Describe your sound in three amazing words.
Galvanised, actualised, vital
When did you guys get together and how? Do you think the place you grew up in influenced this at all?
Oh Katia… I can’t pin-point exact dates. We were drawn together and find ourselves thus. The dramatic has no place on the streets of Morecambe and so four dramatic people who live there will always be brought together in one way or another. Deaks was the final piece of the puzzle. Meeting him was like discovering you had an extra limb; and although that limb may occasionally owe you money, he is part of you and you are part of him.
How did you get to where you are now? – Any interesting stories down the line?
Well I’m currently on my sofa watching Motown 25 so nothing out of the ordinary there… In terms of music, I’m reluctant to disclose too many through fear of sounding like I’m bragging. Enjoy the mystery, Katia.
Have you always been working within the sphere of music and determined to someday be a musician? – Or did you start off as something totally different?
I did have a lingering sense I was going to do something different… But does everyone have that? I always wanted to be a musician yes, and even a two year detour as an Ice Cream Man didn’t distract me from that. If anything it fuelled it. I’m fuelled by hundreds and thousands.
What generally happens in the music making process?
Joseph will come to us with an idea for a new song, we’ll all add our two cents and that West Coast sound is born. It’s like Hitsville U.S.A but with more hundreds and thousands.
What has been your biggest challenge as a band so far?
Putting up with the disaster that is Radio 1.
What advice can you give others just starting out in the music business? Anything to particularly watch out for/avoid?
Shake the hippies up and don’t do Pay to Play gigs. Those promoters deserve the firing squad.
What’s the strangest, weirdest & most wonderful venue you have played to date?
We shot some footage playing in a boat for the video to our second single. It was a bit like Duran Duran’s Rio but with less Antony Price suits. Speeding over the crystal blue Morecambe Bay, sipping expensive mugs of tea…
How do you prepare yourselves for your gigs? Have you ever thought of expanding to being ridiculously entertaining (think the likes of Alice Cooper’s gimmicks and Cerebral Ballzy’s throwing up on stage) – what’s your opinion on that?
Are we not ridiculously entertaining enough? I don’t need to prepare. It’s hard to explain but being on stage just feels very… Natural. It’s the time off that I need to prepare for.
When writing lyrics and songs, what are some of the things that tend to run through your mind?
I try to imagine what I would think if I heard it on the radio. I can’t speak for Joseph in terms of the lyrics, but I think he tries to write with a lot of sincerity and a lot of honesty. They’re two things missing from music now and two things that great music thrives upon.
Everyone takes their inspiration from somewhere, and admires someone. Many compare you to the smiths. What do you think of this?
Never heard of them. I think geography plays such an important role in how journalists form their opinions. If we were from Glasgow everyone would say we sounded like Orange Juice. If we were from New York everyone would say we sounded like Blondie. I think we’re getting to the point now where people will come to realise we sound like The Heartbreaks.
If someone was to close their eyes when listening to your music, what images/feelings do you hope will cross their thoughts?
Deaks said the other day that he thinks the guitar on our first single Liar, My Dear sounds like the rain. I hope people who bought the record think that too.
In terms of your band and music, how would you define the word ‘success’ and what do you hope to achieve through this
Success is when you go to some godforsaken town somewhere and a kid has your record and knows all the words and sings along. It means everything. I want to release an album that people in ten, twenty years will love.
What bands are you listening to on heavy rotation at the moment?
The new Orphan Boy album, “Passion, Pain and Loyalty” is a big one in the van at the moment. They always were my favourite punk band.
Who do you think should be the band to watch in 2011?
Surely that’s apparent by now, isn't it Katia? It’s us.
(NOTE: full article coming soon!)
No comments:
Post a Comment