INTERVIEW: Hard-Fi
- Posted on November 15, 2007 6:32 PM
- 0 comments
Interview by Katie Spain
"I can't get along without you... la la la la"
Face it. Love them or hate them, Hard-Fi write catchy tunes and their latest, 'Can't Get Along' is one of them. The UK band has come a long way in a very short amount of time. They're certainly storming it home in the short distance sprint - their first album sold nearly one million UK copies and soared to Number 1. You'll know the tunes when you hear them ‘Cash Machine’, ‘Hard To Beat’ & ‘Living For The Weekend’ to name but a few. The band was also nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize and Best British Group at the 2006 BRITs. But will they go the distance in the long-term music industry marathon? Something tells me the answer is yes.
In the lead up to their extensive UK tour, I caught up with drummer Steven Kemp to chat about what it's like being in one of Britain's biggest bands, about Beth Ditto, drum solos and late night fights. Beatings aplenty? You'd better believe it.
Did you guys know that you have been nominated at the UK Festival of the Year awards tonight for ‘Most Memorable Moments in Festivals this Year?’ It is for your head-line performance at Glastonbury’s left field tent.
Oh, really? Wicked! Ah, the cheeky, unannounced set!
What is your most memorable moment with the band?
The very same day, we played on Damon Albarn’s Africa Express stage. He had asked us to do a few things for it a few times and we had been really happy to get involved. He had all these African musicians down – literally world-class drummers; we go on stage and just try and look good and these guys are world-class musicians. We got up on stage – we played a version of Hard to Beat – and played with them with all their African drums; that was a f****** crazy, do you know what I mean? That was a really good moment.
As a drummer you must have been in heaven?
I was in heaven but I was also a bit nervous. Like I say, we get on stage and try to look good but these guys could f****** really play, but that was a wicked moment for me.
You are up against Beth Ditto stripping in this category. How do you fancy your chances?
Well, I think if it were me, I would give her the prize for stripping. That’s pretty good; I haven’t tried that on stage yet.
I hear that you are on the front of the Big Issue this week – it’s a big week for you guys!
Well, you know…I always buy the Big Issue actually – £1.50 is not bad is it?
You guys have come a really long way from recording in an unused taxi rank to musical domination. It has been a fast jump into mass recognition, has the ride been a good one?
Yeah, I mean the ride is always going to be up and down. It happened so quickly on the first album; from not knowing what we were doing to being a band a lot of TV shows, doing gigs and selling a million records. That happened in a year; it is pretty weird to get your head around it. We are all really grounded people; we are not w******. We are not going to let it go to our heads. It has been a rocky road; there are always ups and there are always downs. When you say something like rocky roads, you think of like Mick Jagger or Keith Richards who had like a thirty-year long career where as we have had a three-year long career – but so far, everything has been pretty cool.
I guess because it has been so short, you have had the chance to meet fans? Do you still make an effort to hang-out with them?
We do make an effort to try and say hello to everyone as much as possible because we still appreciate everyone coming to our gigs. Every single person that comes to our gig – we would love to shake their hands. Every single person that outs their hand in their pocket and pays f****** twenty-five quid or whatever it is these days to go and see a band. We want to say thanks to everyone and we try and out that across in every live gig. We do try and mix and mingle a little but it is not always easy. It used to be a right laugh when we were a new band; we used to do a gig and then come out and get pissed with everyone.
Let’s talk about your new single 'Can't Get Along'. Why have you chosen to release this one?
There were a lot of tracks that could have been the second single but this one seemed to be the one that we all agreed on. Everyone had a different thing to say about the track and it gets boring after a while, it’s just like f*** it, put it out, it sounds like a good one! I think it sounds really cool on the radio; when it comes on it sounds really fresh. It kind of had an old-school, Soul stomp.
The video is cracking, it looked liked you had a right laugh but must have been exhausting to make.
Well, not for me!
Yeah, I was going to say, you got off lightly. Was anyone injured in the making?
Rich hurt his thigh a little bit, bless him. He is ok, he has pulled through.
It was with a professional stunt man wasn’t it?
It pains me to say this, it really does but Rich actually did all his all stunts. I mean, he is not the most athletic man of all time, but he was like Lee Majors on the day! He stepped up to the challenge; he did well man.
Have you ever had a bad experience on a night out like the one shown in the video?
I am the only member of the band that is not from Staines, I moved down to London when I was a teenager, before that I lived in the North where it is a regular occurrence for fights. I have had a right ol’ kicking from a group of people, so I know exactly what it is like.
You are touring the UK in December. Do you feel that you get enough drum solos on stage?
Do you know what, I don’t. We are actually thinking of incorporating some. Come on, let’s bring it back! It’s my God-given right; it’s what every drummer needs to do. On this tour we will be in front of audiences of ten thousand people; that is quite a lot of people that need a drum solo surely?
I used to live with a band and so I know what it is like for next door. Are you the neighbour from Hell? Do you drum into the wee hours?
Luckily – for everyone – Hard-Fi have their own studio, the unused taxi rank from before. I have my drums in there; it is only ten minutes down the road so I can go there whenever I like which saves my neighbours from a lot of trouble; they would not want the noise that I would generate.
If we sent you into the world’s biggest music store with an unlimited budget, what would you come out with?
I would buy some more drums and I would buy loads of guitars because, even though I am a drummer, I am obsessed with guitars. Aesthetically, guitars look cooler, let’s face it.
You went to Australia didn’t you? What did you think of my home land?
Yeah, it’s cool. We had a right laugh in Australia. Every time we show up its wicked; the shows are all sold-out and the weather was f****** brilliant. You land in the plane and you have momentous jet-lag for a while, but it’s wicked. I have only seen Perth, Melbourne and Sydney – the main ones. I want to go to the out-back though where the kangaroos hop about and stuff – I am not sure who will come and watch up there though.
I read that you tasted the local beer, what’s the verdict?
I have to say – the local stuff – I’m liking it. That Victoria stuff in a can though, I’m just not feeling it.
You have just been through Europe haven’t you, how was that?
We had just done Australia and then we did a Europe tour which was brilliant. Now we have a big, big tour in December which we are gearing up to.
What’s the most memorable gig that you have ever been to as an audience member?
Oh, that’s a hard one… it is the Queens of the Stone Age at the Hurricane festival in Germany. I just had a great time - I got pissed, I jumped around. Sometimes you become to aware of yourself when you are in a band watching a band but this time, I watched Queens of the Stone Age and then Motorhead; I was drunk, I jumped around and it was cool.
Want to see Hard-Fi live in concert? Get your tickets here.
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