2007年2月icWales采访Tim:疯狂的威尔士歌迷

Our Welsh fans are wild
icWales.icNetwork.co.uk
Feb 23 2007

Keane head to Wales next week back on form with a hit album and sell-out tour. Pianist Tim Rice Oxley talks about the band’s turbulent last year – and getting drunk in Flares in Cardiff..

Q: So this is Keane’s biggest tour yet – 100,000 people in 10 dates. How do you feel?

A: Yes. It’s going to be wicked. It’s the sort of tour we dreamed of when we were kids watching videos of the Beatles playing the Budokan or U2 doing Zoo TV or Queen at Wembley in ’86. We’ve played a couple of arena shows in Europe in the last few months and I think they showed us that we can fill those sorts of places with our music.

Q: Do you feel you can still make that personal connection at shows this big?

A: Well I’ve seen a few bands that I really like playing great shows in big places. I think certain kinds of music are suited to filling up those big places and really reaching the back rows and I think our music is that sort of music. The other thing is that I genuinely believe Tom (Chaplin) is one of the best front men of our generation. It’s still exciting for me to watch him pull people in from all around those big places. It’s not an easy thing to do, but he’s brilliant at it.

Q: Presumably you’ll put a bit more effort into your stage show too?

A: Yeah, it’s really going to be quite a spectacular production. I think it’s a more ambitious show than any of our generation of bands is doing at the moment. We’re using video and lighting and every other trick we can think of to reach people. In these big places you need to be imaginative and you need variety. I think people are going to be pretty blown away by it. At least I hope they are.

Q: Are we talking rocket packs and the like?

A: Well, we’re trying to remember where the line is between extremely cool rock show and depressingly camp Spinal Tap parody! But we’re pretty excited about it. It really is going to look amazing, I think.

Q: It seems like it’s been a good few months for Keane after some difficult times last year. How is everything?

A: Yeah, it’s been really good. I think we’ve all been pleasantly surprised by how smooth it’s been. In fact, I think it’s been better than ever before, which none of us dared to expect. We did have a very tough time in the middle of last year, but I think coming so close to losing everything actually made us appreciate that we’ve got something very special. Every tour we’ve done since then has been better than anything we’d ever done before it. We’re playing better, the chemistry is better and Tom is really performing out of his skin at the moment. So, yeah, it’s an exciting time.

Q: Tom’s in a better place than he was, then?

A: Yeah, infinitely better I would say. He’s been through a lot and it’s not something you can make light of at all, but he just seems to be very inspired again. He knows that he’s got a gift and he doesn’t want to waste it.

Q: How do you feel about the fans sticking with you?

A: I think we’ve always felt that people cherish us as being more than just a fashion band that will be replaced by the next set of haircuts and catchphrases. Maybe that’s because we toured so much in the early days, y’know we really got out there and did the groundwork. But especially since coming back in October we’ve felt this incredible feeling of love and of people wanting to let us know that we’re valued. We’ve had that all over the UK, Europe and on the other side of the Atlantic. It’s great to feel that people care that much.

Q: Did you guys pick the support bands for this tour yourselves?

A: Yeah, we always do.

Q: Tell us about The Dears?

A: We’ve played with them a few times in the States and they’ve got a great sound. I like bands that have a bit of electronica and a bit of rock. Plus they’ve got really epic, poetic lyrics. They’re a great band.

Q: And Polytechnic?

A: I think they’re one of the hottest and best of the new bands around at the moment. Despite being very hot property, they’re also a great songwriting band and those two things don’t always seem to go together. They’re young, innovative and just write great songs. I’ve never actually seen them play live, so I’m really looking forward to watching them.

Q: And what about Wales? Have you good memories of playing to Welsh crowds?

A: Yeah, they’re pretty wild generally. They’ve definitely got a hint of dangerous excitement about them. We’ve played in Cardiff a lot. The first gig we ever played outside London was at what’s now the Barfly. We hired a van and drove off into the great unknown. It was incredibly exciting actually, going somewhere other than London to play a show. If I remember rightly, we were supported by The Futureheads at that gig, who were also completely
unknown at the time. We got very, very drunk afterwards at some horrendous club called Flares.