WE’RE SO MUCH MORE RELAXED ABOUT THE WHOLE THING NOW
A CONVERSATION WITH STEVE SMITH OF THE VAPORS
With a charmingly infectious blend of power pop, punk, and new wave, The Vapors’ 1980 debut album, New Clear Days, was a commercial success propelled by the popular track “Turning Japanese”, one of the catchiest songs of the ‘80s. Their 1981 sophomore album, Magnets, saw them experimenting a bit more with their sound, and despite receiving positive reviews it did not come close to reaching the same success commercially. Eventually, the band broke up in 1982, and they would not release another album until Together, almost 40 years later, one of the longest gaps between studio albums. On February 28, the band is set to release their fourth studio album, Wasp In A Jar.
“It was recorded in a very much 1979 way of recording in that we played live in the studio together and we didn’t really hardly use any ‘studio technology,” says bassist Steve Smith. “It was all basically played live, and then little bits overdubbed after.” However, the album’s feel was a lot different as he continued, “We’re so much more relaxed about the whole thing now. Then, we were young and full of angst, and you were battling every other band to get in front of them. We’re just not like that anymore. It’s just like ‘this is who we are. This is what we do.’ If you like it, great! If you don’t, well, that’s a shame.”
Reflecting on the difference between making a record nowadays compared to the ‘70s and ‘80s, Smith notes, “It’s easier to autocorrect and autotune everything,” The Vapors stayed away from this while recording Wasp In A Jar as he continues, “It’s really tempting to go down those routes of like correcting stuff digitally, like, ‘that seems a bit wrong. If I do this and this and this, there it is. It’s corrected.’ But we were more like, ‘okay, I’m gonna play that bit again. Drop me in here, and we’ll play it again.’ It wasn’t really a conscious thing. That was the way we worked. We did it very organically and very much like we would have done back in the day.”
“The Human Race” and “Hit The Ground Running” are two songs from Wasp In A Jar that Smith really enjoyed recording. “I like the bass on “The Human Race”. It’s really weird and on an off beat. It’s an interesting timing thing for me. I enjoy playing that one. I really like the first song as well, “Hit The Ground Running”. It is really quite punky and reminds me of when we first started.”
PRE-ORDER WASP IN A JAR
The Vapors are most known for the unbelievably catchy “Turning Japanese”, which was a gigantic hit in the ‘80s. “Without it, we would be nowhere,” exclaims Smith. “I saw an early version of the band do that song before I joined, and I knew that was a very commercial song, and when we recorded it, the producer, Vic Coppersmith-Heaven, did such a fantastic job. We knew it could be a big hit, but it went a bit more massive than we thought which is great. It’s opened so many doors for us. We come to America this year. It will be I think our eighth time of coming to America. It’s just incredible. Without that song, that wouldn’t have happened. We’ve been to Australia. It’s been great to us, that song.”
Along with “Turning Japanese”, The Vapors have many other great songs, most notably “News At Ten” and “Jimmie Jones”. Smith shares another two tracks from their discography that he is especially proud of. “I really like the title track from the second album, Magnets. It’s very atmospheric, very epic, and goes on for ages, but I’m really proud of that ‘cause it’s very different from what we started out doing. It shows that we really developed as a band. I also like the song “Together” from the album Together ‘cause I just think it’s a fabulous pop song.”
The Vapors will be pretty busy this year as they have many tours in store for fans. In the UK, they will be playing a handful of gigs to promote the new album and have a few more shows lined up where they will open up for Big Country. Meanwhile, in the US, The Vapors will be partaking in Lost 80’s Live. This tour is a ‘blast from the past’ and features multiple iconic ‘80s bands. “It’s great for the audience,” says Smith. “You see different generations of families there, from little kids to grandparents; they are all there having a great time. If you don’t like ‘this band,’ there will be another one along in a minute. You get on, and you do however many songs you get. Normally we do like four and people have a great time. You do your four songs, and then someone else comes on. You do get good value because you get all the best or most commercially successful songs from the bands. I just think it’s a great and nice night out for people. It’s a nostalgia thing.”
The Vapors are excited to share Wasp In A Jar with their fans. “I think people will enjoy the energy,” states Smith. “I think we really captured the energy. I think people will enjoy the songs. I think our fans will love it. We want to try and reach out to some new fans and try to expand our fanbase.”
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