MC: Your lyrics are very personal––“The Wonderwhy” is a song that comes to mind––how does it feel letting fans in like that; is it difficult or more of a cathartic experience?
Rowsell: When I wrote that, I really didn’t know how many people would be listening to the song. So I guess I didn’t think about it too much––how exposed the lyrics were going to be. But it is cathartic and that’s why I try to make them a bit ambiguous, so you might not know 100% what I’m talking about necessarily.
It’s scary writing lyrics, knowing that your family and friends are going to hear them. That’s the scariest part for me. They might not be so understanding or they could find out new things about you, and that could be most frightening.
MC: Give me an idea of your ideal writing sanctuary. Go back to the day you penned “Bros”––where do you get inspiration and when do you feel most comfortable creatively?
Rowsell: I actually don’t write a lot in a sanctuary setting––I can’t turn out songs like some artists do. I don’t spend every day playing and I don’t base my logic around that. Sometimes it could be weeks and then these things just come. I don’t really look for inspiration––I wait for it to come. I can’t really force it; I like things to happen naturally. I do get most of my inspiration from words or phrases that jump out at me, and then I’ll build something around that. I’m always trying to read and observe new things.
MC: Just picking a song at random––let’s say “Giant Peach”––how does a song like that actually come together as a collaborative effort and how does the band collectively come up with new material?
Rowsell: We’re always kind of jamming and stuff––like the introduction to that song. For that we wanted to write something quite heavy, so we saw that as an opportunity to do so. I had an old song that we never used which I wanted to rewrite to combine the two ideas into one. And then it eventually turned into something massive. So that was a rather ideal collaborative effort, and it was fun to write that one.
MC: Compared to constantly touring, what was it like settling down and working in the studio. Do you prefer life back on the road?
Rowsell: I like being on the road and I actually find it quite hard to come off the road. We’ve been touring for so much of the time, it’s hard at this point to stop it and come to a calm down. But on the other hand, to have a song that you can fully realize in a studio when it comes together the way you hoped it would––when you find you’re happy with it, that’s such a huge thing. You can’t quite match the feeling of that––just imagine the great high.
MC: You guys have a great stage presence. How do you continue developing your live skills, especially when it comes to performing effectively at important festivals?
Rowsell: We’ve gotten to a level now where the songs that we’re playing at the moment are so rehearsed. We’re wondering how to take that to the next level. After playing the same songs for such a long time, you want to give [the fans] new experiences. That’s something we’re still trying to figure out, but we’re quite loose.
Our shows are musically rehearsed, but we’ll try to drop in a different song as long as the sound’s good. We’re easygoing with keeping it fresh.
MC: How will this upcoming leg of your U.S. tour be different compared to the previous one, as far as how the band presents itself onstage?
Rowsell: Again, we’d like to change things, but I’m still not quite sure what we could change. We’d like to up our production value, but I’m not sure we have the budget for that. We look at performing more as just having a good time. We’re more of a rock or indie band (or whatever you want to call it), not a pop band that relies very much on production value. It’s all about the four of us rocking out, and that should be enough.
MC: While touring, what is it like headlining one night and then opening for another band the next? Would you say that the opening slots are a good way to win new fans?
Rowsell: It’s a totally different ballgame. When we do support acts, we try to pick out new songs that we aren’t so used to. Headlining shows are more performance-based. We really think about dynamics, whereas support shows are more about the “bang bang bang”––fun and energetic, not as heavy.
