STEVIE R. PEARCE – AN INTERVIEW WITH ANNE ESTELLA

Stevie R. Pearce and The Hooligans are currently taking their brand new album, ‘Major League Son of a Bitch’, across the UK for a long-awaited road trip. Consummate hell raiser Stevie takes time out between shows to discuss the new record, future plans, and his upcoming 2022 tour performing with Jizzy Pearl’s Love/Hate. From the throat-grabbing opening track ‘Rip It Out’, to the rip-roaringly punky ‘Lunatics by the Pool’, this collection of bangers is all killer, no filler!

[ANNE] The 28th August saw the launch of your new album – where did you get the title from and how would you describe the songs on it?

[STEVIE] I thought it was quite fitting! Honestly though, I’m a big fan of a comedy show by Matt Berry called Toast of London, it’s hilarious. In it he plays a kind of struggling actor, who can’t get a break and ends up in a bunch of different bizarre roles. I guess I relate to that, haha. He ends up in a really bad sitcom and his onscreen girlfriend cheats on him or something and he comes out with this amazing line; “Don’t treat me like I’m a major league son of a bitch”. I thought that was awesome.

[ANNE] Do you have a favorite track on the album and if so, what is it and why?

[STEVIE] I don’t, because to pick one is to detract from the others, from a writing point of view. There are some I’m more drawn to some days than others. They are all my favorites as they are all the result of real events.

[ANNE] What sort of things do you like to write about?

[STEVIE] For me it has to be real – I can’t write about things I don’t understand or that are made up. They have to be believable, that’s why I stick to things I’ve experienced or been through. My biggest Influences are people like Warren Zevon, Donnie Vie, John Prine, where lyrics are concerned – I’d hope one day to have the connection between understanding and putting into words that they have, in a way that people can relate to. I’m nowhere close, but that’s what I love listening to. It’s heartbreak, adversity, happiness, the bizarre, humor. I think all too often the lyrical content of the song is overlooked or not often mentioned in reviews, etc. It’s not acknowledged enough, and in some songs I hear
on the radio the lyrics seem like an after thought. I wonder if people listen to things in the same way anymore…

[ANNE] Introduce us to “The Hooligans”! When and how did you get together to form the band?

[STEVIE] We’ve all been friends a long time. Carl has been in pretty much everything I’ve done musically, so when he and Lance left the Bullets it was a no-brainer. We live close and we have a great work ethic. Lance Skybaby is just a full-blown musician, he and Carl have another project called the
Small Town Saviours, which is his baby and has a new album coming. He’s either doing that or he’s with me, or with his woman. I guess he’s the CJ to Ginger and really added some great rhythm guitar tracks to the album. He plays so differently to me, like, properly! And Richard Jones on Bass is my aide-de-camp, confidant if you will. Solid.

[ANNE] What’s in your diary for the rest of the year?

[STEVIE] Whilst writing this we are half way through the MAJOR LEAGUE SON OF A BITCH tour. On Saturday 18 th September we play at The Pub Lancaster opening for The Quireboys. Then on 1 st October we have the Sal in Nottingham, then Oct 2 nd we have MOGSTOCK In Sheffield, which is for an excellent cause. It’s great – we get to see a lot of our friends. We have a few shows to announce next year also, but we are sitting on those at the moment. I’ve been writing a lot recently, and will be going back in with Dave Draper in November to record. This year has been a struggle for sure – I’m lining things up for next year in a much different way and hopefully some festivals. We are at Hard Rock Hell Spring Break in Great Yarmouth in March also. I’m out with Jizzy Pearl all through February too!!!!

[ANNE] You’re known, amongst other things, for playing guitar for Jizzy Pearl’s Love/Hate – how did that partnership come about? Didn’t he lend his vocals to the album’s title track?

[STEVIE] A very long story short: I had just left Warrior Soul and was working on the first Hooligans album. Jizzy was looking for a new UK-based guitar player and reached out to Christian Kimmett (Bannermans King / Warrior Soul). I guess Jizzy checked me out online, and had Kimmett get in touch with me. It’s been nuts ever since, a lot of big tours, here and in the US. It’s an honour – there aren’t many of those guys left, the real deal. I feel like I did my apprenticeship with that era of Rock musician, there’s a certain way of doing things and behaving. I’ve definitely improved as a musician… you have to push yourself. I had been working on some of his tracks for his new album, ‘HELL, CA’, out early next year on Golden Robot. I felt like ‘Major League’ needed something a bit extra and he was perfect for it. It’s not often he lends that voice to other people’s work so I was really happy he agreed to sing the chorus on it.

[ANNE] Who else have you worked with and who would you like to work or collaborate with in the future?

[STEVIE] I previously played for Kory Clarke / Warrior Soul for about three years, before that I had been in Falling Red and was Fortunate enough to tour with Mikey Lawless – he joined the same time I did. Before that I formed the Black Bullets. The second incarnation featured Billy Tee, now of The Suicide Notes. We did a great EP back then called ‘Bullet Through Your Heart’. There’s a whole bunch of others, but that would just be name-dropping for the sake of it. For the new album I worked with CoCoa Cvrino on ‘Fleshwound’. He’s a great poet, spoken word, an obscure life, with an interesting gritty way of looking at things. I like that a lot, I think it throws an unexpected bizarre curveball. Dan Leese plays piano on ‘If I Were Blind’ and I’m really hoping to do more with him. Of course, Dave Draper is pretty irreplaceable as a producer – not just a guy that hits record and fucks off for an hour… I’m looking forward to being back in with him again. Carl Donoghue had a huge influence on the record too. In the future? Wow, I’d love to try to work with Donnie Vie – that would be great. There’s a lot of great talent about also, Ben Marsden (The Spangles) can do things on a guitar that I can’t and we’ve been batting a cover song back and forth. Something possibly with Austin Rocket of The Hip Priests… I also met Gill Montgomery of The Hot Damn! / The Amorettes recently – she’s super cool and has an ace voice.
Who knows! I think keeping the relationships I have now though is key, The lads and I have a good formula, particularly with Carl. I can’t lose with those bastards!

[ANNE] What are the biggest challenges currently facing you as a touring musician and how can they be overcome?

[STEVIE] The only challenge in music is yourself and your expectations – I don’t expect anything, it’s a day at a time. Yes there’s covid, movements that come and go, promoters, politics and cliques, but everyone has a common goal: To play Rock and Roll (in most cases). There’s a ton of bands now, a ton of festivals that everyone wants a slot at. For us, we do our thing and don’t pay too much attention to
obstacles that need to be overcome… It’s all part of it. I’ve been around just long enough to know that you never know what’s around the corner.

[ANNE] Where do you see yourself and the band five years from now?

[STEVIE] Since I never know what’s round the corner it’s kind of hard to tell… I know I will be still be writing and playing anywhere that will have me, another few albums out. I’m not going anywhere.

[ANNE] You’ve been doing ‘An Idiot’s Guide’ series on your YouTube channel – for those who haven’t yet seen it – what’s it all about?

[STEVIE] In a world of high definition and everything being pretty and fun, I like to sometimes show how it really is. I never realized when I got older, just how real-life Spinal Tap would become. We don’t have big budgets, or management or anything and don’t belong to a movement. Nothing’s a mystery anymore and I’m not into deceiving people into thinking that we are doing a lot better than we actually are haha.

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To learn more about Stevie R. Pearce and The Hooligans, check out their website

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Anne Estella
Freelance Music Journalist & Presenter
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