Quick-fire Questions: 10 minutes with Demob Happy
The fact that Demob Happy‘s favourite pub in the world is stationed in the Californian desert tells you a lot about them. They have always remained in outside lands as a band, happily bringing a bewildering array of genres to the fore. This melee provides escapist reverie to such an extent that you can almost hear the Geordie trio excitedly utter, “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Newcastle anymore.”
Their latest album, Divine Machines, even sees pop arise. In a rather comic fashion, Demob Happy’s own Matthew Marcantonio reflected on the commercial-bent of their new record in the press release: “We’ve never chased the dragon of success, even though we’ve been encouraged to, but we’re not interested in doing it like that. We’ve always done what we wanted, but now it seems like it might align with what other people want as well.”
It is notably a more polished album than we’re used to from the fuzzy trio. However, the experimentation of the genre-hopping ways from their earlier efforts remain. They are a band whose sound is almost akin to sampling. This time the assortment is an adrenalised mix that somehow pairs elements of disco with flashes of desert rock. It’ll certainly put some pep in your Chelsea booted step this summer.
With a busy summer touring Divine Machines up ahead, we decided to catch them while we could and tossed some quick-fire questions their way. After all, when you’ve only got 10 minutes with someone, what better way to get to know them then to pick their brain on the trivial and the salient in the world of culture. Enjoy what Thomas Armstrong had to say for the band below.
Quick-fire Questions with Demob Happy:
1. What song would you want played at your funeral?
“Verdi: Requiem – ‘Dies Irae’.”
2. Who would be your dream three Glastonbury headliners?
- Led Zeppelin
- Queen
- The Beatles
3. What song by another artist do you play most in practice?
“We haven’t played covers for years, but we recently did ‘Waiting for the Bus’ by ZZ Top.”
4. What is the best gig you have ever been to?
“DFA 1979 & Metric in a tiny pub in Newcastle.”
5. What is the best hangover cure?
“Salts and sleep.”
6. What is your favourite quote by a musician?
“‘Cracks are where the light gets in’ – Leonard Cohen.”
7. Where is the best pub in the world?
“Pappy & Harriets – Joshua Tree, CA, USA.”
8. Have you ever had a weird celebrity encounter?
“Had a nice swim with Sean Connery.”
9. What piece of music kit do you most desire?
“A casual world class studio and live-room at the bottom of the garden.”
10. What song features the best vocal performance of all time?
“One of the most raw and moving vocal performances I’ve heard in a long time is Lee Moses on his cover of ‘California Dreaming’.”
11. What film makes you laugh the most?
“Some Kind Of Monster.”
12. What is your most controversial cultural opinion?
“Fairytale of New York is an irritating and overrated song for festive edgelords.”
13. Where is the weirdest place you’ve ever played?
“Maybe on top of a mountain in Bulgaria. We also did a gig in a high-school in Utah a few months ago for a packed room full of moshing Mormon kids. That was a blast.”
14. Dream holiday destination?
“Japan. And I’d eat so much that they couldn’t physically get me back out of their country.”
15. Are The Beatles overrated?
“No. They’re probably underrated because we still don’t fully understand the magic of their craft.”
Demob Happy’s new album Divine Machines is out now. See them live in the UK at headline September tour dates, with last remaining tickets here – https://demob-happy.com/shows/
