Band Of Skulls: Keeping It Pure (Interview)

Southampton hard rock trio Band Of Skulls are about to make their first New Zealand appearance when they open for the Black Keys this April on their Turn Blue tour. The Band Of Skulls have been making top-notch hard-rocking music for a decade and their latest album, 2014’s Himalayan finds them at their best. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke to guitarist/vocalist Russell Marsden last year just as the band found out they were signed on to tour with The Black Keys.

You can listen to the interview with Russell Marsden of Band Of Skulls here:

Or, you can read a transcription of the interview here:

MD: So, let’s see, you guys are coming down to Auckland next year with The Black Keys, is that correct?

RM: Yeah, you know like, a couple of weeks ago we got the email and it’s nice to be invited by, you know, a band that we’ve been tour…we’ve toured with the Keys before.

MD: Yeah.

RM: So that part of it won’t be new, but it’s a definitely new territory, a new area to be. It’s the first time we’ll be in New Zealand as well actually. We’ve done a few shows, a few tours actually in Australia and it’s just never quite worked out, you know. So New Zealand’s been on our wish list and it’s great that we’re coming and we’re really excited about it.

MD: Yeah, it’s about time you get down here so.

PM: Definitely, yeah. It’s way, its way overdue. I think, yeah, we’ll be up for it.

MD: Excellent and I know that you’ve toured with The Black Keys before and you just had Dan Auerbach do a remix of Hoochie Coochie as well so there is some kind of connection with the band right?

RM: Yeah, I mean, there’s this, obviously a kind of musical connection and there’s a love for the same kind of styles and yeah, we’ve done a bit of touring in Europe with them, then we’ve been around in America in festivals and stuff.  Yeah, there’s something, you know, there. The great thing about The Black Keys I think they’re a very similar band to us, you know, on their, whatever record, like record number 8 and I think their big hit breakthrough came quite long into their release schedule, you know.

MD: Yeah.

RM: And which is great because when most who discover them, they were an awesome band with all these amazing songs and I think it’s the same philosophy as we have. We wanna make as many records as possible and it doesn’t matter when people discover, you know. So yeah we get on, on that level, we’re a real rock and roll band and that’s how it is. Obviously they have many more records than us and that’s where the respect is.

MD: Gotcha, yeah and when  its arranged for them to do a remix of say, Hoochie Coochie,  logistically how does that work? Do you guys as a band have any input? Do you talk to them or is it kind of done, you know, through channels? How does it work?

Listen to Dan Auerbach’s remix of Hoochie Coochie here:

RM: Well that Dan sends around his, kind of, heavies, and says what do you want?  And we just give them lots of money.

MD: Seems like it should be the other way around, they should be paying you.

RM: I mean, we were all on tour and it was something that was suggested and it happened and it was cool, you know, so there’s no I guess we’ll talk about it when we get together. It’s one of those things that, I mean, really only like record labels managers talk over email to the band, end up having a beer, then they get together so yeah, it’s cool, I mean I like that actually, it’s a bit like having a disembodied jam session.

MD: Now I see, you’ve also got up on your website a new track called How Can I Get To You that folks can listen to, although I must say that when I tried to listen to it, it wouldn’t play here in New Zealand, it said “content unavailable”.

RM: What a tease, what a tease.

MD: I know. So I was hoping you can tell me about it at least.

RM: Okay, yeah. So it was a song that, I mean making a record is a certain moment in time and there are songs that are often not quite ready to record and there were some songs that happened at the end of the session that you won’t have time to do and that’s just one of those sort of songs. It was a great song and great idea but we didn’t quite have time to do it. We just recorded at the end of last year just sort of for prosperity in the sense, and it came out really well, so we thought, you know, why not just release it anyway?

MD: Right.

RM: It’s not like you have to press everything to vinyl these days, you know, putting a record out can be instant. So we just did it.

MD: Yeah.

RM: I think lots of people will be interested and, you know, it’s quite a live song might just play it live, you know .

MD: It’s interesting that bands have the option these days, a multitude of ways of getting their music out. Do you follow that kind of thing? I mean, like Thom Yorke just put his solo album out on BitTorrent and YouTube.

RM: Yeah, completely and actually Thom and the Radioheads and that whole thing probably were pioneers of that way of putting music out. It’s really influenced a lot of people I think, of course we have to put our music out in many ways. But you know, I went to meet the band yesterday, we met up and, you know, in the background on someone’s player was the new Thom Yorke record which I read about on the plane, you know. You read someone’s made a record, when you arrive at your destination, you’ll be hearing it, it’s incredible isn’t it like.

MD: It is yeah.

RM: it wouldn’t have never happened before. I still think it’s in a state of flux and I think, you know, the ultimate version will happen one day. I don’t think we’ve really hit the nail on the head yet.

MD: Yeah it seems like everybody’s kind of, you know, kind of throwing things against the wall and seeing which one is going to stick.

RM: The thing that will work best, that will sound best and it will make or support the artist cause’ in the end if bands can’t afford to make records, then they’d stop making records, in the end that will that will win out, you know. Unless you want lots of rich people making music which I don’t know…

MD: And I’m judging, I’m guessing just by the style of music you play that you’re probably vinyl fans ultimately. Is that correct?

RM: Well I think we had it in our first contract, because we didn’t quite believe that, you know, we were going to make a record when we started out and we were like well if we’re gonna make a record then we definitely want to make vinyls, you know, so I think we had it written into our contract that there would be a certain like a 1000 copies made, you know, so, at least, if everything went wrong we could walk away with something  we coiuld at least give to our mothers. Don’t worry mum, we have the records!

MD: Now if I’m not mistaken, you guys just did a recording of Later with Jools. Is that right?

RM: Yeah

MD: That always seemed like, is that the first time you’ve done Jools?

Watch Band Of Skulls on Later With Jools here: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfGIMOpdkoE]

RM: It is, you know, like, it’s like anything, it’s like getting a detention in school, you know, it’s a rite of passage and unfortunately sometimes these rites of passages, you know, they come a bit late, you know.

MD: Right.

RM: You know, right. You can’t, it doesn’t all happen when you’re 17 sometimes and it’s one of those bucket lists that’s been hanging around for a while. It’s a bit like going to New Zealand actually I must say and yeah. So we got to arrive, you know, three records in and it was great and I mean we had a great time and met Jools, met Mary J Blige

MD: Oh right.

RM: And a few other bands. Marianne Faithfull and First Aid Kit.

MD: Very cool. Did you get a chance to spend any meaningful time with any of the other artists? I mean, I imagine meeting Marianne Faithfull that would be pretty cool.

RM: No, they couldn’t get past our security anyway.

MD: Alright. Now it’s been like 6 months since Himalayan has been released and you guys have been touring pretty constantly over the course of the six months. Looking back you know, with a little bit of time between you and the release date, does that affect how you look at the record? Has it changed to way you feel about it?

band-of-skulls-himalayan-listRM: We don’t listen to the record, the record was last summer for us and we’re just playing those songs pretty much every day since. So the songs have evolved and we’ve been through these experiences with the songs, so like, Jools Holland, we sang the songs there, we played Glastonbury here in England and you know, really the songs take on a much bigger meaning than they did when we made them. They were like our own little babies and then now they’re not, they’re like out there. So yeah, Glastonbury was the big one for us this year, I think another sort of bucket list thing in all seriousness, joking aside.

MD: Yeah.

RM: It was, yeah, that means a lot, you know, we’re a British rock band playing beats for big audiences there and yeah it’s pretty epic I must say actually, yeah.

MD: Was it how you would have expected it to go? Were there any kind of surprises or?

RM: Well there’s lots of surprises, we had a brand new audio crew that day so that was a bit nerve wracking and there was a big rainstorm just as we left the stage of course, you know, and all kinds of things. We were up against it. Oh that’s right, I’m being reminded here, someone’s making a mime of a helicopter to me. We flew in by a very 1970s helicopter.

MD: Oh great. It’s like landing in Saigon!

RM: I wasn’t worried about the gig because I already cried like a baby coming in. It was absolutely terrifying, you know, like, it’s like flying to work in a bathtub.

MD: And I read somewhere that somebody in the band at least mentioned that, after recording the album, you kinda had to relearn the songs in order to play them live. Is that something that is normal for you guys and is it a continuing thing?

RM: I mean, it definitely has been. I think on this record we sort of said let’s not worry about the live thing, let’s just make the best record we can and then figure out how to do it.

MD: Right.

RM: And yeah, we’re a 3 piece rock band so sometimes it take us kind of a, you have to sort of think laterally and get technical ideas going on, you know, and we definitely, we’ve evolved as a band after making this record because we had to think about that musically. They’re not making a garage rock record anymore, making something a bit more technical, little bit grander. The things is, a lot of bands I know, and I appreciate them doing it, but it’s not productive, will having a backing track, you know, tracks playing in the background.

MD: Yeah, Yeah.

RM: We just don’t want to do that, we just want to still make every gig different, so we don’t mind it being…we still wanna make versions of the songs we’ve made but we wanna make sure that there’s no safety net.

MD: Yeah.

RM: and we’re still playing it all live. And that’s basically, that’s our challenge, you know.

MD: I think that’s important, I think an audience can tell when it’s spontaneous or when it’s the same.

RM: I hope so. I think in the future they might be able to really…I think audiences have become savvy to it. I believe that the bands that really are live will be known for it. It’s no slight on the bands that do that because it sometimes can be really effective. It’s just something that were never comfortable with doing so you’ll always try to find that little loophole to not go down that route cause’ it’s an easy place to go.

MD: And you guys have also done at least one acoustic gig with strings. You did something in, I think in Hollywood Forever Cemetery, whatever that is.

RM: Oh yeah.

MD: I’m hoping you can tell me about that. But that must have been a complete, you know, change of pace from what you normally do on stage.

Band Of Skulls at Hollywood Forever
Band Of Skulls at Hollywood Forever

RM: Well it is. The thing is, when we write our songs, we often sit around and get the acoustics out and make these beautiful songs that, you know, we almost have those strings arrangements in our head and really our challenge is making them into rock music and making it loud and clear. So often really it’s gonna go backwards for us. Saying that, you know, Hollywood Forever is a cemetery where they bury all the Hollywood legends cause’ all the Hollywood movie stars are in there.

MD: Right.

RM: In the middle of Hollywood in this park and its incredible. We played in the chapel, we got these great string players in and did…we like to rearrange our songs, so our acoustic versions are pretty different to our rock and roll. They are more like the way we write the songs actually. I think in the future it will be something that we’ll like to do more of. It’s always there for us. When we get too old to stand up we’ll be doing that.

MD: I hear ya. You mentioned the fact that the band is a trio obviously and there is a certain synergy that goes on between… a band of three musicians is different from 4, 5 the usual quartet or whatever, did you make it a conscious effort and decision to become a trio or is it..?

RM: No (laughing) It’s very difficult to have a fist fight between 3 people, you know, it’s very confusing. We’re 3, we’re like a super group without being in bands before, we’re 3 song writers, 3 artists that come together and we’re in a band.

MD: Right.

Russell Marsden
Russell Marsden

RM: It takes a long time to write songs, so we’ve all got our own ideas and, but in the end we all agree and hopefully make good records and I think it’s a very special thing that happens live with a 3 piece band, it just seems to go around well, you know.

MD: Yeah.

RM: There’s no barriers, the reactions are quite fast and I think it’s really, it’s great for a rock band.

MD: You and matt tend to go back to before when  the band actually happening so did that previous history have an impact on how the relationship works?

RM: Yeah, I can hear his sticks moving through the air towards the drum, you know, and he can probably realise that I’m about to do something too.

MD: Right.

RM: Yeah, there’s a gut feeling there which is, in rock and roll that gut feeling is essential, you know, and we’ve been playing since we were kids. We’re brothers in a sense and that’s really important and every time we get together and make music, it’s still there, you know. It’s an amazing feeling and I’m very lucky to have that actually.We’re just trying to make our music… we’re regressing, basically trying to make the purest music we can, just like we did when we first met with each other.

MD: Did you guys used to go to concerts together and things, you know, back when you were young?

RM: Yeah, completely, you know, we’re doing a concert, I’ll tell you quickly, we’re doing a concert here in our hometown in South Hampton in the Guild Hall, you know, it’s the big, you know, concert venue here. We used to go there as kids and watch all the bands in the 90s.

MD: What would have been the first band or concert that you went to?

RM: I think all the bands in the 90s that we saw like Fun Lovin’ Criminals, remember Kula Shaker

MD: Oh yeah definitely.

RM: And a special mention for Reef who are about to get back together again, I saw them the other day. They said, let’s make another record. So, Reef, yeah, that’s probably our first one.

Click here for more information about the Black Keys/Band Of Skulls NZ Turn Blue Tour.