 Michael
"Olga" Algar, as we know by now, will be stepping into
the shoes of bass player for the forthcoming tour.
We caught up with him for a chat about it all, and what are the
Toy Dolls up to these days?
As always, Ciaron's questions look
like this. Dave
Bekkema's questions look like this.
How did you helping out The Dickies come to be?
I guessed this would be yer first question!
I like to be predictable!!!
The Dickies and The Toy Dolls have played quite a few shows together
in America over the last 15 years or so, and I was always knocked
by their fantastic show, they always give 100%. I saw them in Shimokitazawa
in Tokyo last year, Leonard was dying of flu in the dressing room
before hand, yet 10 minutes later they were out there, they were
superb, I admire them a lot and I really like the songs, and when
I got a hold of "Puppet Stew" I e-mailed Stan to congratulate him
on such a great album. Anyway, I just happened to say if Rick can't
do any tours, then I would love to play bass, I thought it would
make a nice change from guitar. Surprisingly enough Stan said they
wanted to do a European tour in November, and Rick is unable to
do it, so why don't I do it!....How could I refuse! Since then I
have been stuck in me bedroom learnin' 25 Dickies ditties!
How drunk was Stan when you let him sign the
contract for joining them as a bass player?!
Not at all, I was though!
This could actually be history in
the making here, I'm pretty sure that I'm right in saying that you'll
the first Brit to be included in a Dickies lineup! Are you looking
forward to not being the front man, taking more of a back seat as
it were?
I think I am the first British guy in The Dickies, I guess? I AM
looking forward to not being the front man, I never wanted to be
anyway! I just ended up doing vocals coz we couldn't find the right
singer!
A cruel twist of fate eh!!
That's right! I always think this! We had some gigs to do and I
was just kinda shoutin' the vocals at rehearsals until we found
a singer, it never happened, so rather than cancel the forthcoming
shows, we tossed a coin, I lost!
 A
question that has been raised a few times is "Does this spell the
end of The Toy Dolls"?
No, it doesn't spell the end of The Toy Dolls, we are taking a break
from touring at the moment, we have toured constantly for numerous
years, and we thought it was time to take a break before things
became stale, when we feel we can give it 100% , then we will tour
again, though we are still releasing albums.
Will playing
with the Dickies give you new inspiration for writing new songs?
Yes, most probably. Even just being out
on tour gives you inspiration.
You're widely regarded as
being a 'guitar wizard/ guitar genius', how do you think you will
find the transition to bass guitar?
Guitar genius! Wow! That's not what me girlfriend calls me! I
am flattered!
Absolutely. Anyone I've ever spoken to
about the Toy Dolls has always cited you as an amazing player.
Thank you!! I wouldn't say amazing, an original style maybe! I
am not as good as Stan or the guy from Peter and the Test tube
Babies. They ARE amazing. I think the bass guitar is a different
thing completely, its part of the rhythm section and I believe
its best to put a "bass guitar head" on, rather than just play
it like a guitar with fat strings! I know a few guitar players
who have moved to bass, and automatically play everything an octave
higher than it should be! Also in the past I have been strumming
away and following the snare drum, whereas the bass tends to play
on the beat, so its time to listen to the bass drum!
I found the transition fairly straightforward,
but then my playing is straight out of the Dee Dee Ramone academy
of bass! You know, just stick to the root notes and you can't
go wrong!!
Yeah! I like Dee Dee, he played perfectly, for The Ramones! Actually,
some of The Dickies bass lines are not a simple as they originally
sound! i.e.: She's a Hunchback! Anyway, I always wanted to be
a bass player when I first saw a bass guitar in a shop window
for £14.00, I was 12 years old, it took me almost two years to
save up for it with me paper round money, I used to look at it
every week! Sad thing is by the time I went to the shop to buy
it, it had gone up to £15.00!! I was devastated! So I just bought
a guitar instead! That's how my musical career began.
 How
about the backing vocals, how's your harmonizing?!
I am a wonderful singer, have you not had the pleasure of sampling
my delightful voice! Mmmmm, I shall do my best, though I can't pretend
to be Tom Jones! Shoutin' "Hey!" And "Where'd you get it!?" shouldn't
prove too much of a problem!
Have you rehearsed
with the guys yet?
No, not yet, we shall be rehearsing in October, though I am trying
to learn all the bits everyday and night in England now before
I go. Rick is gonna show me some of the parts also.
How faithful are you trying
to remain to the original basslines?
Fairly faithful I think, these are tried and tested bass lines,
and I like them! Though there will be subtle changes, I don't
want to change anything, rather enhance things maybe.
When you first picked up the guitar, who inspired you?
When I was 13 years old, musically I was inspired by Dr.Feelgood,
Slade, Sham 69, Buzzcocks etc. but most inspiration came from
being bullied at school for years, it made me wanna try to prove
I could do something and be liked by people, I am still tryin'!
You could draw a parallel between The Toy
Dolls and The Dickies in as much as they've both had a massive
UK top ten hit single. Did you expect Nellie the Elephant to capture
the nations hearts as much as it did?
I wouldn't say it captured the nations hearts, it just sold a
lot! Yeah, we were surprised how many it sold, though 75% of copies
were bought by parents for their 5 year olds!
It's funny you mention that because both of my kids (who are 2
and 3 years old) both love that song! I guess it's just got that
sort of appeal. Start 'em young that's what I say!
Yeah, its easier to brainwash people the younger they are!
I seem to recall Peter Powell refusing
to play it on Radio One!
Actually I think it was Steve Wright? It's so long ago, I don't
remember! That's not a prompt to ask me my age though! I will
never be as old as Stan & Leonard!!
I definitely remember Mr. Powell introducing
you on Top Of The Pops after he'd sworn that he never would.
Of course, now I remember, I was 11 at the time.
Hey you must be the same age as me then
and I'm 32!
Yeah, something like that!
How is Nelly doing
these days?
Never heard of her!
 What
have you been up to recently?, I hear you have gone into production.
I have been writing another album, which I am
in the middle of, and I have been producing a band from Tokyo called
Lolita No 18, I have produced 2 albums for them, they are Japan's
most popular all girl punk band. I first heard them in 1999 when
they asked me to be producer. I was sent an album by them which
was produced by Joey Ramone. It was very nice, they take a lot of
pride in their work and, like the Dickies, they always give 100%,
I was impressed and decided to work with them, its been very enjoyable.
Joey's death was certainly a great
loss wasn't it?
To me it was, yes. Its always sad when someone leaves us, I was
upset when John Lennon , Freddie Mercury and Johnny Thunders died,
though it feels even more sad with Joey Ramone because of the inspiration
he gave most of our type of bands. I am sad also because I still
never got to meet him after all these years. We owe him so much.
I was lucky enough
to meet him many years back and he was very courteous to all the
fans who'd turned out to meet the band. It seems a shame that
a band that always wanted to be a singles band got very little
in terms of singles chart success.
Was commercial success ever of interest to you when the Toy Dolls
started out?
In the very early days yes, but I like to think I have matured
a bit! I remember signing to E.M.I and they insisted we used their
producer guy, he never understood our band at all, but we just
let him do what he wanted with us because we thought it would
bring us success, he made me change my voice and guitar sound,
I felt so uncomfortable, and it sounded terrible. From that point
I did exactly what we wanted to do, if I feel unhappy with something
then I won't do it. If someone cramps your style, you become depressed,
your performance suffers and it back fires on you eventually.
Now I always say to people do what YOU WANT TO DO, not what the
record company/management tell you to do. Being proud and happy
with your work is the most important, stuff the commercial success,
of course its a bonus if you achieve that also!
Given that a number of The Toy Dolls songs
concerned themselves with characters from UK soap operas, do you
still find time to watch them all nowadays?
It's difficult to be honest, I have been living in Tokyo for 7
months, so I have lost track of who's who! There are soap operas
in Japan though! They can't compare with Coronation Street! Maybe
coz I can only decipher 20% of what they are talkin' about! I
am in England now, so I am trying to catch up on everything.
I think Corrie is good no matter how long
you've been away from it, it only takes one episode to catch up.
Aye, I agree with you there, it has the characters, script, good
actors and humour, which the other soaps don't possess.
What do you make of the new 'Crossroads'?
Mmmm, I have watched it once or twice, its different from the
original, I didn't expect it to be the same, however, I think
its crap! I have heard its gonna be axed??
I don't know about that but it doesn't
really surprise me. Mind you the original Crossroads was pretty
crap too, but it was one of those things that was so crap it was
good!
How different is
Japan compared with England?
Well, the difference is immense! And as regarding music, the Japanese
aren't cynical like the English, if a credible punk band has one
of their songs used on a shampoo TV advert, their name will appear
in the corner of the screen, people don't think, its a SELL OUT,
they will gain even more fans, and why not? Of course its different
if the band are totally opposed to the product they are promoting.
Also on TV and screens in city centres, there are loadsa punk
bands playing, some really nice ones. Japanese are also more concerned
with the visual performance of a band than the English are. I
am not saying that's a good or bad thing, its just the way they
are! I think the main difference between the English and Japanese
is, England generally produce the better bands and songs, but
the Japanese are more precise musicians, (that doesn't mean better!)
I have seen Japanese punk bands performing songs that I have written,
but they sound like the studio recordings! The Japanese are perfectionists
(not a bad thing!), they take for ever to make decisions (!) and
they never give a negative answer. Oh! and Japanese females are
the most beautiful, to me anyway!
 Where
there some personal reasons why you lived in Japan ?
Yes, there was a personal reason why I lived in Japan.....I fell
in love with one!
How are you at making Japanese food, sushi
for example? How do you get on with the chopsticks?
I cant make English food, never mind Japanese food! Chopsticks
take a bit of practice, but even Japanese and Chinese agree that
a good old knife 'n' fork is easier!
Have you always been a Dickies fan?
Always! Leonard is the best singer in the world! I couldn't play
in the band if I wasn't a fan.
Are there any particular Dickies songs
you're looking forward to playing?
Yes! My favourite 3 songs are Howdy Doody, Manny, Moe & Jack and
She's a hunchback, though the 50,000 others are great also!
OK, let's turn that question on it's head, are
there any tracks that you'd love to play that aren't on the set
list?
Er, yes... but don't tell Leonard & Stan yet, I've
already got a pile o' songs to learn! I would like to do Free
Willy and Pretty Please Me.
Might we be treated to a rendition of Nellie the Elephant on the
tour?
Oh, I am not sure, if Leonard wants to sing it, maybe! Though
I can't remember the notes! ..What key is it in?
I think it starts with F# if that's any
use!!
Right, and what's the other 2 chords!?
You got me there!
Can we expect any
Toy Dolls gigs next year somewhere in Europe?
If we feel we can perform to a high standard, yes.
Do you have any final messages for all
the people out there in Dickie, and indeed Toy Doll, land?
Well, I am really proud to be playin' with the Dickies, lookin'
forward to seein' you all in Europe. I shall do me best, but don't
shout at me if I get a few o' the notes wrong!
Thanks to Olga for his time,
I'm sure he will be warmly welcomed at the forthcoming shows. |
