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Inside the Supernova (Part One) 
Any argument about whether Infinite is just another Radiohead clone ended the minute Blue Nebula hit the shelves. With lyrics about pointless revolution, schizophrenia, the effect of memories, and (oddly) a human who confuses himself with a godlike alien, the album was lightyears ahead of the sound on most bands’ debut album. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the band was an overnight sensation. “We were taking steps in the right direction, inch by inch,” Quillington remembers, “The Styx single had been released a year before, we were doing okay for ourselves. Then Blue Nebula was released, and everything just became fucking nuts. Saburben Sunrise asked us to tour with them literally the day after, and Mind’s Jason Smith left us a note telling us not to worry about Rolling Stone’s negative review. It was fucking surreal.”
So, it seems easy to dismiss Infinite as a lucky one-hit wonder; the right people were paying attention, but lightning never strikes the same place twice. In fact, there’s even proof to justify the notion that attention quickly seems to be waning off of them. Supernova, their biggest hit, recently dropped from number 3 to number 20 in just one week. Flashback three years ago, to before you could turn on the radio without hearing the guitar solo to Fusion Paranoia. Infinite weren’t relying on hit albums to get attention, they were relying on live shows and word of mouth… and it was working. Barely.
“We had to beg our parents to give us money in order to afford recording Styx,” says Quillington when asked about the debut single, “It made me feel like shit. And you can imagine the looks on their faces when they found out Styx wasn’t released until two years later.” In the end, however, waiting two years before releasing the single wasn’t necessarily a bad idea. Infinite, aged 18, barely would’ve made a dent in the charts. Infinite, aged 20, still wouldn’t have made much of a dent, but at least people were more willing to listen to what they had to say. During the gap between those two periods, the band spent the time doing what every other self-respecting rock group does; touring their ass off.
And it worked, eventually. Infinite was slowly gaining a fierce reputation for live shows, and had gained an impressive cult following after the release of Styx. Everyone knows what happened next; Eric Quillington’s ambition and perfectionist qualities led to the yearlong recording session that produced Blue Nebula. Instead of taking small steps towards the finish line, the band was now running at full speed. However, it wasn’t as glamorous as it seems; the keyword here is ‘yearlong’.
“Instead of doing the normal thing, which is touring and releasing the occasional single to increase popularity, I had this brilliant idea that I could push the band into making a full EP,” Quillington almost seems embarrassed as he says this , “I thought; ‘Reckoner did it, Radiohead did it, fucking Slipknot did it, so I can do it.’ I wanted to make a really unorthodox EP… we’d have six songs, six cover songs, and two music videos. It didn’t exactly work. Recording went on for a bitch of a long time, and we still had to tour in between sessions. When it was all done, we didn’t have a unique EP, we had a rock album with a bunch of mediocre songs. I was hiding in a hotel room out of shame the day that Blue Nebula was released.”
Quillington might’ve hated the record, but the rest of Britain seemed to love it. Moving from virtual anonymity into total spotlight immersion (“‘Total Spotlight Immersion’… that sounds like a pretty good song title.” The singer later says in his deadpan tone of voice when reading this article over.) in a way that seemed almost effortless, the band almost didn’t know how to deal with the sudden success.
“I admit that I was addicted to heroin at the time of Blue Nebula’s release, so it wasn’t a good idea to suddenly be involved in the world of the rock star parties. I damn near killed myself, and that’s when I finally released that maybe whoring myself out to every supermodel and indulging myself with every drink wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Ugh, sorry… I really don’t want it to seem like I’m complaining.” Quillington self-consciously admits, his quiet voice barely audible over the noise of the restaurant.OOC: I wanna give huge props to C4AJoh, who gave me the inspiration to write this because of his amazing interviews.Edited by user 16 August 2010 06:06:22(UTC)
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Kid Anything- Indie/Britpop/Shoegaze; influenced by Sigur Ros, XXYYXX, Kanye West, Blur, Oasis (Bringing together an eclectic group of influences, Ulysses' songs are sung with carefree abandon by Nick Junk) Kurt Ulysses - Songwriter, Guitarist, Backup Vocalist Nick Junk - Vocals, Mojo Infinite- Alternative/Experimental Rock; influenced by Muse, Radiohead, and The Beatles (Known best for their experimental music and their frontman's eccentric behavior, the band disbanded after Eric Quillington's death to pursue solo careers or, in Matt Robert's case, peace of mind. Infinite released four albums over the course of their career; Blue Nebula, Midnight Skies, Insomnia, and Dancing about Architecture.) Eric Quillington (Deceased) - Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar, Piano, Primary Lyricist Matt Roberts - Bass Greg Oldson - Drums, Backup Vocals, Secondary Lyricist Amelia Florentine - Keyboards, Piano, Lyricist, Backup Vocals "When asked 'how do you write?' I invariably answer, 'one word at a time', and this answer is invariably dismissed. But that's all it is. It sounds too simple to be true, but consider the Great Wall of China, if you will: one stone at a time, man. That's all. One stone at a time. But I've read you can see that motherfucker from space without a telescope." - Stephen King |
