It's
been a bit of a roller coaster ride for you guys, and currently the plaudits
are coming in hard and fast.
Has
the speed that you are drawing attention to yourselves come as a bit of a
surprise?
(Stuart) - People keep saying this to us, but
it really doesn't feel that sudden, we spend 20 hours a week in the studio. At
the same time we're thankful we're even getting to play some of the shows we're
getting on.
The
emergence of a band into the public eye – especially one of tender years – can
often draw some negative attention with claims that it's all just hype, but you
have consistently shown that you can walk the walk rather than talk the talk.
Is
maintaining artistic credibility, as opposed to reaching for celebrity status,
an attitude that you feel you have to solidly maintain?
(Conor) - Yes,
there's a lot UK bands falling out of hip music blogs as fast as they rise. We
try to keep things as they come from us, we're not going to change because some
teenage hype band fan doesn't like it. Primarily it's all about the songs
though, we'd put some of our new songs up against anyone.
There's
some heavy duty influences on show in the music.
Lots
of late seventies to early eighties punk bands keep making an appearance.
Bands
that had some bite to them.
Do
you consider that has broadened your appeal to an extent?
It
does seem that for every fan who could be viewed as a peer of the band that
there are equally older music lovers letting your name trip from their lips to?
(Conor) - We
all grew up on punk, so i think it's really important to keep those ties tight
to our music. I remember looking at the Strummers and Lux Interiors from my
parents record collection and thinking you didn't have to be ridiculously good
looking to be in a band. We think it's great that some older people are coming
along to the shows, it's sort of a nod in the right direction from the people
that showed us the music in the first place.
Where
did your influences come from?
For
many it's a parental/older sibling thing, but for others it's a voyage of
discovery.
Someone
listens to BRMC or Primal Scream and then moves on to reading an interview with
the band paying homage to their influences in it, and that then leads to fan to
check them out, and from that introduction it's becomes a long - but enjoyable
- trip into the past.
And
of course it can be a bit of both.
Where
do you guys sit within that?
(Conor) - Rock
n Roll is a carrying on of a tradition, all the way back to the delta, people
have heard something with a kick and added something on. I think that's very
important though, giving it a spark of youth and relevance, you could go see
endless niche bands covering blues and 50's rock and roll all night and it
would just sound like the Eddie Cochran records, but not as good. You've got to
take the root of your influences but still remember what you are about, and
what you are trying to say, keep it fresh and free of pigeonholes. But that
tradition of digging back into the roots is amazing, it's helped us all
discover great music, and it stands the same for Hip-Hop and Electronic too.
Just
for a second collectively can you sit back and think about how things are going
for you all.
Is
there a surreal feel to it all?
(John) - We're
trying not to look at where we are, it's great we're being able to actually do
this, but we're keeping our heads down and not looking around.
How
was the T in the Park show?
Is
that the highlight of the year for the band so far?
Realistically
it's every young Scottish bands dream to play there isn't it?
(Stuart) -
That show was great, we were completely blown away by the reception. It is a
milestone in any band's life, i know when we started it was one of ours, but T
Break for most Scottish bands it seems to be the be all and end all of being in
a band, that it's the peak of a Scottish artists career. I think more artists
need to see it as a stepping stone, a great opportunity, but one that can lead
to more exciting things.
(Conor) - I
agree.
So
you have a slot on the No Mean City bill next.
That's
a bit of a far reaching festival that is shaping up to be rather special.
Are
you looking forward to that, and what's your expectations from making an
appearance as part of the line up?
(John) - We're
all looking forward to that show, there'll hopefully be a lot of people there
who wouldn't usually jump in to see us play, hopefully
people will like it.
Once
the tour with Drenge is finished what's the plan of action.
Are
you booked in for some studio time, could there be some headlining dates on the
cards?
We've got an A
/ B side single dusted off ready to release, we'll hopefully have that out
before October.
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