The Great Beyond?
Niki Gravino’s world could become smaller than his fist. By Wayne Flask
The humid scent of garage days can be smelt from a few metres away. Niki Gravino silently unbolts the door of the hired rehearsal room where, in the last few months, he has been spending increasing amounts of time. Less pale than usual, with a slight hint of a suntan, his demeanour betrays the unusual tranquillity of the satisfied mind.
He looks precisely the opposite of the glam persona his followers have known, hair mushrooming off at various points, wearing a slightly oversized white t-shirt with a band crayoned on it. I really should have asked him where he bought it from.
This is, but, the sort of normality in which Niki has spent most of the last few months, rebuilding what were once called the Vile Bodies after the departure of two members, working on new material with the newcomers, oiling the machine.
Sitting straight on the only single seater in the room (drummer stool excluded), he ponders his replies carefully, occasionally fidgeting with a couple of coins, his hair swaying with every nod.
“The arrival of the new members... It was like starting all over again. We had to work on bringing in a certain harmony and understanding each other. Every change is good as long as the direction is right. I feel we’ve done a lot of improvement since the new people have come in. But now, it’s time to step on the gas.”
Promising two shows and a secret gig (“a very crazy move, but it will get results”), Gravino acknowledges the task of finding two replacements for what seemed to be a definite, unmovable lineup.
“I’d be lying if I said that. It would be nice to be able to choose from fifty instead of four decent musicians. But that would be another limitation. Without the help of a team who would weigh things according to certain criteria, it would have taken ages. So in a way, everything happens in proportion with your size.”
“I feel that the musicians we found are very good, they fit into the style of the band better than their predecessors. Somehow, they have injected a new chemistry in the band. We are still a bit shy of each other; it’s like the first two or three dates with a new girlfriend, where the sweetest experiences come from. Apart from that, it is also true that whenever a door slams shut, there are other opportunities ready to be taken.”
You start to wonder if his shoes are too big for Malta. He likens the local music scene to a flowerpod. “A plant in a small pod will never grow beyond a certain level. Malta is an exceptional breeding ground for young artists, but once you’re no longer a puppy, you need more space.”
“We’re an island with an island mentality. Somehow, while we don’t have much to work with, we do little in terms of working together. At one point Malta becomes very restrictive and if you don’t get out, the growth process will stop there and then.”
Rumour has it that Gravino may be ready to fulfil his lebenstraum of moving, band n’all, to the greener pastures of the UK, an ideal grazing ground to feed his mercurial talent. Surprisingly he is non-committal, choosing not to promise anything and deciding to stay clear of confirming anything.
“For now, I will only say it may or may not be true. The plans have always been there since the beginning. They may be closer. But I know it’s very prohibitive for a band to do this move. I don’t want to talk too much about it. I want to do things my way. Talking too much about it limits my liberty to change things around, or the way of doing things.”
There is, he stresses, work to be done, in getting the band back on track and issuing a release of sorts. “I’ve a lot of new material but it’s a bit, like, scattered everywhere. It still needs harnessing. I’m going through a lot of changes in my life, I’m growing older, the band has changed too. Direction was an issue during Politics too, but in these last few weeks I have been seeing something more tangible.”
It took Gravino three years to release the pleasantly shocking Politics of Double Beds, whose second birthday is in November. Hardly anyone spends so long on a debut album.
“I think Politics, although produced with extreme attention to every detail, is still only the search of who I am. It is not the final word. Before something else happens there has to be another release, be it an album, or an EP. I have to make another step to see who I am as an artist, or rather, the band. I will not do things by myself again. This time round, the band will be part of the process, at least in the arrangements. If we want to go elsewhere, it will depend on how well we can find our identity as musicians. I cannot go places with dead bodies.”
The humane prospect of ageing doesn’t lose him sleep, either. “I’ve enough time. I’m not going to be pressed to move elsewhere. The release has to come first. I’m open to changing my method of work, I admit Politics took me a lot of time and energy to create. Now I’m open to accept that I might need to work faster. It’s a new avenue of which I’m not afraid.”
His finest hour was probably the 2008 MMA night, where this Prince lookalike complete with makeup rose from the outsider’s corner to bag the beauty of five deserved trophies for his efforts on Politics. If only things were done the way they should, a sixth for Best Album should have followed. But this is just a tiny personal bracket I allow myself to open from time to time.
“I knew - I had a feeling we would win something. I thought I’d get two awards. Winning five was a surprise, and it meant a lot, even if some other artists are willing to knock the awards. I like to think of them as rewards rather than awards. They were a confidence boost, you know.”
Watching you perform tells me you’re already quite confident... “It’s passion, not confidence. I don’t go onstage to be cool, or sexy. That’s my way of expressing my passion, nothing more.”
That said, however, it hasn’t brought down the walls in local music as many have hoped. It has surely taken the weight of their own eccentricity off their backs, giving them more credit with the mainstream. Niki isn’t sure of that either.
The band’s ability, however, continues to be shrouded to the undiscerning publics by the particular image they chose. “I think many people ‘fancy’ us - that’s the word - because we wear nail polish and a couple of weird suits. We all feel that our image isn’t too unique. It’s such a repetition and a cliché, it should be sickening by now. They don’t understand we are a band in the making, who is constantly trying out new things.
“We don’t want to stay in the niche. People who don’t understand what we are about, the same people who ‘fancy’ us, want us to remain a niche act.”
“Niki Gravino,” he says suddenly referring to himself in the third person, “started off in the niche, but Niki Gravino doesn’t feel he should stay there because he’s not afraid of the world. I’m not afraid.”
One of the best read musicians in Malta, Gravino is one of few people with the temerity of tattooing the words “Culture” and a barcode on the nape of his neck. A personal credo that has held true for all his life, as he strives, yet once more, to create a masterstroke that sets him aside from the rest. Second album pressure must be sky-high.
Today, however, he philosophises less, even sounding pragmatic, wary of the daunting task he and his bandmates face in the coming months. How does he, self styled artist who cites David Bowie as his ‘paradigm’, spend his time away from the spotlight?
“I spend a lot of time waiting for myself, for those around me, waiting for improvements, ideas, inspirations. I work on my attitudes, on my vision for the band and this project. I also spend a lot of time doing things that are not related to music, like washing my roof, just to get my mind off the music. But I spend a lot time trying to become a better person, to make my project more whole.”
The next release? “I would say it’s months away, not years, for sure. I hope to surprise myself, and those who listen to me. Doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen.”
Projects? “Right now, we’re focused on becoming a very good band, without leaving a single crack in our show.”
As if I ever doubted that.