L: How did you meet each other?
J: Well, I was writing songs for a while by myself and then was coming up with more, band-type material and I knew Si already so from then on we just needed to find a bass player, and a guitarist.
L: What’s your favourite venue to play in Newcastle? ‘Cos you seem to have played in most of them!
J: The Cluny, just for the size of it. We play a lot of places like Head of Steam that a lot of people go there but you can only fit like, seven people in the place!
S: The Cumberland Arms, I love The Cumberland Arms- we’ve played that place one but was when I had a broken arm
J: Yeah it was after one of the recording sessions
L: How did you do that?
S: Do you really wanna know?
L: Yeah, go on.
S: We were recording in Billingham, and erm I got a little drunk and stumbled away from the crowd and then got jumped on by a bigger crowd and er, they stamped on my arm and broke it.
L: They stamped on your arm?
S: Yeah, they did. I couldn’t play The Cumberland Arms like three days later
L: How do you feel your sound has developed in the last year?
J: We used to have songs, six or seven months ago that were really poppy, like we seem to have sped up a little bit, trying to get a little bit darker,
S: Not darker but..
J: I’m trying to aim at a bigger audience than just 13-14 year olds
L: So was your previous fan base mainly 13-14ish then?
J: A lot of under 16s
S: I don’t know, when we first started out it was more poppy kinda..
J: Then we got a bass player and a lead guitarist and it became more...
S: Less jumpy and poncey
J: like in the last six months we’re trying to get away from that.
S: I think we’re in the right place now
J: We’re in the right direction
L: What would you say are your biggest influences at the moment?
J: Like lyrically?
S: I don’t even know!
J: Just like the social awareness of the population, more heartfelt lyrics. I quite like writing about our home town and our places, real things and real people rather than pretentious...
S: Anyone can write a song about taking drugs and getting drunk, know what I mean?
J: Exactly
L: So for you [Si] who’s your favourite drummer then?
S: It’s got to be Jon Bonham, and then faster stuff like Fab Moretti from The Strokes, like the high-hat really quick sounds really good, makes it sound jumpy.
L: So, I had a look at your myspace and some reviews, do you resent comparisons between say, you and Maximo Park?
J: I don’t mind Maximo Park, it’s the Arctic Monkeys thing
S: I duno you’re always going to be compared to someone
J: It’s just that someone wrote that we sounded like Arctic Monkeys, then every review after that, it seemed like they’d read that review, said a little bit by themselves then jumped on the band wagon.
L: Yeah I read the Maximo Park one and listening to you now, I don’t really see the similarity...
J: I know, it’s always Maximo Park, The Futureheads, The Arctic Monkeys...
L: Basically anyone that’s northern!
J: Yeah! [laughs]
L: So what’s your favourite funny thing that’s been written about you?
J: Probably our last review, about how some girl got up on stage [at a gig]
S: Oh man, I was struggling to get on that stage, right, and this girl was about four foot nothing and got on like that! She was dancing around, she was going mental.
J: And they wrote this massive review about the gig, there were about two lines on the band and the rest of the review was all about that lass...
S: How much of a legend this girl was!
L: If you could play a gig any place anywhere with no limitations, where would you play and why?
S: Good question...I would play on me own, with a bongo, in Maddison Square gardens. And it would sell out.
J: I would say something like Hollywood Bowl, where is that, LA?
S: Hollywood
J: You know, just a massive venue, the biggest place you could play.
L: So you’d rather play big stadiums than smaller venues?
J: Well, that would be the dream.
L: So on that note would you go for stadium rock or the three minute punk song?
J: I like the stadium venues but not the stadium music, I much prefer when like, Maximo Park play really close knit gigs, when the whole place gets steamed...
S: I really like all of that, but I think Kings Of Leon have done the whole stadium rock thing quite well
L: I still prefer the first album though,
J: So do I
S: Everyone does, maybe you should write about that! I would still prefer to play some sweaty little gig than somewhere like Bon Jovi, know what I mean?
L: So what festivals have you played at, if any?
J: Umm we played at this Newcastle one, The Green Gathering
L: I haven’t heard of that one...
S: It’s shit, it was absolutely pissing down with rain
L: What’s your favourite city to play in based on audience reaction?
J: I’d say Teesside really, just ‘cos it’s home. The Teesside crowd have way more energy.
S: ‘Cos you see in Manchester and Liverpool and all, there all standing back and we’re only there as the supporting act anyway...we played in London recently and if you don’t wear drainpipe trousers and pointy shoes then they don’t want to know you.
L: OK, this is quite a strange one; if you could invite any three people living or dead to have dinner with, then who would they be?
S: Ooh, I’ve got two already- Jim Morrison, Jon Bonham...and me Mam
J: Urr
S: You see I got three straight away!
J: John Lennon...
L: Why?
J: Jus ‘cos he’s an absolute legend
S: You’re not even going to ask me why are you? Just ‘cos I said Jim Morrison Jon Bonham and me mother!
L: Why then?!
S: Jon Bonham just to ask him how he did it
J: Can I say mine? Can I have four?
L: Go on then
J: Just ...The Beatles!
S: You’ve gone a bit wrong there- I’ve got me mother in there and you’ve got The Beatles! Oh, can I chuck my mother out and put in someone else?
L: Aw keep her- your poor mum
J: You’ve got to keep her!
S: I’d have Hitler
L: Err, why?
S: Just so I could knock him about
L: So on a similar theme, if you could have been born in any other era which would it have been?
S: The Seventies. I would say I’d want to be born in ’71 so I was like 6 or 7 when punk was born
J: I would like to have been in my prime in the ‘60s
L: I’ve just seen The Watchmen, so if you could be any comic-book hero who would you be?
S: You know Sin City, that really strong bloke, him
J: Wasn’t he played by that guy in The Wrestler?
S:....Mickey Rourke- I got that one for the record!
J: You don’t get many English superheroes, do you.
L: What’s your favourite song to make you cry?
J: I don’t want to say, it’ll be too depressing. I’d say “Time to Say Goodbye” by Andrea Bocelli
S: Mine is “Last Resort” by The Eagles
L: I would’ve said something by Elliott Smith
S: But you could top yourself to any one of his songs!
L: What is your most embarrassing musical moment?
S: I was in my first band when I was 18 and we were playing our third gig and I thought it would be a class idea to, half way through a song, walk round my drum kit and stand on the bass drum to play, leaning over the top- someone came up and poured a vodka and coke down me arse crack! I had a wet patch all the way down and I had to stumble round my kit and carry on with the gig.
That was a pretty good one, beat that!
J: I’m never really embarrassed
S: You’re that cool
L: So, what other instruments did you play before the band?
J: I’ve just always played guitar really.
L: You weren’t forced to play the recorder or anything?
S: I was the only one who wasn’t, my school had like a whole procession of recorder players and I had to sit on my own and watch everyone do it.
L: You didn’t play the triangle?!
S: Yeah I did!
J: I used to play the piano a bit, I dabbled
L: Ok catchy riff vs. Lyrical genius?
S: Lyrical riff
J: I would say lyrical
L: And finally, who were the best band that you’ve been on tour with or played with?
J: Datsuns definitely
S: Who I liked the most were The Datsuns, we played with them here.
L: Well thankyou for the interview
J: It’s been an interesting experience
S: The questions have been good
L: Thanks!
Interview by Louise Morris
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