Stereoboard Speaks To Maybeshewill About New Album & Current UK Tour (Interview)
Monday, 30 May 2011
Written by Ben Bland
Leicester’s finest, instrumental heavyweights Maybeshewill, recently released what is sure to end up as one of the top releases of 2011 in the epic 'I Was Here For A Moment, Then I Was Gone'. Guitarist John Helps took time out of the band’s busy touring schedule to chat to Stereoboard...
How is life in Maybeshewill land at the moment?
Pretty good cheers – right now we’ve been on tour for almost three weeks so we’re tired and unwashed, but everything’s pretty glorious.
'I Was Here For A Moment, Then I Was Gone' is two things; firstly it is exquisitely named and secondly it’s a bloody great listen. How do you think it compares to your previous two records?
Thanks! We’re really pleased with how it’s turned out and people seem to be in to it, which is all we could ask for really. Compared to the other two? Well, it’s a step for us in terms of the sound which is perhaps the first thing people will notice if they’re already familiar with us. Recording this album was the first time we’d really made use of ‘proper’ studio spaces, and let Jamie (our bassist) take the reins with production duties. I think it’s really paid off. In terms of the music, it’s pretty starkly different to Sing The Word Hope, which was an album born out of near constant touring, whereas this one is kind of more considered, more a product of hours in the studio trying to get things right… It’s more what we imagined we’d sound like, if that makes any sense
There aren’t any rousing speech samples on the new record. Is this a deliberate move or something that just came about?
There just wasn’t room for them really. We got to the end of the album and we hadn’t thought “I know what’d work well here!” so we didn’t use any. The last record had quite a social bent to it, with something really obvious to say, whereas this one is kind of subtler.
Do you find the album as uplifting as I do? It makes me feel like I’m walking on clouds or doing something else equally joyous...
Haha! I’m glad – it’s had the desired effect. We’ve always tried to be a positive band, though I think a lot of people thought we were just having a bitch on the last album. It was called “Sing the Word Hope in Four-Part Harmony” for gods sake! But yeah, we do find it uplifting. It has melancholic moments, but it’s supposed to be a positive record.
The sound on this album is a bit ‘fuller’ than on previous efforts. There’s less of a strict template and more orchestral elements, for example, than just ‘post-rock’ with the odd electronica bits. Do you feel this is closer to the sound you’ve always been aiming for?
Absolutely, this record feels like we’ve captured the sound in our heads rather than something approximating four boys with instruments. Having Dave and Sophie from Her Name Is Calla provide the string parts has been a real boon, and Jamie and Robin have been nailing down the electronic elements – everything has just come together at the same time.
Talking of the term ‘post-rock’...are you one of those bands that hates being described in such a way or are you above such genre quibbling?
We’re just not a fan of being told we’re a certain kind of band I guess. Post-Rock is a useful term to collect together bands with a certain sound, but we usually have trouble relating to most of them. The bands that we’ve grown up listening to or being influenced by don’t fall in to that bracket, so it was almost surprising for us to be included in it.
Lots of your songs are very catchy. Is that something you have in mind when you’re writing?
I think it is to a point. We’re not in to writing tedious 15 minute epics playing one note a minute if that’s what you mean!
Many Stereoboard readers probably won’t be familiar with you guys and your music. Give them a little sales pitch about how incredible you are and why you’re the band they should spend their money on this week...
We’re not very good at talking ourselves up… Erm… We’ve been going for like five years and we’ve recorded three albums and toured across two continents. Ahhh man, I hate this.
You are known for having a DIY approach to your career. Would you recommend this to young bands just starting up?
Yeah – why would anyone want to do anything to help you if you aren’t prepared to do it yourself? That’s the kind of ethos we’ve had from the off. We’ve just started working with a couple of people for booking and press, but that was because we knew the guys and their reputation proceeded them so we knew they’d do a good job with our best interests at heart, and it’s going well. I think learning the various trades associated with being in a band is very useful and then when you need help, building up a nice manageable team puts you in a strong position.
Whenever I see something written about the Leicester music scene you guys seem to get a mention. Are you like the Leicester rock mafia or something?
Haha...yeah, we’re something like that. We don’t play Leicester a tremendous amount, but we have a lot of involvement with other bands in the city, and a lot of friends in bands. I’ve been putting on shows in the city for about eight years and a kind of culture of bands have grown up around that, which is really nice. It’s perhaps a little cliquey, but it’s a really tight knit community and we’re proud to be part of it. Collaborating with the guys from Calla was a natural part of that. We’ve started a label called Robot Needs Home, which is really just a collective of bands who put out CDs and help each other out where they can – hopefully that encourages a kind of cooperation and community spirit, rather than just loads of bands clambering over each other to try and make it big.
You guys are awesome live but I notice that you have to program in the key parts on your laptop. Have you ever considered getting someone in to play keys live?
Yep. I think the next step for us live is to have someone join to share key duties with Robin. For a few shows last year he was playing keys, but we missed having the power of two guitars and his presence around the stage, so we dropped it. We’re touring again in October so you’ll have to see if we’ve figured it out by then!
You’re touring with earthtone9 & The Ocean. How’s that going thus far?
Pretty good. It was odd going from our own headline shows to second on a four band bill – which necessitates a bit of flak taking from tour managers and the like, but it’s cool to be playing in front of some bigger crowds. Musically we’re quite different to the rest of the bill, but I like a little bit of a confrontational vibe – trying to win over and audience – so we’re feeling good about it.
If you could pick any band to tour with then who would it be?
Ahhh man, we get asked this a lot. We toured with And So I Watch You From Afar three times when we first started touring, and they were some of the best times of our lived. We were fantasising about a dream tour package of And So I Watch You and Adebisi Shank touring with us and our tour buddies from last year &U&I – that would be fucking killer. It’s just a dream though.
If Maybeshewill were a superhero then what would be their superpowers of choice?
True Story: Jack who sang on ‘Heartflusters’ from our first album is the brother of the chap who played Bernard in ‘Bernard’s Watch’. Being able to stop time is a pretty sweet power to have – you don’t need invisibility or speed or mega intelligence then do you?
In another life, when we are cats, how would you like Maybeshewill to be remembered?
For working hard, touring forever and being lovely to everyone we’ve met. That’d be a pretty good reputation to have.
Cheers for your time. I look forward to seeing you at numerous gigs/festivals in the upcoming months!
Cheers for the questions!
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How is life in Maybeshewill land at the moment?
