We caught up with Michael Coates (aka Raccoon Book Club) to talk about his new album 'Good Reasons to Freeze to Death'....
Raccoon Book Club is a new project from Multi-Instrumentalist Michael Coates. After struggling with mental health issues and battling a brain tumour, Michael decided to channel his energy into songwriting. Within two months the album ‘Good Reasons to Freeze to Death’ was written before being recorded over the course of a week on the remote island of Lewis, Scotland.
Raccoon Book Club is brutally introspective post-punk/indie and will be playing a show near you soon.
We heard the album, loved every second of it and wanted to find out more so we arranged to have a chat with Michael where we discussed a ton of stuff including the recording process, why he ventured all the way to the Isle of Lewis to record the album, mental health, live shows and more, read on to see how we got on….
Raccoon Book Club is a new project, please tell me when it was formed, where you’re from and how long you’ve been playing music….
I’m from Bedfordshire originally and started playing bass, guitar and drums while I was still in school. I never really got into any bands but when I went to uni me and my mate Wayne started writing songs and recorded an EP together. I used to write a lot back then but over the next 10 years I completely dropped off until last May.
Raccoon Book Club is an interesting name, how did you come to settle on it? Were there any other names in the mix?
Me and the same mate from the old band were sat in the pub talking band names. Originally I suggested Penguin Fight Club but literally everyone I spoke to hated the idea of that, Wayne suggested Penguin Book Club which I was pretty sure would get me sued, so we switched to Raccoons - The penguins of the mammal world.
Would you say that you are from a musical family? If so, who plays/played what instruments?
Not even a little. My cousin and uncle play guitar but growing up there were never any instruments around.
Tell me about your earliest musical memory….
I would sit and listen to my dad’s LP’s while everyone was watching TV. Stuff like Meat Loaf, Queen and his Ultimate 80’s CD.
Do you remember the first record, CD, cassette you ever bought? Who was it and do you still have it?
I vividly remember buying Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) by The Offspring, so I’m not sure if that was the first but it’s definitely the first I remember.
Tell me about the first ever gig you attended, who was it, where was it held and who did you attend with?
It’s one of two. It’s either Feeder at Cambridge Corn Exchange with my dad and brother … Or S Club 7.
You cite The Mountain Goats, Dave Hause, The Gaslight Anthem, Taylor Swift, Alkaline Trio & Jimmy Eat World as key influences on your sound, what is it about these acts that turned you on to creating your own music?
Back when I used to write, I would try and make the lyrics as subtle and intricate as possible. Then I listened to The Sunset Tree album by The Mountain Goats and the lyrics were all so raw and in your face that it completely changed how I thought you had to write lyrics. The whole Mountain Goats discography is also so varied in genre and tone that it really showed me you never have to box yourself in. Just write what you want to write! Same with Taylor Swift. The way she constantly reinvents her sound and still smashes it is awesome. The others are more what I’d class as the music I’d typically listen to so gave the album most of its ‘sound’.
Describe your sound and style in just one sentence….
Brutally introspective Indie-Folk-Punk for sad nerds.
Your new album ‘Good Reasons to Freeze to Death’ lands on 28th January 2022, how will you be celebrating its release?
A quiet night at the pub with Wayne and our partners!
The album consists of 10 tracks, each very personal to you, please take some time to break down one track from the album and tell me what influenced it and what it’s about….
The final track (Contrast) is about 2010/11 when I was diagnosed with Hydrocephalus and a brain tumour. It tells the story from the severe headaches, vomiting and seizures to the tests and diagnosis to learning to live with it. The Hydrocephalus is resolved but the tumour is still there. Contrast refers to the Gadolinium dye used as a contrast agent in MRI scans but also the tangible things that were happening and genuinely damaging (dark room, white room etc) and the unknown things (shades of grey) that didn’t matter so why worry about them? If anything was going to kill me, it was the tumour, the fluid in the brain. Not the small things in life.
I see you have a show at the Santiago Bar in Leeds on 5th Feb, are you thinking about doing a mini tour to help promote the album in the near future?
I would love to do a mini tour! I’m in contact with bands and venues trying to arrange things, play shows where and wherever I can, but a cohesive tour would be amazing.
You’re technically a one man band, please explain how your live setup works (backing tracks, drum machine, loop pedal etc)
The first few shows are just going to be me and an electric guitar. People are going to expect a certain amount of energy from the set after listening to the album and the bands I’m playing with though so I’ll be doing all I can to match those expectations. I’ll definitely be adding backing tracks down the line though!
You recorded the album at Black Bay Studio on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland with engineers Peter Fletcher & Cal Roden at the helm, would you say that you are a ‘hands on’ kinda guy in the studio?
Definitely! And Pete and Cal were super receptive as well so anything I wanted to add they were happy to indulge me.
How was the experience of working with Peter and Cal?
Absolutely incredible. You couldn’t ask for two more positive and enthusiastic people to work with.
Did they offer any suggestions to improve any of your songs whilst in the studio? If so, did you take their advice?
For sure. When I arrived the plan was to have a mostly acoustic album with a few tracks having drums and strings, but once there the ideas started flowing and it became a full band album. There isn’t a single song on the record that doesn’t have one of them playing something on it!
Can I ask why you chose to go to the Isle of Lewis to record the album?
I was looking for studios local to me and messaged a few, but as soon as I saw Black Bay there was nowhere else I was going to go. It’s one of a kind and I’d recommend it to anyone.
If you were asked to nominate the 3 headline acts for a large music festival, which bands or artists would you choose and why?
Taylor Swift, The Mountain Goats and The lineup of the 2011 Revival Tour (Chuck Ragan, Dave Hause, Brian Fallon, Dan Andriano.) I’ve watched that set on YouTube so much over lockdown and it was a huge influence on the album!
You said that you’d been suffering with depression for a while and after therapy and going on meds you were able to open yourself up more, understand your feelings and express them better, did the creation of the album help in any way to improve your mental health?
I mean, it definitely gave me something to focus on and a way to explore my feelings but what really helped was the drugs (and support from my friends and family!)
The album is very personal and must have been hard to write, did you feel a weight lifting from your shoulders when you started to pull it together?
The funny thing is, it was super fun to write! I’d never been that honest with myself so it was incredibly refreshing. I was always excited to write the next song just to see what else would spill out.
Would the album had existed at all if you hadn’t sought therapy?
No. Not at all. My therapist suggested it as an exercise and the idea sort of lay dormant for a bit before taking form. I never set out to write an album, but in the space of 2 months I had 18 songs and was trying to cut it down to fit it all into a weeks worth of recording!
What advice would you offer anyone suffering from mental health issues in these very testing times?
Reach out however you can. Whether you talk to your GP and ask for a referral to a therapist/counsellor, open up to friends or family or just write a diary and explore how you’re feeling. Don’t lie to yourself or close yourself off. Emotions are good, even the bad ones. I was very numb for a long time, and when I was happy it was very short lived and the comedown was brutal. Embracing sadness will help you heal and allow you to rebalance yourself.
Lastly, the question that everyone wants to know the answer to…..Would you rather fight a dinosaur sized chicken or 10 chicken sized dinosaurs?
Isn’t a chicken-sized dinosaur just a chicken? I’d choose those, but I wouldn’t fight them. I’d trap them, keep them as pets and sell the eggs.
I guess you’re all itching to hear ‘Good Reasons To Freeze To Death’, as you’ve been so patient, here it is….enjoy!