Blitz Kids… Discussing various Blitz ‘n’ bobs
Interview: Blitz Kids
Published on September 9th, 2013 | Jonny Abrams
Fresh from releasing new single “Run for Cover”, Blitz Kids are gearing up to the release of their second album with an extensive headline tour of the UK…so, you know, it seemed like a good time to collar front man Joe James for a bit of a chat about it all.
Joe told us about what we can expect from the new LP, the band’s experience of working on it in LA with producer John Feldmann, and how their summer’s been (we’re just nice like that)…
How’s the tour going?
It’s going good. Just having a rest today, then we’ve got two more shows this weekend.
Which have been your summer festival highlights?
Download was amazing, a real highlight for the band. The first time we played there was in the tent and this time there were a lot more people there, it was great.
The other festivals we’ve done have been mainly one day or two days, just spread around the country. There are a lot of little festivals cropping up and we’ve done a bunch of them. The other highlight for us was probably Slam Dunk festival – we got an amazing reception there.
Does “Run for Cover” give a good indication of what we can expect from the new album?
I think it gives a good indication in terms of how we’ve evolved as songwriters, and the sort of instrumentation on the album – but it definitely doesn’t sum the album up. It’s one of the more rockabilly and heavier songs on the album.
What we’re trying to do with the singles is release the stuff that we like the most and the stuff that we enjoy playing live, so we’re being a bit selfish! And they’re going down well, which is a plus for us.
How much new material are you playing on the current tour?
On the current tour we’re not actually playing that much new material. We’re letting the fans pick our set list this time because we’ve been doing a lot of support slots with bigger bands where you only get half an hour to play, so we basically just want to play our best five or six songs to give us our best shot at impressing a new audience.
Whereas on a headline tour, it’s really only our fans coming to see us, so we let them pick the set list almost as a last hurrah for a lot of the older songs that we’ve not been playing for a while – things from the two EPs we released a few years back and from our self-released album. It’s cool to get the opportunity to play all those songs.
Do you know yet when the new album might come out?
Yeah, January 20th is the release date.
Will you release one or two more singles in the meantime?
Yeah, there’ll probably be another single before then. Nothing over Christmas though – we might do a Christmas single but that’s just rumour at the moment, we don’t know if we have the balls for it!
What was it like working with John Feldmann?
He’s a great guy, just so, so committed to what he does. He loves music so much, and we as a band got into this for a love of music so it was nice to work with someone who loves it as much as we do.
I’m not going to say he didn’t make us work hard because he did – he really worked our arses off when we were over there – but there’s something in the way he is that, no matter how hard you’re working or how long the hours are, it’s all for the good of the band at the end of the day.
It was fun, and we’ve found somebody that gets the best out of us as a band, I think.
Do you think the LA sunshine found its way into the recordings at all?
I think you can hear a little bit of the sunshine in there. It’s almost like a sunshine-glossed album with moany British undertones!
Finally, which other albums from 2013 have you enjoyed?
Along with everybody else, it seems, I’m really into The 1975 at the moment – their album came out a few days ago and I’m loving that. I’ve been enjoying Mallory Knox’s album, that’s been getting quite a few spins.
I haven’t really had that time to listen to much other than things my friends give to me. Jono constantly feeds me pop music – he gave me the new Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z albums and I’ve been enjoying those.
Yeah, I basically listen to whatever anyone gives me when we’re out on tour, because I don’t really find the time to go out and find music any more. It just comes from friend recommendations, really, but I’d have to say I’m very excited for Justin Timberlake’s new album. That’s a guilty pleasure of mine.
Joe James, thank you.
Blitz Kids’ new single “Run for Cover” is out now on Red Bull Records and available from iTunes.
Blitz Kids are currently on an extensive headline tour of the UK – click here for a list of dates.
For more information, please visit the official Blitz Kids website.
About the Author
Jonny Abrams Editor of Rocksucker and the website's founder, Jonny is passionate about the music he listens to, both good and bad, as well as interviewing his favourite musicians.
