3 AMERICANS WE LIKE (on CD, live, in person...)  Most people have heard of Morphine, and some have even heard their music - a fusion of blues, rock and that all important 'Je ne sais quois'.

England appears to be slow in catching onto this distinctive, easily addictive sound - the charismatic band from Massachusetts have finally seduced this writer, and without much persuasion.

The love affair began long ago when some Yanks raved about Morphine, and waved a cassette tape on through the post.  It impressed.  Yet, Morphine were all but forgotten until recent times.  Morphine released a 4th album 'Like Swimming' and once more beckoned with its heady songs of love rich in moodiness.  The inevitable occurred and I was once more lured in, submitting to the charms of one Billy Conway, drummer...

Billy is extremely affable;  he only has another day to go in England, and the weather is beautiful. He is eager to ask me about what I do, as he sips an espresso.  His memory of yesterday - the first night of two at the Garage is quite simply that it was really hot,  thank goodness, tonight holds promises of being cooler, and Billy is happy.

In America, Morphine have signed to Dreamworks SKG - the power-giant owned by Messrs. Spielberg, Disney-man and Geffen.  Rykodisc let them go without fuss, "We had two more records due on Rykodisc, and Dreamworks made us an offer for when we were due with our Ryko contract, which is the only legal thing they could do.  And Ryko chose not to counter the contract, so we signed a deal for when we redempt our Ryko contract - two more records.  So no big thing.  And Dreamworks bought our contract from Rykodisc in the United States only, which is Phase Two of the whole deal.  What they ended up doing was just having a hand-off. It's a good avenue for us - it's good for Rykodisc, for the next time they bump into something that is not quite what they do, which is what we are.  So we try and make it a win-win situation, which in the end I think it is"

The Manchester gig, a  couple of nights ago, was apparently "fun.  The crowd was witty and verbal!"...whatever that may connote.  "We were just counting off a song, and this guy goes 'HOLD IT!' he was way in the back of the room, and the crowd just got silent so he could speak, and he said 'I got here late, and I really wanted to hear 'Honey White' and I heard you played it earlier.  Would you play it again?'  And we said, 'Sure, we'll start the whole thing over for you if you like...yeah, it was funny!"

Morphine have been touring Europe for the past month, and although their US tours are frequently more extensive than this Billy complains about having to comply to different cultures, "The language is different, the money is different.  The crowds are really pretty similar."  And yet, Morphine find amusement in this very similarity.  "The countries have certain characteristics....The crowds are all a little different.  It's an interesting thing;  Dana takes a picture almost every night from the stage of the audience at the end of the show - and sometimes before the show.  Over the years you can string them together,  we are all pretty good - we can look at the audience and say, 'Those are French people, and those are American.'  For example, you get the camera out in Holland and the people there get excited - straightening their shirts,  get it out in France and they go ape-shit!  There are little characteristics like that, that you get used to."

"We've been to Japan a couple of times.  The crowds there are quite different;  the first show is really a funny story.  We were really working at it.  We'd finish the song and they'd clap really loud, then it would go deathly silent.  And we thought, 'Wow,' half-way through the set - we're kind of looking at each other, saying, 'Man, we're giving it all we got, but it's just not flying.'  And then afterwards, people would be saying, 'That was the most amazing set.'  Then it was explained to us that the clapping and then the silence has to do with wanting to make sure they hear everything.  Once we figure some of those things out - it's a whole lot easier.  'We're just bombing!' is what we thought."

Morphine still play the 'old' venues - bars and cafes, that they used to play.  Initially doing a "high-speed tour of the U.S." when a record is released, and do the same around Europe, then returning to the States and play the cities that they like....playing to 500 or 300. "The quality of your life goes way up when you don't have to travel everyday.  You get to hang out - you get to meet people.  That's kind of where we want to be"

"Playing live is important to us.  We're musicians - That's where we're at.  So the moment - when you're on the stage and you're with the crowd, and everybody's trying to make a moment - that's as honest as it gets.   When you're tired of that - you're tired of it all. I never thought about it in professionally, I always just played.  I never really thought that, one way or the other, I'd ever really make a living out of it.  I just played. "

I ask about the band members' respective influences and Billy almost gets philosophical on me, " I think with us, it's more that there's a sound we hear that we're after. It's not so much influence, it's more that there's something worth persevering for.  Assuredly it will change as we move on."

Saxophonist (with a fat 'S' for being able to play 2 saxes in one instance, Dana Colley, crashed, but declined to join our photo session.  he mistook me for one of their past Japanese interviewers.  Not only was I not that person, but nor am I Japanese.  He tried to shrug it off, mumbling "Oh, oops.  Major Faux Pas."  So you see - they're not perfect - their seemingly never-ending grooviness can have its hiccups.  But they're Morphine, so they're forgiven.