Sadly Editors had just gone to Europe, so I didn't have time to personally speak to any member of the band for a quick Q & A session - However you've got the next best thing as Ed Lay (drummer) kindly emailed me with some personal and collective answers into some not too probing questions.Are you surprised at all by the success of 'The Back Room' album?
We have always been confident in the album, and from the very beginning we have attempted to play to as many people as possible and turn them into our fans. At the end of last year though, when the album went Gold, I think we all expected that would be where it would finish, and we would start to concentrate fully on the follow up. Since then, due to playing with Franz Ferdinand and releasing Munich which actually got fantastic radio support, the album sales have gone from strength to strength, and getting a platinum disc was a real treat, and a bit of a shock I guess.
After you released the album was there anything you wish you could have changed about it?
Nothing. We recorded that album in the spring of 2005, and it represents exactly where Editors were at that point in time. We wanted to make a debut album that was exciting to play live and to listen to, something that has depth but not overcomplicated. None of us feel the need to revisit those songs and record them again, we just want to write and record more.
You have emerged as one of the scene's favourite bands this past 2 years, and will no doubt be winning plenty of awards in the near future but what would be the highest accolade for you?
I was talking to a guy at a show in Kansas the other night who had been doing some journalism at the South By Southwest festival. He told me that he would ask every band member he interviewed to give him their favourite performance of the week, and he told me that 'nearly all' of them said it was us. To have other bands make the effort to watch and enjoy our show, on what is a pretty exhausting schedule for all the bands in the Texas heat, is a real pat on the back.
Success hasn't come overnight for you and you have toured quite extensively over the past year. Did you ever become disillusioned about playing the same set of songs day in day out? How do you keep yourselves fresh mentally?
It is all about the crowd. We are playing a long tour in the States at the moment, and 99% of the people at the shows haven't seen us before, and 50% of them have only heard one song. So they are fresh to us and we have to go into a gig with the attitude to try and win them over. They have paid good money to come and see us so we must play our set with as much energy and passion as we do to sold out audiences back at home. I see it as our challenge to win them over.
As a band, do you have a manifesto and if so what is it?
We all want to make a career out of this band. We try and surround ourselves with people we trust and want to work with. Everyone in the team, from our managers to stage technicians must be good people who want to be involved with Editors also.
What is the hardest thing about being in a band for this genre of music?
Touring is key, and we all spend a lot of time away from our loved ones. It can get stressful sometimes, but there is the other side of the coin of course, as we are all seeing brand new places throughout the world, which is a privilege.
You've toured a little in America, but is conquering the States an important factor for you?
As I mentioned, we are trying to build a career for this band, and selling records in this part of the world would help that immensely. It is a fantastic country to tour as it is so diverse and every town or city offers a whole new crowd with different attitudes and mannerisms. I'm sure we will be spending a lot of our time here.
Do you feel the American market has become more receptive to British bands after the success of groups such as Franz Ferdinand, Kasabian and Coldplay over there?
Americans have always been interested in the British music scene. Obviously there are periods where a few bands are popular at one time; leading for people to assume there is a 'scene'. At the moment indie/ rock/ guitar music is actually pop music back home too, it's on daytime national radio and Saturday morning telly, so more Americans are just picking up on the big bands in the UK.
What would be the top 3 reasons for listening to your music?
It's not my place to say.
Describe your worst experience as a band to date?
We played a one off gig in Nashville for a well known Bourbon distiller. It was full of English competition winners who I don't think had ever heard of us and it was pretty lame. Coupled with the fact it took us 26 hours to travel directly from a gig in Germany, spending just over 30 hours in the States before jumping on a plane back home for some UK shows the very next day, that was a dark period.
You will be playing Leeds Millennium Square on 19th May 2006. What is your preference of venue? Do you feel you connect more with a smaller crowd or do you prefer playing festivals?
I like both. It's refreshing to play in a tiny little venue, with a choked PA & sweat dripping from the ceiling, and people dancing like nutters. But it's also a thrill to play to thousands of people where the music has time to breath and flow either in an arena (as we found on the Franz Ferdinand tour) or at a festival.
What's the weirdest record in your collections?
There's an album by a band called Neutral Milk Hotel called In the Aeroplane Over The Sea. Crazy name, crazy album.
Do you have a song at the moment that you just can't get out of your head, if so what is it?
We have just been out with an American band called Mobius Band. They have a number of excellent tunes which I have been unable to forget on many days of the tour. My current favourite is a song called 'Starts Off With A Bang'. Check it out.
When is your next album going to be put into production?
We are hopefully going to get some studio time towards the end of the summer, maybe in-between festival dates. We have to decide on who is going to produce the album too so there is still a load of preparation to do but the songs are coming along, and we are really enthusiastic about getting into recording mode once more.
Thanks to Ed for sparing his time for Leeds Music Scene. Editors play Millennium Square on Friday 19th May 2006 with support from Biffy Clyro and Forward Russia. Tickets are available now.
