Supergrass Get Nick Cave's Stamp of Approval

Posted on May 30th 2008 2:30PM by Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
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Supergrass drummer Danny Goffey admits he's just a big sap -- especially when it comes to the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, who committed suicide Oct. 21, 2003.

"I've been listening to a lot of Elliott Smith in the last week," Goffey tells Spinner. "I really like Elliott Smith. He's one of the only artists who makes me cry. I'm a big girl, really. I read this book about Elliott Smith and he said a few weeks before he died, he came to see us play supporting Radiohead and said we were one of his favorite bands. That was really nice because we had been fans of his for a while."

Meanwhile, Goffey's out promoting Supergrass' forthcoming album, 'Diamond Hoo Ha,' which hits stores June 10. It's a name that was given the official thumbs up from dark alternative rocker Nick Cave.

"We were working with this [producer] Nick Launay. He thought it was a good title," Goffey says. "He'd just worked with Nick Cave, so he phoned Nick up and he said, 'What do you reckon?' Nick said, 'I like it.' So we stuck with it."

Supergrass -- which also includes guitarist/vocalist Gaz Coombes, bassist Mick Quinn and keyboardist Rob Coombes -- worked on the album in Berlin, Germany, as well as Los Angeles with Launay. The four guys in the band share lyrical duty -- as well as profits, Goffey stresses -- but when prodded, he said he's partial to the songs on the album he writes and/or sings on.

"'Rough Knuckles,' 'Ghost of a Friend,' 'The Return of Inspiration' -- all of those I like," Goffey says. "I like 'Ghost of a Friend' because I sing on it. I just really like the ones I wrote, I suppose. They're usually the best songs on the album."