It's smoky and loud in the Brudenell Social Club this evening as I have an exclusive chat with the pop picking indie front man of The Lodger, Ben Siddal, as he has a night off their nationwide tour with The Long Blondes.So Ben, how on earth did you manage to secure support for The Long Blondes? So many bands in the country - let alone Leeds - would kill for this kind of opportunity you lucky swine.
If I was feeling particularly untruthful I would say it's because we're a fantastic band that were hand-picked from thousands of lucky hopefuls vying for the chance to join the tour. In reality I suspect it's because I've known The Long Blondes as mates for a long time, and I put on their first ever gig at the HiFi Club back in 2003, and bassist Joe put out some of their early singles through his label. I do think, though, that The Long Blondes should be commended for remembering the little ones such as Joe and I, who put them where they are now...
The tour is sold out for most, if not all, the dates and you've been playing in venues differing in capacity from 700 to 1200, which is a new thing for The Lodger. How are you coping with nerves?
It seems much more natural and relaxing to play in front of big crowds than it does at smaller shows, when you can see the expression on people's faces, I find it nerve-wracking. When it's a sea of people, it's easy. I'm coping with nerves with monumental alcohol consumption.
Which has been your favourite gig so far and why?
Leeds Met was great because I remember seeing a lot of bands there in my youth and used to think "you must be really famous to play there" and daydreamed about playing there myself one day. So that was nice. I also had a good laugh as I had some mates down too. All of the gigs so far have been really good though, it's a sold out tour so the crowds have been big and I think on the whole we've won them over by the end.
What about feedback from the audiences you've played to. Any heckling, song requests or declarations of undying love yet?
So far me and Joe have been offered marriage from a mother and daughter combo and Katie has been described as a "sexy, saucy little swizzler" by an over-zealous male fan.
Seriously though, people seem to really into it on the whole, and we've met some really nice people so far. It's been an adventure.
Drugs, sex and rock n' roll. A healthy diet for a front man. Care to let us in on any booze fuelled antics or late night partying?
Well, I'm a taken man [sorry, ladies], so sexual relations are firmly off the tour platter, drugs are for losers, and rock and roll isn't in my musical vocabulary so I'll have to do a "no comment" on that one.
How are Joe [bassist] and Katie [drums] coping with the tour?
Joe has been busying himself with "stone-shifting" throughout the tour. Allow me to explain. When we started in Brighton he collected a pebble from the beach and put it in his pocket. Once we arrived in Leeds for the second date, he replaced a stone on the ground in Leeds with the Brighton one and took the Leeds one to Hull. And so on. When we finally arrive in Portsmouth the stone will end up back on the south-coast. Don't ask. As for Katie, she's fine as long as she's got somewhere to plug her hair straighteners in.
Have you met any celebrities yet?
Apart from Kate Jackson, sadly not. Other than that, the [recently disbanded] Beautiful South were meant to be at the Hull one but I didn't see them.
What's your favourite colour?
Peroxide Blonde.
Your album [Grown Ups] is released on Double Dragon in April and I imagine you'll be releasing some more singles with it. Do you think this tour will propel you to success and where can you see things going afterwards for The Lodger.
I think it's unwise to have too much of a game plan in terms of where you see yourself in a certain period of time. I just hope that we've won some new fans on this tour who will buy the record when it comes out and come and see us play again in the future.
We recorded the album back in September, so I'm really looking forward to getting that out there in April and seeing what people think to it.
It will be followed by single taken from the album.
I'm also looking forward to taking a break after the album and writing the next record and developing the sound and trying new ideas. We've just recorded a track with James Ford from Simian Mobile Disco a fortnight ago, who did the Klaxons album and the new Arctic Monkeys one, this track will turn up as a stopgap single between albums [summer probably] and is a good indicator for "The Lodger: The Not Difficult 2nd Album". I just need to sit down and write it!
