What: Band of Skulls with Forestry
When: Monday, 9 p.m.
Where: Sugar
Tickets: $16 at Lyle's Place, Ditch Records and www.ticketweb.ca
Don't believe everything you read about U.K. indie act Band of Skulls -- excluding this story, of course -- because there's a chance it might be complete bull.
If you were to skim the band's biography on its website, you might be inclined to believe that singer-bassist Emma Richardson has a collection of 20,000 LPs, drummer Matthew Hayward played tennis with John McEnroe, and singer-guitarist Russell Marsden had a great-great grandfather who sailed aboard the Titanic.
You would be entirely misinformed. Richardson calls these and other embellishments by the bluesy power trio "a comedy of exaggerations" designed to "spice it up a little." Outright fibbery was a bold move for a group from Southampton with one album to its credit, but Richardson says it was meant to keep them one step ahead of the British music press, which loves to dig up dirt on its rock stars.
"I'm not bashing the British press, but sometimes it's difficult for people to actually admit they like us," Richardson said earlier this week while driving with her bandmates from Houston to Austin, Tex. "People don't stand up and act brave, so it can get to be a cheap mentality sometimes."
The country of origin isn't a bone of contention for Richardson, Hayward and Marsden. Members of Band of Skulls aren't fond of reading about themselves -- period -- be it good or bad, according to Richardson. "It's best to just carry on doing what we're doing, playing live and writing and recording in the studio. As soon as you start reading too much you end up having a different opinion of yourselves, which is not very healthy."
Band of Skulls will have to put blinders on if they hope to avoid seeing the oodles of ink spoiled in their honour at the moment: The group's involvement with the soundtrack to The Twilight Saga: New Moon has turned them into instant celebrities with the tween set. Band of Skulls played a trio of Twilight soundtrack concerts at red-carpet premières in Los Angeles, Toronto and London, England, which were met with gaggles of insane Twi-hards, Richardson said.
She's having trouble adjusting to the newfound scrutiny, calling the whole Twilight phenomenon "bizarre" and "a weird thing to be a part of." She enjoyed the first book in the vampire series ("The love story, that whole Romeo and Juliet thing -- you can see why it captured quite of lot of people's imagination," she said) but can't comprehend the fanaticism.
The allure of a fantasy world is something she can entirely understand, however. Richardson felt that way with music when she was young. "When you first get introduced to your parents' record collection and you discover bands for the first time, it's an eye-opener. It changes your life, discovering this whole secret world. I remember putting on Help! on vinyl and hearing Dizzy Miss Lizzy for the first time and jumping around our living room thinking it was the best thing ever."
The trio released its debut, Baby Darling Doll Face Honey, to great acclaim earlier this year, long before Twilight rolled around. Not surprisingly, given its close association sound-wise to the White Stripes, audiences in North America were first to jump on board with support, and helped make the band's debut single, I Know What I Am, a staple of rock radio.
The band continues to tour North America (making its Victoria debut Monday at Sugar) with ever-growing results.
"We feel more at home in America for some bizarre reason," Richardson said. "It seems to go down well here. People are willing to like it, rather than willing to sort of cut you down at the first opportunity."
That, to those keeping score, is another sly jab at the British press. Band of Skulls have yet to catch on back home to the degree they have in North America, she said, largely because theirs is a sound that can't be pinpointed. England likes its music to fit in a tiny box; Band of Skulls, who sound like a mixture of the White Stripes, Smashing Pumpkins, the Rolling Stones and Black Keys, have more to offer sonically than most.
There's an upside to the band's kinship with North America, particularly where Richardson is concerned. She might not have 20,000 records in her personal collection, but she loves music-buying nonetheless. "Every time I pass a record store, I end up going in there and digging," she said, which prompted an audible chortle from a bandmate in the bus. "I spend too much money, so I have to get the guys to hold me back sometimes. Travelling across America -- the options are endless."
mdevlin@tc.canwest.com
