with the band and believe me secrets didnt get kept. you assuming someone talking to teenage (check id?) fans backstage is a pick-up. hmm lots of speculation to throw out there..brave to type it out on some forum on the internet huh. this crap is in his PAST. the rumors simply are not true and were hurtful even to a nobody like myself that got involved. i was there. none of you were.

 

[Scarlet Ibis]

scarlet: i'm not roger, i have no reason to take personal offense. i do find it odd that you would spend so much time talking to someone you dislike.

my personal opinion of him is irrelevant. you can say whatever you like about someone's attitude, personality, whatever, but you are talking here about real people with families and lives and PRESENT careers...don't throw out shit like pedophile and sleazer with nothing to back it up hon.

the cure have many, many teenage fans. i became one as a teenager, as did my friends. the IRC ranged from high school students to adults. a lot of bands talk to their young fans. none of us experienced anything inappropriate from anyone affiliated with the band and believe me secrets didnt get kept. you assuming someone talking to teenage (check id?) fans backstage is a pick-up. hmm lots of speculation to throw out there..brave to type it out on some forum on the internet huh. this crap is in his PAST. the rumors simply are not true and were hurtful even to a nobody like myself that got involved. i was there. none of you were.

I spent time talking to him before I decided he was a jerk. There was often a glimmer of oddness and inappropriateness in the things he said, but I didn't call him on it because he was Roger O'Donnell and I didn't feel right calling a member of The Cure on their behavior unless it was truly over-the-top. My respect for The Cure was just too great. But then he became over-the-top and I told him how disgusted I was with him and stopped talking to him forever after that.

I never called him a pedophile or a sleazer. I met him twice in person and both times he was talking with young ladies who were wearing tarty outfits. I still didn't think anything too bad about that until I started talking to others. Then one young woman on a Cure chat board told me he'd tried to pick her up. It was hard to disbelieve it based on what I've seen and heard of him. I'm not saying it's a fact that he took these woman home and did nefarious things to him. All I'm saying is that it looks bad and you'd think he'd get a clue about how to act around young women backstage. For all I know he is a complete gentleman, but his behavior is what started up the rumors.

What really turned me against him are the flippant and cruel things he said about Robert Smith. I don't care if Robert's a tyrant from hell (He's not.), you don't go around slagging off your band mates while you're still in the band. If you have any class you don't ever slag them off even when you're no longer in the band. Especially not to the fans. I'm still aghast when I remember the things he said about Robert. Mocking things. And to me! Who was I? I was just a Cure fan. It was actually a rather cruel thing to do to ME, let alone Robert. I didn't want to hear those things about my idol and he should have known that.

By the way, I met another woman who had the same experience with Roger that I had. At that time too -- back when he was still in The Cure. It's no wonder Robert fired his ass! Did he really expect to keep saying these humiliating things about Robert and not have it get back to him eventually?

And it's not even like he learned his lesson and thought better of being this way. I have heard from friends that his Facebook updates often insult Robert. He insults the way Robert looks. He insults all fat people. (Me!) He insulted Antony of Antony and The Johnsons for being fat. This is a man who thinks of himself as being within the music industry and he's insulting someone who is really talented because he doesn't fit society's svelte ideal? JERK! And his new-found love for Morrissey is just embarrassing. It's like he sat down one day and thought, "How can I really bug Robert?" *eyeroll*

So... These are just my perceptions and my opinions. I haven't said anything that's not true of what I have seen and heard and read.

In his defense, I honestly do doubt that he was doing anything more inappropriate with underage girls than just talking to them. We'd have heard a lot more about this if the rumors were true. You're right that Cure fans don't keep things to themselves. I've been a Cure fan for 22 years, so I know. Hell, I probably know you. Wanna tell me who you are?

I just think he needs to take a look at how to act if you're within the public eye at all. He's doin' it ronggg. -- And it's made some people dislike him.