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Ben Greeno, drummer with The Redwalls

Rock with The Redwalls!

When it comes to the music industry few bands ever achieve their true potential.Ìý While generic pretty boys and plastic girls litter the charts for weeks, few bands make it into decades.Ìý

Liam Gallagher.

The same cannot be said for Oasis. They emerged at the tale end of the Manchester music scene and hit the Brit pop era head on with huge amounts of success and more importantly, longevity.

Now 10 years since "Definitely Maybe", the band dynamics may have altered slightly but Noel and Liam Gallagher still rule the roost and are currently touring the UK.

They arrive at the Milton Keynes Bowl on theÌý9 and 10 July and while tickets may be hard to come by, the line up of entertainment on offer looks set to please rock fans who have been lucky enough.

Noel Gallagher.

But don't just expect the Gallagher brothers to provide the only anthems on the day. In keeping with their past shows, the line up, which changes every night and includes exciting new bands from the UK and the US, as well as some old favourites.

For the Milton Keynes dates this means being able to catch live sets fromÌý Babyshambles, Secret Machines, 22:20's, The Coral, The Soundtrack Of Our Lives and The Redwalls.

The Chicago based band The Redwalls may be used to big gigs, having supported Keane in the States, but this will be their first time in front of up to 60,000 fans at the National Bowl.Ìý

In order to try and establish what kind of spirit The Redwalls will bring to Milton Keynes we caught up with drummer Ben Greeno to discuss rock and roll, possible future success and even the state of Great British food.

How is the world of Rock and Roll going?

It’s going good, it’s finally good to have the album coming out over here (UK), we've been waiting such a long time to get it out, we finished recording it last fall (Autumn).

How did it come about that you are supporting Oasis on tour this summer?

They recorded their album in the Capitol record studios, which is our label, and one of our people there was a fan of them and was talking to them and had a copy of our album which we were recording at the time.Ìý He gave it to them and really nothing happened, it was just a fluke. He gave them the album to see if they liked it.Ìý

A few months later we got a call and they were saying something about us. This tour was coming up and our name came up again and they asked if we wanted to do it.Ìý I wasn't quite sure if they were the type of band where they don't really have much to do with getting their opening acts, just putting two an two together, and we wouldn't really see them.Ìý

But they were extremely nice guys and when we walked in Noel introduced himself right away and they were all really sweet nice guys.

And what do you think of Oasis’s music?

I really like this new album, I think it is the best thing they have done for the last ten years.

Have you toured the UK before?

Yes we toured the UK before, I really liked it but with touring you are just driving all the time just going from city to city so you don't get to see much.Ìý The only thing you see is the view from outside your window, but that is the only downfall.Ìý I have to say the food overall wasn't that good except the roast beef and mashed potato meal was great.

What is the biggest gig you have played to date?

I think when we toured with Keane and we played the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York and that was about 7,000 fans.

At the Milton Keynes Bowl you’ll be performing to 60,000. Have you ever been to Milton Keynes before and if not what are you expecting?

Strike a pose!

No I've never been before. It will be great, it must be very massive indeed, obviously if it is a place that needs to hold 60,000 people.Ìý It’s a football stadium right?

You’re the drummer in the Redwalls, but you took over from a guy who left to go to college, does this make you the band's lucky charm?

I was at school at the time and the band needed a drummer and I really got along with the guys and really liked what they were doing. I left school to join the band and he left the band and joined school.Ìý

I did it because it is what I wanted to do for my whole life, it just happened and I guess the definition of that would make me lucky, but I definitely don't look at it that way.Ìý

It’s still a job regardless of what happens. There have only been a few times where we really get a chance to sit back and think ‘oh wow this is great’ but the rest of the time you are touring.Ìý

But this Oasis tour and the album coming out - those are some really big achievements that we're really proud of and that’s cool.

I got a drumming friend of mine to evaluate your performance on the album and he described you as "tight", is that a good thing?

Yes I would say so, I guess, but now we're talking about myself so I'm kind of not too willing to elaborate on that!Ìý Tight or solid would kind of fall into the same definition as that and I would say that was a compliment.

How do the band dynamics work, do you all get involved writing the songs and music or are you just told what to do?

The Redwalls relax.

It is a very democratic process as far as the song writing is concerned. The other three guys all write. But most of the situation with song writing is that someone comes in with a melody or a hook and we just play it and bang it out and see what happens with it and turn it into a song.Ìý

Then there are a few cases where someone may come in with a complete song idea for everybody else and then I'll write a drum part to it.Ìý

But overall it is a very democratic process where everybody has their own input about where the song is going to go, what type of song it is going to be and what type of feel it is going to have, it’s a fun process.

Your album seems to vary in music styles, how would you describe it?

I would just say it is a good rock and roll album, I've heard it 4 million times and I don't even like listening to it anymore.

What’s your favourite track?

My favourite is ‘Hung Up On The Way I'm Feeling’. Overall it was fun to record because of everything that we were trying to do in the studio. I think that came out almost exactly like we wanted it to.ÌýThat is not to say the other tracks didn't, but sonically the feel and the sound and everything about it makes it my favourite.

That track is described in your biography as a ‘woozy, pristine psychedelia’, is that fair?

Wow that’s crazy, the words in themselves are just crazy, I'm not sure if that is right so I won't agree or disagree with it.ÌýIt is a good listen. It's hard for me not to be biased but I'm really proud of it.

The band are getting some great reviews and are being tipped for great things, does this make you really excited or do you just wish it would just happen?

It’s nice to get good reviews but I know for every good one that we get we are going to get twice as many bad ones.Ìý

We just read a bad one and it’s funny when that stuff happens and the album comes out and you have to just suck it up and take it.Ìý

But I definitely just want everything to get going!Ìý We have to keep touring and we all love touring I just want to continue being on the road and work the album.

One final question, have you ever considered changing your name from Greeno to Reddo to go with the band better?

I couldn't do that - it’s my Scottish name!

The Redwalls album De Nova is out on 4 July 2005.