You Slut! - Interview
n: Let's get this out of the way, where did your band name originate, were you referring to someone in particular and if so who is this slut?!
YS: Yeah, lets. Shall we? It refers to our inner child and the constant love of our mothers and jealousy of our fathers. We're polymorphously perverse, it's a source of pleasure...
n: For those people reading this who don't know who you are, describe who you are and what you do.
YS: We bring the drums! We are a four piece, instrumental band that lives to confuse men with beards by playing the sort of mathematical nonsense that makes hair grow inwards. We're poppy with it though. Poppy in a tear your face off with white-hot riffs sort of way. Some girls like us too. Girls with beards.
n: Your myspace describes a sad story of the 'aromatic passing' of your vocalist. Please elaborate!
YS: Billy died. Fried in a Pride Park joy-ride. He tried to grind a mudslide but slipped and plied his cocyx into an industrial stew.
n: You have been gigging on the Northern circuit for some time now, what are your worst gig memories also which is your most memorable gig?
YS: Are you from London? We've been gigging more on the Midlands circuit for quite some time, though the northern gigs are starting to turn up. There's too many bad gig memories. In terms of stuff people might actually want to read, rather than turning up to play to no-one to find the promoter is a dog, most of them involve Sam falling over, forgetting to turn his amp on, playing songs like he's got four left shins or decapitating himself on stage. Rich did chip his knee during the first song of one set. He made it to the end though. That's cos he's fucking hard. Don't mess with Rich. Don't look at Rich. Best gig was in Rotterdam in September 2006. Eight men, two drumkits, two basses, four guitars. Tight. As. Fuck. Fact.
n: I read somewhere that you are the tallest band in Derby, how has Derby or any other place you may have lived affect your taste in music and the music of You Slut?
YS: You read it on the Ponce in the Park thread on Drowned in Sound. We are. I think. We're all over six foot. Half of us live in Derby, the other half lives in Nottingham, only when we're lying down mind, that's how tall we are. Nottingham has a massive amount of promters putting on great gigs all the time. That doesn't answer your question, but it's something you should know. We're not really influenced by our surroundings in our music at all. We were brought up nice indie boys, if anything, we're influenced by California, Seattle and Chester.
n: What are you up to right now, music-wise? (Current or upcoming recordings, gigs, experiments, top-secret projects, etc).
YS: Trying to find time to write some new songs. What with raising houses and buying kids there's not much scope for exploratory musical maths. That and releasing our album Critical Meat in the UK on Stressed Sumo records in February hopefully. It's been out in Japan for a year or so now. Still haven't invited us over.
n: Your first album Critical Meat was released in Japan first are there any funny stories or interesting feedback/fan mail?
YS: Use the google translate function on anything Japanese. Anything at all. Do it on our reviews if you want. In fact, we've done it for you, on a blog on our myspace. They're very polite aren't they. Lots of polite e-mails saying hello. Lovely bunch of people.
n: Tell us about your favourite song off 'Critical Meat'.
YS: It changes a lot depending what mood we're in. On the Spot Tina Turner Fine chops and changes and is fairly difficult to play, so it's quite rewarding when we do it right. Mybloodyjesusexploreronfire, our forthcoming download only single is pretty epic, though it's not really representative of the album, so if you like that, give the long player a miss eh?
n: What are you listening to at the moment?
YS: Forward Russia, Hot Club de Paris, Caribou, The Shins, Belle and Sebastian, Chromeo, Islands, Medications, Suburban Kids with Biblical Names, James Dean Bradfield's solo album, the new Radiohead one, Chrome Hoof, The Best of Rachmaninov, a band from Leicester called Herra Hidro and Colin Murray's mid-week mobile disco. I know, I can't believe it either, but it's not really that bad at all.
n: Name a band or musician, past or present, who you think hasn't received the attention they deserve, what's your favourite recording by this band/musician?
YS: Aside from a terribly misguided rap interlude, Islands released a near perfect album called Return to the Sea in 2006. It's incredible, sing-a-long calypso pop with stories about stuff I can't decipher. And Final Fantasy threatened to sue them over using the name 'Internet' for a one-off charity do so they called their project Final Fantasy: Online AKA Internet instead. Which is brilliant.
n: What's your dream fantasy band line-up? Any members of any band as a supergroup. Bands can be disbanded or still around?
YS: Cool, I used to do this question when I was at school all the time, it changes every day, but today's hungover, mid-day Sunday, killing time at work by doing an interview line-up would be Stuart Murdoch on Vocals, Guitar and Keys; Stevie Jackson on Guitar and Vocals; Chris Geddes on Keys; Richard Colburn on Drums; Sarah Martin on Violin, Keys, Guitars and Vocals; Mick Cooke on Bass and Trumpet; Bobby Kildea on Bass and Guitar; and Isobel Campbell on Vocals and Cello. If you'd have asked me last night, it would have been Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Stuart Murdoch (mainstay) on Vocals, Slash and Johnny Greenwood on dueling Lead Guitars, James Dean Bradfield on Rhythm because I'd be betraying my sixteen year old self if he wasn't in there somewhere, John Paul Jones on Keys, Stuart Copeland on Drums, Me on Bass (because I can) and Jimmy Page on Smack.
Interview by Yael Bekhor
www.myspace.com/youslut1
UK release of You Slut!’s debut album ‘Critical Meat’ 3/3/08 on Stressed Sumo Records.
http://www.stressedsumorecords.co.uk/
YS: Yeah, lets. Shall we? It refers to our inner child and the constant love of our mothers and jealousy of our fathers. We're polymorphously perverse, it's a source of pleasure...
n: For those people reading this who don't know who you are, describe who you are and what you do.
YS: We bring the drums! We are a four piece, instrumental band that lives to confuse men with beards by playing the sort of mathematical nonsense that makes hair grow inwards. We're poppy with it though. Poppy in a tear your face off with white-hot riffs sort of way. Some girls like us too. Girls with beards.
n: Your myspace describes a sad story of the 'aromatic passing' of your vocalist. Please elaborate!
YS: Billy died. Fried in a Pride Park joy-ride. He tried to grind a mudslide but slipped and plied his cocyx into an industrial stew.
n: You have been gigging on the Northern circuit for some time now, what are your worst gig memories also which is your most memorable gig?
YS: Are you from London? We've been gigging more on the Midlands circuit for quite some time, though the northern gigs are starting to turn up. There's too many bad gig memories. In terms of stuff people might actually want to read, rather than turning up to play to no-one to find the promoter is a dog, most of them involve Sam falling over, forgetting to turn his amp on, playing songs like he's got four left shins or decapitating himself on stage. Rich did chip his knee during the first song of one set. He made it to the end though. That's cos he's fucking hard. Don't mess with Rich. Don't look at Rich. Best gig was in Rotterdam in September 2006. Eight men, two drumkits, two basses, four guitars. Tight. As. Fuck. Fact.
n: I read somewhere that you are the tallest band in Derby, how has Derby or any other place you may have lived affect your taste in music and the music of You Slut?
YS: You read it on the Ponce in the Park thread on Drowned in Sound. We are. I think. We're all over six foot. Half of us live in Derby, the other half lives in Nottingham, only when we're lying down mind, that's how tall we are. Nottingham has a massive amount of promters putting on great gigs all the time. That doesn't answer your question, but it's something you should know. We're not really influenced by our surroundings in our music at all. We were brought up nice indie boys, if anything, we're influenced by California, Seattle and Chester.
n: What are you up to right now, music-wise? (Current or upcoming recordings, gigs, experiments, top-secret projects, etc).
YS: Trying to find time to write some new songs. What with raising houses and buying kids there's not much scope for exploratory musical maths. That and releasing our album Critical Meat in the UK on Stressed Sumo records in February hopefully. It's been out in Japan for a year or so now. Still haven't invited us over.
n: Your first album Critical Meat was released in Japan first are there any funny stories or interesting feedback/fan mail?
YS: Use the google translate function on anything Japanese. Anything at all. Do it on our reviews if you want. In fact, we've done it for you, on a blog on our myspace. They're very polite aren't they. Lots of polite e-mails saying hello. Lovely bunch of people.
n: Tell us about your favourite song off 'Critical Meat'.
YS: It changes a lot depending what mood we're in. On the Spot Tina Turner Fine chops and changes and is fairly difficult to play, so it's quite rewarding when we do it right. Mybloodyjesusexploreronfire, our forthcoming download only single is pretty epic, though it's not really representative of the album, so if you like that, give the long player a miss eh?
n: What are you listening to at the moment?
YS: Forward Russia, Hot Club de Paris, Caribou, The Shins, Belle and Sebastian, Chromeo, Islands, Medications, Suburban Kids with Biblical Names, James Dean Bradfield's solo album, the new Radiohead one, Chrome Hoof, The Best of Rachmaninov, a band from Leicester called Herra Hidro and Colin Murray's mid-week mobile disco. I know, I can't believe it either, but it's not really that bad at all.
n: Name a band or musician, past or present, who you think hasn't received the attention they deserve, what's your favourite recording by this band/musician?
YS: Aside from a terribly misguided rap interlude, Islands released a near perfect album called Return to the Sea in 2006. It's incredible, sing-a-long calypso pop with stories about stuff I can't decipher. And Final Fantasy threatened to sue them over using the name 'Internet' for a one-off charity do so they called their project Final Fantasy: Online AKA Internet instead. Which is brilliant.
n: What's your dream fantasy band line-up? Any members of any band as a supergroup. Bands can be disbanded or still around?
YS: Cool, I used to do this question when I was at school all the time, it changes every day, but today's hungover, mid-day Sunday, killing time at work by doing an interview line-up would be Stuart Murdoch on Vocals, Guitar and Keys; Stevie Jackson on Guitar and Vocals; Chris Geddes on Keys; Richard Colburn on Drums; Sarah Martin on Violin, Keys, Guitars and Vocals; Mick Cooke on Bass and Trumpet; Bobby Kildea on Bass and Guitar; and Isobel Campbell on Vocals and Cello. If you'd have asked me last night, it would have been Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Stuart Murdoch (mainstay) on Vocals, Slash and Johnny Greenwood on dueling Lead Guitars, James Dean Bradfield on Rhythm because I'd be betraying my sixteen year old self if he wasn't in there somewhere, John Paul Jones on Keys, Stuart Copeland on Drums, Me on Bass (because I can) and Jimmy Page on Smack.
Interview by Yael Bekhor
www.myspace.com/youslut1
UK release of You Slut!’s debut album ‘Critical Meat’ 3/3/08 on Stressed Sumo Records.
http://www.stressedsumorecords.co.uk/
ALL RSS FEEDS