“Love yourself and surround yourself with other lovers too”.
Hailing from deep within the undergrowth of Knowsley Safari Park, SILENT K make music for a silent generation. It’s Northern rock and roll from the twilight zone – at a zoo! Progressive park punk, if you like. Their Pineapple King aka Chris Taylor chats to us urban dwellers ahead of a stint as tour axeman for Fat White Family. If anyone can navigate the urban zoo of life and all of its monkey business it’s Chris…
What are you working on at the moment?
Just finished a run of warm-up shows with the Fat White Family ready for the festival season. I’m also in the middle of mixing our debut single with my new scouse Knowlsey band SILENT-K too. Buzzing around Europe like a big bad bumble bee at the mo.
What has been your biggest life challenge so far and what did you do to overcome it?
Working out how to make a living doing what I love. You gotta make sacrifices and realise what’s important and what you can live without. Once you work that out, get good at it, put the hours in, commit, preserve, personalise it.
Eventually it clicks, it always does. Just keep going, believe in yourself and everyone will believe in you. As Joe Strummer said “Don’t stop long enough to start”.
What would constitute a ‘perfect’ day for you?
Wake up early in the morning, eat breakfast with my girl, go to the studio with the band, make some noise, write a new song, have a good chat with as many friends as possible, meet my dad and sisters for lunch, head to either Elif or Maray for dinner and then either spend the evening in the pub with friends or watching an epic film in bed with my beautiful other half.
What are you listening to, reading and watching at the moment?
I’m obsessed with David Byrne and “Talking Heads” at the mo. He is such a creative inspiration. Creativity is my favourite brain power, being able to bring an idea to life and into the physical realm. It’s endless and never the same. Blows my mind and drives me on.
“Head On” by Julian Cope of “The Teardrop Explodes” is already the best biography I’ve read in my entire life. It’s also a great historical document of Liverpool’s punk scene.
I’ve been obsessed with the story of Pat Phelan in coronation street. Never really got into soaps before but Pat’s outrageous antics caught my attention. He has been like a meteor on the street. A scouser running wild in a Manc setting. I’d like to write myself into a few episodes as his long lost son from “Crocky” who comes searching for his long lost father. Eventually the street accept me and warm to me…the scouse shenanigans in Weatherfield continue!
For what in your life do you feel most grateful?
The simple act of LOVE. Being able to feel it, accept it, share it and have people around me who feel the same way. Got no time for the haters.
Complete this sentence: “Ace mental health for me means…”
Contentment. Being at one with yourself. A free and calm headspace.
What do you eat to stay healthy?
When I’m home, as much green veg as I can stomach, fruit, porridge and anything with tomatoes in. When I’m away from home, any fruit I can get my hands on, vitamin tablets and Guinness.
I stay far away from those devil ready meals and don’t trust microwaves.
Do you have a daily routine of exercise or do you make it up as you go along?
Definitely not daily, more like periodically. I’ve joined a gym but tend to only work-out in the steam room and jacuzzi, let the bubbles do the work. Thankfully my high energy job keeps my perspiration cycle intact.
Here at The Mind Map we remember playing football and ‘tag’ – running around the playground everyday and loving it – can you share a similar memory?
As a kid I was chained to a football. Wherever I went there was always one close. I was never on my own with a football, Rush, Barnes, Beardsley, Maradona, Pele were always there by my side. It’s only a ball, but with a sparkle of imagination I could lose myself for hours.
What three songs lift your spirits?
It changes all the time but I’ll go with: Barry White “Playing Your Game” always lifts my spirits, probably because it sounds so delicious. The Jackson Sisters “I Believe in Miracles” has that special euphoric power that makes me wanna lose my shit. WHAM! “Club Tropicana” has it all (best band name ever btw).
If George was still alive he would be singing on the next Fat White Family album. True soul rebel.
What is your favourite self-help book, or motivational quote?
I’ve only ever picked one up: “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle, says it all really. Fear is of the future, regret is of the past, live in the moment. I never finished the book but it confirmed to me the importance of being in the moment and taking things as they come.
Being open to opportunities and ready for spontaneous adventures is freedom for me.
What advice do you offer to friends when they are feeling overwhelmed?
I think with the speed society moves at these days and the constant corporate pressure to consume, it’s important to remember that it is all just a smoke screen.
There’s a solution to all your problems and worries, you’ve just gotta step away from it all, go for a walk in the park or by the water, forget about everything that’s bothering you and just remember that you are here in the now and part of the great mystery of life.
Don’t let anyone or anything get you down, you are your own masterpiece and everything you need you already have within you. We are basic beings that have complicated the world we live in.
It’s crucial to separate yourself from the madness of daily society and just stand back and watch the circus go round and round. Love yourself and surround yourself with other lovers too. Peace.
You can catch Fat White Family on tour here and SILENT K play the Palm House at Sefton Park in Liverpool on July 21st