E.C.: Stretford started about 1991 as a trio right with just bass, drums, and guitar?

Carl: Almost right! The first show was Dec 1990.

E.C.: Did you always picture Stretford with an expanded lineup (horns, etc), or did that just occur in increments?

Carl: No I didn't always picture Stretford as a larger band really. What I did envision was a band that was more pop orientated than we originally sounded. The horns were initially added to create an extra melodic dimension whilst retaining the energy of the band.

E.C.: How did you come up with the name? Were there any other contenders?

Carl: Having gone through a million names, like bands often do, I decided on Stretford because it's the name of my hometown (a suburb Manchester, UK) and I wanted to bring a little bit of home into my band. Other names? Fast Cars was one - it's the name of a Buzzcocks song and I decided that I didn't want to advertise what was, at the time, my major influence!

E.C.: How long had you been writing songs?

Carl: When I put the Stret together, not very long, so just having a band of my own to help shape some of my ideas, has helped me as a writer.

E.C.: Growing up in England, do you feel that your influences were different than had you been an American of the same age?

Carl: Absolutely! No heavy metal or classic rock in Manchester in the late 70's, instead I was being subjected to the sounds of THAT time, i.e.: the original UK punk bands, pop rock and a bit of the Two-Tone stuff.

E.C.: Your use of horns in very British, leaning towards that British, brass-heavy sound. Did you want that sound intentionally?

Carl: Well it's funny because the horn melodies are not all written by the same person. A lot of the horn lines, in fact most of them, are Cynthia's (our sax player) work but I've masterminded a few of the melodies for the horns myself. I suppose that it is the arrangements themselves that give our horn section a very distinct feel, and this, I credit to Cynthia - I am usually very happy with what she comes up with.

E.C.: Who does the horn arrangements? Is it something in your head, or do you leave it to the players to come up with?

Carl: Well, like I say, it's often Cynthia's work. I will sometimes propose a horn melody for a new song and from there, let Cynthia finish arranging the harmonies and other nuances.

E.C.: Stretford's first releases were 45's, EP's and complilations. The Muffs just recently released a CD with all their rarities, out-takes and early singles. With the advent of CDR's and the relative ease/cost advantage of CD technology, have you ever thought of putting out a Stretford CD of all your non-album stuff?

Carl: Actually yes we have thought about it. The problem is that the longer we leave it, the more arduous a task it will be to decide what makes the cut, and what gets cut. Our drummer Ken reckons that if we release a comp of all our early (i.e.: rawer, more straight punk stuff) then we'd have our biggest hit!

E.C.: Speaking of which, one of my favorite Stretford songs is "Not On the Wheel", which is only available on the "Bicycle Rodeo" compilation. It's one of my fave Stretford horn arrangements. How did it end up on a comp and not the album?

Carl: It was an in between album song that was in progress around the time that were asked to contribute to "Bicycle Rodeo" album.Actually, the fact that it was to be on that comp., inspired the title of the song. Unfortunately we handed over a piss-poor recording of "Not on the Wheel" for Bicycle Rodeo, but it has since been re-recorded. Who knows, maybe it will end up on that proposed Stretford compilation!

E.C.: How did the first LP, "Crossing the Line" come about? I know that by this time you had tons of songs, cause I've heard some bootleg tapes that contained many songs that didn't make the first album, like the legendary punk classic, "Juice".

Carl: "Juice" is a piece of shit, and you know it! In all seriousness though, the time was ripe to record an album's worth of songs. Like you say, when it came to choosing songs for our debut album, we had literally tons of the damn things. Having said this, many of them were outdated stylistically and were very easy to can. Once we'd rooted out the expendables, there were around, err.... 13 songs left and they're all on "Crossing".

E.C.: Wasn't it recorded during one of your first major lineup-changes?

Carl: Yes, we'd just added a second guitarist and so for the first time, the core of the band was a four piece instead of the power trio.Even though there are two guitars on there, you wouldn't think it listening to that record. Fortunately the songs seemed to win people over, but it should have had a bigger guitar sound.

E.C.: Also, where did the title come from?

Carl: I like random titles, or at least ones that seem random - that are open to interpretation. I have my own interpretation and other people have their own as well.

E.C.: I was speaking about punk earlier, what are your feelings about it? Isn't it a cliché that a band suddenly isn't punk anymore when they get a record deal?

Carl: Well, to the people that contend that to be a punk band you have to reject the system to remain punk (i.e.: not dealing with the major labels) then I suppose it's true. Personally I think that's preposterous and if a band is a good band, they will still have something to offer whether they're on Sony or whether they're on "Crapstick" records or whatever.

E.C.: Did it piss you off when there were reviews talking about your "fake" British accent?

Carl: Well I guess it's an easy assumption for people to make that I'm faking it, as soon as they discover that we're based in Texas. It's funny though because I've always just tried to sound like that guy from Green Day.

E.C.: I actually took the time to read over all of your lyrics when I gave your albums another play. Actually having the time to READ the lyrics along with the song is something that I haven't had the time to do since high school. I actually got to see your songs in a new light. Before, it was the fast, melodic and catchy songs that caught my attention. But, the lyrics are really clever! Sometimes amusing, and sometimes with very pessimistic undertones. Yet, the songs are definitely NOT gloomy. Do you consider yourself a pessimist?

Carl: A pessimist? Nah, a realist maybe. I mean everyone with a little bit of suss knows that not everything's going to go their way all the time. I think that sometimes, by writing a song with, shall we say, a less than brilliant, shiny outlook and then setting it to a sweet and catchy melody, then it's a nice complement. What is life without a bit of irony?

E.C.: There are very little political comments in your songs. Is this because you feel it would bore the average listener? Do they really want to be hit over the head with politics?

Carl: Some people crave political content in their music. I prefer to deal with personal politics rather than what the clowns in power are doing.

E.C.: Most of your songs deal with emotions and subjects that everyone can relate to: losing a lover, fantasies of revenge, yearnings, observations of peoples behavior, doubt and insecurities. Is this a direct mirror of what's going on in your head? Could people read into Carl Normal if they took the time to study the lyrics? How important are the lyrics?

Carl: Hah, hah. I suppose that if people tried to read Carl through the lyrics then they'd construct an image of some hopeless romantic loser and nothing else! (Not to say that this is entirely untrue but...). I would say that yes, when I write a lyric, it is a reflection of what's going through my head - at the time anyway. Let's take an extreme example like "It's Over Now", a song that, if I actually lived it like I played it, I would have committed suicide by now! But yes, if a song really captures a mood, then I think that I've done a good job of capturing a moment in my life and hopefully, it's a moment that people can relate to. And in that respect, Stetford's lyrics are just as important as those of a band that sing about wanting to protect the world from an alien invasion, or something!

E.C.: There is that old saying, "happy songs sell records, sad songs sell beer". Do you try to mask your sad songs to sound happy?

Carl: As I mentioned earlier, yes, I think there's a certain real dichotomy between a sad lyric and a happy sounding melody. Having said this, a song like "Menthol Blue" sounds blue and is about something blue.

E.C.: Also, looking at the lyrics themselves. You could put them to completely different music without changing a word, for example, "I Know There Is Nothing I Can Do" or "Hard Way". Bamm, an instant sad country or R&B classic. Were you aware that your lyrics are so broad sweeping?

Carl: Well I'll take that as a complement and I hope that someday some famous country artist covers a Stretford song and makes us millionaires!

E.C.: Why did Stretford's last release, "Long Distance" take so long to come out? Weren't all the tracks in the can, finished for quite a while?

Carl: I'll try to say this without inflaming a barely-healed wound. Let's just say that one individual involved in the manufacturing of "Long Distance" had some different ideas about the song order, packaging and overall presentation of the album, than we did.

E.C.: You've collaborated with many of the members of Stretford in songwriting. Do you prefer to write as a team or solo?

Carl: To be perfectly honest, I would prefer to write solo if I felt like I had what it takes to cover all bases on my own but I don't. This is one reason I am happy to have such a fabulous bunch of musicians that, for whatever reason, continue to keep the Stretford juggernaut, or rather, the Stretford scooter, moving along. Some of Stretford's best songs have been collaborative efforts.

E.C.: On "Long Distance" there are many tracks that you had no songwriting credits on. We're you trying to make the band more democratic? I mean, even the first single, "Vice" was written totally by Cynthia (Sadler, the sax player). Does more song contributions from other members fuel your competitiveness?

Carl: Competitiveness? Yes, but what has actually happened since "Long Distance" came out is that two members of the band have become involved in bands of their own and so it's not like I get tons of new songs thrown at me every week. But yes, with songs like "Vice" and "Hard Way" which is Barry's, it keeps you on your toes.

E.C.: Compare "Crossing the Line" with "Long Distance"...

Carl: "Crossing the Line" was the result of 3 years improving as someone striving to write good pop hooks. I felt like at the time, those songs were as good as it could get. On "Long Distance" we didn't have as many songs to choose from because I'd been out of the loop for literally two years whilst looking after my Mum who was terminally ill. So what I'm getting at is that had there been more time to plan it, "Long Distance" would have had some newer songs on it, and perhaps a different feel. The fact that some of those songs are over two years old already, makes it an artifact for me but having said this there are some newer tunes that keep it modern enough. More importantly it introduces the Stretford sound with our full horn section, whilst on "Crossing" the horns were just beginning to make their mark. Also I trust that people will notice that "Long Distance" sounds a little better than the first one (I hope we didn't squander all our money on that up-market studio for nothing!)

E.C.: A non-LP Stretford song, "Looking Back Today" was recently on the comp CD, "Bands That Begin With S". Do you use leftover tracks from the album sessions or is this a newly recorded song?

Carl: In that particular case, we used a newly recorded song.

E.C.: Are you already looking ahead to the next Stretford album?

Carl: Yes, slowly but surely.

E.C.: Finally, which is it: Beatles or Stones?

Carl: The better pop band of the two!

E.C.: Who or Kinks?

Carl: The better songwriters of the two (hint - it begins with a K)

E.C.: Sex Pistols or Buzzcocks?

Carl: The one that writes more songs about relationships and personal experience.

E.C.: Oasis or Blur?

Carl: Well, I have to go with my roots to answer that one: it's the one that's from Manchester!!