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Class Of 2008: Los Campesinos!

'If you're a douche or do something you don't want to be doing, then stop doing it IMMEDIATELY you lame ass.'

It's 2008: and no, we're not sure where the last twelve months went either. What we are fairly certain about, however, is that it popped up more than a couple of ace bands for us to get all excited about.

We've taken the best of the bunch that got DIY Towers buzzing and quizzed them about both themselves and what they might get up to in the next 12 months. Not universally sure fire bets for unit shifting superstardom, we're expecting good things from them all.

Someone ring the bell, then. The Class of 2008 is in.

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Los Campesinos! are probably a bit of an obvious addition to the Class Of 2008; they could probably qualify for head girls and boys, were there not far too many to fulfil just two roles. So prefects they are, their bouncy indie-pop about to explode upon the release of debut album 'Hold On Now, Youngster' on 25th February.

Answering questions on behalf of the band is Gareth.

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Who are you, and what do you do?
My name is Gareth Campesinos!, and I sing and play glockenspiel in a band called Los Campesinos!.

Lazily, compare yourselves to at least three well-ish-known bands in a semi-comical way.
S Club 7. That's all I can do I think. I find 'semi-comical' difficult. I'm usually the type of guy to for all out ROFL. y'know?

What's the best thing about being in a band so far?
Every thing about it is good. It really would be too hard to pick one specific thing. Generally getting to do stuff for free is great though.

...and what's the worst?
I'm in Japan. We flew from Montreal. I had an asthma attack midway. That was pretty nasty.

Why do you think 2008 is going to be a great year for Los Campesinos!?
It depends what is meant by 'great year'. We're going to continue to be allowed to play gigs in foreign countries and tour with awesome bands, so regardless of what else happens, that will be a whole lot of fun.

Are you making any new years' resolutions?
No. I don't believe in New Years' Resolutions. I think that if something is worth changing it shouldn't need the impetus of a new calendar year. If you're a douche or do something you don't want to be doing, then stop doing it IMMEDIATELY you lame ass, don't wait for next year.

If people were to listen to just one of your songs, which one would you hope it was and why?
One of the covers we've done. Because then I needn't be too offended by the fact that they have deigned not to listen to any more of our stuff.

Where do you hope to be in twelve months' time?
Is this a literal 'physically, where would you like to be?", or a "where would you like to be as a band" thing. a) at home. b) Supporting some god awful band on an arena tour.

What's the worst piece of advice anyone's ever given you?
I don't seem to recall anything specifically. Probably something to do with girls.

If Los Campesinos! were to have a motto, what would it be?
"Fuck shit up".

What would be your reaction if someone were to cover one of your songs on X Factor?
"At least Razorlight aren't covering us..."

Do you have an album in the pipeline?
Yes! February!

Who'd be your dream producer to work with?
Well... our record was mixed by a gentleman called John Goodmanson, who produced one of my favourite albums of all time ('Dig Me Out' - Sleater-Kinney) and Bikini Kill and The Wedding Present. So that was certainly a great place to start.

Remixes are, it would seem, 'all the rage'. Who would you just love to remix one of your tracks?
J Xaverre, Girl Talk, Jamie Stewart, bis. Y'know, the usual.

What does it take to be a fan of Los Campesinos?
Very little, sadly.

What's the weirdest thing anyone's done at one of your gigs?
Worn a Hard-Fi t-shirt and stood in the front row.

Tell us something random yet interesting about you.
"Random". yuck.

You're part of the DIY Class of 2008 - what was your favourite subject
At school? Welllllll... I really enjoyed school actually. I loved Politics until I went to university and studied it alongside a lecture hall full of culturally empty, soulless bores. I should have taken English. I'll go with English. And P.E..