Hi Andy, so where ya from & where ya at, geographically speaking?
I’m from a small town in central Scotland called Stenhousemuir (occasionally known as ‘Stenhousemuir nil’). I’ve been living in Edinburgh for a good few years now though.
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You’re the drummer with Edinburgh’s coolest new band, the Miracle Glass Company, when did you first pick up the sticks?
I got my first toy drumkit when I was about 4, but didn’t play a proper kit until I was 12 at school. I’d been getting piano lessons but didn’t really enjoy the classical nature of them, so when I realised hitting things was a viable musical option I got straight on it. I got my first proper kit when I was 14 and haven’t looked back.
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Who are your inspirations in the drumming spheres?
When I started I would drum along to Hendrix, Nirvana and Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and I think there is still a strong Mitchell, Grohl, Smith element to my style. I’m not a massive fan of highly technical drummers, and for a long time I avoided practising in case I got too good… I have a lot of time for Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) and Ringo – keep it simple and serve the song.
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Which bands have you played with before the Company?
I’ve been very lucky to play in two Edinburgh institutions – Miyagi and The Black Diamond Express.
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Who writes the songs for the band?
Our aim is to be very democratic and have an equal input to the band in all areas. This includes songwriting so we all write songs for the band, and then develop them together. The initial writing is usually an individual thing but we have been doing some more in the way of collaborating right from the start of the writing process recently.
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You guys are capable of some velvety harmonies – whats the creative process behind these?
Thank you. We’re very proud of our harmonies and spend a lot of time working on them. Most of the time the placement of harmonies comes quite naturally in the song development and notes chosen are down to the individual. Sometimes we need to work it out a bit more to get them the best they can be. Then it’s a case of practise, practise, practise. That’s the only way to get the blend right.
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What are your favorite tunes in the repertoire?
They’re like children – I have my favourites but I could never tell you for fear of upsetting the others. They’re all special.
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Where will you be playing this summer?
We’re about to go out on tour in support of our new single T.R.O.U.B.L.E. – London, Brighton, Liverpool and Wrexham. Then we have some very cool gigs lined up in the summer at Shuffle Down Festival (in my home town), XpoNorth in Inverness, King Tut’s in Glasgow and a new festival in Dundee called Carnival Fifty Six which looks really cool. We also have a residency in Edinburgh at The Voodoo Rooms called ‘Late Night in the Big City’ which is every two months. We’ve had two this year already and they have been epic. There are some very exciting plans for the next one in June!
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What does the rest of 2017 have in store for Andy Duncan?
More MGC! We’re currently working on new material for our second album MGC 2 in between touring, and are looking to record that later in the year. In the meantime there will be more gigs, videos and other exciting projects coming thick and fast
Mumble Music 