There is a famous saying which says 'Tourists go abroad with preconceived ideas
of the country they are about to visit and come back disappointed, whilst
travellers go with none and come back with a wealth of experience'.
'That's exactly the same with music' says Levitation bassist Laurence, the
youngest looking rock star I've ever come across.
'Preconceptions are a bad idea. If you listen to a song with preconceived ideas
about it, you're going to come away at least a little disappointed'.
Levitation. What does the name mean to you? To me it smacks of Hawkwind,
Levitation being the title of one of their most triumphant albums. However,
in actual fact Levitation are not a hippy/acid/space rock band. My preconceived
ideas of the group were shattered this morning. The only members who look
remotely like hippies are keyboard tinkler Bob and drummer Dave, although long
hair and dreads are hardly tantamount to hippydom. Most people would run a mile
rather than be associated with Hawkwind, so why the fuck do they call themselves
Levitation?
'It was a kind of 13th Floor Elevators thing,' explains Terry Bickers. 'The
idea of just doing it, and it doesn't matter if we go out on a limb'.
'We also didn't want a name with one syllable in it' cuts in Laurence.
'Yeah, we took that into deep consideration,' continues Terry. 'I guess there's
a feeling of that tingle up the spine, that elevation you get from the music
that you love that can really reach you, that in some ways can be really
uplifting. We're in the business of moving air'.
'We're also in the business of consuming vast quantities of pot' Robert
helpfully informs me.
'We also felt sorry for the letter 'L'. There aren't that many bands that begin
with 'L', but 'Lunch' didn't work very well'.
'We have actually played with Hawkwind though' pipes up Laurence. 'I was at one
of those 12 hour things. The casualty count was huge! Everyone was lying on
the floor, it was like a battlefield'.
'It is interesting these days how it seems like modern day society, with all its
ills, needs some kind of scapegoat' continues Terry. 'Travellers and festivals
are being classed as the enemy within now. That's quite scary People are being
singled out for their beliefs. It's like a latter-day witch hunt. It's got to
be challenged head on'.
'I think it's a spiritual power though, that's what they're actually afraid of,
the spiritual will. The people who are involved in it are actually so directed.
It's the opposite of that capital ideal that he who dies with the most toys
wins. It goes against everything that we're brought up to believe. You know,
you must buy this and buy that and acquire a car and a house and get married.
It unsettles what they consider the right way to live'.
Sitting in the pub, the conversation quickly deteriorates into 'Do you
remember?' territory. Once this nostalgia has been sweated out, I discover that
some members of Levitation are secret Venom fans (we won't say who!) and they
even listen to a bit of Slayer! Needless to say, this isn't a normal band. I
was very surprised to find that they are not a bunch of crusties nor rock stars.
Just a bunch of normal blokes in a band. There are a couple of them at the
bar, more at the table next to me and you could be forgiven for considering them
to be some lads who just dropped in for a drink. You just never know what to
expect, and this is true of levitation in many ways. It's not 'hippy shit', nor
are they an acid band, but even their records cannot prepare you for the force
they become when they play live. I like that quality. Being able to surprise
people nowadays is becoming harder and harder. Levitation deal with this in
their own way, preferring to remove you preconceptions than to be more
outrageous than those before them. Check 'em out, maybe you'll be surprised
too.
