Brighton two-piece Blood Red Shoes celebrated a successful year last year with the release of their debut album “Box Of Secrets”. We caught up with Steven from Blood Red Shoes ahead of their UK mini tour to discuss the year ahead and album no 2.Last year saw you release your debut album and tour relentlessly. How was it for you?
You have recently been announced for the ATP festival, which is curated by The Breeders. Are you excited about playing alongside the likes of The Breeders, Shellac and Gang of Four? Will this be the first ATP festival you will have been to?
yeh of course! these are bands that we love..there's also melt banana who are amazing...these are bands we've been digging for a long time so it's really flattering to get asked to play alongside them. we've both been the festival before and it's probably the number 1 festival we'd have liked to play in the band's history.
Have you been confirmed for many more festivals this year yet? Are you planning on airing much new material over the festival season?
so far not many. we're just seeing who asks us to play really. since we dont have a new album out yet, and since we've played incessantly for 2 years, we're not expecting everyone to want us back AGAIN. we have some confirmed in germany and austria but apart from that we'll see what shows up over the next months. it'd be cool to play some smaller independent ones across the UK like truck fest, underage or bestival because they're really fun and we'll get bored if we dont play anywhere.
You must be entering the studio soon then to lay down album number 2. Do you have most of the songs for it ready to record before you hit the studio? Do you have a clear idea of how you want this record to sound?
yeh we're scheduled to get started in a month or so. with the first album we had everything worked out (i mean everything) - not just songs written but backing vocals worked out, we'd made decisions where tambourine parts or guitar overdubs could go..all the details. this time it's hard to say because we've not written all of it yet, but we're not gonna go into the studio without all the songs. i can't fathom why bands do that. for us we need to play them, jam the shit out of them, play them some more, try them out at as many shows as possible...that's how we write well. but this time we also dont want to leave it too long before the album, so the songs won't be as fully formed as on the first record, plus we also have more time in the studio to try things out. so we'll probably try some different things than just a straight live-sounding affair this time. but we still have a pretty clear idea about how it should sound, we've never been one of those bands who rely on other people to steer things. and we'll never be one of those bands who go into a studio with no fucking ideas or songs. i really believe it's bands being forced to do that which generates so many substandard records (especially 2nd albums).
One thing that hits everyone when they see you live, is how a two-piece band can be so loud, and yet so melodic at the same time. What’s your secret to pulling this off?
well we play loud. and we both sing. that's it. that's just what we sound like. i hit the drums really hard and laura-mary runs her amp pretty loud. we've never aspired to sound minimal or small and we never really intended on being a 2-piece. so everything we do is aimed at sounding like any other rock band. and i think the way we write songs, there's always a vocal hook in there somewhere - if there isn't one we either find one or ditch the song. you can get away with doing almost anything you like with the instruments if there's a coupla hooks in there. and since we both sing the hook-y bits in unison it gets heard pretty easily. rivers cuomo always said every song should have a bit a crowd can sing along to, i like that idea. be as leftfield as you like but you gotta get one bit in every song that grabs people and pulls them into the song.
You must be away from home a lot with the amount of touring you have done. What three essential things do you have to take on tour with you?
for me....not much apart from clothes and sanitary products. we're not one of those scuzzy bands on the road, we fucking take showers and keep clean. we do always take the twin peaks box set to watch in the van tho. and a skipping rope so you dont get fat and lazy sitting in a moving tin can all day. and usually a book which i will most likely fail to read because im always on a real downer in the daytimes.
With having such a successful year last year you must be looking forward to the year ahead. What are you as a band most looking forward to next year?
well this year we're just concentrating on making the best possible 2nd album, and releasing it. then we can get stuck in to playing live again, which is what we do best and where i feel the most at home. we do get a little bit scared because now we have something to live up to and a fanbase who are watching more intently than when we were a new band. but i think we'll be cool, we're taking our time with it and being really careful, plus we're lucky that we've done ok but we haven't got massive overnight, i think the pressure of that would fuck us up more. i still feel like we have a long way to go and it's nice to do it at a comfortable pace and not suddenly be all over the TV and magazines on the first album.
sx
Blood Red Shoes are heading out on some tour dates today, catch them at the following:
10.03.2009 southend, chinnery's (16+)
11.03.2009 northampton, roadmender (14+)
12.03.2009 gloucester, guildhall (14+)
10.04.2009 brighton, concorde 2 with foals
24.04.2009 berlin, europaische clubnacht @ maria club
17.05.2009 ATP festival, minehead
24.04.2009 berlin, europaische clubnacht @ maria club
17.05.2009 ATP festival, minehead
RT
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