1. 12/02/16 OliviaJordanou –Alice Morrisand CourtneyLeigh- PrettyinPunk
Alice Morrisand CourtneyLeighclaimthey’re notgirlswholike tomake plans,butasPrettyinPunk
readythemselvestoembarkontheirbiggest,mostambitioustourtodate,that seemsalmosthard
to believe.The lastfewyearshasseenthe punkrockduo – completedbyguitaristCourtneyLeigh
and vocalistAlice Morris – travel the world,consumingrockandproductiontechniqueswhile
amassingawards,bendingmindsand making4:4 timingseemwoefullyunimaginative.
Surelyyoudon’t getto playenormo-venueslike London’s AlexandraPalace –whichisbut one of
eightstopsinthe UK ona tour thatkicksoff thisweek – without,atthe veryleast,bucketloadsof
ambition?
“We veryrarelyplanahead”, Courtney says.“We’re notreallythe sortof striving,ambitiouspeople
whosay thingslike,‘we wanttobe the biggestbandinthe world!’ – That’s notwhat we’re inthis
for.We’re justreallyluckytobe growingatthis pace that we have done forthe past three years –
little stepsforward,nogiantleaps,justhumblytrottingalong.”
‘Humblytrottingalong’istypicallymodestwaytodescribe the journeyPrettyinPunkhave made,
and,earlyon, they’dbe incredulousatbestif toldof theirfuture successes.“Iremembergoingto
ReadingFestival andwatchingBlink182on the mainstage”,announces Courtney.“Itwasearlyon a
typical Readingday – sun shining,aciderinmy hand,andI saidto Alice,‘justimagine if we canget
to that level.Thatwouldbe amazing.’Itwasn’tsomethingwe were strivingfornecessarily,we just
thoughtit wouldbe fun.”
Big stagesmightnot,to thisday,be at the forefrontof PrettyinPunk’sthoughts,butbigideasfill
theireverywakingminute.Forthistourthey’ve optedtoinclude arunningnarrative,andaDVD
documentingeverydayof theirjourneyaroundthe UK.They’ve alsobeenspendingweeksbecoming
expertsinquadrophonicsound,whichusesspeakersatfourcornersof a listeningspace tocreate a
surround-soundeffect,allowingforall kindsof theatrical effects.PinkFloydworkedwithitinthe
‘70’s, but it’snotreallybeenusedinthe rockworld.InPrettyin Punk’spioneeringway,they’re
makingan audio-nerd’sdreampunkashell.
“It’ll be reallyawesome –the audio,the visuals,the lighting”,smiles Courtney.Productionhas
alwaysbeenclose tothe guitarist’sheart,headingupprogrammingduties andoriginallyintendingto
be a recordingengineer.“Itseemedabitmore groundedthanwantingto be a rockstar”, she says.“I
neverreallyhadanydreamsas such – dreamingseemedabitsilly.”Asaformerlyexcitable child
whose confidencetookaknockfollowingherparents’move toScotland,she foundsolace inmusic,
embracingeverythingfromclassicrockto alternative topunk.She submergedherselfin music
duringa six-monthperiodfollowinganothermove inwhichshe joinedaschool inCoventry,met
Alice,formedabandand the restis history.Butthere are elementsfromthe earlydays of the band
that theyare bothkeentokeepholdof. “We alwayswantto keepthe beautyandessence of punkat
our shows”,saysAlice.“Asthe stagesgethigherandthe securitypitsgetwider,thatcan diminishas
youget more detachedfromthe audience. One thingwe don’twantto lose fromourearlier,shakier
showsisthe feelingof discomfortedvolatility; thatsense of anythingcouldhappen.”
What they’ve done thenistoputthe huge effortsintoaudio-visual effectsintendedtobringback
that knife-edgefeeling. Alice smilesthat,atpointsinthe show,audience memberswill feelsound
whippingaroundthem“like sharkscirclingtheirpray. It’ll be prettydisconcertingforpeople;they
shouldall be fairlyunnerved.Itwon’tbe the,‘ohdamn,isthis about to kickoff?’feelingof alittle
gig,but one thingwe can do isuse technology,keeppushingthingsforwardandkeepthe audience
on theirtoes,sothey’re notjustwatchinga bandstoodon ego-boxeshead-banginginaplannedout
way.A lotof musicisreallycomfortable,andthat’snotgoingtoinspire you.A bitof discomfortisn’t
a bad thing.”
2. Recently, Courtney recallsbeingaskedheradvice forayoungfan intheirownlittle band.How could
theirband,theyasked,reachthe levelsof Pretty inPunk –the success,the popularity,the relative
stability?Courtney’sanswer,she grins,comeswithatouchof irony.“I toldthem, ‘make fairlybland
music,don’tsayanything,don’ttry tocopy the biggestbandinyour scene withthe greatestdeal
youcan, and fitin withthe currentfashiontrends…’Andthatwouldn’tbe classifiedasbadadvice,
really.”
Well quite.Courtneydescribesherownduobandas an “anomaly”,andadmitsthat she’s“often
perplexed” bythe successPrettyinPunkhasachieved while doinganythingbutfollowingherown
advice:bybeingopenlyexpressive,angryanddeterminedtopushthe envelope.CourtneyandAlice
are bothunashamedlyengagedwiththe worldaroundthemusingtheirplatformtosupportcauses
close to theirhearts,fromcallingoutbandsthat charge massivelyover-pricedfeesformeet-and-
greets,toopenlycriticisingthe government’spoliciesintheir‘don’tcare’attitude.
“It’smore of a needthana responsibility”,saysCourtney.“Responsibility suggestsafeelingof,‘oh
god,we have to do this’,butwe don’tfeel forcedintoanything.” Doesshe feel thatotherbands
couldmaybe do witha bitmore enforcement,though?“Idon’twantto dictate whatotherbands
singaboutor howtheybehave”,she insists.“But itfeelslike,certainlyinthe punkscene,thatsense
of engagementhasdwindled.There’salotof that kindof Americanmetal core stuff where they’re
singingaboutthingsthatmake themsoundbigand tough,but don’treallymeananything –‘You
stabbed me inthe back but raaarrrr!’ There’sa lotof that kindof rubbish,full of meaningless
platitudes.
“I thinkpeople justwanthonesty”,says Alice.“If there’sangerandaggressionandpassioninthe
music,theywantthat to be reflectedinthe lyrics.People wouldsee throughitif Iwassingingabout
thingsI wasn’tevenpassionateabout.”
