We’ve been on Big Deal’s case for quite some time. We’ve posted their tracks, reviewed their excellent album, Lights Out, hell … we’ve even done a couple of awesome sessions with them, which you should really check out if you haven’t already. Go on. Now, some people might think that’s enough. Well, fuck them. We want more. And we got it. Here’s our Call Back with the band.
Bowlegs: Which album has been a major influence in your life, and why?
Alice: I can’t really pinpoint one album, but I remember my stepdad playing me The Velvet Underground and Nico as a kid and wanting to listen to it everyday after that.
Bowlegs: What was the last album you bought?
KC: I bought the Metronomy album.
Alice: Pleasure by Pure X
Bowlegs: Which bands have you been listening to this week?
KC: Max Richter, Blonde Redhead.
Alice: Mostly just what our tour manager was playing in the van. Max Richter, Liars and weird electronic music.
Bowlegs: Name a new band Bowlegs should look out for?
KC: Dale Earnhardt JR JR.
Alice: Toy.
Bowlegs: What was the last gig you went to?
KC: Dale Earnhardt JR JR.
Alice: Same.
Bowlegs: Who is the best band you have ever shared a bill with?
KC: We played with both Grouplove and Anna Calvi earlier this year and they are great bands. We played Reading and Leeds as well, so technically we shared a bill with the Strokes. It was a big bill.
Alice: At The End of the Road festival we played just before Kurt Vile, which was nice because we both loved his last record.
Bowlegs: What was the first gig you ever went to, and who did you go with?
KC: The Cranberries. With my mom!
Alice: Destiny’s Child with my sisters and godmother.
Bowlegs: What made you realise that being a musician was the career of choice?
KC: When I realized I couldn’t do anything else.
Alice: There was no choosing involved – I sort of fell into it by accident.
Bowlegs: What is your favourite music documentary?
KC: Gimme Shelter.
Alice: Spinal Tap.
Bowlegs: What was the last film you saw, and was it any good?
KC: Melancholia. It was amazing.
Alice: Wild At Heart. It blew my mind. Nicolas Cage is so gross.
Bowlegs: Name three great books Bowlegs must read?
KC: A Visit From The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan; His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman; and Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami.
Alice: Kafka On The Shore by Haruki Murakami; Blindness by Jose Saramago; As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee.
Bowlegs: What do you see when you look in the mirror?
KC: My face. Usually.
Alice: I also tend to see my face.
Bowlegs: Name a song that takes you back to a certain time in your life?
KC: Do What You Gotta Do by Okkervil River.
Alice: I Don’t Want To Get Over You by Magnetic Fields.
Bowlegs: What is your favourite album cover of all time?
KC: Siamese Dream.
Alice: Daydream Nation.
Bowlegs: What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud?
Alice: We’ve been on tour for a while, so there’s not been much laughter … just kidding. KC locked me in the van in Cardiff – I could definitely hear him laughing from inside.
Bowlegs: Do you think music videos are important and do you like making them?
KC: They are really important. We are starting to like making them, though of course it depends on who you’re doing it with.
Alice: They can be torture, but I think the solution is working with your friends. Luckily our friend Camille Bennett has made our last three videos and she is so great to work with – let’s just hope we don’t fall out with her.
Bowlegs: Are albums still important or is it more about individual tracks?
KC: I think albums are still very important in the artistic sense, though they seem to be falling by the wayside.
Alice: I think they’re important still for getting a proper impression of a band. I can’t tell much from just one track.
Bowlegs: What do you have planned for the next six months?
KC: Hopefully playing in the States, as our album will be coming out in January.
Alice: Next month we’re going to Amsterdam for London Calling, playing Leeds Constellation festival and having our own show at the Lexington with support from Toy.
Bowlegs: What is on your iPod?
KC: Mostly demos we are working on. That and lots of This American Life.
Alice: Nothing, it died.
Bowlegs: Please tell us, in as many or few words as you wish, a small anecdote or memory from one of your days touring?
Alice: At the beginning of the summer we did a small European tour for our record label – it was us and two other Mute bands, S.C.U.M and Beth Jeans all sharing a tour bus. We were driving from Amsterdam to Berlin, and were all a bit worse for wear, watching Bad Lieutenant in the middle of the night at the back of the bus with S.C.U.M. It was boiling hot and the air-con had broken – we all started going crazy from the heat. The combination of Nicolas Cage as a crack taking cop and the unbearable heat was such a surreal and intense situation that it kind of bonded us all and we’ve been friends ever since!
