Editors are UK based band made up of vocalist Tom Smith, guitarist Chris Urbanowidz, bassist Russell Leetch and drummer Ed Lay. They made a big splash in their native land with their debut album, Back Room. They are now finally getting the chance to invade the United States.
Buy Back Room
Daniel Robert Epstein: You guys must be very excited about finally getting this album out because it was released overseas a while ago.
Russell Leetch: Yeah, it came out in the UK in July so we've been working with it for a while. It's nice to get the stateside release and the tour is going well.
DRE: Why has it taken so long to get it out over here?
RL: We were looking for the right deal. The way that we booked it in the UK is by touring and that's the way that we want to do it in the US as well. We just want to tour so now we're here to do the States and we're going to concentrate on that for quite a while.
DRE: What was the inspiration for Back Room?
RL: We like people to bring their own meanings through all our songs and that follows through the whole album. We just wanted to make a classy guitar based album.
DRE: How did you decide on Fader as your record label?
RL: It was just the people that worked there. It's a small company that really feels like a family, everybody knows each other. They work well with each other and that's the way it works with our label in the UK. We wanted to translate that with the Americans and keep that independent spirit.
DRE: Your band already had a huge amount of fans in North America before the album was even out.
RL: Yeah, the internet is a great part of that. People can get records all over the world by going online. It showed when we came over to New York for two days and played two sold out gigs. It's really encouraging.
DRE: The Editors are so hands on with everything, when did you realize you had to do that?
RL: We just like to be involved with everything that goes on with our band. We want to make sure our name is portrayed in the right way. We wouldn't be happy if something didn't go the way we thought it should. That goes with everything that's involved with our music. We signed to an independent label so that we would get complete creative control over what we do. We don't want to sign a record contract to have someone go and put our music anywhere they please.
The people that are involved with our music are the four people in our band. That is as far as the creative process goes. But when we're in the studio we like to have other people's thoughts thrown in there to guide us. That's what producer's are supposed to do but the band picks that producer. In a way I suppose we are control freaks. We definitely want to do it our own way and have our own sound and not be dictated to by others.
DRE: The internet is anti-control freak. Are you guys ok with people getting your music so readily on the internet?
RL: I think it ruins surprises. We had two new songs at the end of last year and after we played them only a second time at a gig, they were already online. That's a bit annoying because we want to be put them on our next record and we want to make them sound how we want them to sound, not just at that one live concert that someone recorded. That's often does not do it justice. However I do think getting music on the internet is amazing. If someone in Bulgaria can't get our music then they can download it for free if they want and that's fine.
DRE: Do you guys have lots of Bulgarian fans?
RL: I'm not too sure. We'll have to go over there.
DRE: One reviewer said that you guys are very much in tradition of Bauhaus and The Cure, do you feel that's true?
RL: You might sense that we are in that genre of records. But I still think we've got our own identity. We don't want to be imitating anybody. We write with integrity, obviously there are easy comparisons with Tom's deep voice, the acoustic guitar and the use of the percussion instruments. Things like that are going to rub off on people with things that they've heard in the past.
DRE: When did you guys first get together?
RL: It was about five, six years ago at university. We just were friends and we bonded as a band while we were in a music course. Music was our passion and it was something that we always wanted to do. We also always played instruments so it made sense to form a band.
DRE: Did you bond over the bands I mentioned?
RL: No, not at all. After people started comparing us to those bands we went back and listened to them. Tom's lyrical inspiration comes from the first two REM records. Radiohead's Spiritualized were big influences on us when we were 16. When we were at university, the first Elbow record came out. I think that's transparent in a lot of our songs. Then the faster songs that we do would be influenced by The Strokes because they were an important guitar band. I've always gone to see guitar bands play live. There was a slight lull in that kind of band and suddenly it became fresh and exciting again with The Strokes.
DRE: What is the writing process in the band?
RL: We all have influence on the writing but Tom always writes the initial lyrics and core structure. We don't get involved with the lyrics. With the music we all have a very constructive role and we all take part in the writing process.
DRE: If things go well in the US, how will you all handle it?
RL: Well we're a faceless band in the UK. If you said Editors to someone on the street they might know our music but they'd not know our faces. We've never been plastered across the tabloids taking drugs or hanging out with whoever. We're purists in our music so we like that our faces aren't know. It gives us a little mystique.
DRE: Don't you think as soon as a member of your band gets the chance he would go out with a Kate Moss type?
RL: I don't know. We'll see, we'll see.
DRE: Which cities are you most excited to get to in the US that you didn't get to before?
RL: I'm really looking forward to Chicago. Sometimes the places where you're really excited let you down. We like surprises.
DRE: Have you heard of SuicideGirls?
RL: I have yes.
DRE: Are those the girls you're into?
RL: We all love big tits and some of us like small tits.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Buy Back Room
Daniel Robert Epstein: You guys must be very excited about finally getting this album out because it was released overseas a while ago.
Russell Leetch: Yeah, it came out in the UK in July so we've been working with it for a while. It's nice to get the stateside release and the tour is going well.
DRE: Why has it taken so long to get it out over here?
RL: We were looking for the right deal. The way that we booked it in the UK is by touring and that's the way that we want to do it in the US as well. We just want to tour so now we're here to do the States and we're going to concentrate on that for quite a while.
DRE: What was the inspiration for Back Room?
RL: We like people to bring their own meanings through all our songs and that follows through the whole album. We just wanted to make a classy guitar based album.
DRE: How did you decide on Fader as your record label?
RL: It was just the people that worked there. It's a small company that really feels like a family, everybody knows each other. They work well with each other and that's the way it works with our label in the UK. We wanted to translate that with the Americans and keep that independent spirit.
DRE: Your band already had a huge amount of fans in North America before the album was even out.
RL: Yeah, the internet is a great part of that. People can get records all over the world by going online. It showed when we came over to New York for two days and played two sold out gigs. It's really encouraging.
DRE: The Editors are so hands on with everything, when did you realize you had to do that?
RL: We just like to be involved with everything that goes on with our band. We want to make sure our name is portrayed in the right way. We wouldn't be happy if something didn't go the way we thought it should. That goes with everything that's involved with our music. We signed to an independent label so that we would get complete creative control over what we do. We don't want to sign a record contract to have someone go and put our music anywhere they please.
The people that are involved with our music are the four people in our band. That is as far as the creative process goes. But when we're in the studio we like to have other people's thoughts thrown in there to guide us. That's what producer's are supposed to do but the band picks that producer. In a way I suppose we are control freaks. We definitely want to do it our own way and have our own sound and not be dictated to by others.
DRE: The internet is anti-control freak. Are you guys ok with people getting your music so readily on the internet?
RL: I think it ruins surprises. We had two new songs at the end of last year and after we played them only a second time at a gig, they were already online. That's a bit annoying because we want to be put them on our next record and we want to make them sound how we want them to sound, not just at that one live concert that someone recorded. That's often does not do it justice. However I do think getting music on the internet is amazing. If someone in Bulgaria can't get our music then they can download it for free if they want and that's fine.
DRE: Do you guys have lots of Bulgarian fans?
RL: I'm not too sure. We'll have to go over there.
DRE: One reviewer said that you guys are very much in tradition of Bauhaus and The Cure, do you feel that's true?
RL: You might sense that we are in that genre of records. But I still think we've got our own identity. We don't want to be imitating anybody. We write with integrity, obviously there are easy comparisons with Tom's deep voice, the acoustic guitar and the use of the percussion instruments. Things like that are going to rub off on people with things that they've heard in the past.
DRE: When did you guys first get together?
RL: It was about five, six years ago at university. We just were friends and we bonded as a band while we were in a music course. Music was our passion and it was something that we always wanted to do. We also always played instruments so it made sense to form a band.
DRE: Did you bond over the bands I mentioned?
RL: No, not at all. After people started comparing us to those bands we went back and listened to them. Tom's lyrical inspiration comes from the first two REM records. Radiohead's Spiritualized were big influences on us when we were 16. When we were at university, the first Elbow record came out. I think that's transparent in a lot of our songs. Then the faster songs that we do would be influenced by The Strokes because they were an important guitar band. I've always gone to see guitar bands play live. There was a slight lull in that kind of band and suddenly it became fresh and exciting again with The Strokes.
DRE: What is the writing process in the band?
RL: We all have influence on the writing but Tom always writes the initial lyrics and core structure. We don't get involved with the lyrics. With the music we all have a very constructive role and we all take part in the writing process.
DRE: If things go well in the US, how will you all handle it?
RL: Well we're a faceless band in the UK. If you said Editors to someone on the street they might know our music but they'd not know our faces. We've never been plastered across the tabloids taking drugs or hanging out with whoever. We're purists in our music so we like that our faces aren't know. It gives us a little mystique.
DRE: Don't you think as soon as a member of your band gets the chance he would go out with a Kate Moss type?
RL: I don't know. We'll see, we'll see.
DRE: Which cities are you most excited to get to in the US that you didn't get to before?
RL: I'm really looking forward to Chicago. Sometimes the places where you're really excited let you down. We like surprises.
DRE: Have you heard of SuicideGirls?
RL: I have yes.
DRE: Are those the girls you're into?
RL: We all love big tits and some of us like small tits.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
We thought they were better than Franz Ferdinand (who were headlining). Less smug.