“Just try and focus on something that makes you happy and just do that”
Formed in 2016, Liverpool based band Fuss is made up of Dave Baddeley, Tony Dixon, Karl Byrne, Bobby Reardon and Cormac Gold. Together they released their debut EP in August 2017. We spoke to guitarist and singer/ songwriter Dave Baddeley about his future plans, inspiration and much more…
What are your plans for today?
Just going to go and practice after this. And then chill out in the evening.
What will you do this evening?
Just work on some songs, maybe new ones. We practice just in that building there so we’ll be there for a few hours maybe and then we will all go our separate ways.
Are you working as well as playing at the moment?
At the moment I’m looking for a job so erm, no.
And are you listening to anything at the moment at all?
I’ve been listening to this America album that’s got this song on it called Riverside and it’s just insane. I’ve been listening to a lot of Jonathon Richmond lately and getting into Paul Simon’s solo stuff. And Garfunkel as well, like Bright Eyes, that’s a tune.
What are you reading at the moment?
Not a lot to be honest. The last book I read was like a story about Robert K Wrestler who was the guy who coined the term serial killer, and he inspired Silence of the Lambs. He’s like the most high profile criminal profiler going. I think he’s dead now but he was the man.
Are you watching anything at the moment?
I’ve been watching, do you know Ideal, the TV series? I didn’t know there was seven series’ so I’ve watched all them. That was great. Very trippy though, it was weird, towards the end.
Did you like it, overall?
Yeah, it was okay. It just sort of looped round on itself so it was like a bit boring. But the last film I saw was amazing, was Hard Eight, Paul Thomas Anderson’s first film. It’s incredible. I like a lot of films with talking. With really interesting conversations. And Philip Seymour Hoffman pops up in it and he steals the show in just one scene. And John C Reilly’s good and it’s Paul Thomas Anderson so it’s going to be good.
What would constitute a perfect day for you? What do you like to do?
A sunny day like this. Go to the park. Not have to go to work if I got a job. Take the dog out and have a really nice relaxing day. That’s what you gotta do.
What does ace mental health mean for you? How do you stay mentally well?
Try and stay active. By doing things like with the band that keeps me occupied. Just trying to get out there and not spend time alone or just in the house. You’ve got to get up and do things.
We are big advocates of Mental Health First Aid here at The Mind Map. If friends are feeling down is there any advice you tend to give them?
Just try and focus on something that makes you happy and just do that basically.
Is there anyone who inspires you?
At the moment it’s Andre the Giant. I watched a documentary last night with Bob and he’s an inspiring guy. He’s got a sad story as well. Its like pure sad. He said he used to wish, like he’d tell his friends I wish I could be you for a weekend because he just can’t walk round anywhere because he’s just you know too big. And that’s an inspiring thing like, it looks like your doing something really productive but at the end of the day these people go home quite sad. Its two sides to the story.
So that inspired you to realise the grass isn’t always greener?
Yeah definitely. It’s like trying to be a musician. You look at the musicians that you really aspire to and it’s hard to do it and you realize that when you start doing it. And it’s hard to stay focused sometimes when its not going the right way you know. And that can dip into other realms and then you just got to keep doing it because if you like it, you’ll enjoy it.