God bless HEALTH for being a wonderful amalgamation of noise, killer hooks, charm and fun. Those jovial gents are coming over to play Glasgow this May. Using the opportunity to catch up with John from the band, he had nice chat. Here is his chat:
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ConeToaster: 2007's been a great 12 months in HEALTH's camp [as well as for artists associated with yourselves, such as Crystal Castles]. How is 2008 comparing so far?
John/HEALTH: 2008 has been insane. Weve been on tour pretty much all of it so far, but this has been the the best musical experience of our lives. Touring the US and Canada with Crystal Castles has been incredible
CT: It appears you'll be playing a few dates this year in some places you've never been before. Are there any dates that particularly excite you?
JH: EUROPE. Especially the festivals, we've never played a European festival and we've only played the UK at this point
CT: ConeToaster is taking HEALTH on a date; what gets HEALTH into bed at the end of the night?
JH: The other guys would be trickier, but if you take me on a date and buy me a few drinks, Im in yr bed.
CT: There is a frighteningly distinctive sound to your works. Is this mainly due to the use of the wonderful Zoothorn, or was it part of the band's manifesto to seek out such an individual style?
JH: Both. We try to sound unique. We reject a lot of very gratifying musical ideas because they sound like this or that. Nearly all the special sounds are zoothorn derived.
CT: Who were your biggest influences growing up, and who's influencing you now?
JH: Growing up, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Yes, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, stuff like that. Now, Crystal Castles, electronic artists, Italians Do It Better, we find inspiring, but not a direct influence. We've stopped taking direct influence from other bands at this point. But at the time of the bands formation, Ex Models, Animal Collective.
CT: In the last year, some of the Conetoaster boys [myself included] have caught artists like yourself, Dan Deacon, Crystal Castles and Gay Against You to name but a few. The big thing I took from them was how involved you become within the show, how intimate it feels. All the aforementioned artists seem to be gaining notoriety now; do you think these style of shows can be transferred to a bigger stage?
JH: It already has. Crystal Castles is HUGE. Dan Deacon is HUGE. Both of these artists are playing giant venues and are slaying. Dan Deacon is playing on the floor of giant capacity venues, and the shows are insane. Kids are going nuts. We opened for Dan Deacon for a few shows like that on west coast. We played on the stage and it worked, its definitely a different vibe, but its all good.
CT: What are the plans for 2008 singles/EP/album-wise? Are there any collaborations possibly in the mix?
JH: We are touring nearly the entire year, and going to spend the other time free to write and record our second album. The HEALTH//DISCO album is coming out in May 08, along with two more vinyl singles. We are planning some really awesome collaborations but I cant spill the beans yet. Not sure if those will come out in 08 or not. The beginning of '09 will be a shit storm of singles, the album, and at least one standalone collaboration EP or single
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And that is that! Lovely chap indeed :) Hooray for HEALTH, and all who sail her wonderful bows...
As with all the interviews that are posted up here, here's a list of some shizzle, mon dizzle, mos' def' [I gotta stop watching so much of The Wire...] that floats John's boat:
MOVIES
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Superbad
ALBUMS
Crystal Castles - S/T
Videohippos - Unleash The Beast
Glass Candy - B/E/A/T/B/O/X
SONGS/SINGLES
Crystal Castles - Courtship Dating
Chromatics - Hands In The Dark
CONCERTS
Dan Deacon
Crystal Castles
Dirty Projectors
Yeasayer
BOOKS
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
RECIPES
Some people think cucumbers taste better pickled
[ConeToaster realises this is not a recipe, but like pickled cucumbers]
SNEAKERS
Puma Hi Tops
TELEVISION
TV Carnage
MUSEUMS
Museum of Jurassic Technology, Los Angeles
CITIES
Baltimore
Denver
Oakland
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[All interviews will now end with the words "Baltimore/Denver/Oakland]
Praise your ears!!! Go over heres!!!
HEALTH - Various Tracks
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