INTERVIEW: Goldspot
- Posted on August 6, 2007 4:10 PM
- 0 comments
"At the end of every musical rainbow there's a pot of Goldspot..."
What would you do if the power generator switched off during your Glastonbury set? Yep, some gigs go down in history… the type of experiences that etch themselves into the memory of the band and wipe themselves on the sweaty brows of the punters in the audience. American band Goldspot had one such set at the recent Glastonbury Festival and came out triumphant. Their recent album release ‘ Tally of the Yes Men’ is doing the rounds and the release of their single ‘Friday’ is upon us today. Katie Spain chats to frontman Siddhartha about THAT gig, television bans, Bollywood and why he’d like to call London “home”.
Do you get most of the interview mileage or are you actually really the shy one?
I think that if I got frequent flyer point for all of my interview mileage, I’d be flying free everywhere for the rest of my life!
You have a strong Bollywood influence… I know that music has always been a part of your life in one way or another. Do you still have the music diary your mum used to fill with new songs?
Yes… I still have it. I think I know exactly where it is. I’m glad you reminded me because I think she’ll kill me if I lost it.
Although you may not have liked it at the time, was standing up as a child to sing tunes in front of a temple preparation for the hoards you entertain now. Were you always comfortable with it?
As a kid I used to hate it, I never wanted to do it… I felt like it was a burden to get up there and sing you know, I always found it a bit of a pain in the arse. Then, as I got older I kind of started figuring out that this is what I liked to do and wanted to do. At that point I really started enjoying it.
Are your parents fans of your music or, like mine are they quite happy to deal out constructive criticism?
They are huge fans of the music. They actually fly out to all the big shows that we have now and it’s cool. They just came to the iTunes festival last week which was really exciting.
You weren’t allowed TV much when you were a child… do you think it forced you to develop more creatively?
Absolutely… there was a (year or two) period in my life where I was basically not allowed to watch any television at all. It was some stupid thing… I remember my parents promised me I’d get a Diamondback bicycle if I didn’t watch any TV for like a year. It was just a test to see how disciplined I could be about it and also to get me to do other things. In that time I would sing, I would read or listen to music and do things that were a lot more creative than sitting glued to the television. That had a huge impact on me today because the fact that I was opened up to singing and doing other things shaped me in a really positive way.
Would you do the same if you have children?
Absolutely… unless it’s really good TV. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with sitting down and watching ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ for six hours straight. There’s NOTHING wrong with that. ‘Big Brother’ would definitely not be allowed.
After graduating you moved to London for six months, what do you like most about the UK?
It’s three things really; the first thing is that I feel like UK audiences are so much more open to different kinds of music. So much of the culture in this country revolves around music. There’s so much passion about bands you know? I remember being a huge Oasis fan back in the States and finding out that Oasis fans and Blur fans would have wars with each other. There’d be this big battle between the two of them and I just think that is so cool on every level.
I find this country to be a really inspiring place. I feel like, in many ways, that this is my home.
So much of my musical influence comes from bands like The Smiths, Depeche Mode, The Cure… for some reason, whenever I come back to London I just feel like myself. It’s a very odd feeling. I really like being here.
You’re based in America now right?
I’m based in America but I’m living in London. I’ve been here for a few months and I think this may turn into a more permanent stay.
You’ve been giving the British Festival circuit a workout… Glastonbury, the O2 Wireless Festivals and iTunes – which one was the highlight?
Glastonbury was definitely the highlight. When you’re trying to make it as a band you always hear about Glastonbury. It’s kind of that dream event to play. When we got there and saw how many people were there, I literally got chills when I walked through there because it was the first time we’d ever played a festival that big. It’s massive on every cultural level and so significant too.
That was definitely the highlight… especially because of what happened at Glastonbury. We were on stage playing our set and the second to last song was our new single ‘Friday’. A minute into the song, the power generator blew and everything just shut off. There were 3 – 4,000 people approximately we were playing to in a tent and they all started booing. They didn’t know what was going on and I turned to the audience and told them all to “Shut the f**** up”. I screamed at the top of my lungs, literally like an idiot “Shut the f**** up”. Everyone went really quiet and I jumped off the stage, Ramy came and bought his snare drum and sat behind me and I just played to the crown acoustically and by the end of the song everyone was singing along. It was really one of the coolest experiences I have ever had; it just made me love what I do even more. It made me respect the UK audiences even more too because to play for 4,000 people with just your acoustic guitar which is normally inaudible… to be able to do that and have those people sing along with you by the end of it after the first time they hear a song… I mean it just goes to show you how passionate they are about music and how much they care about it and listen.
The whole experience was a great test – for me, for the crowd, it was a test for everybody and everyone passed. It was great.
I saw your gig at the Queen's Head Stage in Glastonbury on a fan’s phone… are you ever surprised by the footage fans manage to get these days? I guess the pressure to perform amazingly all the time is huge… it’ll be on YouTube the next day!
That’s definitely true. I think that now more than ever… just in general, the record industry is taking such a hit as far as record sales goes. Because of all the downloading and piracy you know, bands have to rely on their live playing more than anything else – to basically pay their bills at the end of the day as well. Because of that, bands just have to be able to play live. The good bands are the ones that can play live and you’re absolutely right – anyone can record anything at any time so you have to just have to always be ‘on’. I think it’s really good; it’s bringing out bands… the bands that are doing really well now are the ones that can really play.
I think we’re slowly exiting that period in music where you have so many crap bands that are studio projects that become huge because they’ve been found in the studio. Look at the bands that are big at the moment in the UK… like the Editors, or any of these other bands that are like. Editors may not be my favourite band on the planet but they’re still a really good live band because they’re so confident you know. It just goes to show you how important live playing is. Not just them, any band… White Stripes, Bloc Party, Arcade Fire.
You played Proud Gallery recently – as a punter it’s a great venue – what’s it like to play at?
It’s probably my favourite venue to play in London right now. It feels like, I’m in my high school days playing again because the whole environment is very Punk/Rock atmosphere. I mean, there’s not enough microphones there, it’s a really raw sounding room, and you feel like you’re in a basement playing again – the only difference is that you’re not thirteen anymore.
The ‘Friday’ video has been added to MTV "The Hits", Box, and Q! Who’s the mastermind behind your videos?
That idea came from me but for the ideas for the videos we’ve very hands on as a band – Ramy and I especially. We’re not the kind of band who just says “Go and find a Director” and then show up and shoot. You ultimately want to be proud of everything you do so the ideas and things we generally come up with on our own
Speaking of ‘Friday’, and its release on the 6th of August… I saw the Friday Night Project video on your MySpace. What’s the story there… did they adopt your song?
Yeah, somebody put that together on YouTube and we thought it was really funny so we put it on the MySpace. I think they should adopt it as their theme tune or have us on the show or sometime!
What is you favorite day of the week?
Sunday… because I like knowing that I have something to do the next day and I know that on Mondays I always have a very busy day with interviews or whatever else. I like knowing that – it makes me enjoy Sunday even more.
Goldspot’s debut album ‘Tally of the Yes Men’ is out and about already. It looks like ‘Friday’ is set to make their Mondays busier than ever. Make the most of those Sundays as long as you can lads!
Goldspot's single "Friday" is in the TOP 30 in the UK Airplay Charts and is available everywhere in the UK on August 6th! Check out their official site or MySpace for details.
GOLDSPOT ARE:
Siddhartha: vocals, guitars, and piano
Ramy Antoun: drums
Derek Horst : guitar
Seth McLain: guitar, keys, and Bollywood
Sergio Andrade: bass
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