Loose Canon are a Manchester four-piece who combine gritty garage, Joy Division and the shambolic nature of The Fall into their infectious blend of punk. The band have also just released their brand new single - a double A-side featuring the future classic 'What Comes Next?' and 'Take These Eyes'. The single has been receiving positive media attention, including single of the week in The Independent. We got to chat with Loose Canon guitarist AC.

Besides being a member of Loose Canon, AC is also a founder of Manchester's excellent Akoustik Anarkhy clubnight, which has played host to a number of exciting live bands for the past 3 years. Previous nights have included gigs by the likes of Nine Black Alps, The Maybes?, Autokat, Sam & Me and Jack Cooper.

The single 'What Comes Next? / Take These Eyes', is out now and available to buy through Akoustik Anarkhy Recordings.

For more information on Loose Canon and Akoustik Anarkhy, check out - www.akoustikanarkhy.co.uk.

You've just released your new single 'What Comes Next?' / 'Take These Eyes' (Akoustik Anarkhy), which has been getting a fair amount of attention including Single Of The Week in The Independent. How did that feel?

It felt alright. It's nice to know that someone somewhere likes the record, but at the same time it's only one person's opinion, isn't it? The single was recorded over 6 months ago so, if I'm being totally honest, I'm not that interested in it anymore. People seem to like it, but I look upon the record as a necessary stepping-stone towards something that'll hopefully be far closer to what we want the band to sound like.

The single was recorded live in an old cotton mill, what made you choose that over a proper studio recording?

It was accidental that we came up with a single, as we originally went in to record some demos. We recorded 6 or 7 tunes in all and 4 sounded particularly good, so we just thought "fuck it" and decided to try get a single out of what we had. After a bit of arguing amongst ourselves, we managed to whittle it down to the two tunes that ended up on the record. In all, it cost us just under a grand. That's including recording, mixing, artwork, promotion & manufacturing. Had we gone into a "proper studio", it would have easily doubled the cost, which seems fairly pointless for a band in our position. The sound of the record is the same as what you get if you come to see us playing live, which is one of the reasons why we left in most of the mistakes. Personally, I don't want us to sound like that forever, but it suits the tunes on the record so I'm happy that we went with it on this occasion. Hopefully, the next single will be a million miles away from this one.

Do you think a lot of bands lose their impact through poor studio production?

I think a band can totally lose it's identity if it goes in with a producer who has never seen them play live before and who doesn't appreciate what they're all about. I've always felt that the role of the producer is to listen to the band; try to capture their live sound and, most important of all, not to detract from the band's strengths. A half decent producer should at least be committed enough to sit in on a few rehearsals with a band, as well as checking them out live. Jules, who we used for this single, has probably seen us play live 20 or 30 times over the years, so he was more than qualified to get down on tape the sound that we wanted.

Two new members, Pete and Bec, recently joined you. How did you meet and what made you include them in the new line-up?

We've been mates with Pete for quite a while. He used to come down to Akoustik Anarkhy when we were at the Star & Garter and he was always really enthusiastic about what we were doing. As those with long memories will remember, I was the original bass player in Loose Canon. I switched to guitar around Autumn 2002 when Noel and I wrote a load of new tunes together and started recording some home demos. Pete had been away on holiday in Thailand for 6 months or so with some mates and when he came back in early 2003 he filled in on bass. Off the top of my head, I honestly can't remember whether we asked him to join or not. Knowing him, he probably just forced his way in, but I really wouldn't want anyone else there now. He's got a massive personality and has got a brilliant ear for music. He's also a far better bass player than I ever was.

Around Spring 2003, we rehearsed a 6 track live set as a 3 piece being backed by a programmable drum machine, which worked reasonably well. However, we really wanted a live drummer to give us the freedom to experiment a little more. We put a few ads up around places in town and about six months later Bec replied. The first time we met her, she really impressed us with her obsessive knowledge of The Beach Boys, so she had a foot in the door from day one. We'd worked with loads of drummers in the past with varying results, but when we hooked up with Bec rehearsals just seemed so much easier than ever before and we made progress really quickly. She's totally enthusiastic, a brilliant player and she can hear things in songs that we can't.

I played the single to a friend of mine and he thinks you just sound like The Strokes, how wrong is he?

Well, the single has got that lo-fi garage sort of sound hasn't it? I guess it does sound a little like The Strokes, but none of us are big fans of theirs, so tell your friend that any similarity is purely coincidental.

Did you see that Ricky Gervais 'Animals' stand-up? Well if you were going to have a mermaid, would you rather have a human head & fishy tail...or fish head with human bottom?

That's a tricky question. I think I'd maybe prefer a Mermaid with a human head, so that I'd be able to at least have a chat with the thing. A Mermaid with a fish head would be far too wrong for words to describe.

I can hear some Ian Curtis in 'Take These Eyes', who else is an inspiration?

We're all well into The Beach Boys. They're the band that holds us all together.

Do you reckon there are too many garage bands at the moment? Do you think the scene is going to die soon or has it only just begun?

I'm really not interested in any sort of "scene". There seems to be a lot of bands around at the minute that are doing their own thing with limited resources. The fact that people are willing to have a go has got to be a positive thing, but it's so important that bands take the time to write decent songs; try to develop an identity & to enjoy what they're doing.

Bands seem to be waking up to the fact that they don't necessarily have to kiss the arse of some promoter to get a gig. They can put on a gig themselves in a basement or their own front room and make far more of an impact than at certain venues in town. At Akoustik Anarkhy we've been doing it for five years, so it's nice to see that some people are at least facing in the same direction as us.

What did you want to be when you were younger, besides being in a band?

I wanted to be an Astronaut or a Footballer. To this day, I still don't know what you have to do to become an Astronaut and, other than having a fairly tasty sliding tackle, I was always an average Footballer, so I never stood a chance of being either.

What's the most rock 'n' roll thing you've ever done?

During a gig last year, I deliberately smashed my guitar into the amp a few times at the end of the last tune of our set and the amp started buzzing uncontrollably. It may have looked good to everyone else, but It was me who had to fork out to get the thing repaired. I now understand why The Who were skint throughout the 60's with all the gear that they used to demolish.

Besides Loose Canon, you also run the Manchester club Akoustik Anarkhy - what made you set up the night?

We started Akoustik Anarkhy back in 1999 because we wanted somewhere to do stuff on our own terms. We weren't even in a band at the time, but we had a collective desire to not have to answer to anyone & to enjoy what we were doing as, at the time, everyone seemed so miserable at local band nights. We just wanted somewhere where we'd be able to blast our own music, DJ whatever we wanted to and, most importantly, to have a party. That still rings true today.

Are you pleased with how successful it has become? Are you doing an Akoustik Anarkhy night at this year's In The City?

Yeah, I'm happy enough with how things are going. It was Noel and I that started Akoustik Anarkhy, but there are now a few others that help us out. Our press & party guru Young Will is a genius at what he does, as is our self-proclaimed "technical dude" Lego who does the website/artwork/difficult stuff. Also, for the last couple of years we've had a brilliant soundman called Paul on board who can work wonders with limited gear. There are others working hard behind the scenes, but without those three we would have really struggled over the last few years.

This year, we're doing 2 nights of Akoustik Anarkhy for "In The City" - Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th September at The Gardens Hotel on Piccadilly Gardens. We've got a good selection of bands & DJs over the weekend, with The Longcut, Autokat, Sam & Me, Pierre Hall and The Exports, as well as The Soft Priest on DJ duties. Oh, and Loose Canon as well, of course. It was a riot last year, so hopefully it'll be even better this time.

After "In The City" we're doing Akoustik Anarkhy in Paris on Friday 15th October and then we've got our 5th Birthday at the end of October. Thereafter there's nothing definite in the diary, although there has been talk of another Akoustik Anarkhy compilation album sometime soon. All being well the next Loose Canon single will be out before the end of the year. We'd also love to do something with Sam & Me. I think one of our strengths is that we don't do things too often & when we do, we do a good job of it and people enjoy and remember it. If you do something too often it goes stale fairly quickly and quality control goes out the window.

Besides the Akoustik Anarkhy collective, who else do you rate in Manchester?

There are loads of positive things happening in Manchester at the minute. A lot of it isn't my cup of tea but, like I said before, it's positive that people are getting off their arses & having a go. The Longcut are getting better every time I see them and I'm looking forward to their forthcoming release on Deltasonic. They're a genuinely exciting band that needs to stick together and carry on doing what they're doing because they'll get even better. If they were a footballer, I think The Longcut would be Christiano Ronaldo. There's also The Yacht Club, who haven't even played a gig yet, but some of the demos that I've heard are utter genius and sound like no other band. I think Autokat are also going in the right direction. Some of their recent gigs have been phenomenal, with a proper mosh pit down the front. Brilliant stuff.

What's on the stereo at the moment?

"De Capo" by Love. The Yacht Club's recent home demos. "Stack-o-tracks" by The Beach Boys. A great reggae compilation called "Trojan Explosion". "Turn the light off" by Jack Cooper.

What's the biggest bargain you've ever bought at a charity shop / jumble sale? I once bought a china Snoopy for 10p, was I ripped off?

10p for a china Snoopy? That sounds like a bargain to me, mate. If you bury it in your garden for two thousand years it'll become priceless. In 1996 I picked up a chocolate brown, mid 70's safari jacket for £3.50 from "Scope". It's got a proper Roger Moore look to it and still hangs on my shoulders really nicely. People know it's a special occasion when I pull that thing out of the wardrobe. I don't know why, but I take great pleasure in taking it to the dry cleaners ever now and again.

Thanks for your time...oh and by the way, why are you called Loose Canon?

Every band needs a name and Loose Canon just sounded good at the time. Thank you & goodnight.