Hi guys. Tonight is the last night
on tour before a few shows at the end of March? How’s it gone so far?
What do you like best about being on
the road?
B- Playing music; getting to meet new
people, fans of the band and people who haven’t seen you before, and playing
all the new songs as well as all the old ones. Just the whole general playing.
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| Kassidy on stage at York Fibbers |
How would you sum up the Kassidy
live experience in one sentence?
LEWIS- Really loud…
B- And incredibly close, [laughing], oh
no, that’s a movie isn’t it with Tom Hanks? But yeah, it is like that, very
loud and constant.
L- “Extremely Loud and Incredibly
Close” then, probably sums it up quite well.
B- Aye, but it’s not mine though, we
don’t have the copyright on that [laughing].
You have a really unique sound- did
that come straight away when you began writing together and have you always
found it easy to keep your own sound and not be pressured into making something
sound like every other band out there?
L- It took a wee bit of time. In the
beginning Barrie
B- We’re always in our own world and we
just like writing songs; we’re a song writing band. We enjoy thinking of new
chords and enjoy just writing together. We’re always in our own bubble and
don’t really pay attention to what’s going on. We get influenced by each other
mainly, rather than most other modern day music.
 |
| Hamish, Barrie, Chris & Lewis - Kassidy |
The new album is out 30th
April. We’ve had a preview of what we can expect, with “I Can’t Fly” – so
what’s the rest of the album like?
L- It will be kind of down that same
road. I think it sounds a lot more together than say the first record because
it was recorded live in Rockfield Studios in Wales
B- I think what separates this album is
that all four of us sing on it; sing verses, so there are four lead singers. I
don’t know any other band nowadays that does that, apart from pop groups, but not
rock bands. This album was exciting to make because we made it in under eight
days; it was the way good records used to be made.
 |
| Barrie-James O'Neill |
The new album is called “One Man Army”.
Can you tell us a bit about that and how it got its name?
B- I think it’s a really strong title.
I think everybody secretly wants to win their own battle, either in everyday
life or whatever job or problems they’re faced with. I think one man army is
just a pretty symbolic thing and is one person against the rest of the world.
The video for “I Can’t Fly” is really visual and all animated, how did that idea come about?
L- It was just out of the blue and we
had to do it really quickly and ended up coming up with the animation. But
there’s another, official video that we made ourselves of footage from live
performance and the recording process.
B- Lewis made a cracking video for it.
I think it captures the band in four minutes.
L- We film lots on tour and you have so
much footage it’s nice to do something with it. It sums up the band; if you
haven’t seen Kassidy before then it’s like “ah, there’s four of them, they play
acoustic guitars and sing harmony stuff and it’s loud”.
In terms of the writing process, do
you write as a band or separately and then bring it all together?
L- Sometimes there’s tunes that we all
do together, but usually someone will come up with an idea; a wee chord
progression or melody and then it becomes a collective thing, it just takes
that initial spark.
B- That’s how this new album started
really, with just the four of us jamming in our room and seeing what happened.
This is your second album, how are
you feeling about the release, compared to when your debut came out?
B- Yeah, we’re feeling good about it.
L- It’s so much work in such a short
period of time that’s gone into it. People who see us live or have seen bits on
the internet seem to enjoy it, so we just want them to hear the full album now.
You began recording in a home studio
that you made. Do you think because you have had that experience of doing it
yourself that it’s set you in better stead later down the line, now for
instance?
 |
| Chris & Barrie on stage |
L- Yeah. We recorded the second album at
Rockfield studios just with ourselves and the producer Thomas. He drilled a
hole in the wall so the studio connected to our house, then we could play music
in our house and he recorded it. So, in that sense again, we’re a one man army;
our aim on that record was just having five pals going in to the studio to come
out with a record at the end of the week. I think that because we know how to
do stuff now, Thomas doesn’t have to be setting all the instruments and
everything up. We can do it, there’s a bit of flow to the process. He’s like
the fifth band member; Kassidy wouldn’t be Kassidy without Thomas.
B- We’re very lucky that we’re left to
our own imagination really, and we get trusted with what we’re doing. We’re
lucky that we can just take hold of our vision and try and make an album of
songs out of it.
And here's what happened when Kassidy took to the stage...
Last time
Kassidy played at Fibbers they admit to only playing to about thirty people but
were back to make a bigger impression tonight. And it is safe to say that
they’re playing to more than thirty people tonight; the near full venue is
bustling in anticipation before the Glasgow
 |
| Hamish & Lewis on stage |
With a new
album due at the end of April and their deserved success ever increasing,
Kassidy bring their deliciously infectious blend of folk rock here to the
quaint stage at Fibbers. “1,2,3” counts Barrie
With a buzz
surrounding the new release Kassidy preview album tracks “One Man Army” and “There
Is A War Coming”; with a flow of vocal melodies and supported by a drummer and
bassist they stick firmly to their acoustic rock roots. “Waking Up Sideways”
begins softly and embodies Kassidy’s ability to layer and build up their sound,
both musically and lyrically. The song even sees a female fan take to the stage
for an impromptu sing along. Kassidy take it in their stride and let her join
them.
 |
| Kassidy |
Latest
single “I Can’t Fly” is followed by the catchy “Stray Cat” and ,with the
audience unable to stand still, Kassidy have certainly made an impression here
tonight. The room is filled with a diverse range of people; loyal Kassidy fans,
newcomers, younger fans and ones slightly older. Tonight isn’t about the
pretentiousness of how old you are, or if this is your first time seeing the
band or your fifteenth time. It is about Kassidy victoriously delivering their
unique blend of feel good music. And throwing in an encore of Aloe Blacc’s hit
“I Need A Dollar” which turns into Kassidy’s “I Don’t Know” is the perfect way
to end the evening.
Catch Kassidy on tour and get the new album, "One Man Army" on April 30th.
Mar 31st - Georgian Theatre, Stockon-on-tees
Apr 1st - Notting Hill Arts Club, London
Apr 4th - Old Queens Head, London
