The following article appeared within the 'New Blood,' section of ARTROCKER MAGAZINE # 88 (April 2009 issue.)
"Wiggy! Where you going? What's that...?" Chet's voice tails off into the darkness, unable to keep up with the fast departing guitarist / vocalist of MING MING AND THE CHING CHINGS.
"He says just to do to the interview without him," Rugby suggests.
"He's just taken his stuff! What the fuck's going on?!" exclaims the incredulous Gee.
"I'll go get him," is percussionist / saxophonist Chet's first and final contribution, as he too disappears into the night.
'This is going well........" I think to myself, as the realisation dawns that I could be the last person to interview the band. 'Still, it's a bit of a coup I suppose, being present as one of Scotland's most entertaining bands implodes before my very eyes. This will make a good - if short - story!'
MING MING AND THE CHING CHINGS are well known for their borderline 'shambolic,' stage shows ("...the more chaotic it gets, the better the show," laughs drummer Rugby,") but this takes the biscuit! It's fair to say though, that tonight's gig-come-party at The Research Club - an old mansion in the heart of the Glasgow University campus - is lacking somewhat in the organisation department and tensions are running high. It's all beginning to feel a bit like one of those dysfunctional American 'frat parties,' you see in the movies.
OK, so I'm left with two of the four band members and flying in the face of conventional Glasgow thinking, I adopt the view that my glass is still half full and press on.
"Wiggy," (aka Ming Ming) "and me have been playing together for years, latterly with Policechief," explains Gee.
"And I was in a band called Big Face with Chet, but I was also a big fan of Policechief and knew the others anyway. We've been together as MING MING AND THE CHING CHINGS for about two and half years now and it's been going pretty well," says Rugby, "...until now," he mutters, but still smiling.
"Originally it was just Wiggy, Rugby and myself," says Gee. "To begin with we'd get together round at Wig's house with nothing more than a common love for the likes of The Cramps and X-Ray Spex, batter out a few tunes then head up to the Berkeley (studio) to practice. We ended up with two drum kits as the ex drummer with Policechief came along too, but after a while he buggered off to New Zealand and that's when we asked Chet to play percussion."
"He can play just about any instrument and that's added so much to us as a band. Not just musically, but with his enthusiasm and energy as well." (Anyone who has seen the band play will testify to this - Chet is the personification of perpetual motion, as he bounces around thrashing his instruments and swapping them from song to song.)
For a band that regards their playing as "far more than just a hobby", MING MING AND THE CHING CHINGS don't seem to play that many gigs.
"We get offers to play all the time," explains Rugby, "but it's mainly in the Glasgow area although we have played down in London a few times."
"Yeah - we've played the Artrocker Club @ Buffalo Bar, and ... what was that posh place?" asks Gee.
"The Royal Academy."
"Yeah - that was the nicest fuckin' ceiling I've ever played to!" laughs Gee.
"No, travelling is not an issue with us. We're happy to travel. I think that with us all having the experience of being in 'touring bands,' it's actually something we'd like to do more of," says Rugby. We get so many offers to play Glasgow shows with local bands, but probably because we're that bit more experienced than some of the bands we're offered to play with, we sometimes think our time would be better spent in our studio at SWG3, and get some properly recorded tracks ready."
But they've been promising that for a year or so now, I remind them.
"I know," concedes Gee. "It takes so long since we're doing it all ourselves. We play selective gigs to get money to record and so the circle continues. The demos that were up on our My Space player have been re-recorded and a fifth one is just about finished."
"It's also a lot down to Wiggy being a choosey bastard!" laughs Rugby at the expense of his absent friend. "The plan is now though, to hawk copies of those songs that are properly finished and see if we can drum up some interest and air-play. You know, the artwork's been done for ages, it was just a case of getting the material!"
Yeah - just a minor detail, lads! But in a way, this sums up what makes MING MING AND THE CHING CHINGS so special - the lack of any formal agenda and timescale relieves them of any pressures and free to completely enjoy themselves - something that is so obvious in both their musical style and live performances.
Musically, they sound pretty unique which is not really surprising considering their individual music of choice.
"To be honest, I don't really listen to a lot of bands. I was always into the likes of The Cramps and Bowie, though," admits Gee. "Then you've got Wiggy and his 'dance,' music and Rugby with his techno obsession. Christ knows what Chet's into, mind. Cheesy Eighties shite most likely." (I can sense a disrespectful, but healthy mutual 'respect,' between the band!)
Wait..... rewind a little..?! Did Gee just say that drummer Rugby was into 'techno music?' Is that not a bit unusual for (a) for someone in a band playing such a different style of music, and (b) a drummer?
"No, absolutely not," Rugby sounds quite indignant. "Banging techno - especially German techno. I'm a massive fan, but I'm happy to listen to anything so long as it's played well."
The amalgam of such diverse individual tastes is a bass-driven, surf infused, arty, psychobilly sound. The prominence of the percussion however ensures danceable rhythms throughout. In fact, Gee and Rugby confirm that the song writing process is driven from the rhythm section.
"When we start out on a song, we begin with a rhythm. Anything you can move to. Me and Gee are pretty close in coming up with stuff between the drums and bass, then Wiggy wil come in with his guitar and we'll build an eight-bar loop and take it from there. We're definitely a rhythm based band - Wiggy does the vocals but uses his guitar sparingly."
And what about the lyrics? They are not a political band and don't seem to have any particular message with which to bombard the crowds. What DO they sing about, then?
"Aw! Christ knows! That's Wiggy's department. We've been listening to him sing for years and still don't know what he's on about! One night up in Dundee we found his lyric book and had a peek through it. We thought 'he's fuckin' crazy, man! Where does this come from? He actually sings this?"
It's just as well these guys are long-standing friends and whilst they may be more than happy to slag each other off mercilessly there is a strong 'all for one, one for all' bond, which reflects very clearly in their tight performances. This bond was rather amusingly illustrated one night when Wiggy bailed out his band members who got involved in a fight at a Club Night at the Art School. When the dust settled, the result was that all four of MING MING AND THE CHING CHINGS were barred indefinitely. Trouble was..... Wiggy was the resident DJ!
So what now for the band? On one hand you'd be forgiven for asking in what direction the wind was blowing! But on the other you just know that despite their apparent haphazard approach, MING MING AND THE CHINGS have a steely determination to succeed where their previous bands just lost out. Expect the unexpected - and a bloody good night out - is my warning!
Postscript: Wiggy had lost both patience and faith in the night's organisers. Fifteen minutes after they themselves were due on stage and the support act had not yet performed due to the absence of a bass amp from he back-line. Wiggy had disappeared having taken matters into his own hands and set out on a mission to track one down, which he did, before returning in plenty time to play a blistering set - albeit at around one am - about an hour and a half after the original set time.