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interesting rob dickinson story

Friday, 20 January 2006

from insidebayarea.com

For Rob Dickinson, writing songs is like designing cars

By Tom Lanham, CONTRIBUTOR

ROB DICKINSON, it's safe to say, is taking to his new Hollywood home
like a duck to water. Lunching at a trendy Sunset Boulevard bistro, the
formerly tallow-complected Brit certainly looks the L.A. part — tanned
and muscular, dressed in Frye boots, designer jeans and T-shirt, his
short brown hair frosted with streaks of blond.

He delights in showing off his prized California possession, parked
streetside and already the subject of envious stares: a
mustard-colored, '69-vintage Porsche 911. "But that's not mustard," he
corrects. "It's called 'Bahama Yellow.'"

So now you know. Dickinson is particular about his automobile
terminology for good reason. This ex-frontman for ethereal UK guitar
group Catherine Wheel didn't just move to Hollywood to kick-start work
on his new solo set, "Fresh Wine for the Horses" on Sanctuary.

He also wanted to return to the trade for which he was schooled,
designing high-end sports cars for only the most serious enthusiasts.
In his native Norfolk, he punched the clock at Lotus before trying his
hand at rock in the early 1990s. Six stirring albums on, Catherine
Wheel folded, unsung and virtually unnoticed, and its leader happily
got back into gearhead grease again, this time as a freelance Porsche
specialist.

"And it's been great, getting into magazines again," says Dickinson,
40.

Correction, he hastily adds. "I'm not in them myself — the car is. And
the car is the star. But at the risk of sounding cliched, designing
cars really was another creative outlet, which I'd absolutely let go
for 10 years because of the band. But I've got lots of friends who I
went to college with who've risen to very high positions of prominence
in the car-design business, so I've been hanging out with those guys a
lot and doing some designs again, which has been a joy. Designing for
special people who want special cars."

How special? Thanks to Los Angeles' ballooning market for classic
European roadsters, Dickinson says, his services are always in demand.
Wealthy folks just take one look at his Bahama Yellow bomber and simply
think they'll "have one of those!" — even though the price tags range
from $70,000 to $100,000.

Once an order is placed, Dickinson oversees the Porsche's restoration,
all the way down to its suspension and engine rebuilding.

"I make it look good," he says, "which is what most people are
concerned about. And that's everything I did back in my old Lotus day
job, sketching and presenting ideas to people."

Dickinson thinks the car-design process is identical to writing a
song. He says, "You find yourself in similar positions, and similar
choices are made along the road."

That could account for why, after five years, he's back to recording
with "Horses."

There were other factors, as well. When Catherine Wheel splintered,
Dickinson (cousin to Iron Maiden shriekmeister Bruce Dickinson) left
England for New York, where he kicked around town and gradually lost
rock-star focus.

He knew it was time to make his solo debut, he sighs. "But it got to
the point where I knew the record was probably not getting made if I
stayed in New York. I was really enjoying my time off. I needed to
shake things up a bit, so I came out to L.A. and started making my
album in '03. And, as usual, everything took ages."

It was worth the wait. Dickinson's billowy wheeze is as strong as
ever, wafting through chiming Wheel-esque anthems like "Oceans,"
"Intelligent People" and the single "My Name Is Love."

Playing many of the instruments himself, he also pares the assault
down to simple acoustic strumming on delicate ballads such as "The
Night" and "Bad Beauty," letting his charismatic voice carry the day.

A funny thing happened while he'd been away plotting Porsches. Former
Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin rang up Dickinson, asked him
to sing on his recent solo project. Prime Pumpkin Billy Corgan praised
Catherine Wheel in '05 interviews as totally underrated and one of his
favorite groups of all time.

It was only as news of his return began leaking out, says Dickinson
(who plays Jan. 16 at Cafe Du Nord), that he started to feel goodwill
toward his old band.

"I wish it was around six years ago," he adds, mentioning that a lot
of people who were supportive of the group have risen to positions of
influence in the music business. Rather than being an albatross around
his neck, Catherine Wheel opened doors for him: "I mean, they started
playing 'My Name Is Love' right away on (powerful SoCal station) KCRW.
So maybe this record will attract some overdue attention to our old
catalog. Who knows?"

By all rights, Dickinson should be bitter about the industry that
snubbed his most valiant CW efforts. But he's adopted a zenlike
attitude about the past.

"There is a time and a place for everything, and our band was never
meant to be," he rationalizes. "It was either going to be us, or it was
going to be Radiohead — it was as simple as that. Back in '92, both
bands were poised to break, but it just wasn't our destiny."

Besides, Dickinson concludes, donning shades and hopping into his
flashy Porsche, fate has taken him all the way to exotic Hollywood.

"And I just love it out here. I like the sun. I like the culture. And
the thing I love the most? I can drive here!" And he puts the pedal to
the metal and vrooms off down Sunset.

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