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Hot Club de Paris
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Article
written by Ged M
Oct 10, 2006.
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Hot Club de Paris have been around since 2004 and consist of Paul Rafferty (bass, vocals), Matthew Smith (guitar/vocals) and Alasdair Smith (drums/vocals). The first time we saw them supporting the Metro, we were blown away first by the barbershop harmonies that kicked off the show and then by their angular racket and stop-start rhythms that suggested a pretty broad musical taste (their MySpace page includes Don Caballero, The Minutemen, Black Flag, John Fahey, XTC, Dexy’s, Springsteen and Billy Bragg). Proof that they could kick it on record came with the debut single ‘sometimesitsbetternottostick bitsofeachotherineachotherforeachother’, followed by ‘everyeveryeverything’ and now the debut album ‘Drop It Til It Pops’ which was released on 9 October (all on Moshi Moshi Records).
We asked Paul Rafferty some questions by email in October 2006 which he graciously answered. But we’ll let Paul introduce himself…
Paul: Hello, I’m Paul. I do the singing and I play the bass in Hot Club de Paris.
SXP: You’ve been together for about two years. How did you meet each other?
Paul: I met Matthew when I was working for a temping agency. Matthew and Alasdair were already brothers at this point and had been for some time. We figured it’d be fun to play some music together.
SXP: Were you in bands before HCdP?
Paul: Yes. We’d all played in bands before Hot Club de Paris, but doing this band was a real departure for all of us. Alasdair had never tackled odd time signatures, Matthew had never experimented with open tunings and I’d never played bass before.
SXP: You’ve got a really eclectic mix of influences; in addition to the names listed on your MySpace page, I can also hear a few African rhythms too. It makes defining your sound tough: how would you describe yourselves to a Hot Club virgin? And when and how did you start listening to such a wide range of music?
Paul: I can't really speak for the others, but finding out about SST records really fueled my interest in looking for bands that did interesting stuff outside of the mainstream. Discovering the Minutemen and realising they were on Black Flag’s label was really important. The idea that punk rock could be as progressive and self sufficient as SST was a really inspiring one. It’s really easy to confine yourself to genre when you’re young. SST played a large part in me not being interested in doing that. In terms of describing what we sound like, I tend to tell cab drivers and barbers that we sound like Yes.
SXP: The band’s name seems derived from the famous Parisian jazz venue, Hot Club de France. Are you not-so-secret jazzers or Django Reinhardt groupies?
Paul: We like Reinhardt.
SXP: Seeing you live, you put on quite a show with your barbershop harmonies and witty stage banter. Is that showmanship particularly important to you?
Paul: I wouldn’t call it ‘showmanship’. We’re no David Lee Roths. However, we realised that most bands are boring to watch live, and we didn’t want to be that kind of band. Our relationship with the audience is very important to us. That’s essentially what our shows are about.
SXP: Similarly, you seem to put a lot of effort into song titles, not least the memorable and breathless ‘sometimesitsbetternottostick bitsofeachotherineachotherforeachother’ (which we always have to break in two for the website). Is there a danger that you’ll spend more time composing the title than the song?
Paul: No. The titles of the songs were after thoughts when we realised we needed titles for the songs. We sat in a bar called La’go in Liverpool and decided what those song titles would be over pints of lager top .
SXP: You described the B-side to the second single ‘(Hello Comrade (I Quit My Job)’ as “horrifically technical. Alasdair and I play a bizarre 7/8 disco beat whilst Matthew riffs over the top in bars of 2 beats”. Are tricky arrangements typical of the HCdP sound and more important, are they fun to play?
Paul: When we first started, we just tried to write the most technical and awkward music as possible. It was fun and challenging. It still is, though I feel we’ve gotten a lot better at making those tricky arrangements sound natural and flowing.
SXP: You’ve been called “cheeky Scousers” in more than one review, though you don’t exactly have a Liverpool sound. Do you feel much affinity with other bands from the city?
Paul: We have a lot of friends who are in bands in Liverpool and when we’re here we watch a lot of Liverpool bands. We don’t sound like the obvious Liverpool bands because we’ve never been involved with that scene. I’m not even a scouser, hence the vocals not being delivered in a scouse accent.
SXP: ‘(Hello Comrade (I Quit My Job)’ is based on your experience of jacking in a job while songs like ‘3:55AM; I Think We Should Go Home’ sound autobiographical. Are many of your songs based on your lives?
Paul: Yes. All of my lyrics are based on things that happen in my life. I’m not sure it’s possible for me to write songs about other things. I might try and write one about politics when I get back from Ikea later on.
SXP: On the subject of leaving jobs, is it better now to be concentrating on music full-time rather than holding down day jobs? And are you having fun?
Paul: Doing music full time is totally ace. I never thought in a million years that the day would come where I didn’t have to go to work. We’re having a lot of fun, but we’re working very hard, too.
SXP: Finally, you’re touring a lot. Apart from HCdP, what bands have you seen out and about that you’d recommend to us?
Paul: We played with one of the best bands I’ve ever seen the other day. They’re called Safetyword and they’re completely stunning. Other great bands we’ve played with include Danananackyroyd, That Fucking Tank, Do Idea, This aint Vegas, Go Faster, SSS and Robobots. I’m also completely obsessed with Field Music’s current single ‘In Context’.
Sorry that some of my answers were a bit short. My letter ‘a’ doesn’t work properly.
Paul x
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