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 When you first hear "Drama Queen", the power-pop single by the Brit band Switches, a certain image comes to mind... and it involves band members Matt Bishop (vocals, guitar), Thom (bass), Ollie (guitar), and Steve (drums) in multi-colored spandex.
This is because the song, along with many other singles from their latest release entitled Lay Down the Law, rivals the frisky songs produced during the glory days of glitzy glam rock and then mixes in a serving of pure 1950s-style melodies and backup vocals.
They've got a highly stylized sound, but Switches isn't out to send a
sacred message that will revolutionize the way people think about life. "If
you start thinking too hard of messages for the world, a manifesto
takes over the music and you’re in danger of losing your focus on the sound you’re making, not to mention verging on the pretentious. I’m
not claiming to be any sort of mouthpiece for youth. Loads of bands
fall for that and I refuse to," said Switches singer Matt Bishop.
"When we made the album, we had no message for the world, beyond Celebrate music!"
In a time when most bands are trying to prove something through
their pseudo-intellectual group names, Switches has stuck to the same
basic philosophy about not sending overpowering messages. "Switches
was simple, bold and sounded cool to us. We wanted to get into peoples'
homes, not into their spelling tests or nightmares. It also fits in
nicely with my restless desire to try something new with each album I
make. Maybe work with different genres, songwriting methods and even
musicians."
For the band, celebrating the music on Lay Down the Law required
some unusual research approaches. "None of the songs were difficult to
write and none were easy. For example, ‘Lay Down The Law’ required me to drink lotsa vodka and enjoy the feeling of being simple and dumb, whilst for ‘The Need To Be Needed’
I decided to spend a few months going on surreal dates with people that
were obviously in need of more emotional counseling than me," said
Bishop.
"The most rewarding was ‘Stepkids In Love’,
which is warp-fiction," he added, addressing the music's bolder, more
theatrical elements. "Maybe it should be made into a play."
Despite risking alcohol poisoning and rabid stalkers in order to
create the right tone for their music, Switches found making the record
relatively easy compared to the plans they had to make before
recording. "To be honest, the most daunting aspect of making the album
was the flight over. Eleven tedious hours of bad films, alcohol induced
headaches and scary bumps. Once we got to LA, everything else was
perfect and Uncle Schnapf, our producer, made us feel most relaxed
about every possible factor involved in making the record."
So what music might have influenced a band frontman who embraces such
an eclectic sound? "When I was younger I went through intense phases of
listening to certain artists
non-stop, whether it was Bowie, the Beach Boys or Beck, and then became
obsessed with them for months. Now, with the advent of iPods and
digital downloading, I tend to listen to whatever I feel like at the
time and hardly ever listen to an artist more than once a month."
"Saying that, my favorite album ever is Pinkerton by Weezer," Bishop said. "I’ve managed to recommend it to everyone I’ve ever known who’s into rock music."
Switches recently finished a short American tour with rock/electronica
band The Bravery, including a performance at the fast-growing South by
Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. As the tour winds down, the boys
from Switches still have a lot they look forward to on tour. Matt gave
us just a taste of what life would be like if you were to tour with
Switches. And it tastes like hard alcohol and steak!
"Apart from playing the shows of course, I’m
really looking forward to eating lots of huge, good quality steaks,
re-igniting the romance with my drinking habit and seeing what weird
and wonderful music I can pick up in the service stations on the vast
roads of America."
While nothing particularly strange or gruesome has caught the band's
attention as they've toured through America, the band doesn't mind.
They find touring odd enough in itself!
"I find simply going on stage every night quite an odd experience –
lots of people staring at me, sweat coming out of every pore and a
feeling of imminent terror immediately before you sing the first note,"
Bishop admitted. "For me, these feelings far outweigh the exterior
things that go on around, like seeing guys fighting or girls
stripping."
The band's debut album was only just released on March 18, but Bishop
is already worried about what success the band will have back home when
their sophomore album hits shelves.
"I don’t have any
experience of living within the American music society, but the worst
thing about the UK scene is that it builds bands up and knocks bands
down within the space of an album. Nobody is allowed to move along and
develop," he explained. "You see very few third albums, and when bands
first start, unless you are one of the few that seem to be randomly
pulled out of a huge black hole, you might as well go and eat s**t. It’s sad but true."
Still, Bishop is influenced by an intense yet inexplicable passion for
creating music and not the perks that come with success. "It’s
impossible to put your finger on why you feel a burning desire to
express your feelings of a moment into music or song. It's just there,
like an invisible flame. Some people make records in order to be the
richest or most popular. If I wanted to be either of those things I
would have joined a football team."
Like many others with a musical heart, Bishop's "invisible flame" was sparked in his own home. " I’ve
been crazy about rock music since I could walk. Having instruments,
tape recorders and records (the sounds and covers of them would blow me
away) around the house from an early age just helped to exacerbate my
rock n' roll itch."
"I can honestly say I’ve never dreamed of anything else (apart from every British kid’s dream of being a soccer player)."
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