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Metro Riots
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Article
written by Mary B
Oct 1, 2006.
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I flirted outrageously with the lead singer, Damo, from Metro Riots all in the name of music journalism. Over a cup of tea and slice of cake we mused over the fact that we're all going to Hades and that people with beards have secret nods.
SoundsXP:There are lots of gigs coming up with different acts (Juliette Lewis and the licks for one) and you're all over the place! Any dates in particular that you're looking forward to?
Damo: Well we really want to get abroad, to test the water, but it's going to be a new thing for me because I have never been out of England in my whole life because I had some police charges from a few years back [Nothing too serious just ASBO stuff] and the boys had a few charges too and the Embassy don't want to give you a passport, if that's the case, so the management were livid. They said "If I would ‘ve known how much trouble you were going to cause me I would of told you to **** off before managing you" Fortunately they didn't and I got my Passport earlier this year after much arguing to clear my tarnished name, ha ha. So I am now deemed an upstanding citizen of the uk and if they can give Gary Glitter a passport I don't see why they shouldn't give me one. But back to the question, I would like to see some strange wildlife other than a pigeon so where can I get that fix? I'll let you know when I return.
SoundsXP: Sum up the year 2006 so far. From the mundane topics such as your choice of toothpaste (I have you down as a Mcleans man) to the more gripping stuff. Has the year been kind to you?
Damo: Dad buys from Poundsaver. This week I think it's called "Gleamy paste" It won't matter to me though because when our album goes platinum I'll get my teeth done. 2006 has been a great one. It can be summed up by what a lovely French girl said to us from a poem "How glorious and yet how painful it is to be an exception" because it has been that kind of year. You're constantly fighting to keep ahead of the pack and prove your worth. All of us have become more of a family unit and we have a fighting spirit, like no other band, and in the end that's what's going to shine through. We have played every corner of London, honing our sound, and have never thought about changing the way we do things just to fit in. So that's why it’s taken us longer to get to where we are now and where we are moving onto. Things are going our way now and by the end of the year there shall be a few surprises unveiled but I can't talk about it now because I don't want to jinx it. Touring with bigger bands has been a good eye opener. You get to see how the other half gig and when we did the shows with Dirty Pretty Things and Charlatans it made us want it even more and we made a great transition onto bigger stages. It just felt right.
SoundsXP: While watching you play live once I heard Danny being compared to Peter Frampton. Who would you like to be compared to in the world of music? Or do you not want people to draw comparisons at all?
Damo: Peter Frampton, really? I think it’s something we don't think about, being compared to someone else. Everyone has told me I remind them of different people. One Record exec said we reminded him of Gun Club and then another one said we reminded him of the Beatles amplified? So everyone is going to have a different opinion and it changes all the time. We want our music to be blues based but then sometimes it will creep into punk territory or rock music. I like things like Leadbelly, Henry Thomas, but then I will want to listen to Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, Bert Jansch or Harry Nilsson. It's always good to be compared to people who had ideas above their station and that's where we want to go.
SoundsXP: Where did your hairy chops go? Will they ever come back? I do hope so.
Damo: Who knows but you have to realise it's like joining a club, having a beard. You find other people on the street who have a beard and they give you a secret nod, kind of the same as motorcyclists do, because you're constantly being insulted and getting into fights over it. Especially if cheeky scamps on the back of a number 12 bus are shouting "Jesus" at you. Plus I remember this program that was on and the male babysitter had a beard and the child's mother said "I can't hire him, he has a beard, you can't let him near your children". What the Smurf is that all about?
SoundsXP: You ooze confidence on stage. Do you have bags of it or are you all quite shy? Before you hit the stage do you form a circle and say the Lord's prayer or something?
Damo: I have no worries with having confidence on stage. I know the boys are making the right kind of racket to give me the feeling of walking on air. I'm more reserved when i'm off stage but that's only when i'm sober. We don't pray. We just get really impatient and want to get on.
SoundsXP: What is your favourite sexual position. Oh, I do apologise Damo. I meant to ask what is your position on sex? Leave modesty aside. You are hunks of burning love (as my ma would say). Ever had the shirt ripped from your back or the like from over zealous fans?
Damo: I like to be in the position of being awake for sex so if I get that right it all runs smoothly from there. I'm afraid that's the only way I know how to answer that random one. Not shirts robbed off my back but a lot of my shades and captain armbands get pulled off and you do tend to get groped a bit. A group of ladies at a festival we did kept waiting by the band entrance and every time you walked past, taking the equipment up, they would pounce and all try and grab you and we had to walk backwards and forwards at least 5 times, so that was a lot of gropage and it made me feel weird but a nice compliment all the same. I did wonder why my Dad wanted to carry some equipment that day, the crafty beggar.
SoundsXP: Talk to me about your sound, Damo. I have read the reviews/opinions but I like the band to describe it. 'When you're gone' is a spanking tune hey?
Damo: It is a spanking tune and it got us some good press. We were shocked when we got Single of the week in The Sun newspaper. We beat Justin Timberlake which shows some justice and Raconteurs which made us quite proud and a few bands who we knew we deserved to beat. Our sound is very primal and deeply rooted in the blues and sometimes it's Dark with a nice poppy hook but we don't want to make people feel miserable. We are giving them our word that you can bring all your troubles and hang ups and we will take them to Hades with us, because we are going there anyway, so let's just forget and in the meantime lets enjoy everything twice!
SoundsXP: What are you listening to/reading/watching at the moment?
Damo: I'm reading a book called "White boy singing the blues" and listening to a lot of Killing Joke because our manager kept telling me I should listen to them, as I never got into them a lot, so I'm giving that a second chance. Lupen Crook's album is a thing of brutal beauty and I've been listening to a lot of Brian Jonestown Massacre too. The Sopranos is where it's at on the telebox and Queens of the Stone Age live DVD keeps going on, especially when Danny is in, but it is a winner.
SoundsXP: What is the chemistry like between you lot? Is there a lot of love?
Damo: Yes. We hug and kiss and hold hands and listen to the Beach Boys. It gets lonely on those long drives.
SoundsXP: How have you grown as a band over the years? (don't say by eating lots of spinach or something). How has your sound developed over time?
Damo: I think we have just got all used to each others habits and, like a family, you know how to work with it and get along and now it's better than ever because you know that if someone stood on your toes your fellow band member will cut their foot off. The Sound has been the most important part of our development because we play all the time. We have all got better and are not afraid to push it because we all know what we're capable of, so when you're writing, whether it's on an acoustic or a penny flute, you know how Metro Riots are going to play it. I wake up thinking about the group and go to sleep doing the same which is why I don't get much of that because I always have noisy instrumentals or lyrics bouncing around in my head
SoundsXP: When playing live in London what's your favourite venue and why?
Damo: I guess it would be places like Barfly, Koko, Nambucca, Windmill. I can't choose one. I love playing them all.
SoundsXP: Pretend that you are on Jim'll fix it. What can I fix for you?
Damo: I would ask "Jim, I have a deep burning urge to be locked in a room with Robbie Williams, George bush, Hard-Fi, Girls aloud and James Blunt, armed only with a Baseball bat, Gaffer tape [large], A Cucumber [X Large] and 5 sheets of sandpaper. For just one Hour Jim can you fix it for me?"
Funnily enough Damo I have a cucumber, baseball bat, sandpaper and gaffer tape. I can fix that for you...
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