Interview : The Wombats

A fan has been waiting in front of the venue since 11am, just to catch the band and get pictures and autographs. By 5pm, her mission is fulfilled. Was waiting in the cold for so long worth it ? Definitely, according to her – because The Wombats are “sweet”. Let’s see if, a few hours before a triumphant sold-out show at the Koko, Daniel Haggis (drums) and Tord Øverland Knudsen (bass) are still sweet and franc open about their fast and overwhelming success.

The Little Stalkers : Success came very fast this year – how do you deal with it ?
Dan : It’s weird because as far as we’re concerned, nothing has really changed. We’re still doing a gig every night and obviously the gigs are getting bigger and better… We made the album and it’s doing very well and we’re really proud of it. Things are obviously getting easier, like people knowing all the songs, and we’ve got more people helping us and stuff. We obviously have a lot more fans and we sign autographs after gigs. We always chat to people afterwards. That’s when we have noticed that people like us, but we haven’t really changed as people, to be honest.
(Enters Tord)
Dan (to Tord) : How do we deal with success ?
Tord : Still the same. Just keep on doing what we’ve done last year. Hopefully we’ll get even better.

TLS : Lately, the successful and hype bands were emo/dark – you’re very pop and joyful … How do you explain your popularity ?
Dan : I don’t know. There’s always loads of different bands.
Tord : Indie has gone really big as well.
Dan : All the different bands in general, whatever kind it is, seemed to be doing really really well.
Tord : It’s kind of weird because all the kids, they like both. They don’t really think of sectify. As long as it’s pop enough …

TLS : You played a lot since the tour began – aren’t you tired of it already ?
Tord : Not really !
Dan : The first tour, in September, was obviously the first kind of large size venues where we were sort of headlining with another band, which was amazing. Then The Enemy tour was great because it was even bigger venues and we were like winning over new fans, so that was exciting to do, and it was only an half an hour set. And then we went to Europe and did our own headline tour and there was loads of people at all these gigs, which was just amazing to see.
Tord : We didn’t expect that much on the European tour.
Dan : Every gig was a suprise. Basically to us, it was like “How did this happen?”.
Tord : Half the tour was sold-out !
Dan : Yes, pretty much. We’re the best-sellers on a first European tour, apparently. And this tour is our first as a proper headline, which is amazing.

TLS : How was touring with The Enemy ?
Dan : It was great, really good.
Tord : The audience was different, more … chavs, football fans. Usually we get more indie kids.
Dan : We have that story we can tell! The CD we put on before we got on stage has a song by The Enemy, and everyone was going mad for that song every time.
Tord : The Enemy fans seemed to like us.
Dan : Obviously the crossover is there : people who like them also like us.

TLS : So everyone loves you : emo kids, chavs … !
Tord : That whole emo thing … Some people said we don’t really sound like a pure British band in the way we have elements of American music – it’s probably why emo kids like us. We’re not pure indie, pure pop, it’s like a mixture.
Dan : But then if you think about pop-music, fans have got a very eclectic taste. There aren’t many people who only listen to metal by example – there are some, but there aren’t many, really.

TLS : The album had very good reviews everywhere – does it put pressure for the next material ?
Dan : I guess so. But as long as we don’t feel the pressure, then it will be fine.
Tord : We’re just going to write songs we like and when we’ve got enough new songs, we’re going to record them. As long as we’re happy with it …
Dan : You’ve got to be confident and just think that we were happy with our sounds, we like this album, and that’s why people like it. If we’re happy with the next album, then, hopefully, people will like it, and if they don’t, we’d had a good laugh (everyone laughs).

TLS : Have you been working on new material ?
Dan : Not necessarily for the second album. We mess around with ideas and we make stupid songs on the bus and we are creative …
Tord : We don’t really have the time to practice and get proper things out of these ideas.

TLS : The lyrics often refers to loads of pop-culture references. Do you think Murph’s references will change for the next compos, that he will get his inspiration from life on tour, for example ?
Tord : He doesn’t want to write songs about being on tour. That’s why he needs some time off just to get back to normal life and get inspiration there. Then again, it’s not all about being in a band. We all do normal stuff. We go to places and meet new people. You can write songs about all this stuff more than being on tour.

TLS : You did boat parties for your fans in Liverpool – will you carry on doing that kind of stuff for your fans, even if you get bigger ?
Dan : Definitely. We don’t want to feel like there is us and the fans.
Tord : With a barrier between us.
Dan : It shouldn’t be like that. We try to meet up with fans as much as we can. The other day we actually went for a birthday party, for this girl.
Tord : We had food, birthday cake … I don’t think many other bands has done that.
Dan : We don’t really fit with these “Oh yeah, we’re in this band” things.

TLS : You seem to have very dedicated fans as well.
Dan : There’s that guy who came over from Hamburg to see us tonight.
Tord : There are four girls coming all the way from Norway tonight. It’s one of them’s birthday, I’ll have to give them a shout out.

TLS : You played France – how were the reactions there ?
Dan : La Maroquinerie was amazing. There was no real difference between there and anywhere else. The promoter said that the French audience is often, like, static, they listen much more than they react.
Tord : But it was quite mental.

TLS : Are you going to do a real proper tour in France then ?
Dan : Hopefully. In March we’ll be doing a full European tour, and Ian Brown is supporting us.

TLS : How do you feel having Ian Brown supporting you ?
Tord : It is so weird!
Dan : He asked us. His agent contacted us, as we’ve got a good audience, and he’ll win over new fans. Anyway, we’ll play several dates in France. Paris and maybe – I don’t know which other cities are good to play ? Marseilles ?
Tord : We always played in Paris. It was great, but it’s nice to see somewhere else.

TLS : You both have side-projects (Tord is in SIN, and Dan does folk) : are you already thinking of solo careers ?
Tord : I’m actually going in the studios on the first of February to record the album with SIN.

TLS : Are you going to manage touring with The Wombats and recording with SIN ?
Tord : Yeah, we’ve got three weeks off so I can spend them in the studios. There will be a tour at some point, but I don’t know when !

TLS : Do The Wombats remain your main focus ?
Tord : Within The Wombats, Murph writes all the songs, and we (Dan and Tord) are both songwriters as well, so it would be a shame not writing any songs.
Dan : We just can’t help it! The Wombats is still a very good creative output, we make our own melodies, like, loads of pop, but you just constantly… You’re on tour, you can’t practice, we don’t make any new Wombats songs so it’s nice to have something else to do.

TLS : Is there a chance to see a Dan Haggis folk album released one day, then ?
Dan : Over Christmas and during our three weeks off, I want to try to make some sort of album but I don’t know when or even if it will ever get released. It’s more for myself, like a really nice way to spend the day. That what The Wombats are as well.
Tord : That’s why you make music in the first place.
Dan : As Murph sums up in Moving to New York, it’s therapy.

TLS : After everything that happened, what are you going to do during those breaks – except recording ?
Dan : Relax. See friends, family, eat nice food… Just being in one place for a few weeks, because we’re always travelling around, so, it’d be nice just to chill out.
Tord : I’ll go to Norway with my family and friends … and write songs ! (laughs)
Dan : Yeah, keep doing music, and, dunno … Probably get bored ! (laughs)
Tord : That’s an important point !
Dan : I find it really hard, when we have a few days off, because from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to bed, we’re in The Wombats, and we have to do interviews and blahblahblah, and it’s really fun and we travel and we’re with people all the time. When I’m on my own again at home, I always look at my watch and my phone, wondering what I should be supposed to do, and then I’m like, “I don’t have anything to do!”, which is really weird.
Tord : I get more stressed out going back home because of all the “normal” things, stuff like bills, going to the bank … When you’re on tour all these things are just hanging over.
Dan : It’s cool being away because you have an excuse not to do it !

TLS : Like the laundry ?
(Everyone laughs)
Tord : Yeah ! The laundry ! That stresses me even more !

Well, seems like Tord won’t have to bother doing much of his laundry as The Wombats are kicking a massive new tour, being on the road for what seems to be most of 2008 !
Check their tourdates on www.myspace.com/thewombatsuk

CB.


	HOME INTERVIEWS GIG REVIEWS PICTURES 3 MINUTES WITH SNAPPY SNAPS NEW HEARTBEATS LINKS STALK US 2008 © The Little Stalkers		Interview : The Wombats A fan has been waiting in front of the venue since 11am, just to catch the band and get pictures and autographs. By 5pm, her mission is fulfilled. Was waiting in the cold for so long worth it ? Definitely, according to her – because The Wombats are “sweet”. Let’s see if, a few hours before a triumphant sold-out show at the Koko, Daniel Haggis (drums) and Tord Øverland Knudsen (bass) are still sweet and franc open about their fast and overwhelming success. The Little Stalkers : Success came very fast this year – how do you deal with it ? Dan : It’s weird because as far as we’re concerned, nothing has really changed. We’re still doing a gig every night and obviously the gigs are getting bigger and better… We made the album and it’s doing very well and we’re really proud of it. Things are obviously getting easier, like people knowing all the songs, and we’ve got more people helping us and stuff. We obviously have a lot more fans and we sign autographs after gigs. We always chat to people afterwards. That’s when we have noticed that people like us, but we haven’t really changed as people, to be honest. (Enters Tord) Dan (to Tord) : How do we deal with success ? Tord : Still the same. Just keep on doing what we’ve done last year. Hopefully we’ll get even better. TLS : Lately, the successful and hype bands were emo/dark – you’re very pop and joyful … How do you explain your popularity ? Dan : I don’t know. There’s always loads of different bands. Tord : Indie has gone really big as well. Dan : All the different bands in general, whatever kind it is, seemed to be doing really really well. Tord : It’s kind of weird because all the kids, they like both. They don’t really think of sectify. As long as it’s pop enough … TLS : You played a lot since the tour began – aren’t you tired of it already ? Tord : Not really ! Dan : The first tour, in September, was obviously the first kind of large size venues where we were sort of headlining with another band, which was amazing. Then The Enemy tour was great because it was even bigger venues and we were like winning over new fans, so that was exciting to do, and it was only an half an hour set. And then we went to Europe and did our own headline tour and there was loads of people at all these gigs, which was just amazing to see. Tord : We didn’t expect that much on the European tour. Dan : Every gig was a suprise. Basically to us, it was like “How did this happen?”. Tord : Half the tour was sold-out ! Dan : Yes, pretty much. We’re the best-sellers on a first European tour, apparently. And this tour is our first as a proper headline, which is amazing. TLS : How was touring with The Enemy ? Dan : It was great, really good. Tord : The audience was different, more … chavs, football fans. Usually we get more indie kids. Dan : We have that story we can tell! The CD we put on before we got on stage has a song by The Enemy, and everyone was going mad for that song every time. Tord : The Enemy fans seemed to like us. Dan : Obviously the crossover is there : people who like them also like us. TLS : So everyone loves you : emo kids, chavs … ! Tord : That whole emo thing … Some people said we don’t really sound like a pure British band in the way we have elements of American music – it’s probably why emo kids like us. We’re not pure indie, pure pop, it’s like a mixture. Dan : But then if you think about pop-music, fans have got a very eclectic taste. There aren’t many people who only listen to metal by example – there are some, but there aren’t many, really. TLS : The album had very good reviews everywhere – does it put pressure for the next material ? Dan : I guess so. But as long as we don’t feel the pressure, then it will be fine. Tord : We’re just going to write songs we like and when we’ve got enough new songs, we’re going to record them. As long as we’re happy with it … Dan : You’ve got to be confident and just think that we were happy with our sounds, we like this album, and that’s why people like it. If we’re happy with the next album, then, hopefully, people will like it, and if they don’t, we’d had a good laugh (everyone laughs). TLS : Have you been working on new material ? Dan : Not necessarily for the second album. We mess around with ideas and we make stupid songs on the bus and we are creative … Tord : We don’t really have the time to practice and get proper things out of these ideas. TLS : The lyrics often refers to loads of pop-culture references. Do you think Murph’s references will change for the next compos, that he will get his inspiration from life on tour, for example ? Tord : He doesn’t want to write songs about being on tour. That’s why he needs some time off just to get back to normal life and get inspiration there. Then again, it’s not all about being in a band. We all do normal stuff. We go to places and meet new people. You can write songs about all this stuff more than being on tour. TLS : You did boat parties for your fans in Liverpool – will you carry on doing that kind of stuff for your fans, even if you get bigger ? Dan : Definitely. We don’t want to feel like there is us and the fans. Tord : With a barrier between us. Dan : It shouldn’t be like that. We try to meet up with fans as much as we can. The other day we actually went for a birthday party, for this girl. Tord : We had food, birthday cake … I don’t think many other bands has done that. Dan : We don’t really fit with these “Oh yeah, we’re in this band” things. TLS : You seem to have very dedicated fans as well. Dan : There’s that guy who came over from Hamburg to see us tonight. Tord : There are four girls coming all the way from Norway tonight. It’s one of them’s birthday, I’ll have to give them a shout out. TLS : You played France – how were the reactions there ? Dan : La Maroquinerie was amazing. There was no real difference between there and anywhere else. The promoter said that the French audience is often, like, static, they listen much more than they react. Tord : But it was quite mental. TLS : Are you going to do a real proper tour in France then ? Dan : Hopefully. In March we’ll be doing a full European tour, and Ian Brown is supporting us. TLS : How do you feel having Ian Brown supporting you ? Tord : It is so weird! Dan : He asked us. His agent contacted us, as we’ve got a good audience, and he’ll win over new fans. Anyway, we’ll play several dates in France. Paris and maybe – I don’t know which other cities are good to play ? Marseilles ? Tord : We always played in Paris. It was great, but it’s nice to see somewhere else. TLS : You both have side-projects (Tord is in SIN, and Dan does folk) : are you already thinking of solo careers ? Tord : I’m actually going in the studios on the first of February to record the album with SIN. TLS : Are you going to manage touring with The Wombats and recording with SIN ? Tord : Yeah, we’ve got three weeks off so I can spend them in the studios. There will be a tour at some point, but I don’t know when ! TLS : Do The Wombats remain your main focus ? Tord : Within The Wombats, Murph writes all the songs, and we (Dan and Tord) are both songwriters as well, so it would be a shame not writing any songs. Dan : We just can’t help it! The Wombats is still a very good creative output, we make our own melodies, like, loads of pop, but you just constantly… You’re on tour, you can’t practice, we don’t make any new Wombats songs so it’s nice to have something else to do. TLS : Is there a chance to see a Dan Haggis folk album released one day, then ? Dan : Over Christmas and during our three weeks off, I want to try to make some sort of album but I don’t know when or even if it will ever get released. It’s more for myself, like a really nice way to spend the day. That what The Wombats are as well. Tord : That’s why you make music in the first place. Dan : As Murph sums up in Moving to New York, it’s therapy. TLS : After everything that happened, what are you going to do during those breaks – except recording ? Dan : Relax. See friends, family, eat nice food… Just being in one place for a few weeks, because we’re always travelling around, so, it’d be nice just to chill out. Tord : I’ll go to Norway with my family and friends … and write songs ! (laughs) Dan : Yeah, keep doing music, and, dunno … Probably get bored ! (laughs) Tord : That’s an important point ! Dan : I find it really hard, when we have a few days off, because from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to bed, we’re in The Wombats, and we have to do interviews and blahblahblah, and it’s really fun and we travel and we’re with people all the time. When I’m on my own again at home, I always look at my watch and my phone, wondering what I should be supposed to do, and then I’m like, “I don’t have anything to do!”, which is really weird. Tord : I get more stressed out going back home because of all the “normal” things, stuff like bills, going to the bank … When you’re on tour all these things are just hanging over. Dan : It’s cool being away because you have an excuse not to do it ! TLS : Like the laundry ? (Everyone laughs) Tord : Yeah ! The laundry ! That stresses me even more ! Well, seems like Tord won’t have to bother doing much of his laundry as The Wombats are kicking a massive new tour, being on the road for what seems to be most of 2008 ! Check their tourdates on www.myspace.com/thewombatsuk CB.