Hourly Radio Interview
The Hourly Radio's debut LP, "History Will Never Hold Me" (Kirtland Records) has received accolades from a number of prestitgious indie publications including The Big Takeover who went out on a limb by saying, "Amazing. No doubt they'll be the next big thing," and Nylon who quipped, "It seems as though the Hourly Radio may be destined to join the ranks of indie bands that make heartbreak profitable."
You can catch these rising stars on tour NOW with electro-synth popstars Shiny Toy Guns! Don't miss your chance to say "you saw them when..." before this bands really takes off. Learn more about this band by reading our interview with guitarist Ryan Short below!
TALive:First off, on your myspace page I saw my hero Jarvis Cocker in your top friends. what is your Jarvis connection? Are you just fans or have you had the chance to perform with him? Ryan Short: We have never had the chance to play with Jarvis, however we've snuck a cover of "Common People" into our set a few time in the past, but yeah just fans. I think I message his myspace account, but never heard back.
TALive:We'll be selling tickets for a couple of your upcoming tour dates in Atlanta and Little Rock-tell us how the tour with Shiny Toy Guns came about.
RS: We are really looking forward to tickets in both Atlanta and Little Rock. The Atlanta date got cancelled on our last tour so were really looking to make that up to our fans there. I believe Shiny Toy Guns management saw us play down in Austin at SXSW.
TALive:You've been with Kirtland for about a year and half now-what drew you to that record label?
RS: We signed with Kirtland knowing that we would have a lot of day to day involvement in everything we did and we are kind of control freaks so we would of been a bit hesitant to completely hand the reigns over that early on.
TALive:With major labels slowly crumbling and the digital age making it easier for independent labels to find new venues for distribution and publicity, do you feel that it is still advantageous to work towards a deal with a major label? Or can a band thrive with indie support?
RS: I think both the indie and major label working together is the best thing for a band. Indies have the attention of a smaller staff to really focus what that band needs without excepting massive sales right out of the gate, allowing a band to develop naturally. However I think it's important for the major to swoop in when the time is right and really push things over the top. And if things don't work out to major label standards (or they decide to fire their whole staff) the indie is still there as nice saftey net for the band to fall back into and continue their career.
TALive:Having been off in the UK with Stellastarr*, what, if any were the challenges you faced as an American band on a UK tour (besides of course the occasional "speedy" Glasgow hotel check-in)?
RS: The biggest challenge for us was trying to grasp what was happening... we all couldn't sleep on the whole flight overseas and when we landed it was morning (night to us) and a driver picked us up at the airport and drove us 3 hours straight to the venue where we had about 30 minutes to soundcheck and then we were on... We were in a bit of a daze for the first couple days.
TALive: UK bands often complain that American audiences are not as receptive or as enthusiastic UK audiences.what was your experience?
It's definitely true that Uk audiences are more receptive, especially to new music. For the most part in the US it seems that if someone hasn't heard of you before then you must not be any good. In the UK it seems everyone wants to be the first to discover a new band If you read any UK music press you'll realize while they are they first to say a band is the next big thing they are also the first to say that a band out and so last week.)
TALive:Tell me a little about the concept behind the video for "Deaf Ears" and how it might relate to the theme of the song.
RS: The video is based off the 1971 cult classic film Harold & Maude (a must see if you've never seen it). In the film Harold is basically bored with his wealth and ignored by his mother so he continuously fakes his own death to try and gain her attention, but she just continues to ignore him. While the meaning of the song isn't about trying to gain attention or faking your own death it does tie in nicely with the theme of one's prayers falling on deaf ears, and we felt the mood of the film fit perfectly with the mood of the song.
TALive:This is a basic question, but since you are still a fairly new band we need to cover the basics. So.. what IS an "hourly radio"? Where did the name come from?
The name is from the Huxley novel Brave New World. "The Hourly Radio" it is basically the name of all encompassing media in their future society. I was interested in the view of the media being completely emotionally withdrawn from the events they were covering as portrayed in the novel and just being a camera in someone's face doing anything they can to get the story. It's just something that really stuck me.
TALive:Are there any cities you are particularly excited about visiting during the upcoming tour?
We are excited about visiting Canada for the first time, so Toronto and Montreal.
TALive:Finally, if you could select any band to tour with, what would be your dream opening slot?
I think opening for Oasis would be amazing and then of course the Depeche Mode / Primal Scream tour where both bands and crew had to check into rehab after the tour... that would of been a nice one.
Official site: www.hourlyradio.com
-Michelle Gilzenrat
You can catch these rising stars on tour NOW with electro-synth popstars Shiny Toy Guns! Don't miss your chance to say "you saw them when..." before this bands really takes off. Learn more about this band by reading our interview with guitarist Ryan Short below!
TALive:First off, on your myspace page I saw my hero Jarvis Cocker in your top friends. what is your Jarvis connection? Are you just fans or have you had the chance to perform with him? Ryan Short: We have never had the chance to play with Jarvis, however we've snuck a cover of "Common People" into our set a few time in the past, but yeah just fans. I think I message his myspace account, but never heard back.
TALive:We'll be selling tickets for a couple of your upcoming tour dates in Atlanta and Little Rock-tell us how the tour with Shiny Toy Guns came about.
RS: We are really looking forward to tickets in both Atlanta and Little Rock. The Atlanta date got cancelled on our last tour so were really looking to make that up to our fans there. I believe Shiny Toy Guns management saw us play down in Austin at SXSW.
TALive:You've been with Kirtland for about a year and half now-what drew you to that record label?
RS: We signed with Kirtland knowing that we would have a lot of day to day involvement in everything we did and we are kind of control freaks so we would of been a bit hesitant to completely hand the reigns over that early on.
TALive:With major labels slowly crumbling and the digital age making it easier for independent labels to find new venues for distribution and publicity, do you feel that it is still advantageous to work towards a deal with a major label? Or can a band thrive with indie support?
RS: I think both the indie and major label working together is the best thing for a band. Indies have the attention of a smaller staff to really focus what that band needs without excepting massive sales right out of the gate, allowing a band to develop naturally. However I think it's important for the major to swoop in when the time is right and really push things over the top. And if things don't work out to major label standards (or they decide to fire their whole staff) the indie is still there as nice saftey net for the band to fall back into and continue their career.
TALive:Having been off in the UK with Stellastarr*, what, if any were the challenges you faced as an American band on a UK tour (besides of course the occasional "speedy" Glasgow hotel check-in)?
RS: The biggest challenge for us was trying to grasp what was happening... we all couldn't sleep on the whole flight overseas and when we landed it was morning (night to us) and a driver picked us up at the airport and drove us 3 hours straight to the venue where we had about 30 minutes to soundcheck and then we were on... We were in a bit of a daze for the first couple days.
TALive: UK bands often complain that American audiences are not as receptive or as enthusiastic UK audiences.what was your experience?
It's definitely true that Uk audiences are more receptive, especially to new music. For the most part in the US it seems that if someone hasn't heard of you before then you must not be any good. In the UK it seems everyone wants to be the first to discover a new band If you read any UK music press you'll realize while they are they first to say a band is the next big thing they are also the first to say that a band out and so last week.)
TALive:Tell me a little about the concept behind the video for "Deaf Ears" and how it might relate to the theme of the song.
RS: The video is based off the 1971 cult classic film Harold & Maude (a must see if you've never seen it). In the film Harold is basically bored with his wealth and ignored by his mother so he continuously fakes his own death to try and gain her attention, but she just continues to ignore him. While the meaning of the song isn't about trying to gain attention or faking your own death it does tie in nicely with the theme of one's prayers falling on deaf ears, and we felt the mood of the film fit perfectly with the mood of the song.
TALive:This is a basic question, but since you are still a fairly new band we need to cover the basics. So.. what IS an "hourly radio"? Where did the name come from?
The name is from the Huxley novel Brave New World. "The Hourly Radio" it is basically the name of all encompassing media in their future society. I was interested in the view of the media being completely emotionally withdrawn from the events they were covering as portrayed in the novel and just being a camera in someone's face doing anything they can to get the story. It's just something that really stuck me.
TALive:Are there any cities you are particularly excited about visiting during the upcoming tour?
We are excited about visiting Canada for the first time, so Toronto and Montreal.
TALive:Finally, if you could select any band to tour with, what would be your dream opening slot?
I think opening for Oasis would be amazing and then of course the Depeche Mode / Primal Scream tour where both bands and crew had to check into rehab after the tour... that would of been a nice one.
Official site: www.hourlyradio.com
-Michelle Gilzenrat
Labels: interview, the hourly radio
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