Our members from across the pond have already had a chance to form their opinions on Kasabian. The Leicester indie dance-rock quartet's self-titled debut, released in the U.K. in September of 2004, won the band a top 10 album there and a handful of equally well-received singles with LSF, Processed Beats, Club Foot, and Cutt Off. Now the band, named after Manson-family getaway driver Linda Kasabian, are attempting to repeat that success in the States. Bassist Chris Edwards and I spoke on the morning of the first date of their American tour.
Keith Daniels: Tonight is the first show of your first American tour, and you're playing at the Irving Plaza in New York.
Chris Edwards: Yeah, that's right.
KD: You nervous?
CE: [Laughs] No. No, mate. Never nervous.
KD: What was your first impression of New York?
CE: Well, I dunno. It was weird because we flew straight from Tokyo to New York. 12 hours. But it's good, man. Took all the mystical stuff away that you see in movies. I like the atmosphere.
KD: Is there anything you're looking forward to doing while you're in the States?
CE: Just seeing all the towns, you know. Going to all the places I've never been before.
KD: You must wake up sometimes and not know where you are.
CE: Yeah, pretty much. This tour... I don't know what kind of time zone we're in, or where we are. I'm writing a little journal so I can actually remember where I've been. Sometimes you just see the inside of a room, and then you pack up and go somewhere. You could be anywhere.
KD: What's the first thing you want to know when you arrive at a hotel in a new city?
CE: Where the Red Light District is, where the best bars are, and where the best takeaway food is.
KD: I don't know if you're going to find much of Red Light District in New York. You can't even smoke in bars there anymore.
CE: [Laughs] No. I doubt it. I don't smoke anyway, but all the lads... you can't even go into a bar anymore and have a beer and a smoke, y'know?
KD: Your record came out quite a while ago in the UK. Does it feel a little strange to be doing it all over again?
CE: Yeah. It's pretty humbling, you know, because we've been used to playing shows in front of like four or five thousand people back home quite regularly. Pretty humbling to go back to pretty small venues, and start all over again. It's a challenge, but it's good. We like a challenge. We enjoy it.
KD: You were talking about your journal. How long have you been keeping that?
CE: 11th of November, 2002, I started it. So it's been going a good two and a half years.
KD: Is it something private, or do you think you'd like to publish it in the future write it up into a book or something?
CE: It's just more of a list of all the gigs we played, and if something memorable happened on the night I'd just write a little note. It's not really that personal, where I'd write what I'd done during the day or something. I just kind of write down the date that we played, what venue, how many people it held, what city we were in, what country. That's about it, really. Then if something memorable happens I'll write a little note down so I don't forget.
KD: What kind of hurdles do they make you jump through with security now, when you're going from the UK to Tokyo to the U.S...?
CE: It's not too bad, actually. Sergei, our guitarist, got pulled over and they actually had to... what they do is they pull you over and do a full X-ray that strips all your clothes off, so you're standing there like naked. Bit intruding, really!
KD: Well, at least they didn't pull a Cat Stevens on you.
CE: [Laughs] Yeah, right. Have to turn the plane around. But Sergei does look a little like Cat Stevens.
KD: When you're on stage and you look out at the audience, and you see the faces of the people on the first row: what are you thinking about?
CE: Just playing me instrument, you know. When you go on stage, you're kind of in the zone. You're in a mental zone. I tend not to look at individual faces. I tend to look at pockets of the crowd, y'know what I mean? I tend to look in general directions. I don't look at any one person.
KD: Do you have any rituals for good luck?
CE: Not really. We all push each other. Have a good'un. and all that. Give each other a little handshake, and that's pretty cool. But no lucky charms.
KD: I don't want to bring up a sore subject, but I thought it was hilarious at the Brits last week that they thought the Robbie Williams' song Angels was The Best Song of the Last 25 Years.
CE: Bullshit, innit? [Laughs]
KD: [Laughs] I was wondering if you'd comment on that.
CE: That's it, mate. Bullshit. There must be four thousand songs better than that. Terrible. Put the final nail in the coffin of Brit-pop.
KD: I think even Robbie Williams has a better song than that.
CE: Yeah, yeah.
KD: I've never had British pot. Have you tried any American weed yet?
CE: Well, like I said, I don't smoke, take a few tokes now and then, but the lads've just bought some Northern Lights weed. Apparently that's quite good. But we were in Amsterdam about two and a half weeks ago.
KD: So our stuff can't even compare to that.
CE: Yeah, that's what I mean. But this Northern Lights stuff is pretty good.
The album Kasabian by Kasabian will be released in the U.S. on March 8th. Check out Kasabian's official site for more news and info.
Keith Daniels: Tonight is the first show of your first American tour, and you're playing at the Irving Plaza in New York.
Chris Edwards: Yeah, that's right.
KD: You nervous?
CE: [Laughs] No. No, mate. Never nervous.
KD: What was your first impression of New York?
CE: Well, I dunno. It was weird because we flew straight from Tokyo to New York. 12 hours. But it's good, man. Took all the mystical stuff away that you see in movies. I like the atmosphere.
KD: Is there anything you're looking forward to doing while you're in the States?
CE: Just seeing all the towns, you know. Going to all the places I've never been before.
KD: You must wake up sometimes and not know where you are.
CE: Yeah, pretty much. This tour... I don't know what kind of time zone we're in, or where we are. I'm writing a little journal so I can actually remember where I've been. Sometimes you just see the inside of a room, and then you pack up and go somewhere. You could be anywhere.
KD: What's the first thing you want to know when you arrive at a hotel in a new city?
CE: Where the Red Light District is, where the best bars are, and where the best takeaway food is.
KD: I don't know if you're going to find much of Red Light District in New York. You can't even smoke in bars there anymore.
CE: [Laughs] No. I doubt it. I don't smoke anyway, but all the lads... you can't even go into a bar anymore and have a beer and a smoke, y'know?
KD: Your record came out quite a while ago in the UK. Does it feel a little strange to be doing it all over again?
CE: Yeah. It's pretty humbling, you know, because we've been used to playing shows in front of like four or five thousand people back home quite regularly. Pretty humbling to go back to pretty small venues, and start all over again. It's a challenge, but it's good. We like a challenge. We enjoy it.
KD: You were talking about your journal. How long have you been keeping that?
CE: 11th of November, 2002, I started it. So it's been going a good two and a half years.
KD: Is it something private, or do you think you'd like to publish it in the future write it up into a book or something?
CE: It's just more of a list of all the gigs we played, and if something memorable happened on the night I'd just write a little note. It's not really that personal, where I'd write what I'd done during the day or something. I just kind of write down the date that we played, what venue, how many people it held, what city we were in, what country. That's about it, really. Then if something memorable happens I'll write a little note down so I don't forget.
KD: What kind of hurdles do they make you jump through with security now, when you're going from the UK to Tokyo to the U.S...?
CE: It's not too bad, actually. Sergei, our guitarist, got pulled over and they actually had to... what they do is they pull you over and do a full X-ray that strips all your clothes off, so you're standing there like naked. Bit intruding, really!
KD: Well, at least they didn't pull a Cat Stevens on you.
CE: [Laughs] Yeah, right. Have to turn the plane around. But Sergei does look a little like Cat Stevens.
KD: When you're on stage and you look out at the audience, and you see the faces of the people on the first row: what are you thinking about?
CE: Just playing me instrument, you know. When you go on stage, you're kind of in the zone. You're in a mental zone. I tend not to look at individual faces. I tend to look at pockets of the crowd, y'know what I mean? I tend to look in general directions. I don't look at any one person.
KD: Do you have any rituals for good luck?
CE: Not really. We all push each other. Have a good'un. and all that. Give each other a little handshake, and that's pretty cool. But no lucky charms.
KD: I don't want to bring up a sore subject, but I thought it was hilarious at the Brits last week that they thought the Robbie Williams' song Angels was The Best Song of the Last 25 Years.
CE: Bullshit, innit? [Laughs]
KD: [Laughs] I was wondering if you'd comment on that.
CE: That's it, mate. Bullshit. There must be four thousand songs better than that. Terrible. Put the final nail in the coffin of Brit-pop.
KD: I think even Robbie Williams has a better song than that.
CE: Yeah, yeah.
KD: I've never had British pot. Have you tried any American weed yet?
CE: Well, like I said, I don't smoke, take a few tokes now and then, but the lads've just bought some Northern Lights weed. Apparently that's quite good. But we were in Amsterdam about two and a half weeks ago.
KD: So our stuff can't even compare to that.
CE: Yeah, that's what I mean. But this Northern Lights stuff is pretty good.
The album Kasabian by Kasabian will be released in the U.S. on March 8th. Check out Kasabian's official site for more news and info.
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keep on working your magic!
a fan.