On the road again: Echo and the Bunnymen hop the pond
The American dream: Ian McCulloch doesn't understand why some folks give the USA a bad rap. "People say it lacks culture — it is culture," says the Echo and the Bunnymen frontman, who'll bring the British band famous for '80s hits like The Killing Moon and Lips Like Sugar over for a North American tour that begins tonight in Santa Ana, Calif., and continues through Aug. 19. "The world's stuffed full of the culture America created in such a small amount of time." Think the ancient Romans were cultured? Think again, says McCulloch. "The Colosseum, that was the place where the Christians fell to the lions; that's not culture, that's barbarism. Whereas, America, it's like Lou Reed, The Doors." The names of American cities possess a magic to McCulloch's ears. "Even Pittsburgh sounds brilliant. It always thrills me — 'Wow, we're playing Chicago, San Francisco, Detroit.' There's a dream feel to America."
Playing for the faithful: The Liverpool group first played the USA in 1981, and American fans made an early impression on McCulloch. "On our first tour, people would come to us, even then, saying, 'You've changed me life,' " he says. "They kind of hold on to things and believe that it matters somewhere down the line to keep faith." American fans, he says, "stick with things, and go deep into things. It means something to them. It's not because of a review, particularly. They're willing to let their lives be changed."
Meteorites strike: "We always play The Killing Moon, Lips Like Sugar, The Cutter and Nothing Lasts Forever," says McCulloch, 55. But expect the band to play several songs from its latest album, Meteorites, released in June in the USA. "I think with this collection, we've got songs that will become staple favorites." He's so convinced, he says, "I think I'll extend the set and risk losing me voice. It is hard sometimes to go, no, we're not playing this. So I think on some occasions, I'll just lengthen the set by 15 minutes."
Turning a setback into success: McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and original bassist Les Pattinson played their first show together in November 1978, opening for the Teardrop Explodes at a renowned Liverpool nightclub called Eric's. First, the drum machine — the "Echo" in the group's name — went on the fritz. When they got it started again, they played one song continuously for 20 minutes because they couldn't figure out how to turn the thing off. Depending on the perspective, it was either a disaster or a breakthrough. McCulloch opts for the latter option. "I was looking a million dollars — when the dollar was worth something." While Sergeant frantically tried to get Echo running, "I just stood there, and so did Les," McCulloch says. "The audience was left thinking, bloody hell, this is a weird band. They don't even play anything or do anything a cappella? They just stand there, while this fella struggles with this box? What the hell's that box, anyway? Then he got it working, and it meant that we were on stage twice as long as we would have been."
Imagine a Moon-less night: As heady as the Bunnymen's early days might have been, McCulloch prefers having expanded options for his set list now. "I'd hate to go back and not be able to play The Killing Moon, which we couldn't until we wrote it," he says. In fact, most of the group's set-list staples weren't part of those first U.S. shows. "Imagine that, we only had the first two albums to play — there'd be no Seven Seas, no Lips Like Sugar, no Nothing Lasts Forever."
Among the masters: McCulloch's not one for rehashing the past. "We'll play old songs in a set, 'cause you do." He sees himself more in the vein of a Pablo Picasso: "There's another period around the corner, whether it's blue, yellow or pink spots." And when McCulloch takes the measure of his masterpieces, he sets high standards for comparison — like, Michelangelo, for starters. "Even though he's brilliant, he never had to sing the statue of David," McCulloch says. "Try singing The Killing Moon, Da Vinci, and I'll paint my version of the Mona Lisa."