Interview with The Hair

By the magic of email Room Thirteen chats to Sam and Rich of up and coming Leeds/York based band The Hair. With label interest and a reputation for stomping live performances this could be a big year for The Hair.

R13: A quick introduction of who's in the band and who does what if you please?
S: I play guitar, sings and sweats. Neil Plays keys, samples, sings and gets really excited. Lee plays bass and sings and Rich runs the show by setting the pace on drums and unleashing samples via a synth thingy. Occasionally we all play the drums at the same time.

R13: The band name is interesting, who's to blame?
S: Me I think. I like to think of it as 'Hair' in it's singular form and if you stick a colon between it, the name doesn't make you think of Spinal Tap type rockers as much. I reckons. Plus the added fun is if people pronounce it "the colon hair" there is a whole new and hopefully unsuitable meaning to the name.

R13: On the band website you describe your music as scuzzy electro funk indie pop, do you still hold to that? If so how did you get to that point, is it anything like what you had in mind when you started?
S: It's really hard to pinpoint the sound. I think we go out to make music we like rather than thinking about making anything specific. It's just about good songs really and I'd say the music we make still has elements of everything in the biography. The music is influenced by the interests of everyone in the group which tend to be wide and varied, and also the patience of the people in the group which ranges from Rich being a very careful thinker meticulous with errors to Sam being an impatient bastard with everything, but the balance is perfect so we get to settle with the songs in the writing period when they feel most important and create most impact. The sound is a mixture of what interests us and the pop element comes with the joint love of melody.

R13: Have you had any label interest yet? If yes when can we expect to see an official release? If not any plans to release a self pressed recording?
S: We've had lots of interest of late, it's got a bit ridiculous I think but that's our manager's problem! When the right offer comes along at the right time I think we'll put something out. At the moment we just want as many people as possible to get into the music on our terms and come to gigs. We were going to release our first single with PIAS (Mogwai, DJ Format and 2 Many Djs' label), but that fell through at the start of the year 'cos they were merging with Wall of Sound and all their imminent signings were cancelled. It was really frustrating at the time but these things happen I guess.

R13: You played in London recently I believe, how was that?
S: Ace, I love Dublin Castle and Club Fandango have been very good to us. The sound engineer there, Rhona, is ace - one of the best we've had. Oh, and the sax player from Madness was there too, he was loving it! Neil was speaking to him after the gig and he said we were the best band he'd seen there in ages! High praise indeed!!!

R13: There's still a very vibrant music scene around Yorkshire (& Leeds in particular), has this helped you get noticed further afield or are people getting fed up of Yorkshire bands yet?
S: I don't think people are fed up of Yorkshire bands yet, it wouldn't make any difference to us as we don't sound like any of them anyway! The fact that we've been lucky enough to work with great promoters (we've had immeasurable support from Bad Sneakers at the Faversham for one) in Leeds means we've picked up attention there, anything that gets us noticed further afield is really just about playing good gigs and people talking about us I think. I think it could happen if we were from any of the big cities.
R: Thats not to say, I don't think, that the current scene in Yorkshire hasn't helped boost outside interest in local up and coming bands like us. A regional buzz can certainly help bring in the scouts and industry people and thats beneficial for all. As for people getting fed up, it hasn't happened yet, but no doubt the veil of "cool" on Leeds will pass on to another location in time as these things do – but for now let's just enjoy the vast array of talent in this area while the world is watching.

R13: Live you put on a very energetic performance that seems to get people dancing automatically, that must be a real buzz to see the audience getting into it?
S: Yeah it's the best thing for me. Especially when loads of people are singing back to you songs that you wrote in a bedroom in Malton!

R13: Have you had any support slots where you've totally stolen the show?
S: I wouldn't like to say that, I don't really think about gigs like that. Everyone in the audience gets a different experience out of different bands I'd say. Obviously they all fancy us though. Even the men. Ha ha.
R: In a word, YES!!
S: Ok, maybe he's right.

R13: Any festival appearances lined up this year?
S: We'll have to wait and see on that one. Our manager's told us there are a few things in the pipeline, so keep checking our website!

R13: What was it like hearing yourselves on Steve Lamacq? What track did he play?
S: It was a bit surreal listening to "Brick Supply" on Radio 1. totally ACE. All my house mates were sat in my room just saying "This is weird shit. Mint!". It's one of those milestones you think you'll never get to. I just hope we get played more in future!

R13: Sam has done some acoustic gigs, is that as a side project or something you see integrating into the band sound at any point?
S: It's a good way to try out new songs that have been written alone, or new songs the band hasn't quite finished playing. Plus you get a massive boost to confidence on stage if you go out alone and face an audience with just an acoustic, you have to have some balls, so I like to think it keeps me on my toes!

R13: Obviously you are perfect for a remake of the classic 70's musical 'Hair' but that aside if the band were to be in a film what would it be?
S: I'd have loved to be in Anchorman or Zoolander.
R: Not sure about a remake, but I think we should black ourselves up and stand in for Marvin Berry and The Starlighters in Back to the Future.

R13: Any good gossip we haven't heard about people in other bands (we won't tell, honest!)?
S: Matt out of the Pigeon Detectives knows illegal kung fu moves. Craig out of Sunshine Underground is pretty handy with a bow staff and I've heard that all of the Maccabees have numb-chuck skills and computer hacking abilities. I also heard that Pete Doherty is not actually real.

R13: Where would you like to see the band in five years time and do you believe you can get there?
S: In a crack den with Paris Hilton. We'll sleep our way to the top. Five years is a long time so I have no idea, I want to be making a living out of this somehow and I think hard work and focus is the answer.

R13: Do you have a band motto or philosophy?
S: Don't get drunk before a gig. People actually PAID to see you. After the gig try and get REALLY drunk.

R13: What question do you wish you'd been asked?
S: Who does your hair?

R13: What's the answer?
S: I'm currently working with a stylist named Lauren. She's hot.

You can check out the bands music and details of forthcoming gigs go to www.hairmusic.co.uk