Interview: The View
Location: Haldern-pop Festival
Date: 07-03-2007
With: Kyle Falconer (singer and guitarist) and Peter Reilly (guitarist)
It's known as hard to follow an interview with The View, because they sometimes do not speak at all or talk together at the same moment, and that with a scottish accent!!
We were a little afraid to see how they would act with 2 german, not much experienced interlocutors, but it was very nice and after a somewhat lame begin, they became quite talkative! Real nice guys those 2!!
They sat on a treetrunk, as we explain in a few words what we are doing, meaning writing a blog about gigs we saw, in Paris or Germany (which means mostly in Cologne and area). Christoph saw them already in the Prime Club in Cologne and I in Paris together with Mumm-Ra and The Enemy. At this moment came the first question:
MyBlog: Why did you actually play so short a gig in Paris? It was only half an hour, if my memory is right.
Peter: Yeah, it was a good place but we had to go back and take the ferry! But normally we play longer, an hour or so..
MyBlog: Nevertheless I enjoyed the gig very much!
Peter: Nice! We too had a lot of fun in Paris.
MyBlog: Unfortunately you didn't play "Face For The Radio"
The View: Right, but we were quite in a hurry and we usually don't play it live because it's too slow.
(by the way, they played it this time in Haldern, hurrah!)
MyBlog: Do you know any german bands?
Peter: Oh, there was a german band, who supported uns, or were they dutch?
Kyle: No, no, they were german, but what was the name again?
Kyle called "Phil, what was the german band called who supported us when we were on tour?" but Phil could not remember.
MyBlog: Did you play other festivals in Germany, like Rock am Ring or so?
The View: No, actually Haldern is our first festival in Germany!
MyBlog: And do you like it here?
Peter: Oh yes it's very nice, we like it!
Myblog: And in England what was your best festival this year? Glastonbury or T In The Park?
The View: Well as a scottish band, we say T In The Park of course, it was something really special! It was crazy because all the bands had to play before uns, even The Klaxons, it was like everyone came to see The View, it was really something special!!
MyBlog: And what about Leeds/Reading, are you looking forward playing there?
Kyle: Yes, of course, but we played there last year, so we already know it, but still it's great!
MyBlog: Do you rather play solo-gig or festivals?
Peter: Well, we can't really say, it's very different, Festivals are great, with all the people and so, but small gigs are more intimate and that's nice too.
MyBlog: I recently read that you had some trouble at a gig...
Peter: Yes in Falkirk, Scotland...
Kyle: ...Somebody threw a bottle on the stage, it was crazy!
We rather did not ask all everything ended and went for another range of question.
MyBlog: What was the worst gig you ever see?
Peter: The best you mean?
MyBlog: No, no the worst ever!
Peter: Well, I can't say, I do not recall one at the moment.
Kyle: If the band is really shit, we just go...
MyBlog: Art Brut answered with The Fratellis!
Peter: I don't care about The Fratellis.
MyBlog: Which band would you like to see performing?
The View: The Rolling Stones.
MyBlog: You like them? Is that your favourite band?
The View: Well, as for favourite we would probably answer The Beatles but they are not performing anymore, so we say Rolling Stones, would be funny!
MyBlog: What was the most crazy gig you ever had?
The View: T In The Park, yeah, T In The Park...
Another Theme:
MyBlog: Are you writing some new songs?
Kyle: We already have quite a load of half-finished songs, but while we are on the road we never really have the time for that, there's always someone in the bus wanting to party! But we will soon take a couple of weeks off to finish the new songs.
MyBlog: So maybe around Christmas?
Kyle: Well, you know, we hope that we have our new album done by then, depends how it's going.
MyBlog: Are you still living in Dundee?
Kyle: Actually we are moving to London today, well I mean tomorrow, we are leaving from here today, to London.
Back to questions about gigs:
MyBlog: Is there a special place where you would like to play?
Kyle: Stirling Castle would be nice!
Peter: Or Slane Castle in Ireland, where U2 played!
Kyle: Or the Millenium Dome, that's will be brilliant but I don't think it's gonna happen, although I believe that Snow Patrol played there...
MyBlog: So you would like to play in big locations or even stadiums?
Kyle: Yes of course, that's not a problem for us we recently played in Japan in huge stadiums and after we played again in small venues, it was very intimate.
MyBlog: Are you not afraid that the "indie-spirit" could get lost in such big places?
Kyle: No I don't believe it would, on the contrary we would enjoy playing in front of so much people!
MyBlog: Do you think that your garage-rock could get on with a big place or would you have to become more bombastic?
Kyle: No, look at Razorlight, they fill stadiums like Wembley and they too began as a small garage-band! No, it would be really good to play in some places like that!
MyBlog: Do you think that your style is still asked for, now that New-Wave is coming?
Peter: Of course not, indie-rock will never fade! Anyway we like bands like The Klaxons, we have no problem with that.
MyBlog: So there will never be some electronic stuff in your music?
Peter: No, no, we just like Dundee-rock'n roll and that's it!
Kyle: Unless we drop ...!! (impossible to unterstand the rest but everybody laughs)
MyBlog: Don't you think that indie-rock peaked?
Kyle: Never!!
MyBlog: But don't you believe that it will be more signings by labels for those electronic bands now?
Kyle: Maybe, but still, we stick to our style and that's what our label-chief James Endeacott wants too.
MyBlog: You just mentioned James Endeacott, you had quite a piece of luck to work from the very beginning with really good people!
The View: That's true, he got us quickly at the top, we too had a producer who worked together with Oasis and The Verve...
MyBlog: Do you feel close to some scottish music scene?
Peter: Well, not really, but when some scottish band come through, we are of course very happy!
MyBlog: Do you think that your accent is an advantage?
Peter: Well, it is sometimes more a disadvantage, depends if our interlocutors unterstand us or not!
( everybody smiles, because that's true, it is not always easy...)
MyBlog: We like Scotland very much, I was there once in August and there were only 13°C so that I suddenly unterstood why the people there enjoy whisky!...Do you like whisky?Which brand?
Peter: Jameson (isn't it irish?!...)
Kyle: Famous Grouse! ( makes some "I love it" noises with his mouth!)
MyBlog: And the Isle Of Skye is so wunderful!...
Peter: Oh yes, I borrowed an hotel there for a birthday party, it was great!
Enough about Scotland...
MyBlog: Is there a band you would really like to see performing?
Both: Oasis!!
MyBlog: I thought you would have said The Libertines...Don't you like them?
The View: Yes, yes, we love The Libertines, but we would decide for Oasis!
Now we deranged long enough the preparations for the gig, so we thanked them very much for their time and wished them a good gig !
Thank you Kyle and Peter and good luck for the second album!!
Location: Haldern-pop Festival
Date: 07-03-2007
With: Kyle Falconer (singer and guitarist) and Peter Reilly (guitarist)
It's known as hard to follow an interview with The View, because they sometimes do not speak at all or talk together at the same moment, and that with a scottish accent!!
We were a little afraid to see how they would act with 2 german, not much experienced interlocutors, but it was very nice and after a somewhat lame begin, they became quite talkative! Real nice guys those 2!!
They sat on a treetrunk, as we explain in a few words what we are doing, meaning writing a blog about gigs we saw, in Paris or Germany (which means mostly in Cologne and area). Christoph saw them already in the Prime Club in Cologne and I in Paris together with Mumm-Ra and The Enemy. At this moment came the first question:
MyBlog: Why did you actually play so short a gig in Paris? It was only half an hour, if my memory is right.
Peter: Yeah, it was a good place but we had to go back and take the ferry! But normally we play longer, an hour or so..
MyBlog: Nevertheless I enjoyed the gig very much!
Peter: Nice! We too had a lot of fun in Paris.
MyBlog: Unfortunately you didn't play "Face For The Radio"
The View: Right, but we were quite in a hurry and we usually don't play it live because it's too slow.
(by the way, they played it this time in Haldern, hurrah!)
MyBlog: Do you know any german bands?
Peter: Oh, there was a german band, who supported uns, or were they dutch?
Kyle: No, no, they were german, but what was the name again?
Kyle called "Phil, what was the german band called who supported us when we were on tour?" but Phil could not remember.
MyBlog: Did you play other festivals in Germany, like Rock am Ring or so?
The View: No, actually Haldern is our first festival in Germany!
MyBlog: And do you like it here?
Peter: Oh yes it's very nice, we like it!
Myblog: And in England what was your best festival this year? Glastonbury or T In The Park?
The View: Well as a scottish band, we say T In The Park of course, it was something really special! It was crazy because all the bands had to play before uns, even The Klaxons, it was like everyone came to see The View, it was really something special!!
MyBlog: And what about Leeds/Reading, are you looking forward playing there?
Kyle: Yes, of course, but we played there last year, so we already know it, but still it's great!
MyBlog: Do you rather play solo-gig or festivals?
Peter: Well, we can't really say, it's very different, Festivals are great, with all the people and so, but small gigs are more intimate and that's nice too.
MyBlog: I recently read that you had some trouble at a gig...
Peter: Yes in Falkirk, Scotland...
Kyle: ...Somebody threw a bottle on the stage, it was crazy!
We rather did not ask all everything ended and went for another range of question.
MyBlog: What was the worst gig you ever see?
Peter: The best you mean?
MyBlog: No, no the worst ever!
Peter: Well, I can't say, I do not recall one at the moment.
Kyle: If the band is really shit, we just go...
MyBlog: Art Brut answered with The Fratellis!
Peter: I don't care about The Fratellis.
MyBlog: Which band would you like to see performing?
The View: The Rolling Stones.
MyBlog: You like them? Is that your favourite band?
The View: Well, as for favourite we would probably answer The Beatles but they are not performing anymore, so we say Rolling Stones, would be funny!
MyBlog: What was the most crazy gig you ever had?
The View: T In The Park, yeah, T In The Park...
Another Theme:
MyBlog: Are you writing some new songs?
Kyle: We already have quite a load of half-finished songs, but while we are on the road we never really have the time for that, there's always someone in the bus wanting to party! But we will soon take a couple of weeks off to finish the new songs.
MyBlog: So maybe around Christmas?
Kyle: Well, you know, we hope that we have our new album done by then, depends how it's going.
MyBlog: Are you still living in Dundee?
Kyle: Actually we are moving to London today, well I mean tomorrow, we are leaving from here today, to London.
Back to questions about gigs:
MyBlog: Is there a special place where you would like to play?
Kyle: Stirling Castle would be nice!
Peter: Or Slane Castle in Ireland, where U2 played!
Kyle: Or the Millenium Dome, that's will be brilliant but I don't think it's gonna happen, although I believe that Snow Patrol played there...
MyBlog: So you would like to play in big locations or even stadiums?
Kyle: Yes of course, that's not a problem for us we recently played in Japan in huge stadiums and after we played again in small venues, it was very intimate.
MyBlog: Are you not afraid that the "indie-spirit" could get lost in such big places?
Kyle: No I don't believe it would, on the contrary we would enjoy playing in front of so much people!
MyBlog: Do you think that your garage-rock could get on with a big place or would you have to become more bombastic?
Kyle: No, look at Razorlight, they fill stadiums like Wembley and they too began as a small garage-band! No, it would be really good to play in some places like that!
MyBlog: Do you think that your style is still asked for, now that New-Wave is coming?
Peter: Of course not, indie-rock will never fade! Anyway we like bands like The Klaxons, we have no problem with that.
MyBlog: So there will never be some electronic stuff in your music?
Peter: No, no, we just like Dundee-rock'n roll and that's it!
Kyle: Unless we drop ...!! (impossible to unterstand the rest but everybody laughs)
MyBlog: Don't you think that indie-rock peaked?
Kyle: Never!!
MyBlog: But don't you believe that it will be more signings by labels for those electronic bands now?
Kyle: Maybe, but still, we stick to our style and that's what our label-chief James Endeacott wants too.
MyBlog: You just mentioned James Endeacott, you had quite a piece of luck to work from the very beginning with really good people!
The View: That's true, he got us quickly at the top, we too had a producer who worked together with Oasis and The Verve...
MyBlog: Do you feel close to some scottish music scene?
Peter: Well, not really, but when some scottish band come through, we are of course very happy!
MyBlog: Do you think that your accent is an advantage?
Peter: Well, it is sometimes more a disadvantage, depends if our interlocutors unterstand us or not!
( everybody smiles, because that's true, it is not always easy...)
MyBlog: We like Scotland very much, I was there once in August and there were only 13°C so that I suddenly unterstood why the people there enjoy whisky!...Do you like whisky?Which brand?
Peter: Jameson (isn't it irish?!...)
Kyle: Famous Grouse! ( makes some "I love it" noises with his mouth!)
MyBlog: And the Isle Of Skye is so wunderful!...
Peter: Oh yes, I borrowed an hotel there for a birthday party, it was great!
Enough about Scotland...
MyBlog: Is there a band you would really like to see performing?
Both: Oasis!!
MyBlog: I thought you would have said The Libertines...Don't you like them?
The View: Yes, yes, we love The Libertines, but we would decide for Oasis!
Now we deranged long enough the preparations for the gig, so we thanked them very much for their time and wished them a good gig !
Thank you Kyle and Peter and good luck for the second album!!
