.: Interview| Chromatones

After recently reviewing Chromatones' debut EP 'New Worst Nightmare', I knew I had to grab a few minutes of their time to ask a few questions of my own... Now, let's get down to some serious business! (Ha, as if!).

Brad and Mark are answering my jolly questions today, so read on young ones...

How is 2010 going so far?

Brad: Overall, good! We had a great start to the year being nominated for the Red Stripe Music Award 10 and, overall, we have had more gigs than last year, but we need more! This is the difficulty with being uni students, as soon as there is a break we need time to see our family and we all live in very different places and it can be hard to find the time and place to rehearse.

Mark: Agreed there. I especially find it difficult what with living so far away from university (Northamptonshire) but our band always seems to find a way of sorting out these kind of problems so I’ve got no worries really!

Tell us a bit about your new EP!

Brad: Ok so it’s our debut EP called ‘New Worst Nightmare’, which is also the song title of the second track; there are 5 songs in total. We recorded it over 2 days in February at Untapped talent Studios in Southampton with Matt O’ Donnell who then mixed it. It was great working with Matt too. He was just so easy to get along with and he understood what we wanted. Then after that we just fussed over the artwork for long enough and are finally releasing it this month!

Mark: Matt was a breath of fresh air, as we had done many a recording at our university with various different producers but just couldn’t find the exact result we were looking for. With Matt I feel we have found that, as he works with a great balance of professionalism and fun.

Any chance of a gig at Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms soon (I love that Venue)?

Brad: I love that venue too! We did play there in February as part of the Red Stripe thing I mentioned which was probably my favourite gig of ours so far! We might be playing as part of a series of events called ‘Road to Wedge’ though which is a little competition where the winner gets free recording time but it depends if we can get an initial date that we can all do or not. That starts at the Joiners and then if we went through then we would play at The Brooke in Southampton and then the final is at the Wedge but obviously there are a few ‘ifs’ and ‘might’s’ there. Fingers crossed I guess would be a short answer.

If you could have any band (ever!) to tour with, who would you pick?

Brad: Ever? Wow, that’s a lot of bands! I guess I would have to say Radiohead though. They are one of my favourite bands and biggest influences and always will be. There are so many others, like The Beatles! But if I had to just give a quick answer on the spot then I’ll say Radiohead.

Mark: I would also absolutely love playing with the Radiohead boys, although there are an absolutely ridiculous amount of bands that I would love to see us supporting, such as Muse, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Incubus and so many, many more! Radiohead would truly be a dream come true, although I think I’d be a bit scared approaching Thom Yorke what with him being a hero of mine!!

It's one of your birthdays and New Reviews has given you a choice of two presents: A giant xylophone or a Mr. Blobby suit. Which do you go for?

Brad: (Laughs!) Well they both sound like amazing presents! I would have to say the giant Xylophone though because it would go great with the Glockenspiel Mark has recently bought! Besides, I think it was Jamie in the band who told me once that he was afraid of Mr. Blobby when he was little, as were many! I wasn’t....although I am slightly scared of Noel Edmonds’ beard now; I just don’t think it’s a real beard!

Mark: Mr. Blobby suit. Hands down. Next question.

Which celebrity/artist would you most like to wake up to in the morning?

Brad: Hmmm, I would say maybe Mila Kunis, but then she has the voice of Meg Griffin so that might be a bit weird and off-putting. Ooh I know...Black Widow! From Marvel comic books but then in an un-animated way....somehow? Not to be confused with an actual black widow spider which would make me scream like a little girl!

Mark: Zooey Deschanel from ‘Elf’, ‘Yes Man’ and ‘500 Days Of Summer’ fame I would have to say. Just something about her is so appealing and amazing to me. Obviously my girlfriend wouldn’t be very happy about that but there you go!

You're stuck in a lift, who would be the worst person to be there with?

Brad: Hannibal Lector..........Yeah.

Mark: Agreed.


Who in Chromatones has the most annoying habit?
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Brad: I don't think there is anything too distinct actually. I’m probably going to have to answer with Jamie or Sander since I share a flat with them and so I notice things a bit more.....I’ll say Sander.
He does this thing where he starts to ask you a question and then half way through he realises he knows the answer already and he says “Oh wait....never mind” and you’re like “you can’t just do that you have to tell me what you were going to say now!” It doesn’t sound too bad but he does this at least 47 times a day (maybe a slight exaggeration there).

Mark: We all have our own little annoying habits I find, myself greatly included. You learn to live with them though, and they become less of an annoyance and more of a quirk I guess.

Have you ever fallen off the stage or knocked someone else off?

Brad: I have fallen over on stage and jumped off the stage and knocked into one of my band mates on more than one occasion but never actually fallen straight off the stage....yet.

Mark: At a gig in Portsmouth at The Drift Bar not too long ago I went face-first into the head of Sander’s bass. It hurt like hell and nearly knocked me over completely! I’ve fallen over on stage a few times, but always intentionally, as ‘part of the act’ I put on really.

New Reviews is taking you on a date, what's your drink for the evening?

Brad: I would probably just have a pint of Cider or a soft drink or something of equal boringness; though I might have a glass of red wine if it’s a bit more sophisticated.

Mark: Red wine until they decide to pck on tap. That stuff is amazing!

On a slightly more serious note... What do you think of the music scene in Southampton at the moment?

Brad: It’s awesome! There is such a variety in Southampton. You’ve got rock bands, pop/punk, Indie, metal, as well as arty folk/pop stuff and there are seriously good bands to look out for in all those areas and more! Plus there are so many great music venues: The Joiners, Hamptons, Soul Cellar, Talking Heads, not to mention the two universities and the Guildhall!

Mark: Southampton really does have one of the most thriving music scenes I have seen in the country. Up north you’ll have a ridiculous amount of Indie and pop bands that show very little originality, and in the Midlands where I’m from it just seems to be a harsh mix of metal and hip-hop, but down south the various amounts of genres and music nights that are showcased is extraordinary! It’s partly a reason why I came to Southampton to study in the first place, because there seems to be everything for everyone’s taste down here.

Who is a must have on anyone's iPod?

Brad: I have seriously been getting into EELS in a very big way recently. They’ve been going for like 15 years but yet they are a band that, when mentioned, a lot of people say “who?” Most people have probably heard at least a few of their songs without even realising it was them and they have covered and crossed over so many different genres that there’s something in that band for everyone I think.

Mark: A must for me (other than us of course!) would have to be a band called Karnivool, an Australian alternative metal band who I have actually seen live at The Joiners as well! They’re tremendous musicians with some wonderfully beautiful yet hard-hitting tunes and they’re even more amazing live too.

What are you looking forward to most this year?

Brad: Well as a band I think we are at the stage where we need to get a lot more lined up again for the rest of the year, but for now, our EP launch! It’s this month, 17th of June at The Joiners in Southampton and we have also got ‘The Lost Boys’ supporting us who are a great band that I am a fan of (and I believe you at New Reviews are too?) so that is definitely worth checking out. Really looking forward to that!

New Reviews: Yeah! We are indeed. Check out the review for yourselves!

Is there anything you would like to add?

Brad: Check out our Myspace at www.myspace.com/chromatonesuk to see up and coming gig dates and to listen to a few of our tunes. Keep an eye and ear out for that as we’ll be putting up a couple more songs from our EP on there soon, replacing the demo recordings we have. Also add us on our Facebook page if you like at www.facebook.com/chromatonesuk and anything else that has “/chromatonesuk” at the end of it for that matter.
That’s all really, and thanks to you Suzie for a great interview and review.
Peace, love, banter, headbang!

Mark: Brad’s pretty much added it all, so I’ll just say thank you to whoever has taken their time to read this and I hope you enjoy our music whichever outlet you hear it from.