The Kooks

Tue 30th Dec, 2008 in Features

When FL first hears the voice of Paul Garred, drummer for Britain’s it-band-cum-superstars The Kooks, an untapped talent in the band is noticed – his overly enthusiastic voice. Through his pre-emptive greeting and description of his night so far, there’s enough positive energy for him to start his own band.

That said, their sold-out tour of Australia this coming week will be his first visit to our shores. “I couldn’t come last time as I was out injured for a considerable amount of time. So I didn’t get a chance to enjoy Australia or New Zealand or anything really. So, for me it’s a first-time experience. I know I’ll see a lot. I know a lot about where we’re going and what to expect, but until I get there I don’t know. ”

Whilst the band’s previous trip in late August had a session drummer in lieu of Garred, Paul was not bothered by the idea of letting the show go on without him. “I think for me and for all of us it was a case of ‘Right, if it was Luke [Pritchard], who’s got the voice of the band, it’d be a different situation.’ But thankfully, because any other instrument can be remedied, we can fulfill the dates and still play a gig, albeit with one person missing.

“It’s never going to be the same. But for me, I said, ‘The last thing I want us to do is to stop because of me. Please, let’s just carry on. Let just do what we’re meant to do which is play these gigs.’ I didn’t want to be the party pooper, you know.”

Paul makes a particular effort to bring the party to their smaller gigs. “When you play a bigger gig you feel like you’re slightly more regimented. Y’know, cause you have lighting guys and sound guys and certain cues. It’s sort-of like the show is the show. But when you play these small gigs there’s a lot more freedom in so many different ways. You can really use the crowd and mix the set up and go crazy. It reminds us of what it used to be like when we first started. It’s really quite exciting.”

However, Garred precautions us not to take that as a sign of inexperience on the arena stage. “We’ve done the European shows and the British shows, which have been big capacity. We’ve learnt now. Although, if you’d asked us about large shows a year ago, it’d have probably been a bit more nerve-racking. You get used to a size of venue and then you become more comfortable with that. Whereas, if you’re not used to it, it can be quite overwhelming. Now, we enjoy both the small intimate shows and the arena shows for different reasons.”

Nonetheless, with a wider audience comes the unceremonious backlash from the grassroots fans. Whilst it has been a great year for Brighton lads in every sense of the word, there’s no doubt that with the mixed reception to their sophomore release Konk, some of their fan base has shunned their once-idols. Paul, however, sees this more as a challenge than a disappointment. “I think if there ever is a backlash it’s all about the record after to win those people back and make them realise, ‘actually, y’know what? These guys aren’t mucking about. They’re genuine and their songs are good’ – hopefully. That’s how we feel about it. We want to continue to bring albums out and just write good music – great music and keep on pushing how far we can go with this.”

While music is always the focus, style trends and the – œindie rock’ tag have been grimly glued together in the recent past. When our discussion turns to the mainstream’s fascination with image, Garred concedes that the band may have subconsciously created one. “It’s funny. In respect of how we look, I don’t think we go out there with An Image. We just dress how we dress individually. Sometimes we wear the same things, sometimes we look completely different. But when we’re living out of each other’s pockets there seems to be a kind of unity. Not necessarily a visual image. But the unity we have as a band is the image.”

With that in mind, commercial radio – one of their most recent conquests – is one of the areas that Garred and the band want to push the boundaries of. In terms of the difference in quality between commercial and independent radio, Paul clearly sets out his plans. “The whole aim is to take commercial radio to a point where the songs are so good that it doesn’t matter anymore. That people like it so much because of the music itself again.”

The Kooks have landed on our shores. Here’s where to catch them over the next fortnight.

30 Dec – Falls Festival Lorne
31 Dec – Falls Festival, Marion Bay
3 Jan – Southbound Festival, Perth
5 Jan – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
7 Jan – Sunset Sounds, Brisbane Riverstage
8 Jan – Palace Theatre, Melbourne