Producer Butch Vig hopes for Oasis reunion ahead of Liam Gallagher at Trnsmt
Butch Vig said streaming services were opening up more genres to younger audiences.
Legendary rock producer Butch Vig praised streaming services for breaking up tribalism in music, ahead of Garbage taking to the stage at Trnsmt.
The band have been going for 30 years, fronted by Scottish singer Shirley Manson, originally from Edinburgh.
Vig, 68, the band’s drummer, also enjoyed a production career which shaped 90s’ pop culture, and said Manson’s willingness to stand up to sexism and racism, and for “disenfranchised” communities, had made her an icon.
He said Scotland was a refreshing change from Madrid, where the band performed in sweltering heat, and they had a guestlist of about 500 of Manson’s friends and family at their next date in Usher Hall, Edinburgh.
And he described an Oasis reunion as “the biggest tour of the planet” and said he would be avidly watching Liam Gallagher’s set on Glasgow Green.
Vig said: “I love it here, I love this weather.
“We landed in Edinburgh last night and took a bus over. I love Glasgow, we have performed at the Barrowlands five or six times.
“I think last we were here they gave us a plaque on the wall.”
He said that streaming services meant that younger audiences were enjoying Garbage’s music and broke up tribalism about music genres.
Vig said: “We see people at the front who are older who bought our records when they first came out 30 years ago.
“We see a lot of kids in their 20s who seem to know the words, and teenage kids singing songs from our latest album.
“It feels good in a way that music can transcend generations like that.
“A lot of that has to do with streaming, back in the day you either had vinyl or CDs.
“Now everything is accessible, people’s taste in music is much more diverse.
“The bill is very eclectic, there’s a lot of bands you haven’t heard of, it’s great for young bands to get that opportunity.”
Garbage toured with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds on a 36-date stint last year, and Vig said he would “be in the front row” if Oasis reformed.
He described Liam Gallagher as a “proper rock star” and spoke of his excitement at watching him performing the entirety of Definitely Maybe later.
Vig said: “Liam Gallagher is a proper rock star.
“If Oasis got back together it will be the biggest tour on the planet – and I will be in the front row.”
He praised Manson for being the “MVP” in Garbage – most valuable player – and spoke of his enjoyment at getting to be both a musician and a producer, during a career which included producing Sonic Youth’s first mainstream album, Dirty, as well as the Smashing Pumpkins and Green Day.
Vig said: “I think one of the reasons we have been so successful is Shirley, I think she’s very opinionated and speaks about disenfranchised people, sexism and racism.
“Quite a lot of her fans are quite taken with her.
“She’s the MVP of the band, I think that’s the reason we’ve had that success.
“I have been producing music for most of my career, including Nevermind, by Nirvana, they are like different parts of my brain.”
