Many of you will be aware that I hold a special place in my heart for Glasvegas. Therefore, it was a bit of a moment for me to find myself high up in a damp, dark, probably haunted corridor in the Birmingham Academy with the six foot something Rab Allan, lead guitarist for the NME Awards Tour Headliners. Whilst the setting chosen for the interview may have been imposing though, Rab himself was gentle giant. Safe in the knowledge that his band were in the midst of another triumphant tour and with a blue WKD in hand, he really had nothing to be worried about. Having gone through the stress of both album and Christmas EP releases, both of which garnered widespread critical acclaim, seemingly the worst Glasvegas’ have to concern themselves with nowadays are questions from a pesky student journalist interrupting their pre-show dinner.
You find yourselves in the prestigious position of headlining an NME Awards Tour whilst being supported by three great bands. Do you feel the need to prove yourselves to justify your billing?
Rab: “I think when they’ve sold as many albums as we have, then they can feel as deserving as we do... (awkward silence) No, to be honest, all the bands are lovely and all the bands are great. The NME say it’s a level billing and all four bands are the same. I know that’s not true. You know that’s not true.”
You seem to have been widely labelled by the media as a ‘band of the people’. Do you think this is sometimes used an attempt to dumb you down or do you take it as a complement?
Rab: “Do you know what, if some writes that and they’re being honest then it’s their opinion and it’s cool. Same as if someone says we’re s**t, that’s totally cool as well, because it’s their opinion. It is a bit funny when people say things like that, because I don’t think we’re that different to Florence or Friendly Fires or any of the other bands on this bill. I guess just lyrically, we’re a little bit hard more hitting. If somebody says it then I guess they’re right because it’s their opinion.”
Quite of the lyrical content in your songs is observational, it doesn’t seem to make judgements on the situations the characters find themselves. Is this a deliberate ploy?
Rab: “It’s weird one. James writes the songs and he doesn’t even know where the songs come from, especially the lyrics. You should see the tourbus, there’s just sheets of ideas everywhere. What your saying is true, but I don’t think he actually tries to do it that way. I’m guessing with the album he did wanted one piece of work that was the same way with the music and the lyrics from start to end.”
I was speaking to Alex Kapronas about the Glasgow lineage of bands and he said their only common trait is that they ‘sound nothing like each other’. Do you agree with this statement?
Rab: “One hundred percent! One hundred percent! If you look at it, the band that came out before ‘Glasvegas’ were ‘The Fratellis’. Before ‘The Fratellis’, it was ‘Franz Ferdinand’ and before ‘Franz’, it was ‘Travis’. Every band is so different. I guess we’re all not trying to follow a trend, just concentrating on being original. It’s something to be proud of.”
You brought out a Christmas EP over yuletide. Will you be repeating this tactic next winter?
Rab: “The Christmas album, no. That was what it was. We actually had ten songs, a full album and just because of how busy we were we couldn’t record them all. But no that was a one off. We actually have other things lined up but there won’t be any more Christmas albums.”
I was lucky enough to see the band sound-checking and I got a sneak peek of some new bleaker, sparser sounding material. Is this the new direction the band are going in?
Rab: “Were you recording any of the new material when we were playing it?”
(Awkward silence no.2)
William Kerr: “No... definitely not... I’m not that clever...”
(Rab seems accepting of my lack of quick wittedness)
Rab: “The new material is a lot bigger sounding. I think I’ve heard two songs and we’ve just messed around with some ideas. It’s hard to say what the new stuff is going to sound like, because until we start demoing it, it could totally change. I’d say it’s going to be what the main album was but probably a progression in beats and a bigger sound.”
Even bigger?
Rab: “Without a doubt because we’re going to do the album with Rich Costa again. I think we’re going to do it in LA in January next year.”
You recorded the Christmas EP in Transylvania and you’ve got the next album planned out in LA. Does the location of the studio affect your sound or is it just a chance for a holiday?
Rab: “No it’s a holiday. Totally a holiday! I wanted to do it in Hawai! But we went to do some gigs in LA and it was amazing. So we’ll hopefully get a wee two month holiday and I think James is going to be doing the demos there for a month as well. So, we should be there for just about three months.”
Originally I had this interview scheduled with your drummer Caroline (McKay) who came 11th in the annual NME Cool List. Was there some inter-band banter around her placement?
Rab: “If I wasn’t going to number one then I wouldn’t want to be on it. I’m a big kid in a pram and I’d throw my toys out. The funny thing about Caroline is that she doesn’t know how cool she is and how good she is.”
I had a theory James might have been left off due to his propensity to wear sunglasses indoors.
Rab: “No, the funny thing is he’s got really sensitive eyes. The dressing room is really dark.”
I was watching ‘Walk The Line’ he another night and the thing that left an impression with me was how Johnny Cash was more than just a performer, he had the persona of ‘the man in black’. The same thing seems to apply to Glasvegas. Is being in a band more than a job to you?
Rab: “Yeah. First and foremost Glasvegas is four friends, and it will always be that. If the friendship was ever compromised, it would be the friendship before the band.”
Finally, what are your plans for the post tour period and the rest of the year?
Rab: “We’re going to Europe next and then we’re going to America. Then we’re doing all the festivals. Then we’re going back to Europe and America this year, we won’t be back in Britain. Probably wrap up October/November time and start demoing the new album. Record the album next year and we’ll probably be back around festival time.”
Glasvegas’ self-titled debut album is out now (MySpace)
Questions by Robert Leedham and William Kerr
Words by Robert Leedham
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