We caught up
with Joe Atkinson from Paighton a couple
of months ago in anticipation of their support slot with Lawson. So we couldn’t not head
down to check them out on tour with Lawson and Room 94. We also got the chance to chat
to all the Paighton boys before the show to talk about finding their sound,
touring and lemon tarts…
Hey guys, how’s the
tour been going so far?
ALL- Awesome
JOE
[Atkinson, vocals/guitar]- It’s
nearly done now which is weird; it’s gone so quickly. It’s gone well though; the
fans on this tour have been crazy.
Do you guys
get nervous being the first act on?
JOE- For me it differs. Somedays
I really feel it before the show but other days it’s ok.
ANDREW
[Thomas, vocals/piano]- For
me, all day I’m just really nervous. It’s good and I work well when I’m nervous
though.
Do you have
any pre-show rituals?
JOE- I just disappear
[laughing], I go away by myself and sit in a dark room and do vocal warm ups
and stretches and have some hot water.
ANDREW- I pace up and down and walk
around the city that we’re in.
DAVE
[Stephens, bass]- Apart
from when you walked off and missed the gig once.
ANDREW- [laughing] Ah yeah, I
remember that.
We saw you
were hunting out some recipes the other day in the van, Joe; Britan’s Best
Baker?!
JOE- [laughing] I was indeed browsing
recipes. It was on a long journey and I was so bored and I could have really
done with some home-baked food. So instead of wallowing in my sorrow I decided
to go online and see what I would bake when the tour was over and I became
infatuated with a variety of recipes for desserts. I actually landed on lemon
tarts, I’ll tweet you a photo of the outcome.
So, you’ve just
released the video for your new single ‘Drive’, was it fun to make?
PETER
[Coppin, drums]- It
was a really cool experience, but such a long day. There were so many people
working on that video. We just thought it was going to be a director and their
assistant, but there was about twenty people.
DAVE- I just ate all day, they
catered us really nice food [laughing].
JOE- We’d all dieted for that
video so afterwards I went and bought about ten packs of the unhealthiest
things you could eat.
And your second EP is coming out soon. The last time we spoke to you, Joe, you said the first EP was the starter and this is the main meal…
JOE- I am looking forward to
that main meal I must say, the starter just wasn’t enough for me, never is
[laughing]. The first EP was testing the water and seeing what worked as a band
in the studio and live; and the next EP is more of a definitive product. It’s
more what we want to be perceived as really. It hits the nail on the head,
sound and direction-wise.
Let’s talk
influences…
JOE- We took a lot of time
figuring out our sound and where we wanted to fit, so we did take a lot of
influence from bands we’d grown up listening to. Personally I grew up around a
lot of country music like Shania Twain
and Faith Hill and also Elvis and Bruce Springsteen. We wanted to do something fresh in this day and
age and bring that older element into the music.
ANDREW- I’ve always been into
legitimate pop music; everyone always laughs at me but I used to love Hanson.
PETER- I grew up on classic rock
bands like Queen and Led Zeppelin.
DAVE- Dolly
Parton for
me. I have a recurring dream about her [laughing].
JOE- We try not to pigeon-hole
ourselves into one genre.
 | |||
JOE- Yeahn we love him, he’s
awesome and I’m a die-hard One Tree Hill fan so I’m stoked.
Do you write
on the road or when you’re back home?
ANDREW- Usually, you can see a
spark in Joe’s eyes and he’ll pick up his guitar and then we start playing
randomly.
JOE- Andy and I do a lot of
writing at home; it’s more relaxed that way. In terms of writing on the road, I
never really got it; I was like how do you find time to do that. But the other
day after the show I was on the guitar and a song just came out. I think it
happens at the weirdest times.
What’s next
for you guys?
ANDREW- Yeah, we want to get more
of the songs; Joe and I have written loads and we want to get more of them down
and take a bit of time for that in January. Hopefully this time next year we’ll
be working on a debut album.
JOE- Yeah, at the moment we’re
building a team around us that we’re happy with, and touring until the end of
the year. Then into the studio in February to do another EP, then another
support tour, then headline run and then hopefully an album.
