The Future of Post-Punk

by Shara Clark

It's Monday afternoon and The Futureheads' bassist Jaff is walking down the main streets of Detroit where tonight they'll be playing another stop on their current US tour. He tells me this is actually their third American tour. This go round is more successful as they are playing mostly sold out shows at bigger venues. "It's been really great...really good fun."

He has such a thick British accent and speaks so quickly I find myself pausing for a few uncomfortable seconds after he answers my questions while I try to figure out what he's just said. Luckily the conversation was recorded so I could go back, decipher most of it and let you know a little more about this awesome band from the UK who are predictably the next retro-rock break-out band.

Jaff prefers to play a Fender jazz bass with an Ampeg classic amp. He's "not really one of those tech-heads," so he's not sure what year model it is. He chuckles when he tells me that Queen is one of his main influences. "I've loved Queen since I was like 8 or 9," he says, "They sing really well on all the records and the vocal harmonies are really well pronounced, but they're rock music you know. I've always thought that was great." He also tells me he was influenced by other greats including The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC. "I like loads of music though. I could talk for hours about what I like to listen to," he says. However lately he's trying to listen to as much new stuff as he can, specifically the British bands they've been touring with: The Killers, Bloc Party and The Kaiser Chiefs. "There are loads of bands from Sunderland (The Futureheads' hometown) we like to listen to as well, but you can't escape some of the bigger bands. We try to listen to some of the smaller bands even when we're on the road," he says.

Speaking of being on the road, that's where these guys have been since last September. However they try not to be a cliché touring rock band and keep their on-tour partying to a minimum. On the bus they play on the computer, listen to their ipods, read, play cards, play sports games on the playstation and try to keep themselves fit and healthy. There isn't as much free time on the road as you would think though. After waking up around 10 or 11, getting lunch, going to sound check and getting ready for the gig, the days pass by pretty quickly. Especially considering they are playing "seven gigs then a day off, seven more then a day off."

They have been touring with Franz Ferdinand, who for the time being are slightly more well known than The Futureheads themselves, but they had no need to ask to be shown the ropes. "We've been a live band for 5 years. We knew the drill," he says, "We've played loads and loads of shows by now, but we appreciate the need to step it up a level. You know, have a big show and a good light display and a concert that rings through...and be really confident and play our songs really well every night." He laughs when I tell him that I read a review that calls their live performance "impossibly tight." He says when they aren't on tour they practice 5 days a week 3 hours a day to get that kind of solid performance. By now though they know the stops and intricacies of the old songs and since they have basically been playing 7 gigs in 7 days, rehearsals now consist of trying to write new stuff. "At this point you don't really worry about playing the songs right," he says. "You worry about the performance, playing the songs really well and having fun. If you enjoy it then the crowd enjoys it." On this tour they are stopping once again at the annual South By Southwest Festival in Texas. "There's a great atmosphere in Austin," he says. "Last year we played at a little English pub called The Fox and Hound. It was a little out of town. I think we are a little higher on the bill this year...playing on the main drag. We're really looking forward to going back." As far as their growing fan base I asked if he prefers playing smaller or bigger venues. "It really depends," he says. "Each gig is completely different and we always accept that. You get a really good atmosphere when you play the smaller venues, but there's nothing like the feeling you get when there's more and more people. At some of the venues we played with Franz Ferdinand, there were like 3 to 5 thousand people. There's a great feeling walking out in front of that many people, especially if you have a good gig...so I'd have to say I like the bigger venues better."

It seems to me that The Futureheads have succeeded in attempts to be "a bit different from what you normally hear on the radio." The four-part harmonies set them apart and the instantaneously catchy riffs and melodies ensure them a spot on the charts. For songwriters out there who are wondering how they came up with such in-your-face yet awe inspiring songs you'd need to know that Jaff, Barry, Ross and Dave all respond to different things musically. It doesn't seem to complicate the song writing process either, "It makes is easier," he says. "Every member adds something different. It's more like throwing all these ideas into a melting pot. The music is definitely quite all over, but that makes it a bit more diverse." "Usually we write the music first, then put harmonies on, but for instance 'A to B' started with the chorus harmony. We worked on that first and took it from there. Quite often we'll write a lot of music, put vocals over it, then feel like we need to elaborate on the vocals. But it's really a partnership of writing the music and vocals together." Barry and Ross write most of the lyrics. In fact Barry writes quite a lot of the songs, but Jaff says, "We definitely all write for the band. Quite a lot of the fundamental ideas for songs come from the lyrics and we all work from there, but it's all about the music as well."

Now what is in the future for The Futureheads? Jaff says his goal is to keep touring the world. He says he's really happy with the first record, no complaints about it. They've been to America three times already, and they're touring Japan and continental Europe this year. "The next thing for me is to write and record the next record," he says. "Hopefully that will do well and we'll get to do more and more after that. I just want to keep making music basically." He says it's hard to work on new songs now since they have been so busy, but they should have their second record out around spring next year. Not that they want to wait that long, but they'd like to tour this record around the world as fully as they can first. I told him I'll be looking forward to the new album. He says humbly, "It should be good. I hope it'll be good." I know it will.