How's the tour been so far? How are you feeling after you had to cancel several dates?
Kris: Yeah it's been pretty cool. It was a shock to us to have to cancel some of the dates due to Matts illness.
Darren: It was a shame, but there's no doubt that it was better to cancel those two rather than keep going and Matt pushing too far then having to cancel all of the tour.It's been great though! It's been a different kind of tour for us what with the support bands.
Kris: It's an 'eclectic' bill! laughs
Darren: The crowds have been awesome.
How does it feel to see that this tour has completely sold out?
Kris: Pretty cool!
Darren: Obviously because we're playing last a small amount of people will leave before we're on as they came for the earlier bands, but we've had a lot of people come for us, it's been a full house every night though!.
Kris: Yeah, it's pretty cool. That's my favourite phrase so far isn't it? Three questions and all I've said is pretty cool!
Darren: It's a nice little sentence!
How would you describe your sound? There's been a lot of descriptions thrown about in the press including the dreaded "emo" and "screamo"....
Kris: I just think we're a rock band. I suppose we've got metal undertones but I basically think we're rock.
Darren: I think the word rock just encompasses everything. No genres or subgenres or crazyass names, "emocore".
Kris: Genres can be a good thing though. I think it's used because if people are into a certain type of band then it's good to have a reference point like "if you like such and such a band, then you'll definitely like this band" It's not like a direct comparison.
Darren: We don't mind really, with the magazines calling us one thing or another, all journalists to a certain degree have to make a reference to someone so that their readers know roughly what to expect.
Kris:Then again a problem with categorising is that it leaves a band in a bad situation, because if they decide to stick you in a genre, if that genre suddenly becomes "uncool". Like nu-metal and grunge.
Darren: There will always be 3 or 4 big bands who transcend the genre thing but in general most bands are stuck with it, and they're then known as being that type even if they're not, and they're stuffed when it's not "the in thing" anymore. I'd just rather be known as a rock band, rock music always stays around.
What do you think is the biggest misconception that people have about you?
Kris: A common misconception is that we're all arrogant wankers, and another HUGE misconception is that our bass player fuckin headbutted someone. Someone said they fucking saw our bass player headbutt someone outside some fan outside Glasgow show the other night! Dumbfounded me, it's like 'you're talking shit', this guys out there like "I fuckin' saw it with my own eyes!" and Gareth our bassist is like "You didn't see anything because I wasn't fucking there!!". That's definitely one huge misconception. laughs. Actually, it's not a misconception, it's a fucking lie!Another common one is that we're making a shitload of money! laughs. That's a big one!
Darren: Yeah, that we're really rich and living in mansions and things!
Kris: No, I think one of the biggest misconceptions is about our music standpoints, like when we started playing we were embraced by the underground scene but now we're sort of getting a backlash from that.
Darren: From those people who were the first ones there, singing along at our shows.
Kris: The ones who say "go on, you're going to go on and do great things" but when you do it's "you bunch of fuckin' sell outs!". The misconception of that is that I've never said I was part of a scene, I've never said I've got any ethics which belong to a scene, it's like I play music for myself and nobody else.
Darren: We never called ourselves anything, we never said we've got these hardcore underground ethics in the first place let alone now go against them! We love hardcore bands and music, punk music, metal, but by no means do we say we have any kind of ethics about it.
Kris: I just don't understand why people think we've got any ethics about it considering we're from the welsh valleys which predominantly doesn't have any hardcore scene at all. How I'm meant to have developed any ethics from 22 years of life there is completely beyond me! I mean my dad was a labourer who worked his guts out for his entire life, I had a very down to earth background, my morals are my own morals, not fucking enforced on me by some musical genre! That's definitely a misconception that people have sometimes, what they think we stand for.
Darren: It's like people form a background on us before they've even met us, before they've asked us what our views are. It's a stupid approach.
You've had several magazines touting you as "the best band in britain".and you also won the "best newcomer" award at the K! awards, did you see this as a good thing or did you feel that it placed a lot of unwanted pressure on you?
Kris: I think it was neither really, it was cool to win the award, but it's like I want to play music and I need to.
Darren: We don't believe it really, I mean it's flattering but to see people saying "the greatest band on the planet" is such a ridiculous statement-
Kris: A pretty cool statement though! Oh fuck, 'pretty cool' again.
Darren: But for them to stick their neck out and say that, put themselves on the line I think is great.
Kris: It's nice to see that British magazines are actually championing british bands now though. A couple of years back it was just all american.
Darren: The supportiveness is great.
Kris: The thing is we didn't start this whole thing thinking "We want to win a K award and be labelled the hottest new band on the planet!". None of that came into our heads when we were playing in a little hall in some welsh village! You're just thinking "I've got to get up for work tomorrow."
Darren: We do read the press and you think it's cool but sometimes you feel they're talking about another band, we're still the same five guys like in our own little bubble, with this crazyness going on outside.
Kris: I think it's better that we don't open our eyes up to it otherwise I think you would disappear way up my own backside! laughs
Darren: I just don't get how people label us the hottest band on the planet though! It's all a matter of choice though. It's all an opinion. NME have been so cool to us well too, Rock Sound, Metal Hammer, everyone. It's been excellent.I don't know whats happening next!
Kris: I think we may be the hottest band on the planet today though because it's fucking boiling in here!
Your new single is out this week, with two very different videos for 'escape artists never die' and 'so you want romance', who comes up with the ideas for the videos?
Kris: It's all ideas that were given by directors really and we just choose the ones we like the most. My favourites are the ones that we haven't been in, they're great! I think the baby should have had a face though, that's the only thing wrong with "so you want romance". The whole thing with the people with masks and cloths was to remove an identity and the burning of the face in the car, and the forming of the identity, I think the baby should have a face because they've been through everything they've been through, two guys died in the previous video, the woman went missing and had a baby underwater in a treasure chest -as you do, you know that happens every day!- after going through all that I think the baby should have had a face as he's the identity they forged, they finally forged themselves an identity through the love of a child in that case!
Darren: I bet you regret asking now! Set Kris off on his analytical rant.....
Kris: THE BABY SHOULD HAVE HAD A FACE DAMNIT! laughs
What do you prefer then, performing live, recording, or filming videos?
Kris: NOOOOO no videos. Fucking videos!
Darren: No, no videos, no makeup.
Kris: Slap a bit of white on so you don't get the glare.
Darren: It makes me go all greasy though if you have to wear it all day! Performing live for me. Recording is boring.
Kris: Let's not be so negative right! Let's actually be positive about something for once! laughs. I like recording. OK it's a really slow process and kind of painstaking but hearing it for the first time is great. It's really really really great feeling to hear what you've achieved, but the process is so so so fucking boring. NO, positive! Erm, live is great, you're sweating, you come off, spend 30 minutes getting your breath back, another hour and half waiting for your adrenaline to come down, then you go to bed, it's FANTASTIC!
Darren: I agree on the recording, It's fantastic hearing it it's just that it takes so long to get the end result! When you get to do your part it's cool. But when you're waiting it's the longest time ever!
Kris: Live's best
Darren: Small shows are better, the vibes so exciting.
Kris: You can smell the people in the front row, no barriers, everyone falling on top of you. It's wicked!. The stage at download is like 40 feet away from the crowd and people just look like blobs! It gets to the point where you can't make anything out apart from the odd colour here and there. "He stands out as he's in red, everything else is just black!". It seemed like a never ending sea of people.
Darren: The order is 1- Live, 2- recording, and 50- videos. Videos are waaaaay down the list. I think I'd rather do anything but make a video! It's embarrassing.
Kris: You're not plugged in, you're not playing, you've got like 30 people looking at you and a camera in your face following you and it's like "fuck off!". Videos inbetween tours are the worst, where you've had to listen to the same song all day, then you have to go and play it live when you're sick of it! Especially if it's an edited studio version of the song, you go to play it live the next day and completely fuck it up!
The british music scene has had a revival of late, do you think there is any particular reason for this, a backlash against american nu-metal for example?
Kris: I think it's because really this is the first time in ages that the UK has had bands which are just as good as if not better than the big american bands, and haven't jumped onto the american band wagon. The scene is the strongest it's ever been, not copying what's going on there all the time. In America there are a lot of people who check out UK bands now too.
Darren: Also the UK bands are forming their own identity now rather than just trying to sound american with the accents and things. Not being copycats now, they're trying to sound different and do something new and fresh. There have always been wicked UK bands but now there is an abundance of fantastic UK bands doing something new who don't sound like Oasis or blur.
Kris: They don't all sound like the Manics now! What was the whole british scene has just changed, it was all indie based before, which was to me quite drab.
Darren: They're trying to make it more exciting.
You're notorious for having long song titles,it's almost become one of your trademarks, is it a conscious effort on your part to make them so long or does it just happen?
Kris: The longest title was actually "You'll never know when you're going to need a good get away plan". But the newest song we've written is just one word!
Darren: 'Hospitality' brand new song.
Kris: We shorten them ourselves! When we're in the studio 'The Art Of American Football' is "The art", 'Rookie Of The Year' is just "Rookie", you chop it down otherwise it takes ages, like "Shall we play ' You'll never know when you need a good get away plan?" "yeah, let's play You'll never know when you- zzzzzzzzz....." laughs
Darren: It's not a conscious thing as such, it's quite often a tongue in cheek description of a situation or a play on words that just kind of amuses us really! I mean "The Art Of American Football", there is no art to american football is there really! It's just a bunch of guys in pads running around bumping into each other! laughs
Kris: Chasing a ball, no art to that is there! Also, like '1045 amsterdam conversations" was originally just called "1045" but then Matt just threw in the "amsterdam conversations" one day after he saw a book called that and thought "that'd be good!". A lot of them are quite quirky, which are from poems which Matt has written or just original lyrics. I think we totally fucking crushed any other title with "Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation" though! We've really outdone ourselves there! We're happy to have short names! The best band for long names is Drowning Man, they've got one called "If God loves everyone then he's going to want to fuck me in ten seconds." then in brackets "Born to break even". "We hate our record label and we wish they'd fucking drop us" was another one! laughs
Darren: What was that one..."Damn girl that shit's deep like the ocean" by Curl up and Die. That's great!
What bands do you rate at the moment?
Kris: We did a signing in Virgin and i picked up some free cds, 2 Vision of Disorder albums which I've owned a few times but people keep nicking them off me! The Haunted album as well.
Darren: I like a lot of different stuff!
Kris: Death Metal Dazzler in the corner there!
Darren: I like swedish death metal like The Haunted, In Flames etc, there are some really cool unsigned UK bands coming through, Hondo Maclean and the like. Beyond All Reason from York are amazing. Dopamine from Wales, you're going to hear a lot more about them soon.
Kris: I bought This Is Spinal Tap recently, I loved it!
Darren: You've got to watch it back to back four times!
How does it feel to see the adulation and devotion that you inspire now? Do you get recognised in the street?
Kris: It's great! It's really really good. The message board is an example, its packed. The only problem is you get the occasional wanker on there!
Darren: It's actually really flattering!
Kris: I got recognised in Cardiff! I used to live in the valleys but I live in Cardiff now, I was outside KFC eating chicken and these kids walked past and I heard this "KRIS!" and I was looking around for someone I knew, then saw these kids and I thought "I must know them from somewhere" they were talking amongst themselves and my fiancee was like "do you know them?" and I was like "no!". I heard this "KRIS!" again, and I turned round but as I turned round I had this fucking piece of chicken in my mouth, they take a picture of me stuffing my face! laughs
Darren:It's cool, no way do we get mobbed or anything, people are a lot more respectful to us!
What are your plans for the coming year?
Kris: A shit load of touring as usual! We're going to Japan in March, and Europe for two weeks with Lostprophets, we're really good friends with them. The press have made it out to be a rivaly between the two bands of late?
Kris: Not at all! We've known them for years, they're great. I think we're both responsible for that though, throwing in the odd sarcastic comment here and there. Completely in jest though.
Darren: Me and Matt made one earlier actually, we were outside signing some stuff and there was a girl with a Lostprophets t-shirt on and Matt was like "you like them?" "yeah" "what did you think of that song we wrote for them then?" "what song?" "last train home?" "You wrote that?!" "Yeah, we wrote it for them!". At the same time though in a recent interview Lostprophets said that they give us any riffs they don't want to use! laughs. It's fun in the press. Yeah, so two weeks in europe with them, then four days to Japan, then to America for a month and a half, then to UK in April, then back to america! Then back for the festivals! Then back to Japan! NO BREAK!
Kris: I fucking hate flying!
Darren: I used to get so excited about flying to places and getting to go abroad but now I get super fucking tired and it's not as exciting as it used to be, takes all the fun out of it! laughs