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Here Come The Drums

The Drums 'Summertime! EP' is out today through Moshi Moshi.

Posted 12th October 2009, 1:48pm in Interviews, by Guy Purssell
The Drums The Drums 'Summertime! EP' is out today through Moshi Moshi.

Guy Purssell catches up with frontman Jonathan Pierce to talk about their current releases - both the EP, and their recent single 'Let's Go Surfing' - their forthcoming album, and self-recording.

Firstly: where are you from, some say Florida, others say New York...?
I was born in upstate New York. Jacob was born in Ohio. I moved to NYC years ago. Jacob moved to Florida years ago. I moved to Florida last November to start The Drums with him. We wrote a bunch of songs down in Florida, things started to progress quickly and we thought it best to take our sound back to NYC. We live here now, but hopefully we will be able to move to the countryside soon. We really crave the dream of having a simpler life with some dogs and horses (although that does not seem to be what is in store.. at least for right now.)

So, you're touring in the UK soon, what about it are you most looking forward to? Have you got anything special planned for the shows?
Yes, we are coming to the UK. I am looking forward to Manchester. I have never been. We have a something special planned for each show we play, but also the most magic happens when you don't plan and you give in to yourself on stage. It's about being incredibly selfish, but incredibly generous at the same time.

You're releasing a single and EP very close together (September and October) - why's the gap so small? Keeping up momentum?
Well the EP was meant to come out mid summer, but things got moved around and so we had to push it till September. It wasn't a strategic thing. It just sorta happened.

It seems to be an awful lot of material to release in one go - are you deliberately shedding old material in preparation for your album release, or is it all new and you're just very prolific?
There is no old material that exists in The Drums. Everything has been written and record by the band in the last 8 months. We are just trying get it out there.

There's been a lot of press surrounding this recently re-surfaced 'illegal downloading' debate saying bands and labels should try to make music available sooner after completion - what are your thoughts on this? Will you be getting your debut album out there as quickly as possible after it's finished?
I really don't know about any of that. I just think it's great when a one can fall in love with a song no matter how they got it. I mean, you gotta survive. Our debut is almost completely done. We recorded about 20 songs all in one short period of time. Seven of them went on the EP, and the rest will comprise the full length. It should be out early 2010.

How's the album going, by the way? Where abouts are you in the process?
The album is a little less carefree than the Summertime! EP. The subject matter goes a little deeper. It is self written, recorded, produced by the band. We have two more songs to write, and then it's time for mixing.

Your 'sound' is very Beach Boys-cum-Joy Division: is that intended? Are they big influences of yours?
Nothing was intended originally, but once we realized what we were doing (about three songs in).. we fell in love with it and it became very exciting for us. The Beach Boys.. I don't really listen to them at all. I am drawn more to girl groups like The Shangri-las or The Ronettes. The Zombies were cool. Joy Division really changed my life as a teenager.

Do you think this surf-rock vibe is where the band will stay, long term? Do you like surfing? I can't imagine there are many opportunities to do so in New York?
The full length album is not surf rock. It has some beachy elements maybe in some of the songs. Really all we care about is pop songs. No matter what style they are in. It all comes down to melody and lyric that meet and move mountains.

And finally, we're now coming to the end of the naughties: who've been your favourite bands of the decade, and who should we be excited about going into the next?
I don't really listen to new music. I think Starflyer 59 and Camera Obscura probably take the cake for me. Jens Lekman is a champion and The Tough Alliance have written some great songs. I am really into Surfer Blood and Knight School. Air France is amazing too. Look out for these bands.

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