Kaiser Chiefs - "Yours Truly, Angry Mob" Era
Apr 18, 2007 15:06:32 GMT -5
Post by joker on Apr 18, 2007 15:06:32 GMT -5
Kaiser Chiefs bring 'Mob' to N.A.
By MARK DANIELL -- For JAM! Music
TORONTO - Leaving his New York City hotel room on an unseasonably cold April morning, Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson seems surprised that he's the first to arrive for the band's soundcheck at the Roseland Ballroom.
He's been running late all morning, handling press for the band's latest disc, "Yours Truly, Angry Mob," but as he makes his way up West 52nd St., towards the entrance, he seems shocked to find himself the only one there.
"Hmm, I don't know where everyone else is," Wilson says via cell, as he navigates his way around the venue's corridors. "Maybe they're checking out the pits of the Big Apple."
Like Oasis and Blur, Leeds-based Kaiser Chiefs became England's latest must-like musical export in North America several years ago when the infectious pop-punk hoot, "I Predict a Riot," ushered in their debut disc, "Employment."
Sure, multiple Brit Awards, a rabid following amongst U.K. music scribes, packed shows and a spot on U2's Vertigo Tour helped the Chiefs escape the fates of Pulp and Elastica. But now that they're firmly rooted with music fans on both sides of the pond, Wilson says the band has loftier goals.
"We're really keen on making albums in the classic sense of the word," he says. "Not just four singles at the beginning, and then a lot of crap. For this record, we wanted to have something that worked for 45, 50 minutes straight.
"Especially 'cause of downloading, people don't treasure the album as a whole. It's been devalued, so we wanted to bring that back."
The disc's first single, "Ruby," a gummy blast of punk lust that's helping move the disc up North American charts, Wilson says the band wasn't freaked out by the prospect of having to top "Employment," which sold over two million copies worldwide.
"People always ask about the pressure, but we didn't really feel it," he says. "We've achieved those childhood dreams, but at the same time, you have to build on it. You can't ever be satisfied with achieving your goals. You always have to move on. We knew we had to make a better record to achieve what we want to do, which is stick around for a bit."
After an incessant round of touring in 2005, the Chiefs spent most of last year off the road writing and recording material with producer Stephen Street (Morrissey, the Cranberries) at Hookend Manor in Oxfordshire. But when they'd finished, Wilson, and bandmates Andrew White (guitar), Simon Rix (bass), Nick Baines (keyboards) and Nick Hodgson (drums), found themselves with almost two dozen songs.
"We did have 22 songs," says Wilson, "but I don't think that's many at all. The 12 best kind of just chose themselves. Or maybe not the 12 best, but the 12 that were best suited to the record.
"Besides, the more songs you have on an album doesn't make it better. You hear about bands saying, 'We had 80 songs and we had to get it down to 12.' But they didn't have 80 good songs did they? They had 80 s**t songs."
Though their recent success makes Kaiser Chiefs appear to be an overnight phenomenon, their roots are in a '90s band that few people could remember.
"What can I say? The important thing to remember when you start a band is: Have a name that people can pronounce," Wilson says. "We'd meet people and they'd ask, 'What's your band called again?' We'd say, 'Runston Parva,' and they wouldn't know what we were talking about. Especially in a loud bar, we'd spend all night repeating ourselves."
Runston dropped from their moniker, the boys had issued three singles and were set to release Parva's debut album, when Mantra Records suddenly folded, putting a dagger through their big stage dreams.
Undeterred, the crew worked odd jobs, plotting their next move. Scrapping the old songs, the fivesome rechristened themselves Kaiser Chiefs (after the famed South African football club Kaizer Chiefs) in 2003 and began to steadily reinvent themselves.
"We made a conscious decision when we started Kaiser Chiefs that when anyone asked us our band name, we'd say really clearly and loudly and determined, 'Kaiser...Chiefs.' And they'd go, 'Oh, good name,'" Wilson laughs.
Outfitting themselves in a flashy amalgam of suits and sneakers, they started penning a montage of toosh-wiggling melodies that meshed some of the Gallagher brothers' bravado with Blur's danceable schoolkid pop. And in no time, the A&R reps who had written them off were lining the blocks to catch one of the band's legendary performances.
With "Ruby's" chorus full of the same new wave energy that propelled "I Predict a Riot," "Yours Truly, Angry Mob" still has the dance rock spark of its predecessor with a few new snide observations.
Lyrics like "You're winding yourself up until you're turning blue/ Repeating everything that you've read," Wilson skewers the media ("The Angry Mob"), takes us for a spin on a nostalgic night of drink ("Highroyds"), riffs on not rocking the boat ("Everything is Average Nowadays") and jokes about his success with the ladies ("Love's Not a Competition (But I'm Winning)."
"You have to be very careful with the words you use," he says. "I don't want to be too flowery and I don't want to write love songs."
Following tours of Europe, where the Chiefs' lyrics roll off the tongues of thousands, Wilson says he and the band are enjoying playing to fresh sets of ears.
"But," he clarifies, "I suppose America could do with loosening up a bit at a gig. Not in a bad way, but I think everyone should realize it's a gig and you're going there to enjoy yourself and you shouldn't forget to enjoy yourself.
"Now the Scottish, they're pretty mental. In Scotland, you'll see a guy, he'll have four pints in his hands and we'll start a song and he'll just throw them all in the air. That's Scotland."
Here are the remaining dates for Kaiser Chiefs' North American tour:
April 18 - Toronto, Ontario - Kool Haus
April 20 - Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
April 24 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
April 25 - Seattle, WA - Showbox Theatre
April 26 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
April 27 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre
April 29 - Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella)
By MARK DANIELL -- For JAM! Music
TORONTO - Leaving his New York City hotel room on an unseasonably cold April morning, Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson seems surprised that he's the first to arrive for the band's soundcheck at the Roseland Ballroom.
He's been running late all morning, handling press for the band's latest disc, "Yours Truly, Angry Mob," but as he makes his way up West 52nd St., towards the entrance, he seems shocked to find himself the only one there.
"Hmm, I don't know where everyone else is," Wilson says via cell, as he navigates his way around the venue's corridors. "Maybe they're checking out the pits of the Big Apple."
Like Oasis and Blur, Leeds-based Kaiser Chiefs became England's latest must-like musical export in North America several years ago when the infectious pop-punk hoot, "I Predict a Riot," ushered in their debut disc, "Employment."
Sure, multiple Brit Awards, a rabid following amongst U.K. music scribes, packed shows and a spot on U2's Vertigo Tour helped the Chiefs escape the fates of Pulp and Elastica. But now that they're firmly rooted with music fans on both sides of the pond, Wilson says the band has loftier goals.
"We're really keen on making albums in the classic sense of the word," he says. "Not just four singles at the beginning, and then a lot of crap. For this record, we wanted to have something that worked for 45, 50 minutes straight.
"Especially 'cause of downloading, people don't treasure the album as a whole. It's been devalued, so we wanted to bring that back."
The disc's first single, "Ruby," a gummy blast of punk lust that's helping move the disc up North American charts, Wilson says the band wasn't freaked out by the prospect of having to top "Employment," which sold over two million copies worldwide.
"People always ask about the pressure, but we didn't really feel it," he says. "We've achieved those childhood dreams, but at the same time, you have to build on it. You can't ever be satisfied with achieving your goals. You always have to move on. We knew we had to make a better record to achieve what we want to do, which is stick around for a bit."
After an incessant round of touring in 2005, the Chiefs spent most of last year off the road writing and recording material with producer Stephen Street (Morrissey, the Cranberries) at Hookend Manor in Oxfordshire. But when they'd finished, Wilson, and bandmates Andrew White (guitar), Simon Rix (bass), Nick Baines (keyboards) and Nick Hodgson (drums), found themselves with almost two dozen songs.
"We did have 22 songs," says Wilson, "but I don't think that's many at all. The 12 best kind of just chose themselves. Or maybe not the 12 best, but the 12 that were best suited to the record.
"Besides, the more songs you have on an album doesn't make it better. You hear about bands saying, 'We had 80 songs and we had to get it down to 12.' But they didn't have 80 good songs did they? They had 80 s**t songs."
Though their recent success makes Kaiser Chiefs appear to be an overnight phenomenon, their roots are in a '90s band that few people could remember.
"What can I say? The important thing to remember when you start a band is: Have a name that people can pronounce," Wilson says. "We'd meet people and they'd ask, 'What's your band called again?' We'd say, 'Runston Parva,' and they wouldn't know what we were talking about. Especially in a loud bar, we'd spend all night repeating ourselves."
Runston dropped from their moniker, the boys had issued three singles and were set to release Parva's debut album, when Mantra Records suddenly folded, putting a dagger through their big stage dreams.
Undeterred, the crew worked odd jobs, plotting their next move. Scrapping the old songs, the fivesome rechristened themselves Kaiser Chiefs (after the famed South African football club Kaizer Chiefs) in 2003 and began to steadily reinvent themselves.
"We made a conscious decision when we started Kaiser Chiefs that when anyone asked us our band name, we'd say really clearly and loudly and determined, 'Kaiser...Chiefs.' And they'd go, 'Oh, good name,'" Wilson laughs.
Outfitting themselves in a flashy amalgam of suits and sneakers, they started penning a montage of toosh-wiggling melodies that meshed some of the Gallagher brothers' bravado with Blur's danceable schoolkid pop. And in no time, the A&R reps who had written them off were lining the blocks to catch one of the band's legendary performances.
With "Ruby's" chorus full of the same new wave energy that propelled "I Predict a Riot," "Yours Truly, Angry Mob" still has the dance rock spark of its predecessor with a few new snide observations.
Lyrics like "You're winding yourself up until you're turning blue/ Repeating everything that you've read," Wilson skewers the media ("The Angry Mob"), takes us for a spin on a nostalgic night of drink ("Highroyds"), riffs on not rocking the boat ("Everything is Average Nowadays") and jokes about his success with the ladies ("Love's Not a Competition (But I'm Winning)."
"You have to be very careful with the words you use," he says. "I don't want to be too flowery and I don't want to write love songs."
Following tours of Europe, where the Chiefs' lyrics roll off the tongues of thousands, Wilson says he and the band are enjoying playing to fresh sets of ears.
"But," he clarifies, "I suppose America could do with loosening up a bit at a gig. Not in a bad way, but I think everyone should realize it's a gig and you're going there to enjoy yourself and you shouldn't forget to enjoy yourself.
"Now the Scottish, they're pretty mental. In Scotland, you'll see a guy, he'll have four pints in his hands and we'll start a song and he'll just throw them all in the air. That's Scotland."
Here are the remaining dates for Kaiser Chiefs' North American tour:
April 18 - Toronto, Ontario - Kool Haus
April 20 - Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
April 24 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
April 25 - Seattle, WA - Showbox Theatre
April 26 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
April 27 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre
April 29 - Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella)