[interview] ICE BLACK BIRDS

Soon the first album of Ice Black Birds will be released 
so we decided to ask them some questions before the D-Day !
ENJOY !

1)  Where did you first meet?

Sam and I met at school, music was always a passion that we shared, and that's what brought us to Brighton where we found Ollie and Dan, who share the passion.

2) Where the name of the band come from ?

The band name came from an ice tray in the shape of blackbirds. 

3) Who writes the songs ?

Sam's mum, 'Hillary Devey' writes most of the songs, the rest are a fusion of ideas, coming from the fruit blender that is our brains.

5) What inspires you musically speaking? 

Most our inspiration comes from day to day life, a lot of our musical inspiration is 60s influenced, but we also take inspiration from bands like the Talking Heads, White Denim, Arcade Fire, Paul Simon, Devo, The Clash and many more. Each member has different influences. 

6) You played your very first gig at Brighton's Providence venue,how do you feel about this gig ?  what memories do you have ?

Actually, our very first gig was really good as first gigs go. It was a converted office block building, quite depressing architecture that was two minutes from our house, but it was a bar/club that put on local acts frequently. All our friends came and there were about 100 people there, we also made about £70 so as you can imagine the night was crazy! (We put the money towards Theremin lessons).

7) You played with We are scientists in Paris la Flèche d'or , did you enjoy to be their support band ? what did you think of the french audience ? 

We had a really fun time supporting We Are Scientists, one of our best gigs last year. The French audience was absolutely amazing we loved it we could happily move to France if only we could speak French, Sam can so that's a start, he was born and lived in Paris, a true, Parisian.

8) What's your best memory on tour so far? 

It is quite hard to pin point a best memory, probably when our manager, Tom and bassist, Dan got locked out of the hotel and had to sleep under some tarpaulin and had to avoid random peoples streams of urine gushing towards them, no I’m joking, not the best memory but a true story. In Paris we were lost and Ollie was driving round a roundabout while we tried to throw some cheese in the fountain or "the drink" in the centre, that was good but we missed the drink. No, seriously though, all the audiences on tour have been really welcoming and supportive of us and often bought our records, there is nothing better for us than people enjoying our music. 

9) You went to USA for the SXSW,  can you tell us more about your trip in this country ? 

The USA is great; we only saw New York and Austin really. New York is like being in a Woody Allen film, while we were there had some pretty heavy winds and rain, here's a tip, do not buy a cheap umbrella as it will only last a minute. Austin is really nice but don’t try to play too much dub-step, as the rattlesnakes love it. SXSW is really fun so much music but be prepared to queue. 

10) Also ,you went to Bestival on the Isle of Wight ,few days ago, did you enjoy this festival ? 

Bestival was really fun, we really recommend it as a festival, we saw some rally good bands such as The Growlers, Chrystal Fighters, Chromeo, The Cure, Primal Scream to name a few. It gets bigger every year. 

  

11) Your debut album is finished now , can you tell us about it ? 

It is finished there is not too much we can say, it is diverse, we think the sound is vintage 60s but musically is quite Art Rock/Punk. 

12) Do you have plans for an european tour ?  a date in Paris ?

Not at the moment unfortunately, we need to wait for the release of the album, the date is not decided yet, we will let you know via website & facebook etc. There are a few dates coming up in Romania that we are looking forward to in November but we will understand if you do not want to drive all the way from Paris to Bucharest. 

13) What was the 1st album you ever bought ?

"Now That's What I Call Music! 32" (UK series) 

14) What was the 1st gig you went to?

Our own childhood gigs. 

15) Have you got one song/album in your iPod that you’d be ashamed to tell about?

What's an iPod? 

16) What's your favourite song of all time ?

Viva Brother- Darling Buds of May, the lyrics are really deep and inspiring. 

Interview réalisée par Marion

Merci à George pour sa disponibilité   

14sept2011

Myspace / Twitter  / Facebook = Ice Black Birds