Trevor Garrard founder and vocalist of Genesis In The Cage, a Genesis Tribute Band based in the UK, catches a few moments to chat with long time DPRP contributor Pia Matozzi about how the band came into being, the current band line-up and looks at some of the material chosen by GITC from Genesis' hefty back catalogue.

PIA: In 1998 Genesis did the Calling All Stations Tour and in the same year you decided to form a Genesis Tribute Band. How did you come up with this idea and why?

TREVOR: I went to see Genesis at Earls Court, I thought that they looked a bit like a tribute band and that I missed hearing the "older" stuff.

PIA: You were joined by Mark Jordan (Drums), Piers De Lavison (Keys), Richard Whitehead (Bass and 12 string) and Patrick Heron (Guitars and Flute). Were you all familiar with Genesis music or had you performed it before? How has your theatrical background helped you? What were your initial ideas when you formed the band? Has the band developed in the way you envisaged?

TREVOR: I was very familiar with Genesis but never performed it before except in the bath!! My theatrical background is what got me interested in Genesis. I thought that everything I heard was a small piece of theatre in itself, my first ideas were to just get one or two like minded people together and slope off in a corner and quietly perform ...to ourselves. The band has developed (with me as well) into far more than I ever dreamed possible.

PIA: The band was originally called In the Cage a song title taken from the album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. With that name it seems that you had chosen the Peter Gabriel years. Was the band's intention to focus only on that particular era?

TREVOR: No, we struggled for a long time on this, the name was eventually chosen because we felt that if we ever decided to do our own music the name "The Cage " would be good and so the transition would be smooth!! Our intention was to always include the early "Phil" period.

PIA: In 1999 In The Cage participated at the Genesis Fan Convention. How important was it for the band?

TREVOR: It was hugely important, we were invited to play there before we had EVER done a gig!! We felt that even if we played badly...it might be the only chance we would get to play in front of a convention crowd, good or bad ...we would do it ...it turned out quite bad!! I was a nervous wreck before the gig ...the timing on Down & Out went completely wrong ...and we felt very depressed after...

PIA: With a repertoire of about 40 tracks how does the band choose the setlist? Are there any tracks that you tend to keep in the set? Is there any song that you perform that hasn't been played live by Genesis?

TREVOR: We try to keep the set Fresh, generally we try and stay within our dedicated period of 70-80 we think about the tracks we love (we are fans so we love this stuff ...dreams do come true!!) and feel will go down well with the crowd, we will always try and keep certain tracks in the set ...Suppers Ready !! you can't leave that out ...The Lamb ...classic stuff... We have become known for taking the odd chance with tracks never or infrequently played live by Genesis, song like ....Seven Stones, Down & Out, Harold the Barrel, It's Yourself, Trick of the Tail, Twilight Alehouse !!!

PIA: What can you tell me about the present line up of the band?

TREVOR: The present line up is without doubt the Strongest we have ever had, that's not to take anything from previous incarnations, all past members of GITC brought something unique to the band, it's just that musically we are stronger now than ever ...helped by the incredible dedication to detail by keys man Henry Dagg, he would not go on the road without using as close an original kit as possible, hence the Mellotron M400, the Lesley, the ARP pro soloist, The Hammond L122, Henry is without question the most gifted of Keyboard players and we consider ourselves very lucky to have him and Maurice Hendricks ...his 12 string work is nothing short of inspirational and he ain't a bad bass man to boot ...anyone who knows us will recognise the haunting similarity of Pat Herons guitar work to that of Hackett himself and lastly ...the drums ...well what can you say ...he is the Don of Drummers...

PIA: Who is responsible for the light show design ?

TREVOR: Our Light Show is designed by Andrew and me and is meant to resemble that of the original band ...just not quite so much... I should mention more about Andrew Hanson, a fantastic film maker who has produced and directed the video work that is seen on screen, we give Andrew carte blanche on this so it is all Andrews own interpretations up there. We are Lucky to have such dedicated crew, J who has worked tirelessly for us for 6 years, Nick on Sound who seems to be the only one who knows our sound, Vanessa who does just about everything and our newest techy Alec who is training to be a lighting engineer.

PIA: The Mellotron is one of those things that doesn't pass unnoticed in your gigs. Is the rest of the equipment you currently use similar to that which Genesis used?

TREVOR: Yes, Pat uses a Gibson Les Paul and the rest of Henry's keys are a marvel to his (and other) recuperatory skills!!

PIA: Have you or any of your bandmates ever tried collaborating with Genesis musicians or members in their projects?

TREVOR: No, but that does not mean we would not ...give Phil, Pete et al my number ...

PIA: Harold the Barrel was performed for the first time in Birmingham last year. Was it a strange choice?

TREVOR: Goes with the GITC territory, we love doing the unusual.

PIA: Are you working on any other tracks to add to the repertoire?

TREVOR: We are working on the Duke Suite ...25th anniversary of Duke this year...

PIA: The Stratford gig last year was recorded live. It was a fantastic show I must say. Can you tell me when the CD is to be released and which tracks will be included?

TREVOR: We are STILL waiting to get some final confirmation on this ...we will keep you posted...

PIA: Many thanks for your time and look forward to seeing you during 2005.

Links:

In The Cage - April 2004 - UK - DPRP Concert Reviews
In The Cage - February 2003 - Belgium - DPRP Concert Review

The Official In The Cage Website
Maurice Hendricks Guitars