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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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."