CATHOLIC ACTION talk guilt, shame and future plans.

Let’s add a little bit of Scottish blood to your playlist. Not a religious band, as you would think. With not just two songs, as many would guess. Definitely not ashamed, as you would wonder based on the headline. So what’s the matter here?

Jamie Dubber (Bass), Chris McCrory (Vocal/Guitar), Ryan Clark (Drums) and Andrew Macpherson (Lead Guitar)

I caught up with the band Catholic Action before their show at Roundhouse in London last week. Yep, you heard me right. The Roundhouse. How cool is that? It’s amazing! Well, the group thought so too.

The touring has been very good – Chris McCrory, the lead singer, begins. Very, very surprising. I mean this time last year we were planning our first tour in Scotland, playing in rooms not much bigger than this one we’re in right now. So it’s nice to, in less than a year, go from playing for 20 people in a basement to playing the Roundhouse in London. It’s kind of surreal but in a very good way. I really enjoy it. It’s been incredible.

Let’s make things straight from the start then. I suppose we can all agree that they must be good, right? I mean – the Roundhouse. Think about it again. But where did it all begin?

This four-piece from Glasgow are basically schoolmates. Initially, formed by Chris McCrory, Jamie Dubber and Ryan Clark last year, with Andrew Macpherson bringing all his guitar riffs later on.

With a rather young status as a band but a long-term relationship Catholic Action seem very comfortable and confident about what they do and what they want to achieve.

The thing is that all our previous bands have been with each other – Ryan Clark, the drummer, explains. Chris was in a different band but Andrew and Jamie used to play together. Me and Chris and Jamie used to play together. We all just know how each of us works. It’s easy, really.

The good thing about this band is we have a couple of different ways of working together – Chris continues. When one sort of method seems exhausted we can switch with another. There are always new things, which I think is very important.

The only fighting we get is Ryan and Andrew wrestling in the dressing room anyway. That’s pretty much what you get – Jamie Dubber, the bassist, answers when asked about any fights and arguments between all of them.

Fair enough. Any other memorable incidents whilst being on tour? Any good stories? Besides the wrestling part, obviously.

Yeah, loads.. – Chris starts. That’s a cool thing about being in a band, you know. You end up in really bizarre situations and strange places that you stay in, and strange places that you play in. There’s a lot of weird stories.

At this point Catholic Action start to exchange a few. I get some about Barrowland Glasgow from a few months ago, some recollection about FFS (Franz Ferdinand and Sparks) and a soundcheck with plenty of food and a nice dessert. Well, that definitely boosted my appetite. Can I have some, please?

From the first minutes of our conversation I get a feeling that this band has really a lot to say. And not only some tour regarding stories but their goals and plans as well. The constant change. Because, whether you like it or not, it will come eventually. It always happens. Change is good.

Any difference between Catholic Action a year ago and the present day?

My hair is longer – Chris begins with a laugh. To be honest, we’re more sure of ourselves. I mean if you’d told me that we’re gonna walk out onstage at Roundhouse in 15 mins last year, I don’t know what kind of fluids would’ve come out of me. But I think we’re just stronger, the four of us. The important thing for an artist is to develop and keep yourself forward. When you start a band you have a vague idea. But then that idea causes a different reaction and heads towards different direction and that’s what it’s all about, really.

So what’s next?

We’re working on a recording – Ryan, the drummer, marks. Ultimately, we’ll be working with a couple different producers till the end of the year.

And we’re gonna have a big party in Glasgow in December – Chris adds. It’s been a crazy year, so to finish it off in Glasgow is probably the best thing to do. But yes, there will be some new music early next year.

Are talking about an EP or an album possibly?

It depends on what happens – Chris clarifies. It depends on how lazy we are within the next few months. Hopefully not. The important thing for us is to actually work on what it takes to be a band and to play a lot. You know, I’m an artist. I like to make songs. We like to make songs. That what is important now. People don’t really realise this but we released 10 songs last year. And most of them think we’ve got like two songs. 

Of course, I have to ask about the name of the band. Mainly because it’s very intriguing part. Might be even a little bit controversial.

I was brought up catholic – Chris states. As was Ryan. And with that comes a guilt of different things. Especially when you’re a teenager. If you have that catholic guilt you’re quite influenced by your catholic upbringing. The catholic action is the thing that you do or don’t do because of that upbringing and because of that mostly unnecessary guilt that comes with it. I spent a lot of time as a teenager being guilty of things I’d never actually needed to worry about at all. Scotland is a great country but it’s full with hatred for nothing. I think it’s actually important that we kind of poked fun of that and showed people that it actually doesn’t mean a thing and it shouldn’t mean a thing. You shouldn’t waste your time hating each other. So there’s a few different meanings but honestly, it just sounded right when I said it. To be clear, we’re not a religious band in any way.

And yes we all agreed with it – Andrew , the guitarist, claims. When you start a band you don’t think that much about the name. As Chris said we were just four best friends making records in his bedroom. It was not a massive decision at the time but it sounded good.

We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, we’re just trying to do something interesting within the soft classic format.

Alright, so we’ve covered the music part, and we definitely talked enough guilt. So what’s the matter with the shame?

There’s shameless pop music from the 90s which I hate and there’s shameless pop music from the early 70s which I really like – Chris explains. There’s this magazine called Jackie which put the compilation CD three years ago and my mum bought it. I’ve been listening to it a lot. You’ve got T. Rex and David Essex amongst many others on it. There’s shameless pop in a soft classic way, you know. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, we’re just trying to do something interesting within the soft classic format.

Catholic Action play the opening set before The Magic Gang and the headline act – Swim Deep. So as you can see, the expectations are high and job – not the easiest. But they totally nail it. The crowd is warming up and tagging along to their classic poppy music blend. I must admit, I caught them doing the soundcheck which was a very pleasant surprise. I already knew they were kind of my thing, but all the energy! I bet when you’re in a band, rocking the Roundhouse lands on your list at some point. Well, lads you can cross that one out. It might be the time to head to some bigger venues now.