Interview : The Dykeenies

One month after the release of their brilliant debut album Nothing Means Everything, The Little Stalkers catch up with Cumbernauld's finest The Dykeenies after their gig at ULU London for the Levis Ones To Watch 4 Night Revue.

The Little Stalkers : It's been a bit more than one month your album's been released, how are things so far ?
Brian Henderson (lead vocals, entertainer) : Yeah it's going good ...

TLS : Were you expecting the album to do better maybe ?
Brian : We always hope for better. We thought it would be a gradual thing but it's hard to get radio play, cause there are so many bands, isn't there ? But it's been good so far.

TLS : I was expecting Stitches to do very well and very high in the charts ...
Brian : The stuff and song are there, it's just how you can get on the radio and stuff like that ... If you don't get on the radio you can lose your footing. It's kinda hard that way, but not to worry, it's gonna be fine.

TLS : I saw that Steve Lamacq has been very supportive and helped you quite a bit ...
Brian : Yeah ...

TLS : And you played a radio session before you were signed ...
Brian : We did a radio session yeah ...
Alan Henderson (lead guitar) : A couple of bands came to the London show, Zane Lowe as well, Jo Whiley came along too. It's quite a broad spectrum we've played to ...

"I've never really been up to the NME. It never was an aspiration of ours"

TLS : And about the NME ? Do you think you get enough coverage ? Cause I don't see you in there very often ...
Brian : I've never really been up to the NME. I kinda grew up with pop music and I never really knew the NME until I was in a band. It never was an aspiration of ours.

TLS : You did a tour in September to promote the album, it was quite a short tour ... any plans of touring more ?
Alan : We toured a couple of weeks ago but at the moment we're working on new material for the album, and then we're on tour again in December.

TLS : We were surprised not to see you that much in the media cause the album's just been released one month ago ...
Brian : Like I said, if you don't get on the radio, it's hard to do the rest of the stuff ...

TLS : And is your album going to be released in Europe ?
Alan : We did a concert in Amsterdam and we're thinking of starting in Europe in February.

TLS : So you're thinking of touring Europe ?
Brian : Yeah, definitely ...

TLS : Have you played in other countries apart from the UK ?
Alan : Yeah, we played in Austria, at the Nova Rock festival and in Amsterdam for the London Calling a couple of days ago.

TLS : I saw that you worked with different producers on the album. Why ? Wouldn't it be more logical and homogenic to work with the same producer on the whole album ?
Brian : First of all, we used Jim Abbiss. We used him because we wanted to work with him. We did an EP with Waiting For Go on it and we thought it would kinda fit with him so we worked with him then ... I thought we were happy with Waiting For Go and wanted to see what else we could do with the music, so we used Dimitri Tikovoi, he kinda brought more keyboard ... and then we used Dave Eringa to bring out the guitars and we were looking at the songs themselves, put it all together and it worked very well.

TLS : So you were not afraid of sounding different on every song on the album ?
Brian : The songs didn't change much from the writing, writing will always be there. Like I said, the recording and production are just putting the finishing touches, songs they're always the same. Themes permeate the whole record so the songs should just be like a wave ...

"Our strongest point is live"

TLS : And how do you choose your producers ? Does it depend on the bands they worked with or on the sound you'd want ?
Alan : We usually meet and see how it goes like. And if the grounds went decent, it depends on if we like something they've done before like Dave Eringa, or Dimitri Tikovoi who did the Placebo album, electro and stuff like that ...
Brian : We kinda like wanted to bring electro parts out but at the same time we wanted to show that we started that way but are moving away from it, just kind of constantly changing you know ...
Alan : We started recording live as well and run that stuff out.
Brian : Our strongest point is live, and he captured that.

TLS : Can you tell us about your songwriting process ?
Brian : We normally start with one idea and then we're all chipping in and working in there. The songs write themselves that way, everyone has their own part.

TLS : Brian, would you mind singing lyrics someone else wrote ?
Brian : I normally write all the lyrics.

TLS : The biography on your website says that you're a mix between The Killers and Panic! At The Disco ... how about that ?
Brian : That was the NME. They said that we were totally weird. A totally utterly weird hybrid of these 2 bands. That was in their Radar review.

TLS : That would be because of the keyboards, lazy comparison isn't it ?
Brian : Yeah, I think so ...

TLS : I read on your Myspace that you were recording and writing new songs right now. How is it going ?
Alan : We've done very well ...
Brian : This is some of the best stuff we've written so far, so it's quite exciting. We all really love writing and one of my most enjoyable part of it is what goes on behind the scene.
Alan : I think it has shown us how to develop as a band as well with new stuff.

TLS : Are you planning to release another single ?
Brian : Yeah, there will be a single release at the end of January/start of February (Waiting For Go, out now as a limited 10").

TLS : And the next album ?
Brian : As soon as, as soon as possible ...

TLS : Things went quite a bit fast between 2006 and 2007 ... a bit too fast maybe ?
Brian : I think maybe. We did the NME Tour with The Fratellis and think it was a little bit too much too soon. We hadn't formed fully as a band so most performances then it was early on for us and some of the songs we do now like Clean Up Your Eyes and stuff like that we hadn't even written at the time, so it was a bit strange ...

TLS : You re-recorded some songs for the album ?
Brian : The only song we re-recorded was New Ideas. We loved New Ideas' first version but Dimitri (Tikovoi) convinced us that he could better it, and we still think that the first version was better, but what can you do ? It's a learning curve ...

"Franz Ferdinand opened the flood gate and the spotlight has been put on Scotland again"

TLS : Does the fact that coming from Scotland make you sound different, are you supportive of Scottish bands ?
Brian : Definitely ! Because it worked out in Scotland, like The Fratellis, The View, Biffy Clyro, KT Tunstall, they are all kind of breaking bands. I think Franz Ferdinand opened the flood gate, so all these new acts are coming through and the spotlight has been put on Scotland again. There's a harsh margin between all the different bands, people are expecting all Scottish bands to sound the same but now they just don't know what to expect anymore.

TLS : Are there any bands you'd like to work with or to cover ?
Brian : Bob Dylan.
Alan : I'd quite like to work with someone in r'n'b and see what happens, like N.E.R.D.

TLS : Any bands you feel close to ?
Brian : D'you know The Maccabees ? They're a band from Brighton.
Alan : We toured with them for a bit and then we became real good friends and it's gone very well.
Brian : The Fratellis and The View are good guys as well, good Scottish bands ...

TLS : And what are you listening to lately ?
Brian : Justin Timberlake, Timbaland ...
Alan : Bob Dylan, Graham Coxon ...

TLS : Is the album going to be released on a bigger label ?
Brian : Sony. Companies like Sony, they're all different from indie labels. We just have to go ahead and get to play all over the world, balance out, touring the UK and the world and hopefully America. We are aiming for a broader market instead of just being one band from the UK.
Alan : We always thought we would be bigger than that ...

TLS : A question journalists are probably asking you often, but how is it having 2 of your brothers in the band ?
Brian : It has its downs. It's like anything you do with siblings, you always have quarrels. The fact that there's the 3 of us means that there's always a mediator, it's always worked that way. I don't know what would happen if there was only 2 of us in the band, but the fact that there's the 3 of us works fine.

TLS : About those new songs you were talking about, are you going to play some of them ?
Brian : We will, on our next tour in December.

TLS : Trying new things out ?
Brian : Yeah we are. Always trying new directions, new things ...

The 'Keenies just finished a UK tour, and they are soon heading back to studios to record new material. And if new material includes those new songs we heard on this tour (Three's A Crowd, Jane, Boys Will Be Boys When It Comes To Girls, My Friend Jo ...), 2008 will sure be theirs when their second album is going to be released ...

JT.


	HOME INTERVIEWS GIG REVIEWS PICTURES 3 MINUTES WITH SNAPPY SNAPS NEW HEARTBEATS LINKS STALK US 2008 © The Little Stalkers		Interview : The Dykeenies One month after the release of their brilliant debut album Nothing Means Everything, The Little Stalkers catch up with Cumbernauld's finest The Dykeenies after their gig at ULU London for the Levis Ones To Watch 4 Night Revue. The Little Stalkers : It's been a bit more than one month your album's been released, how are things so far ? Brian Henderson (lead vocals, entertainer) : Yeah it's going good ... TLS : Were you expecting the album to do better maybe ? Brian : We always hope for better. We thought it would be a gradual thing but it's hard to get radio play, cause there are so many bands, isn't there ? But it's been good so far. TLS : I was expecting Stitches to do very well and very high in the charts ... Brian : The stuff and song are there, it's just how you can get on the radio and stuff like that ... If you don't get on the radio you can lose your footing. It's kinda hard that way, but not to worry, it's gonna be fine. TLS : I saw that Steve Lamacq has been very supportive and helped you quite a bit ... Brian : Yeah ... TLS : And you played a radio session before you were signed ... Brian : We did a radio session yeah ... Alan Henderson (lead guitar) : A couple of bands came to the London show, Zane Lowe as well, Jo Whiley came along too. It's quite a broad spectrum we've played to ... "I've never really been up to the NME. It never was an aspiration of ours" TLS : And about the NME ? Do you think you get enough coverage ? Cause I don't see you in there very often ... Brian : I've never really been up to the NME. I kinda grew up with pop music and I never really knew the NME until I was in a band. It never was an aspiration of ours. TLS : You did a tour in September to promote the album, it was quite a short tour ... any plans of touring more ? Alan : We toured a couple of weeks ago but at the moment we're working on new material for the album, and then we're on tour again in December. TLS : We were surprised not to see you that much in the media cause the album's just been released one month ago ... Brian : Like I said, if you don't get on the radio, it's hard to do the rest of the stuff ... TLS : And is your album going to be released in Europe ? Alan : We did a concert in Amsterdam and we're thinking of starting in Europe in February. TLS : So you're thinking of touring Europe ? Brian : Yeah, definitely ... TLS : Have you played in other countries apart from the UK ? Alan : Yeah, we played in Austria, at the Nova Rock festival and in Amsterdam for the London Calling a couple of days ago. TLS : I saw that you worked with different producers on the album. Why ? Wouldn't it be more logical and homogenic to work with the same producer on the whole album ? Brian : First of all, we used Jim Abbiss. We used him because we wanted to work with him. We did an EP with Waiting For Go on it and we thought it would kinda fit with him so we worked with him then ... I thought we were happy with Waiting For Go and wanted to see what else we could do with the music, so we used Dimitri Tikovoi, he kinda brought more keyboard ... and then we used Dave Eringa to bring out the guitars and we were looking at the songs themselves, put it all together and it worked very well. TLS : So you were not afraid of sounding different on every song on the album ? Brian : The songs didn't change much from the writing, writing will always be there. Like I said, the recording and production are just putting the finishing touches, songs they're always the same. Themes permeate the whole record so the songs should just be like a wave ... "Our strongest point is live" TLS : And how do you choose your producers ? Does it depend on the bands they worked with or on the sound you'd want ? Alan : We usually meet and see how it goes like. And if the grounds went decent, it depends on if we like something they've done before like Dave Eringa, or Dimitri Tikovoi who did the Placebo album, electro and stuff like that ... Brian : We kinda like wanted to bring electro parts out but at the same time we wanted to show that we started that way but are moving away from it, just kind of constantly changing you know ... Alan : We started recording live as well and run that stuff out. Brian : Our strongest point is live, and he captured that. TLS : Can you tell us about your songwriting process ? Brian : We normally start with one idea and then we're all chipping in and working in there. The songs write themselves that way, everyone has their own part. TLS : Brian, would you mind singing lyrics someone else wrote ? Brian : I normally write all the lyrics. TLS : The biography on your website says that you're a mix between The Killers and Panic! At The Disco ... how about that ? Brian : That was the NME. They said that we were totally weird. A totally utterly weird hybrid of these 2 bands. That was in their Radar review. TLS : That would be because of the keyboards, lazy comparison isn't it ? Brian : Yeah, I think so ... TLS : I read on your Myspace that you were recording and writing new songs right now. How is it going ? Alan : We've done very well ... Brian : This is some of the best stuff we've written so far, so it's quite exciting. We all really love writing and one of my most enjoyable part of it is what goes on behind the scene. Alan : I think it has shown us how to develop as a band as well with new stuff. TLS : Are you planning to release another single ? Brian : Yeah, there will be a single release at the end of January/start of February (Waiting For Go, out now as a limited 10"). TLS : And the next album ? Brian : As soon as, as soon as possible ... TLS : Things went quite a bit fast between 2006 and 2007 ... a bit too fast maybe ? Brian : I think maybe. We did the NME Tour with The Fratellis and think it was a little bit too much too soon. We hadn't formed fully as a band so most performances then it was early on for us and some of the songs we do now like Clean Up Your Eyes and stuff like that we hadn't even written at the time, so it was a bit strange ... TLS : You re-recorded some songs for the album ? Brian : The only song we re-recorded was New Ideas. We loved New Ideas' first version but Dimitri (Tikovoi) convinced us that he could better it, and we still think that the first version was better, but what can you do ? It's a learning curve ... "Franz Ferdinand opened the flood gate and the spotlight has been put on Scotland again" TLS : Does the fact that coming from Scotland make you sound different, are you supportive of Scottish bands ? Brian : Definitely ! Because it worked out in Scotland, like The Fratellis, The View, Biffy Clyro, KT Tunstall, they are all kind of breaking bands. I think Franz Ferdinand opened the flood gate, so all these new acts are coming through and the spotlight has been put on Scotland again. There's a harsh margin between all the different bands, people are expecting all Scottish bands to sound the same but now they just don't know what to expect anymore. TLS : Are there any bands you'd like to work with or to cover ? Brian : Bob Dylan. Alan : I'd quite like to work with someone in r'n'b and see what happens, like N.E.R.D. TLS : Any bands you feel close to ? Brian : D'you know The Maccabees ? They're a band from Brighton. Alan : We toured with them for a bit and then we became real good friends and it's gone very well. Brian : The Fratellis and The View are good guys as well, good Scottish bands ... TLS : And what are you listening to lately ? Brian : Justin Timberlake, Timbaland ... Alan : Bob Dylan, Graham Coxon ... TLS : Is the album going to be released on a bigger label ? Brian : Sony. Companies like Sony, they're all different from indie labels. We just have to go ahead and get to play all over the world, balance out, touring the UK and the world and hopefully America. We are aiming for a broader market instead of just being one band from the UK. Alan : We always thought we would be bigger than that ... TLS : A question journalists are probably asking you often, but how is it having 2 of your brothers in the band ? Brian : It has its downs. It's like anything you do with siblings, you always have quarrels. The fact that there's the 3 of us means that there's always a mediator, it's always worked that way. I don't know what would happen if there was only 2 of us in the band, but the fact that there's the 3 of us works fine. TLS : About those new songs you were talking about, are you going to play some of them ? Brian : We will, on our next tour in December. TLS : Trying new things out ? Brian : Yeah we are. Always trying new directions, new things ... The 'Keenies just finished a UK tour, and they are soon heading back to studios to record new material. And if new material includes those new songs we heard on this tour (Three's A Crowd, Jane, Boys Will Be Boys When It Comes To Girls, My Friend Jo* ...)*, 2008 will sure be theirs when their second album is going to be released ... JT.