So Mike was unavailable, but I interviewed Steve, the bassist. Here is the unabridged version before it is made into a proper article:
Tonight marks your 500th live show. How does it feel to reach the 500 milestone?
I wasn’t even aware of that – I’ve hardly played any of those gigs anyway!
Is a long tour like this a challenge for the band?
No, it should be alright actually. It’s not really that much longer than any we’ve done before, perhaps two leeks longer. To be honest the only challenge is the smell of the tour bus! You have things like Mark’s empty coffee cups everywhere. The tour itself is easy. In fact I’d prefer to play a gig every night, since we’re losing money when we have a night off. Obviously you can’t physically play a gig every day though, especially for the singers, it ruins your voice eventually.
On previous tours you’ve alternated between two different set lists, but so far on this tour, you’ve played the same each night. Why is that?
We were going to change it up every night, but the set list we have now is working very well and is a pretty good mixture of our material. There’s nothing off the first album [Effloresce] in the main set, but if we do have a good gig we’ll usually play an encore, a track from Effloresce. It flows really well as a set, so we don’t really need to mix it up at the moment. I mean, some fans complain on our internet forum – they read a certain set list posted there and look forward to seeing it themselves , but then we’ll go and play a completely different set – unfortunately we can never please everyone!
Do you have plans of touring outside Europe for the new album, particularly in the U.S?
There’s always a plan to tour in the U.S, but whether they’re going to happen or not, it’s difficult to say. Of course it would make sense to tour out there, with the album having recently been released recently, but it just comes down to whether the right opportunity presents itself. For example, it would be ideal if we supported another band – though it would have to be the right band. It costs a fortune to get around in the U.S, so supporting another band makes more financial sense – it has to be worthwhile.
What if a band like Porcupine Tree asked you to support them in America?
Yeah, they’d be a good band to play with, or maybe a band like …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. The key is actually getting asked by one of these bands.
Looking out at the crowd night after night, in which age group do you feel your primary fan base lies? Has it changed at all?
It actually seems to have changed this tour. We’re getting more young people at our shows, more emo kids – as opposed to older guys with beards! I’m not really sure why, perhaps it’s Mike’s connection with Biffy Clyro. But I’m perfectly happy about it. It’s satisfying because they tend to get into the music a bit more than the older fans.
Sonisphere 2009 was a rare festival performance for the band – how do you feel about playing at festivals?
We have nothing against playing at festivals. I don’t think it’s that festivals are afraid to book us. The problem is usually timing - a lot of festivals only book bands if you’ve got something to promote or if you’re a new band, which is fair enough I guess, that’s how festivals work. Although I was pretty shocked when we got to play V Festival in 2006. So yeah, it’s understandable that we don’t get to play many – our releases simply come out at inconvenient times. To play Reading and Leeds would be good, and maybe Download. The rest of band wants to play Glastonbury, but I hate it myself – I went the year after I finished school and it just horrible and muddy. I’ve been to Leeds Festival every year since I left school though.
What has the reaction in the media been like towards Self Preserved?
Yeah it’s been pretty good. I try not to read all the press, though the reviews I have seen have been positive – we managed to get a review by The Sun and the BBC, which was a bit odd! There have been more features on us in the media, obviously someone’s been paying a bit more money! I think overall it’s been received really well.
Has there been more of a push from record company?
I think there has been a bit more promotion for this record and the Home and Minor EP.
We’ve got a greater internet presence now as well, we’ve got Facebook and Twitter accounts. It’s pretty funny actually; our Facebook page is updated by our German record label, so if you look carefully there are often awkward translations. It’s very odd!
Are there any new tracks you particularly enjoy performing live?
I think It's My Tail and I'll Chase It If I Want To is my favourite to play – you can just go a bit nuts with it. But all the new songs are pretty good fun to play live. I’d actually like to play Oscar Acceptance Speech, but we’ve never actually played it together as band, so that could be a challenge! I was thinking of having it at the end of the set and walking off while the strings were still playing. That’s only my opinion though; I’ve not really voiced it with the other guys yet!
There’s a heavy sound underpinning Self Preserved… is that intentional?
It was to an extent; the only real intention was to be more direct and less ‘jammy’. This time we all brought virtually finished music into the studio and then just put words over everything. In the past we’d write riffs and then play it over and over for weeks until we’d got something together. For this record we just didn’t have the time to do that and I think it’s worked out better – I much prefer this way of writing: more ordered as opposed to simply jamming.
How would you feel about writing a twenty minute-long epic?
That’s fine if someone wants to write it! But like I said, I’m not too into jamming. So it could happen, but only in the right circumstances.
Was it the band or the record company that changed the title of Build Us a Rocket Then...?
It was a band decision. Steve didn’t want c**t written on the album cover because he was frightened his mum would tell him off! The censorship of Commemorative 9/11 T-Shirt was either our manager or the record company, I can’t remember which. In hindsight it was a bit obvious saying 9/11 in the title. It was too easy to cause controversy. Yes it would bring publicity but the bad kind – magazines would pick up on it and things like that. Nobody wants that.
Are there any B-sides that might be released?
There’s a 7” SuperImposer vinyl single coming out with a remix of Ransoms that Gambler’s done – and it’s very different to the album version. We haven’t recorded any B-sides as such; we didn’t have any time to do that. Obviously if we release a proper single we’d do something for it. In fact we’ve got so many left-over ideas that I wouldn’t be surprised if we had another EP out in about a year.
Are you planning to ‘update’ the Feed To Feed box set with a live performance of the new album on DVD (basically if they have any forward planning regarding ‘full albums on video’ at all)?
Not as yet, we’d have to learn a few of the new songs first! I didn’t do any of the music on, I think, Penny’s Weight, so I’d definitely have to learn that. We know SuperImposter already because we were going to put it on the set list for this tour, but we ended up leaving it off. So in answer to the question, we might do it in the future, but there’s no call to do it yet. It’s a good idea though, thanks for suggesting it!
In the past, the band have voiced mixed feelings about Everyone into Position. How do you feel about that album, and how it was received, five years later?
It’s strange, because I wasn’t even involved in the album, but I do think it’s the best Oceansize album. We’ve been playing quite a few songs from that and the Music for Nurses EP which has been a lot of fun. But I’d probably say that overall Music For Nurses is the best Oceansize release. It’s really concise, it’s just really good. And a lot of other people say that as well. But yeah, five years on, I still think Everyone Into Position is the best album the band has done.
How did your studio collaboration with Simon Neil from Biffy Clyro come about?
I didn’t even know he was doing it! I just turned up in the studio and he was recording his vocals. I guess Mike’s a good friend, in fact we’re all friends with him, and Mike’s been playing live with Biffy Clyro. I think he’ll be continuing that too.
Maybe you’ll get Simon on stage with you in return?
I’m not sure if there’s room on the stage! It’s pretty tight up there as it is. Perhaps if we asked him to shout from behind the curtain at the back!
Do you have any plans for a solo album or other side-projects?
Gambler actually released a solo album recently; I’m not sure about Steve. Mark’s always doing some weird drum beats - no one can ever get their heads round them. I’m still in Kong, and I’ve played a bit for Future of the Left, though I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be doing that. I’m always looking to start a new band and do different things with different people. It definitely helps for when you come back to our main band – we’ve got a fresh perspective on things. We can get little ideas out of the way and concentrate on the music as a whole.
Has any of the latest material been written on tour?
No none of it actually. It’s pretty impossible to write on tour. Our sound checks are so short that we just don’t have time. If we had the luxury of a proper tour bus and a proper dressing room and the run of the venue for the day, then maybe we could do some writing on tour. Kong has done it, but Oceansize haven’t since I’ve been with them.
Do you do a great deal of rehearsing for a tour?
We usually rehearse five days a week for the two weeks immediately before we head out on tour. We treat it a bit like a proper job. We didn’t do that much before this tour because the new songs were still quite fresh. The Feed to Feed shows drilled everything else into our heads. Usually on the first day of rehearsal everyone’s pretty terrible, then the next day there’s a noticeable improvement, and after a few days everyone can do every song perfectly.
Do you see yourselves as part of the so-called prog revival [bands like The Mars Volta, Radiohead and Muse]?
I don’t really know actually because I don’t really listen to any of those bands! I listened to the first Mars Volta album and didn’t really get it – it sounded like Santana to me, but sped up! I’m more into bands like No Age at the moment, I’m not really into the overly proggy music. It sounds quite odd, seeing as we are often seen as being a prog band. I’m very into 1980s American hardcore, Black Flag especially. That’s why Oceansize is quite weird – everyone tries to force his own style and influences into our music. But I’m fine with being lumped in with those other bands, because a lot of them are respected in the industry. I just don’t get the music, it doesn’t appeal to me.
Four albums in, do you feel comfortable about the future of Oceansize?
It’s hard to have long-term plans right now. We’ll just carry on doing what we’re doing, because that’s all we’ve ever done. We’ll record an album, tour it, and just give it a go. Hopefully we’ll see the venues get a bit bigger in certain cities. For example last night at the Koko in London it was pretty full. It was quite a shock, quite daunting. But in Aberdeen, we were pretty much playing in a pub. It can vary so much from place to place.
Have you given up your day jobs yet?
Yeah! Since I joined the band none of us has done any work on the side. Mike and Gambler used to work at the University of Manchester events department. And I was at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston until last year, studying Music Technology.
How did you come to join Oceansize?
Well the previous bass player left the band because he had a kid. Bringing up a child when touring at the level we do is impossible. So I auditioned: I think I played three songs (A Homage to A Shame, Women Who Love Men Who Love Drugs and The Charm Offensive) but I’m sure I played everything terribly! Fortunately the other bass players were really good but didn’t fit in with the other guys. And they knew I played other instruments. I think that makes you more considerate to what others are playing. And of course I was willing to not really get paid much for a while! You’ve got to be in a band for the right reasons. You shouldn’t be in a band to make a living at first.
Topic: Interview with Steve Hodson from Oceansize (Updated 10.06.10) (Read 4355 times)