A year after the release of the critically lauded and much blogged about debut album‚ ’Waited Up ‘Til It Was Light’, Birmingham noiseniks JOHNNY FOREIGNER are back with their brilliant second record ‚’Grace and the Bigger Picture’, set for release on October 26th. We caught up with guitarist/lead vocalist Alexei Berrow to talk all things music in Birmingham.

Can you tell us a bit about your forthcoming Birmingham DVD documentary that you’re making?
Our documentary has the working title of “the year Birmingham broke”. Without wanting to start an interview off on a rant, it’s about how our council doesn’t really give a shit about “local” live music and how the scene suffers as a result when compared to other major cities. The research we’ve done has been pretty f*cking depressing to be honest. We’ve done a bit of shooting outside the city with a few notables, and we’ve had to put filming on hold for a couple of weeks while we go on tour, but when we come back we’re going to go round the still surviving venues interviewing promoters and landlords.

How would you like things to change for new and up and coming Brummie bands?
Man, I feel like I could sit here all day moaning. Like any civic work, the council should regard Birmingham’s live music scene as an investment. Although the industry is falling apart, the UK still makes a shit ton of money from it’s music, unlike most countries. Birmingham City Council has a long history of favouring short-term goals over long. I’m not hypothesising, it’s explained in a local school textbook I have from 1964 and the constant rebuilding work since has done nothing to prove otherwise. Essentially, they’re heavily biased towards upwardly mobile professional city centre living types, the demographic that can justify them sinking so much money into the Bullring and rebranding the city centre as a giant posh shopping mall. Drop the ego like Liverpool or nurture the homegrown stuff like Leeds and see the results in five years time when there are famous and forward looking bands not ashamed to say where they’re from.

What’s keeping you in Birmingham instead of heading down to London?
The Internet and, obviously, the fact that its grimy and expensive and full of Nathan Barley characters and the kind of idiots who’ve gone to London to find their fortune. The Internet’s saved everything. I think the idea that a band “needs” to go to London to do stuff is a myth now – no, an excuse. We talk to our label and our management everyday. Sometimes we don’t even leave our beds, the future is awesome.

Who are the most interesting bands in Birmingham at the moment?
Ace Bushy Striptease and Blakfish – both bands that we like, liked before, but have fallen in love with the last few months. You can totally fall in love with Ace Bushy but Blakfish are more of a one-night stand that you enjoy waaaaaay too much. Awful metaphor – both bands are amazing and clearly destined for more. You should check them out.

What’s your favourite venue to play in the city?
We’re genetically programmed to say the Flapper, even though it’s been a while. We probably played the Sunflower the most, both that and The Victoria are awesome tiny sweatbox venues but we grew up playing on that stage. We’re super-excited to be going back.

Your last album had references to Birmingham and some of its characters. Who or what gets referenced on the new album?
Um, there isn’t much local stuff. The album is like a document of the 14 months we spent touring after we made ‘Waited up’. I can pretty much place each song in a different city/person/event. There’s stuff about New York, Shibuya, Ibiza, Berlin, and a bunch of yookays, but not so much Birmingham since we didn’t spend much time at home. One song is set outside the Academy in the freezing cold at three in the morning, and ‘Feels Like Summer’ is set around the Flapper. I ended up singing ‘cellar’ instead of ‘Flapper’ ‘cos it wouldn’t make sense to anyone outside the city. I sorta’ wish I hadn’t now though.

If we were to give you £10, where in Birmingham would you go and spend it?
A WHOLE TEN POUNDS? Probably on 10 sets of fairy lights from the pound store. Is that OK? I still haven’t been to the Sea Life Centre so I’d do that. I’ll pop in tomorrow for it.

Have you ever been barred from any pub/club?

Not recently but in, I think, chronological order:

Flapper – underage, the day before my 18th.

Snobs – for saying “but you are though” at a bouncer when my friend called him a ‘fat loser’.

Academy – for weed smoking… fair.

Snobs again – when the same friend wrote “I am a f*cking retard and this is my retard car” on the same bouncer’s shiny BMW.

Subway – we found a door that went to outside and the bouncers got angry and forced us out of it.

All of them BANS! and all forgotten a few weeks later. I think the others are pretty similar – The Twang we are not.

UB40, Black Sabbath or The Twang?
Urrrrrrr none of the above – sorry. KING ADORA 4EVA!

New album ‘Grace and the Bigger Picture’ is out October 26th

www.myspace.com/johnnyforeigner