West London five-piece The Bedroom Hour are on the verge of releasing their debut album, Hinterland. With a series of live dates across the country, a growing army of followers and a catchy, uplifting sound, they're one of my favourite bands right now. I caught up with them to discuss their new album,,,between us it escalates into favourite dinosaurs, tour pants, beardy kudos and a desperate bid for Pepsi sponsorship (other brands of carbonated beverage are available). And so it begins...
Hello boys! Hi Emma! So - Hinterland - sounding great so far! Where did the inspiration for the name come from? Stu - On the last Death Cab For Cutie album, there's a line about being a tourist in your own city and that really resonated with me. The songs we've written for this album have a feeling of loss, isolation and apartness and the word hinterland has connotations of that, and also links in with us still being a relatively unknown quantity as a band. Your sound seems to be evolving, what influences have you drawn on for the album? Rob - 80's stadium bands. Mark - It's the same influences we had for Themes, but we've tried to keep things a bit more upbeat. Rob - Paul Cook gets a lot of space into his sound. Andy - I think that as a band we've started to move towards creating a sound that is our own, rather than having clear influences we're trying to incorporate them into songs that maybe sound more like the bedroom hour than anyone else. Given your level of interaction with your fans, it was no surprise that the pledge was met - and blitzed - so quickly. How does it feel to have such a devoted set of people supporting you? Mark - it feels like a ten foot trifle with infinite custard and rainbow sprinkles Rob - we feel like Putin riding his unicorns Andy - our fans are like an extra member of the band. We have a Facebook/Twitter group, The Bedroom Army, dedicated to just keeping them in the loop and getting feedback direct from them. It's a bit like a football hooligan firm, only with less fisticuffs. Some of them have become more than just fans now and are bona fide friends of the band. Are there any songs you listen to and think 'bloody hell I wish I'd written that'? Everyone - Loads! You've got a plane ticket to anywhere, no expense spared, to perform at a venue of your choice. Where is it and what's on your rider? Rob - Butlins, Skegness. In fact, anywhere that gives us a couple of bottles of Pepsi max. Come on Pepsi, answer my emails! Stu - French fancies, skittles, jelly... Mark - ...upstairs at mcdonalds... Stu - somewhere hot. If you had a paint gun, who would you most like to shoot with it? (torso only, no face or knacker shots allowed) Everyone - John Terry in his full kit. Then some of the splash goes in Ashley Cole's eyes. Tell me something random about another band member! Rob - Stu is a messy drunk. His special tour pants often make an unexpected appearance after a couple. Phil asks: 'what's your favourite dinosaur? I'm a Stegosaurus man myself' (I'd go Velociraptor) Rob - Stegosaurus Mark - Nessie Stu - Can I have a mammoth? For the beardy kudos? Would you rather have chips for lips or pies for eyes? Rob - chips. Bit of salt on and lick 'em. Mmmm. Sarah Habbershaw asks - Who has got the most cheesiest feet? And tell em I love em :) Andy - Cheesiest feet is a tough one to answer because all our feet smell like flowers and honey blossom. Mine have the occasional undertone of buttercups, which, as everyone knows, can reveal whether or not you like butter, which is a dairy product like cheese. So me, I guess? And we love you too!!!! Nicola Warrender asks - Which of them is the worst to share a room with when travelling for gigs? #VitalIssues Andy - I've not yet had the pleasure of rooming with any of these fine upstanding gentlemen, so I couldn't possibly comment. I snore like a raging whirlpool of self loathing, so it's probably me again. And finally - cos my questions always start getting a bit weird after a while - Susan Boyle, Ann Robinson , Katie Price. Snog, marry, avoid.... Andy - Marry Katie price, won't last long anyway. Get a pre-nup in as well! Snog Anne Robinson because if it's her and Boyle left... well. Avoid SuBo. Which, incidentally, is a mantra I try to live by anyway. If you have a burning desire to know anything else about the band feel free to either send your questions to me or ask them yourself on their Facebook page or via Twitter. You can also sign up for their new album here, various packages are available. I've gone for the signed CD. It includes special updates from the band, which could be a blog post, video of an exclusive live track or even a thank you vid from Stu as he's walking around (without tripping. Nicely done). Having heard a few snippets from Hinterland, it's going to be an absolute belter! Thank you gentlemen - now go keep Andy away from Katie Price - it's for his own good....
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