Photo: Galactix - Asia's
Will you be dropping by Urbanscapes this coming weekend? Glass Animals will be on stage at the event and Dave answered some questions on behalf of the band!
1. Is there a particular song from your band that speaks loudest to you? What is it and why?
I love Agnes. It’s very personal to me. Very sad…I’m not going to explain here but if you listen to the song you can see why. The video was also quite an experience…I was put into a hyper gravity machine until I fainted. It was meant to simulate the weight and pressure of mental illness.
2. What do you think you’d be doing if Glass Animals never existed?
I was studying medicine but the band started doing well - enough for me to drop out! So I probably would have been a doctor? Or I would have failed my exams and kept my day job making sausages in north London.
3. What is your favorite part about performing? From meeting the fans, travelling to new countries, and being able to experience so much appreciation for your music- what is it do you love best about what you do?
I love all of it…I feel extremely lucky to be able to do it all. But mainly, I feel lucky to be able to do it with my best friends who are in the band. I’ve known them all since I was 12 and some how we still love each other. Also, I love playing pranks on Drew. Once we taped him to a bus.
Photo: DIY Mag
4. Singing in the studio and on stage are very different things. Which has been the best song to perform live thus far?
So different. We try to make everything different live so it doesn’t sound exactly like the recording. Otherwise you may as well stay home and listen to the CD. But my favorites live change from day to day…right now I’m enjoying The Other Side of Paradise. Its big and heavy live. And Hazey. That one really gets a remix live.
5. What is your ultimate end goal for Glass Animals? Are there any particular achievements you wish to see for the band?
I think the goal is to keep writing music that we find interesting and to keep having fun doing it. The bigger the project gets and the bigger the shows get, the more experimental and wild we can be with the stage design and the artwork and even the music. Hopefully we can also help newer, younger musicians and artists get started and bring them on tour with us and give them a head start that we never had.
6. We understand the industry can be pretty challenging at times - what is something you would change about it if you could?
I think the industry can sometimes pressure you to overthink and over analyze what you do creatively. But I think - don’t worry about followers or plays or statistics of any kind. It’s not about that. It’s about making something exciting. If it’s good, the statistics will follow. We are very lucky to be surrounded by people who not only don’t pressure us, but just help us do cool things.
7. Have you ever had performance anxiety and how do you overcome it?
Yes! For the first four years of performing I HATED it. I wouldn’t let my mum or friends or any family come to shows. I would shake with nerves before going on. I overcame it just by playing more and more. In all sorts of situations. I did open mic nights, I did little DJ sets. I forced myself into those frightening positions until I realized that you just need to have fun. And if you have fun, others will too. Its infectious. But getting over the anxiety is not easy, and I feel for anyone who struggles with it.
Photo: The Vanderbilt Hustler
8. Have you ever had any embarrassing moments on stage? Tell us about it.
Haha yes, many. The first show we ever did in London, I tripped as I walked onto the stage and fell flat on my face. It broke the ice though and I laughed it off. I’ve also walked on to the stage with my trouser zipper undone. Several times actually. Normally someone in the crowd tells me about it. And then I have to zip it up in front of everyone. It’s not that embarrassing any more as it has happened so much.
9. What’s the weirdest setting for a song inspiration that you have had? For example, a song that came to you as you were brushing your teeth or just toasting your bread?
I once smacked a crisp packet with my hand and it made a cool noise, so I used that as the snare drum sound and made a song around it. But I have ideas all the time from all sorts of things. Usually from stories I hear. Lots of good stories from taxi drivers. One taxi driver told me that she used to be a truck driver, and that she used to take drugs to stay awake. But one day she took too many drugs and she blacked out and lost her truck and woke up in a strip club and she thought she had murdered somebody. Very scary. I wrote a song about that.
10. If you could only choose one song to play every time you walked into a room for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Probably Beyonce - Crazy In Love. I have a special walk that I do when I hear that song.
