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Amazing Graze

Photo by Donald Milne

Coco Heads: Supergrass members Mickey Quinn (left), Danny Goffey (middle) and Gaz Coombes

Supergrass borrows from '60s hippie music and '70s soul

By Nicky Baxter

"Some groups are more concerned about their image," declares Mickey Quinn. "I wear the same clothes I [always] have. I mean, Green Day with their green Mohawks ..." His voice trails off, perhaps concerned he might be seen as slagging a beloved band to boost his own group's image. Quinn quickly points out that he has nothing against the Berkeley outfit. And why should he? The bassist is one-third of Britain's new boy-wonder group, Supergrass. Unlike Green Day's, their English accents are authentic.

Just now, Quinn is marveling over the view from his hotel room in Salt Lake City, Utah. "We don't have mountain ranges like this in England," he says. "It's really quite something." So is I Should Coco (Capitol), Supergrass' maiden release. The album is a joyous romp through Mod-era pop, psychedelia, classic British post-punk and just about anything else the trio finds to its liking.

"We listen to a lot of different kinds of music," sighs Quinn, who apparently has been asked the question a little too often. "We're not a '60s-revival band! We like things from the '70s and beyond as well; everything from Sly and the Family Stone and Motown to Frank Black and Tricky." Interestingly, he leaves out such obvious influences as the Beatles, the Who, Small Faces and the Rolling Stones.

Unlike a lot of indie-rock moaners who relish shoving their bruised and battered inner child in our faces, these boys just wanna have fun. Which is understandable, since they're just kids: Vocalist and guitarist Gaz Coombes is 19; drummer Danny Goffey, 21. At 24, Quinn is the grizzled old guy.

The group's genesis can be traced to the academic environs of Oxford, where, four years ago, Coombes (then just 15) convinced Goffey that they should form a duo. Calling themselves the Jennifers, they fell under the dour influence of the shoe-gazer scene in London, cut a quickie EP and promptly disbanded. Down but not defeated, they retreated to Oxford and commenced woodshedding, thrashing out a new identity.

Gaz plugged into the Beatles vibe with a little Hendrix on the side. Goffey, meanwhile, nicked a few drum licks from Keith Moon. When the pair ran into bass-head Quinn, an old acquaintance, up cropped Supergrass.

The group's initial singles, "Caught by the Fuzz," "Man-size Rooster" and "Strangeones," all leapfrogged into the Top 20 in the U.K. "Caught by the Fuzz" is particularly delectable, recounting the time when Coombes was busted for dope and hauled off to jail.

Quinn and his mates are optimistic that with constant stateside tour assaults, they can make it in the U.S. as well. "But," allows Quinn, "it's not something that keeps me awake at night. I want to be in the band for a long while. And I earn enough money to pay my rent, so I'm happy."

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