THE BOX TOPS – The Comeback
Interview with Gary Talley and Bill Cunningham
1. What made the band to come back and what is the current line up?
G.T.: Bill Cunningham and I are the only original members who are able to play at this time. We’ve been playing these songs for almost 50 years now . We know a lot of people love these songs and we do, too. We had a rehearsal to see if we could do a good job on this material , and the rehearsal went very well.We will also add Rick Levy on guitar and vocals,Barry Walsh (who played 14 years with us)on keys, and Ron Krasinski on drums.We will add horns on our full band gigs.
B.C.: We recognized people still wanted to hear our songs. Who better to perform them? The question was how to make that happen without our lead vocalist, Alex Chilton. Perhaps promoters would have been happy to have us hire a lead vocalist to imitate Alex’s style, similar to what other groups in like situations have done. That didn’t seem a “Memphis thing” to do. Instead, we decided to cover lead vocals ourselves, an approach that’s more true to our Memphis roots. Regarding the current lineup, we’ve surrounded ourselves with veteran musician friends we have known for years and who understand us, as well as our musical approach.
2. How do you position the band in the market, a band of veterans , a rock band or what?
G.T.: I think we’re an original ’60’s Memphis music band.
B.C.: We are a Memphis band. We don’t label ourselves beyond that.
3. Do you have any information about new recordings to share with us?
G.T.: No recording plans made yet.
B.C.: No hard plans to record, although both Gary and I have participated in certain recordings recently, and there are people who would like us continue recording, so who knows what the future brings.
4. Do you plan to tour and where?
G.T.: We will tour
B.C.: Touring dates are just beginning to be arranged. Focus at the moment is in the United States, but we would entertain dates abroad too.
5. How did the success of the track “The Letter” affect your career?
G.T.: Success of “The Letter” put the Box Tops name on the map. It wouldn’t have happened without that song.
B.C.: “The Letter” started it all for us, both domestically and internationally. We still enjoy playing it, after all these years.
6. How did the loss of Alex Clinton affect you as a band?
G.T.: It was devastating. We’ve known each other since we were teen-agers. He had a great voice and was a very musical person in general. He had very high standards.
B.C.: As Gary says, Alex’s passing was devastating to all of us. Personally, I had known Alex since elementary school. We miss him greatly.
7. How do you face the fact that the album sales are not effective anymore but the bands have to be on the road every time? How does this affect the veteran bands?
G.T.: It affects everybody the same , veteran or not. Younger acts are usually able to do longer tours and will put up with more hardships on the road.
B.C.: I think our desire is to make good music, whether in live performances or on recordings. Anything more goes beyond being a musician or artist.
8.What is the next step for the band?
G.T.: Next step:rehearse
9. What is the current process of the band for the recordings?
G.T.: No recording plans at this time.
10. Do you use the modern technology as a tool for your music composition and recording?
G.T.: Not for composition, but yes for the recording process.
B.C.: We probably gravitate to familiar approaches in composition and recording that we have grown up using, but we enjoy the abilities new technologies provide.
Information: http://boxtops.com/
