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article by jennifer kelly. photos by hayley murphy
The Futureheads are fucking brilliant. They make two- and three-minute songs of dazzling complexity, without sacrificing a certain spastic, irrepressible energy. Their angular post-punk groove is layered over with a dizzying counterpoint of vocals -- everyone singing at once, their voices weaving in and out of the mix with joy and precision. And just when it seems like too much, in an entirely positive way, the band will cut back to almost nothing -- a throbbing bass line, a stark drumbeat, an a capella vocal -- until you get your breath.
The group's first full-length, The Futureheads, has been throwing the British press into paroxysms since the spring, and if there's any sense in the world, it'll do the same here following its late October release.
I spoke to Jaff Craig, the band's bassist, as the Futureheads prepared for their second US tour of 2004 (and their first as headliners). Like all the Futureheads, he's frighteningly young -- they're all under 24 -- and preternaturally confident. I'm still trying to picture the meeting where Jaff and his buddies told Warner Brothers that, thanks anyway, but they didn't want to work with Andy Gill from Gang of Four anymore, they weren't impressed with his production skills, and by the way, they'd met this sound guy on a tour of the UK and they wanted to use him. In addition to the difficult birth of The Futureheads, we talked about the band's humble beginnings, its meteoric ascent, its avant-classical inspirations and the hard work behind rock music's latest overnight success.
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Splendid: So you guys have had a pretty interesting year, haven't you?
Jaff Craig: Yeah, it's been fairly busy, right?
Splendid: Well, let's go back to the beginning. I know that, in your band, you have two brothers, and the others of you met at this Sunderland City Detached Youth Project?
Jaff Craig: That's right. Yeah.
Splendid: What kind of place is that? And what were you all doing there?
Jaff Craig: Well, what happened was that I play bass, and one our guitarists, we were in different bands where we were at college, doing our A levels, and we had to go to this room where you could rehearse for free. So we went down there, and we discovered this ... it was kind of like a youth project, where people would go to get their kids off the street, basically. From, like, smoking and drinking outside, you know. To get them all together and get them to write songs.
When we were down there, Barry was teaching guitar there, and then David, his younger brother, was just going along for the fun, really, and it was just a good opportunity. They made you sit down and write songs about issues... like, we had songs about "Smoking Kills", you know what I mean? Things like that. And we all became friends. And then our respective bands split up, so we got together.
Splendid: So you weren't actually out on the street corners drinking and smoking yourselves.
Jaff Craig: No, we were there to teach, really.
Splendid: You met and you decided to become a band. Let's talk about what kinds of music you were listening to when you first joined up and how that affected what you're doing now.
Jaff Craig: We were all listening to really different things. We still do now, to be honest. A few things cross all of us. I think we all listen to XTC. We all listen to Devo. We really did get into that, as far as writing these short songs. And this was 1999 to 2000, so we all listened to Radiohead, like most of the world. And Barry was into all these minimalist classical music.
Splendid: Really? That's interesting.
Jaff Craig: Yeah, like Steve Reich and Phillip Glass. Things like that... that's where he gets his arranging ideas from. I remember I just got into Tom Waits around then, and Nick Drake.
Splendid: Oh, yeah, have you heard the new Waits?
Jaff Craig: I've heard it, yeah, the red one. It's bizarre.
Splendid: And you got your name from the Flaming Lips?
Jaff Craig: Yeah, the first album Warner Brothers actually did is called Hit to Death in the Future Head. They were a band that we all listened to at the time as well, but they aren't a particularly big influence musically.
Splendid: You don't sound like them at all.
Jaff Craig: But we're all fans.
Splendid: It's a great name.
Jaff Craig: Thanks very much.
Splendid: So tell me about your first few gigs. I imagine they were pretty small scale.
Jaff Craig: Yeah, we did our first ever gig at a cricket club, which was fairly strange. There aren't any other venues. So there was a really good DIY scene where people just put on shows on in the cafes. There was a function room in this cricket club where we played four songs for our friends. It was fun, really, and we went from there.
Splendid: A cricket club would be where people go to have drinks after they finish playing cricket?
Jaff Craig: Yeah, that's right. It's right next to the field. You know what I mean, the bar overlooks the field.
Splendid: What's your town like?
Jaff Craig: Sunderland?
Splendid: Yeah.
Jaff Craig: It's horrible.
(We laugh.)
AUDIO: Carnival Kids
Splendid: Horrible in what way?
Jaff Craig: It's like a really old-style mining town. In the 1980s all the mines closed down, and there was a lot of unemployment. The government tried to rejuvenate the area by bringing in car factories and things like that, but it's fairly grim, to be honest. I still like living there, do you know what I mean?
Splendid: It's funny how all the great music seems to come from these really awful places.
Jaff Craig: Yeah, well, I'm kind of fond of it. But there isn't really anything to do. They don't even have pictures.
Splendid: Do they have record stores and radio and stuff like that?
Jaff Craig: Yeah, well, they have a couple of the chains and one independent record store, a second-hand one. And they have radio. It's all punk, to be honest. It's all trendy bars and neon lights, places with fights in them every night.
Splendid: Huh. So I understand that "Stupid and Shallow" and "Robot" were two of your first songs?
Jaff Craig: That's right. They were on our first EP.
Splendid: They've got that cool thing where you're all singing different stuff at once.
Jaff Craig: Yeah, that's something we've always tried to do, right from the start.
Splendid: How'd you get the idea to do that?
Jaff Craig: I think it's Barry taking influence from Steve Reich and these minimalist classical composers. They draw the rhythms from the vocals, while melodies are overlapping and doing different things to create this classical sound. In other places, we try to be really pushy, like in a punk sense. We try and vary it, you know what I mean? We don't want to become bored with ourselves.
Splendid: It's interesting, because the first song, "Garage", almost sounds like a madrigal, and then you have these very jagged, punk things, too.
Jaff Craig: It's strange. When we write the songs and things like that, and we're working on a riff or whatever, we'll be like, we'll keep this area musically quite sparse and then we'll go to these more elaborate vocals. The vocals are entangled in the music, definitely.
Splendid: For instance, there's that section in "Carnival Kids" where the whole thing comes down to almost nothing... and then ...
Jaff Craig: The breakdown.
Splendid: Yeah, it's very cool. Is it hard to keep all that stuff straight when you're in a club, and maybe the sound isn't as good as you'd like it to be, and you're all doing different stuff?
Jaff Craig: Yeah, it's strange. We don't find it really hard. Now, you always get proper monitors into the sound, you know what I mean? And we use the same front of the house engineer, so we know it's going to sound all right out front. When we did our first-ever gigs, with only one practice and one vocal PA, we got used to playing our songs without being able to hear each other properly, so that really benefited us. You've got to have confidence in yourself and know you're going to sing in tune.
Splendid: In my case, that confidence would be misplaced, but you guys probably...
Jaff Craig: (laughs) Probably not, but we all think we're great.
Splendid: Do you see yourselves evolving? Are your new songs different from the earlier ones?
Jaff Craig: Yeah. I think they are. In the beginning, Barry used to do a substantial part of the songwriting. That's not the case any more, because ... well, when I joined the band, I couldn't play the bass. I just learned for The Futureheads. And I've become more competent on it, and I've got my own ideas now, do you know what I mean? I don't need people telling me what to do and things like that. Because of that, we all chip in. Barry might come into rehearsal with a song that's a vocal melody and the chorus, and we'll write all the music for that melody and lyrics, and I'll write a riff and then we'll throw a drum beat on top of it. Things like that. Or one of us might bring in some lyrics with no melody, and we'll arrange vocals. But because of that, it can take three months to write a Futureheads song. We practice every day, Monday through Friday, three hours a day, so...it's a really labor-intensive process. But it's rewarding in the end.
Splendid: Well, they're very complicated songs. They're short songs, but there's a lot going on.
Jaff Craig: Yeah, we try to pack in as many ideas as we can without sounding overcomplicated, really. I think in the past we have overcomplicated things. Some of the songs on the record, I think, got a bit too complicated. The last three songs we wrote for the album were "Danger of the Water", that a capella song, "Decent Days and Nights" and "Meantime". "Decent Days" and "Meantime" were the last two singles, but that's because they're not as complicated. They're more like traditional songs. They've got all the vocals going on, but they're not too complicated. So in the future, we want to make sure that songs end in the right place, not just put endless ideas on top of each other.
Splendid: Right. I think a lot of bands struggle with that -- that there's a lot of stuff that they could do, but maybe it sounds better when it's simpler.
Jaff Craig: Yeah, it's almost as important what you don't hear as what you do.
Splendid: So I know you guys put out a couple of singles on a very small label and then got picked up by a much larger label. What was your first clue that was going to be bigger than just a few guys getting together and playing?
Jaff Craig: We've just been kind of taking it one step at a time, you know. Like, first of all it was to do a gig outside of Sunderland, that was the next step, and then we got a manager and did a gig in London, then a small label phoned and said they wanted to do a single. And afterwards, we were going to do an album with them, but we tried to record it and it didn't work and they couldn't afford to do it again, so when Warner Brothers offered to buy us out of that contract, we went, yeah, okay. So that was the next step, then it was like four UK tours, then it was playing SXSW, then it was doing the Franz Ferdinand tour in America. It's just been step by step all the time. It's really how we keep our feet on the ground.
Splendid: Is it getting weird?
Jaff Craig: It's a little strange. I remember thinking when we were playing at Wiltern in LA -- I warmed up and there were 3000 people staring at me. Three years ago, I was playing in the cricket club for seven minutes.
Splendid: It must be kind of disorienting. It seems like you guys and Franz Ferdinand, it's such a natural bill. Your music would go well together.
Jaff Craig: Yeah, I think so. They supported us about a year and a half ago, believe it or not. And now they've gone interstellar. But they're real good guys and we're pleased to support them, because, you know, there is some correlation between the music. We don't sound so much like them, I think, but we share the bill quite well.
Splendid: So, tell me about working with Andy Gill on your album?
Jaff Craig: Ah, he's a funny one, Andy. He's managed by the same people as us. That's the story behind us getting together. There's no glamorous tale or anything like that. And we recorded some singles with him, and we thought it was all right, we'd give him another go. And we were not pleased with the second thing we recorded with him.
AUDIO: Decent Days and Nights
Splendid: What was wrong with it?
Jaff Craig: The sound was thin. It wasn't punchy. It was mixed very crudely. We had a go at recording the album with him, and it didn't really work out. We weren't pleased. We got it home, and put it on a proper stereo, rather than the speakers in the studio, which were big, and you get all the power that goes with being big, but on a car stereo or the stereo at the house, it was really one-dimensional, the music, I think.
So, we spoke to Andy and spoke to the label. We decided we'd like to re-record some of the songs with this guy Paul Epworth. He did ten songs of the 16 on the album.
Splendid: That must have been kind of stressful, having to go back to the label and telling them that you had to do the whole album again.
Jaff Craig: It was the most stressful thing in my life. It was horrible. We were caught in a dilemma. We didn't know what to do. At all.
Splendid: Were they mad?
Jaff Craig: The label had producers offering to do this and that and prices flying round. Meanwhile, we just wanted to record our album well, within our concept of the style of the record and our concept of the recording process. But we had our guy Paul set up. He'd only done...he did our live sound when we did a support tour of the UK, and we thought he was really good at it. So the plan was for us to go in and produce the record, pretty much ourselves, just with Paul recording it for us. But he turned out to be a really good producer as well. He's got other work since. Do you know that band Bloc Party?
Splendid: Yes, I've heard about them.
Jaff Craig: He's worked with them. He's done a few Brooklyn-based things lately.
Splendid: That's interesting. You guys are all pretty young?
Jaff Craig: Yeah.
Splendid: It must have been kind of strange for four guys in their early 20s to go in and say, you know, we don't want Andy Gill, we've got this guy that we met in Europe that we want...
Jaff Craig: It was all right, though. You know, you have managers that work to help you out.
Splendid: So, this song "Carnival Kids", which I think is my favorite...
Jaff Craig: All right, cool.
Splendid: That's on all three of your records, right? The first two EPs and the album?
Jaff Craig: Definitely, yeah, yeah.
Splendid: So, you just keep trying to get it right? Or you really like the song? Or what?
Jaff Craig: That song was on our first-ever demo. Then we did a proper version of it, which was actually the first single. And then we cast it as a single, basically, so we put it on the album, but re-recorded it. We weren't happy with the sound of it originally, so basically we did three recordings of it.
Splendid: So you're not going to put that on everything you record, right?
Jaff Craig: Nah. I think we're finished with it now.
Splendid: It's really a good song. I could understand... but I wanted to ask you --there's really a lot in the lyrics about coming from a working class background and having limited choices, and some of the songs, like "Decent Days and Nights", really remind me of the Clash's "Career Opportunities" and maybe Pulp's "Common People". They're sort of these happy, danceable songs about kind of horrible things. It's quite a contradiction.
Jaff Craig: Yeah, but it's a good contradiction to have, though, really. Pulp's "Common People" is a really example of that actually, where the lyrics throw up these images of grimy working class background, but the beat is really good, you know what I mean? I don't really think that was an issue for us. That was written in the studio. We had that riff kicking about for ages, and we just had been working on it and working on it. Barry came in one day with the lyrics and the melody of the verse, and we said, oh, this is really good. I remember thinking at the time that I really liked those lyrics. We were just restoring our faith in the recording process and stuff like that, so that's why I think it can be "decent" and believable.
Splendid: Yeah, I like that line, "The least you can do is show some restraint / and the most you can do is get carried away." You have both in your music -- restraint and this crazy chaotic excess.
Jaff Craig: Yeah. I think we do. That's just what we're like. We get frustrated and then go a bit nuts.
Splendid: Tell me about the Kate Bush cover. How did you decide to do that?
Jaff Craig: We did a squat tour of Germany in the early days of the band.
Splendid: What does squat tour mean?
Jaff Craig: We were supporting a band from England called Milky Wimpshake. It's a DIY band. The people had found these old houses that people have camped in for years. They don't pay rent. And so we went round to those places. We went first every night. We didn't come up with any money, but we didn't have to organize anything. It was all for kicks, you know? Well, during that tour, I made a couple of mix tapes for the van, this small travelling van that we were forced to travel around in. And Kate Bush was on, "Hounds of Love", and everyone was like, "Oh, we've gotta cover this. Gotta cover this." And I said, "Oh, right, that'll never happen." But we got back to England and Barry came to the next rehearsal and he'd learned it all on the guitar. And the next day we did it straightaway.
AUDIO: Hounds of Love
Splendid: Do you do any other covers in your live show?
Jaff Craig: Yeah, we do a Television Personalities cover. Have you heard of them?
Splendid: Yeah, didn't he just get out of jail?
Jaff Craig: Sorry?
Splendid: The guy in Television Personalities, Daniel Treacy. He just got out of jail, I think.
Jaff Craig: Did he? I knew he did heroin. I didn't know that. But they had a song called "A Picture of Dorian Grey". That was one of the first songs we ever did. We did it at our first gig of four songs and seven minutes.
Splendid: Oh, that's cool, and you're still playing it?
Jaff Craig: Yeah, it's on the EP, with "Carnival Kids", and now when we do a longer set we play it, because it's really fast and it's good fun and they're a great band as well. But we don't have any other plans to do covers.
Splendid: What's your live show like?
Jaff Craig: Well, people say it's the best part of the band. We all really enjoy it. We probably enjoy it more than recording. It's really energetic. We all dance about like idiots... with no rhythm... We encourage dancing... and shout at people in the audience.
Splendid: It sounds like fun. Now you're getting ready to come to the US again.
Jaff Craig: That's right, on Saturday.
Splendid: Are you playing bigger spots than last time, or is it about the same?
Jaff Craig: Well, no, because last time, we were supporting Franz Ferdinand.
Splendid: Oh, that's right, and they're huge.
Jaff Craig: So this time, we'll be back to club shows. We've never toured the US before on our own, so...
Splendid: Is anyone coming with you or are you just playing with the bands that are there?
Jaff Craig: I'm not even sure. There's no one coming with us from England. I don't know if we're taking the same band round the US or if it's going to be local bands every night or what.
(The schedule shows them supported by a variety of bands.)
Splendid: What else are you doing to promote the album? What about videos?
Jaff Craig: We did a video for the "Decent Days and Nights" single, and we did a video for that one, but it wasn't very good, so I think we've got to reshoot it.
Splendid: How do you do the videos? Do you get someone you know to do them?
Jaff Craig: Well, we've done five videos now over the years. The first four, which were all done by friends, and the "Decent Days and Nights" was the last, but we didn't really like it, so we're getting someone else in.
Splendid: Have you written a ton of songs since your album came out?
Jaff Craig: We've been on the road a lot. We've got four or five new ones. Actual finished songs.
Splendid: What are you going to do when you're done touring? What's next?
Jaff Craig: We're probably only going to finish in September, and then go back into the studio and record the second album. Yeah, we're going to be busy for a year, now.
Splendid: Well, it's good to be busy, isn't it?
Jaff Craig: Yeah, I remember when we just formed the band and we didn't have anything on, only two and a half years ago, we'd be sitting there, ringing our manager and ringing the label, saying, when are we going to get to do something? When are we going to get to tour or play live? Now we have three weeks off a year.
Splendid: That's great. Do you guys have any hobbies, do anything for fun besides music?
Jaff Craig: Well, I'm into soccer. The guys, Barry and the brothers, aren't really much into football that much, but, like, we all go to the pictures together and watch films and just hang out. We go to pubs and have a chat. We're all great friends, so we all kind of band together as well. But we've all got girlfriends who live in different cities, so it's fairly hard. My girlfriend lives in London, which is why I'm here. Barry's girlfriend lives in Glasgow, which is the complete other end of the United Kingdom.
Splendid: That's tough because you're going to be on the road so much. I always wonder how that works, the thing where you're gone for so long...
Jaff Craig: It is really hard. This is what happens -- you go every day and stress until you find a phone card and ring home. But while you're doing that, you've got to take the time to find out if something's gone wrong in your girlfriend's life, so you don't spend the entire time and conversation saying how great America is. When at the same time, her cat has died or something. But if your relationship's strong enough, it will hold out.
Splendid: That's very sweet that you're worried about that. She's lucky.
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Jennifer Kelly fears the reaper.
[ graphics credits :: header/pulls - george zahora | photos - hayley murphy :: credits graphics ]
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