| VOLUME 7 | ISSUE 3
EXTC / This Is Pop!
BY BART MENDOZA © MUSICSCENESD // MUSICSCENESD.COM
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English quartet XTC were one of the best groups to emerge from late 1970’s England, with a long string of classic singles over the next two decades, including “Senses Working Overtime,” “Earn Enough For Us,” “Making Plans For Nigel” and “Mayor of Simpleton.” The songs, which ranged in tone from punk to pastoral, were a great mix of hooks, melodies and inspired performances from the players, Andy Partridge (guitar), Colin Moulding (bass), Dave Gregory (guitar) and Terry Chambers (drums). The band has long since split, but on March 25, fans will have the opportunity to hear these great songs once more, when EXTC performs at the House of Blues. Featuring original member Chambers, alongside Steve Tilling (guitar), Steve Hampton (guitar) and Matt Hughes (bass), the band does an amazing job of playing these songs. For aficionados of the band, the March 25 date holds special significance. “This will be my first visit to San Diego since 1982 which makes it almost a 40th anniversary of the last live appearance of XTC,” noted Chambers. It was nearly four decades ago that the band gave what would be their final concert, on April 3, 1982, just a few blocks from the House of Blues, at the California Theatre. “I recall the show went very well,” Chambers said. “In those days, we never saw much of the cities we were playing in. All LOCAL NEWS | LocalUmbrellaNews.com
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we saw was the inside of hotels and venues. I would have loved to explore San Diego but never had that opportunity. Hopefully I will this time.” After 40 years, what inspired Chambers to play these songs again? “(Guitarist) Steve Tilling and I put in a lot of work to get a whole bunch of these songs together for a project called TC&I, with Colin Moulding from XTC,” he recalled. “But we only played eight gigs. Steve and I felt there was sufficient interest to continue, which is why we put the EXTC thing together.” The band’s eventual lineup came through personal connections. “Steve and I found each other during the TC&I project. Steve Hampton was recommended to us by a friend in London, Simon Parrish; and Matt Hughes, the bass player, had played with Steve Hampton before. They fit very well,” Chambers said. Interestingly, it was Andy Partridge that came up with the EXTC name. “I met Andy Partridge socially and we discussed my plans to move forward with a live band,” Chambers said. “Several names cropped up but in light of the material we’re playing, Andy concluded it couldn’t be called anything other than EXTC.” Did he consider it important to have Partridge’s approval for the band? “I would have continued this project whether it met with band approval or not and, as it turns out, they don’t disapprove.” The current tour includes songs from throughout XTC’s @LocalUmbrellaMedia
extensive discography. “Steve and I already knew 50% of the songs through the TC&I project,” Chambers said. “So we felt it best to start there and add what we thought were some of Andy’s strongest songs that we could do justice to live.” Being on the road after such a long gap, has he noticed many differences between touring now and back in the day? “Touring is certainly on a smaller scale regarding venues and equipment, but the distances between gigs remain the same,” Chambers said. “Right now, the biggest difficulties for touring involve Covid-related issues.” Looking back, how does he feel about the impact XTC’s music has made and how inf luential his playing is? “I don’t see XTC’s music as being particularly inf luential as we were inf luenced by many bands before us,” Chambers replied modestly. “Any musical impact we’ve had has just filtered through. I think it’s for others to decide.” For his part Chambers is happy to once again be making music, with EXTC. “Performing with EXTC is a joy because we don’t have the pressure of a record company or manager pushing us, we decide where we go, what we play, and how much we play. These are extremely talented musicians,” he said. “They’re great fun to be around and old enough to know how to get the job done while having a good time. www.extc.co.uk
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