Happy Birthday Winter Moods

Happy Birthday Winter Moods

Ivan Grech shares anecdotes and secrets of 20 years of Winter Moods with Wayne Flask

The grey hairs have almost run riot, although, admittedly, the dreaded process of hair loss has never threatened Ivan Grech. Nor has his age. His burly, 1m90 figure scoffs the myth of the skinny modern age rockstar; his eyes ooze confidence and his voice, borne with the stress of four studio albums and twenty years of Winter Moods, sounds as reassuring as ever.

That same voice is one of Winter Moods’ unique trademarks, starring from their early ‘Marillion’ years to the open spaces of Morning Ale, then to the arty class of Butterfly House and, finally, to the sentimental overtones of Ordinary Men.

By and large, twenty years have gone by and Winter Moods’ heart is still firmly rooted in the urbane ambience of the Cottonera that raised them and shaped their lives. Twenty years on, they are still doing what they like most, and once the tools of the trade have evolved, their sound has become clearer, with enough degrees of verve to leave an indelible effect on their music.

* * *

It is uncharacteristically sunny in Gozo, considering that Winter Moods have the mysterious power of the rainmaker that has accompanied them wherever they went. It’s Sunday morning and I am quietly penning my questions on the rocky hills to the right of Xlendi bay. My hands smell of salt. There is hardly a noise, hardly a movement. Soon enough, though, I have to be on my way to meet them: PR at 1 will see them have an informal lunch with radio competition winners.

The WM entourage has woken up to a slow morning. There are a few complaints about headaches, eyes are a bit heavy and throats are slightly sore. That night, at the XS Club, the best Winter Moods show in a long time was a fitting tribute to their twentieth anniversary. Seamless, from start to finish, they carried the audience with them through their meandering journey in history and emotions, with a new refined set that has brought them a few more joys.

I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that most of the thousand or so who crowded XS got goosebumps during their rousing performance, a show that included their everlasting Sarah and an unplugged version of Xemx among the highlights. It was, of course, an experiment that worked and, undoubtedly, one of the most convincing Winter Moods of the last few years.

All this talk of years prompts me to point out to Ivan that no one is getting any younger.

“Musically we are definitely still very young, and I feel the same about myself. I’m still a bit of a kid within, I’m always fooling around, and so are the others,” says Ivan. “Since we started recording thirteen years ago we’ve matured a lot, and we’ve done so together. Although we’ve had lineup changes, I think the main factor that has kept us together was our friendship.”

Interesting. Is their friendship so personal, enough to help out, say, with the occasional flat tyre?

“Yes, very much so. Our families are good friends with each other. We’re like brothers. Up until a few years ago I used to meet the guys every single day and to this day I see them more often than my relatives. Our partners are very supportive also. They knew that music was an important part of our lives and that we couldn’t live without it. I mean, it’s not easy, considering that Joseph has three children, and we really admire him because he manages to find time for everything.”

Twenty years ago it was a completely different story than today. Ivan is pleased to take a quick jog down memory lane to recount the early days of Winter Moods when their affections for prog-rock took up most of their time.

He grew up in a family of music connoisseurs. “My brother Alex was in the band club, Norman was a fan of Genesis, Asia, Pink Floyd, Joven was into Led Zeppelin, Queen and Deep Purple, and my sisters Josette and Edmea had other tastes altogether. My mother, too, made sure to keep me in touch with music. In the midst of all this ‘cocktail’ I was exposed to a number of different styles – and Winter Moods was a balance between the creative and the commercial.”

“The first Winter Moods was Joe and Steve [Caruana Smith]. Etienne [Robinich] was a sound technician at first and the singer was a guy called Jesmond Attard. This is around the end of 1986. They had already played in Maltasajf of 1984 as Shades of Darkness, and they also used to play the occasional wedding.” (Steve once had the misfortune of fainting during a reception and collapsed onto the drums). “Etienne eventually took over the keyboards from Arthur Stanicic, with whom I had never got on really well.”

The first Winter Moods also included James Vella on drums, and the band would record their eponymous debut album in 1995, shortly before the arrival of Melvin Caruana on guitars.

The six piece remained unaltered until November last year, when Steve left the band for personal reasons. “The first repercussion was personal, we loved Steve and we’ve always had a great time with him. The second repercussion was on the music. The songs on the album were recorded with two guitarists and we had to find a way of playing them live with only one. We had to resort to technology and the use of loops. Melvin worked really hard to adapt but I never doubted he would do an excellent job. Our live act sounds raw in comparison, and we’ve become tighter as a whole even though we lost out on a great guitarist.”

“We tried to convince Steve to stay on but he simply had no time. He couldn’t attend rehearsals and that for us was the biggest setback. He had lost a lot of commitment to the band, and he was getting a bit lazy too. I’m sorry he’s no longer with us because he was a great, great guy to have on board. I am thinking of having him back for a couple of songs at the next gig.”

And, as we talk of lineup changes, here’s the little-known story of another, particular birthday party.

* * *

Two years ago, John Bundy’s A3FM was still broadcasting strong from the 101.8FM frequency. Winter Moods were the main act of the first birthday party.

A few hours before the show, the band is getting ready at Etienne’s apartment. The host is busy preparing our Spaghetti Bolognese. There is something missing though, a strange lack of buzz in the air. Etienne chides Steve again for smoking in the kitchen, but that, from the whole evening, is the loudest note he will strike.

After the show the atmosphere is more relaxed. Noise levels are much louder, some booze is flowing, and in a corner of the Blues Room Ivan is whispering in Joe’s ear: You can’t leave this band. This is what you’ve started, you can’t go now that you’ve reached everything you’ve ever dreamed of. And Joe understood perfectly what those words meant.

“At one point Joseph was going to quit altogether. If he left it would have been a big blow for me. He’s our devil’s advocate. He questions a lot – he questions the band in a constructive manner. He always pushes the limit, and what we think is the top is never enough for him. Ultimately the one that keeps us all together. It has been like that since we were younger. I have a very special relationship with him.”

Ivan also revealed that around the same time James was about to leave the band too, and that replacements were already lined up. They were never called for the first rehearsal.

* * *

Soft keyboard and guitar noises are arriving from the stage of the XS Club. We are halfway through the show, there is an eerie hush in the venue. The interlude slowly fades into the introduction to Marigold, probably the shiniest gem in Ordinary Men with its elaborate, sleek, heart-rending moments, as close to perfection as they could get. A thousand voices sang along, word by word, enchanted.

The pressures and jolts of being a class act are long forgotten now. They are shaping their intricate tapestry, weaving emotions and notes. Ivan is at one with the crowd, and so are the usually detached Melvin and Joe. “I started to attach myself to Gozo after the death of my father, who hailed from Ghajnsielem. There’s this sort of bond with the Gozitans, and some will remember the great show we’ve had over here on New Year’s Eve.”

Thankfully, they have elaborated on their set, becoming more involved with their audience as a whole, adding the acoustic set and taking a few hints from the occasional DVD. Luckily, it doesn’t stop there, as fans will be able to catch the band at the Valletta Waterfront on the 30^th April.

Ivan describes it as ‘The Big One’. “It will be great. Everything will be set up the way we like it, and many people who have missed us at nightclubs will be able to see one of our shows in a completely different setting. There will even be a ferry service from Cottonera to Valletta.”

* * *

Winter Moods have, fortunately, not resorted to the outmoded gimmick of the encore. The music is over. The lights have gone down. It’s three in the morning, and perhaps at their age they shouldn’t be up so late. But, thank God, they’re doing what they know best: ageing with grace.

Wayne Flask

April 2007