My new favorite band, House Of Hats, have taken time out of their schedule to answer a few questions for the blog. I recently posted about their brand new EP, Rivers Will Run, and it's an absolute bloody corker ... I'd like to take the time now to thank them for their words and time and hopefully, by the end of this, you'll love them and their interesting and very intellectual ways as much as I do!!!
"Let's start off with where the name House Of Hats came from … where did that come from?!
The name comes from an observation of us as a group of friends. Our social circle is made up of some pretty interesting characters and with people from all walks of life. So it’s no surprise that when we are all together it’s pretty eventful. With the combination of music, laughter, a touch of insanity and copious amounts of tea, James said it’s like we are at the ‘Mad Hatters’ tea party from ‘Alice in Wonderland!’ We used this to create what is now known as ‘House of Hats’.
And how did the whole project come about? … It's not as though you could literally have just been, played and became this good - could it?!
We have all been very close friends for a long time. We all kind of got to know each other through our common love for roots music and playing in various different bands on the same music circuit, namely Noddy, Alex and James who were all lead singers fronting their own projects whilst Rob played Bass for all of them at some point. In this time we were all experimenting with different genres and with different roles within bands too - Alex dabbled in the world of Hip-Hop & Reggae, Noddy with Jazz and singing backing vocals in a Reggae band signed to Sony at the time, James with Soul and blues, Rob with Funk, Reggae & Blues (maybe we should have formed a reggae band?). I think that often as a musician, and arguably more so as a songwriter and singer, you sort of have to find your way, find what is true to you … once you find that then you can really start to enjoy your art. That’s what our individual journeys were all about - trying to find what was true to us. It wasn’t until 2011 when all of our individual projects kind of came to a stop that our paths just all crossed and we realised that what we had been searching for was right in front of our eyes all along. We had all been through trying to be something that wasn’t entirely true to us, and whatever the reason or motivation behind it was, we had all realised that that wasn’t the type of artist we wanted to be. Well that’s how we all came together and that is how House of Hats inevitably formed - through our common need to express music that is true and honest to us.
What Influences would you say are closest to your hearts?
We all have a wide taste in music and have been influenced by varied artists and genres over the years, which directly or indirectly will have had some influence over our sound. Collectively we all share a love for roots music - Blues, Reggae, Singer-Songwriter, Folk … Individually we are influenced by:
NODDY: ‘Bob Dylan’
ALEX: ‘Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley
JAMES: ‘Ray Lamontagne’ 'Paul Simon' 'Donny Hathaway'
ROB: ‘Louis Armstrong’ ‘Bob Marley’ ‘Simon & Garfunkel’
Which song is your favorite from the new EP, Rivers Will Run?
NODDY: ‘Home is where the heart is’
ALEX: ‘Home is where the heart Is’
JAMES: ‘Home is where the heart is’ because of its sentiment, lyrics, Noddy’s stunning vocal delivery and because it’s a track where I get to use the bass part of my voice which i don’t often get to use (erm...I’m a vocal geek!).
ROB: ‘Home is where the heart is’ … it makes me emotional man.
Do you revel in the comparisons to other bands/artists … or do you find that all a bit weird?
It’s an honor when people of a certain generation give you comparison to ‘Fleetwood Mac’ and ‘Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’. This is because you know that these people have seen a huge variety of music in their lifetime, genres, bands and artists that have come and gone. I think comparisons to other bands in music is something that is necessary and natural, besides all artists draw inspiration from each other. We wouldn’t say we revel in it, but it’s always interesting to hear what people come up with!
What's the best gig you've ever performed and why?
I think we have all had certain gigs within the band that have ticked certain personal boxes, but the one that sticks out for all of us would have to be 'Cambridge Folk Festival’. This is because right at the beginning of House of Hats, ‘CFF’ was the one festival we wanted to play, but it’s invite only and they only invite (I believe) 25 acts to play in ‘The Den’ each year, so to be asked to play was incredible! It marked a milestone for us.
When are your next gigs and where?!
Tomorrow at the ‘Petersfield Festival’ in … Petersfield
Wednesday 29th August at the ‘Strongroom Sessions’ in London
Saturday 1st September at our monthly night ‘The Harvest Sessions’ at The Brunswick in Hove, Brighton.
Sunday 2nd September at the ‘Live & Unamplified Festival’ in London
Do you have any rituals before playing on stage?
Weird hand stretches for Al and Rob and a glass of port for Noddy and James.
Are there any bands or artists that you think I should really be keeping an eye and ear on?
Our good friends, Will and the People - they are amazing guys and incredible musicians.
And finally, what's your formula for making music and for not falling apart?
Honesty, trust, a massive sense of humor and working bloody hard!!!
JAMES, NODDY, ALEX & ROB
xxx"
Entertainment Magazine
