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ABoF’s Five Pointless Questions with… Fat Goth!
Because of his sheer sexual magnetism, all communication with Fat Goth's frontman Fraser has to be conducted by email. It's the only way we can maintain our professional relationship. In the second week of our weekly Q & A series, we peered into Fraser's head-space and dug around with a blunt spoon to get the answers to five questions we came up with in less than five minutes two weeks ago.
1. Using the fairy tale format, tell us how you all met.
Scotland: long have the heavens struck their wrath upon this formidable landscape and the backs of the men, women and children who desperately cling to life in this ruthless, yet beautiful habitat. On the east coast the great city of Dundee resides between the majestic swell of the silvery Tay and the towering peak of The Law. This is a sacred place, a place where cultural significance and creative magic can be felt in the very air you breathe, the sights you see and whatever things you deem appropriate to taste.
In the year of 2007 this city played host to a union that has arguably become one of the most celebrated and cherished not only in the history of music, but artistic expression in general. When the holy trinity of Mark Keiller, Fraser Stewart and Allan Mitchell came together under the moniker of Fat Goth, the world stood still. Never had such an unprecedented degree of divine power ever manifested itself upon this earthly plain of ours and those who were there to witness the first offerings from this musical trio of old schoolmates were nothing short of dumbstruck. Initial reports stated those who found themselves in the presence of the three band members experienced bizarre occurrences such as sudden nosebleeds, hysterical fits of uncontrollable joy and even spontaneous human combustion, regardless of whether the three were performing music or not!
Humanity rejoiced whenever Fat Goth presented a new gift for consideration and those initial recordings are still revered to this day. The fact the band's first few releases are available to download for free is just testament to the generosity of the group: the knowledge that you can't put a price on true genius. Things were good for a time but as fate would have it, storm clouds were beginning to form on the horizon. In 2010 Fat Goth was dealt a mighty blow in the form of Allan's departure from the fold. Australia was beckoning the bald bass wonder and so with a heavy heart, Mark and Fraser bid a fond farewell to their beloved comrade. However, the remaining two were determined to continue and give hope back to the people. Enter Kevin of Black, the short yet highly talented bassist of fellow Dundonian music smiths, Laeto. Kevin brought his visage and expertise in the fall of 2011 and since then Fat Goth has continued to win over the hearts and souls of all who bathe in its glorious light.
2. Who or what was the defining moment in your life that made you decide to be a musician?
When I was about 16 a new family moved into my street and I quickly became friends with their kids. Their son had an electric guitar and I was amazed when I heard him playing all those rudimentary riffs you're taught when you start getting lessons. I was instantly hooked and continuously harassed my parents until they eventually bought me a guitar of my own. The father of that same family had an extensive record collection and introduced me to lots of bands and artists I was completely unaware of, most notably 'Nevermind' by Nirvana. I reckon I had a mild interest in music up until that point but after hearing 'Smells LIke Teen Spirit' for the first time and obsessing over that band for the remainder of my teens, I knew I wanted to become a musician.
3. If you could pick a superpower what would it be and why?
While the notion of possessing the power to cure all disease, stop wars and generally right all the injustices in the world is both admirable and noble, I'd probably just settle for the ability to make myself irresistible to women that are clearly light years out of my league.
4. In ten years time where do you want to be?
Ideally sunbathing with my Miss Universe female companion pal on the deck of my super luxury yacht, sipping away at a lovely martini and taking in the beauty of the Mediterranean while figuring out ways to spend my ludicrous and ever-increasing wealth.
5. If you could only play a stranger one of your songs to make a first impression, which track would you choose?
Good question! I suppose something like 'Sweet Mister Scary' from the new record would be appropriate. It's quite 'riffy' and schizophrenic, which is a common characteristic in a lot of our music so I suppose it would be as good a place to start as any.
One Hundred Percent Suave is released on 12th May 2014 via Hefty Dafty with support from Creative Scotland.