Dry The River - Interview
Posted by Guest Writer on Fri, 17 Dec 2010.
After being featured on the BBC by the likes of Huw Stephens, Dry The River have gotten themselves quite a following. Naturally when we hear they're playing locally (ish), we head up the road to Nottingham.
I saw you at Glastonbury this year on the BBC introducing stage how was it to play there?
Pete: It was the greatest thing ever really. Absolutely brilliant
Scott: It was hot
Jon: It was very hot. See most us had never been to Glastonbury before, so to actually be playing there it was great. It was crazy times.
Will: See we also thought ‘cause we spent the whole weekend at Glastonbury already that it was totally expectable to wear swimming shorts and baseball caps on stage. So we did. It was alright!
Did you get a chance to watch anyone else while you were there?
Pete: We watched loads didn’t we!
Jon: We saw some incredible people. Snoop Dogg
Pete: Snoop was amazing
Jon: Midlake. We missed Biffy because we were playing.
Pete: We saw Villagers, Stevie Wonder,
Will: We saw a lot of stuff late at night in Arcadia and Shangri La.
Me: I hated Shangri la!
Will: You hated it?!
Me: It freaked me out!
Will: I absolutely loved it!
Scott: I want to live in Shangri La!
Was it always your dream to be in a band or was it something you gradually got into?
Pete: Always!
Jon: We’ve always been in bands
Pete: I always knew from when I was a kid it was what I wanted to do. I brought an acoustic guitar from Argos when I was about 10 for £20 and ever since I've knew that's what I wanted to do really.
Will: I've always played violin and did classical stuff and got annoyed that I played a classical instrument, so I worked it into being in a band.
How did you all meet each other?
Jon: it’s a long story.
Pete: We’re from all over really. We were all in different bands and stuff in college. Berkshire and Hampshire, Newbury, Southampton and Reading. And yeah it was just a sort of studio thing I was doing, just asked some guys to play on it and it sort of grew into a live band. I always dread that question really because I wish there was some epic story but there isn’t.
Matthew: It’s long but it’s not epic.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Will: Madcaddies at the Astoria
Matthew: I think mine was Supergrass at the Birmingham academy
Pete: The Offspring at Wembley arena
Jon: Status Quo 92 Wembley arena Christmas... A lot of terrible bands
If you could collaborate with any artist dead or alive who would it?
Will: Oh god
Pete: Did you say god?!
Will: If you’re talking about real musicians...
Pete: I don’t know, I’d love to do something with Beyonce that would be rad. Leonard Cohen he's a legend.
Jon: I think it’s difficult because all are influences are so vast.
So you’ve released your first EP, Bible Belt”, what’s the plans for future releases?
Pete: We’re going to be having a single out in the new year on Transgressive. I don’t know when or what that singles going to be...
Will: We have some recordings, of which one of them will be chosen.
Pete: Then there is going to be an album eventually next year, sometime
Jon: But early next year there will be a release
Pete: No more CD-R’s!
Do you prefer playing at festivals or at smaller gigs like tonight?
Will: Festivals
Pete: It’s pretty different I reckon. I like them all
Jon: I like festivals because it’s a festival. You get free tickets to the festival
Pete: But having said that the actual shows at festivals are quite often a bit s**t. The sound’s horrible. It can be a bit hit and miss.
Will: I like doing big indoor shows.
Pete: That's the new one for us quite recently we’ve done some gigs at the Forum and the Picture House which is like 2000.
Will: And the Electric Ballroom, places like that.
Is it always a nice feeling when you go back and play to your home town?
Pete: The last time we did that, actually it depends where you call our home town... we did go back to Newbury and nobody came! But none of us had lived in Newbury in like 5 years. But London’s really our home town. We always love playing in London. We’ve got our last show of the tour on Wednesday and that's our 100th show and it’s at the Nest in North London
Scott: No matter how badly it goes I'm going to be glad ‘cause it’s the last show of the year.
Will: We’ve been on tour for quite a long time now. Think that will probably be the 40th show of the tour.
Me: It’s a long time!
Will: Yeah. The Lexington was 60, and then we’ve done 40 shows since.
Pete: I can’t even remember the question
Jon: No, we’re so bad at this!
Pete: Home town shows! Brilliant
Jon: Hometown shows rule!
Last question, bit of a weird one, but what are you getting for Christmas?
Pete: I have no idea! A record deal hopefully!
Matthew: I'm getting one of those mini amps so I can play in the van
Jon, Pete, Will, Scott: Great!...
Pete: It’s not going in the van.
Jon: Has it got headphones with it?
Matthew: They have got a headphone output
Will: I want a keyboard. But I'm not going to be able to afford it, they’re too expensive and I'm definitely not going to get one for Christmas.
Pete: We want clothes. Because none of us have that many clothes on the tour
Will: And a lot of underwear ‘cause were always buying new ones on the tour
Pete: Why are we talking about are pants?!
Jon: That's what I want for Christmas a new black vest! ‘Cause I lost my old black vest, well lost it, Matt stole it. I'm going to get a Lycra skin tight leotard vest.
Matthew: He's trying to drive me out the band!
Interview by Grace