What happens in Glasvegas…

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End of Term catches up with Scotland’s hottest new band, Glasvegas, and chats with drummer Caroline McKay about their new found fame, being in a band with three boys… oh, and Scotland’s other national drink.

SO, HOW’S THE TOUR GOING?
Great, magic. I mean, we’ve only got one more day down here in Nottingham and then we’re back home for a day
and a half and then we’re off to New York, which will be absolutely amazing.

GLASVEGAS IS A FANTASTIC NAME. WHO THOUGHT IT UP?
It was James. He just kind of came up with it. I think it’s because he’s not ashamed of the fact that he comes from Glasgow and sings with a Scottish accent. We just thought it was a sweet sounding name.

HOW DID YOU GET TOGETHER? DID YOU KNOW EACH OTHER BEFOREHAND?
Well, Robert and James are cousins, so they’ve always known each other! Paul went to school with Robert, and I met James when I was working in my friend’s shop at the weekends. We all became friends and decided to hang out and get drunk together and listen to music. Then they decided that they should have me in the band!

DID YOU PLAY DRUMS BEFORE YOU JOINED THE BAND?
No, absolutely not! I just learnt for the purpose of being in the band with the boys!

WHAT’S IT LIKE BEING IN A BAND WITH THREE BOYS?
I’ll tell you exactly how it is. This little monkey [Robert] – has just said “She learnt ‘cos she wanted her……..” No! I can’t say that! You get the drift! That’s what it’s like being in a band with three boys!

YOU’RE A BRAVE GIRL.
I don’t know whether I’m brave or stupid. I think it’s a mixture of both!

MANY PEOPLE HAVE PICKED UP ON A STRONG 1950’s VIBE WITH THE ALBUM. WERE YOU BROUGHT UP ON 50’s MUSIC?
Very much so. I’m very, very 50s/60s influenced. I like mod and Northern Soul, but then I’ve also got the influence of 50s girl groups and I like the kind of Wanderers soundtrack… that kind of vibe. So that’s what we have in common, as well as later artists.

WHO ARE YOU LISTENING TO AT THE MOMENT?
At the minute, White Lies – they’re really good. Thomas Tantrum, who we’ve had on tour with us, are brilliant – they’re a great band.

JAMES SINGS WITH A STRONG SCOTTISH ACCENT. IS THAT SOMETHING HE’S WORKED AT, OR IS IT JUST THE WAY HE SOUNDS?
That’s just the way he is. He is a boy from the East End of Glasgow, he’s proud of his accent so why should he change it? He wasn’t brought up in Tennessee, so why would he sing that way!

YOU’RE OFF TO THE STATES SOON. HAVE YOU PLAYED THERE BEFORE?
We haven’t played there, but we did record our album in Brooklyn, so we were in New York for two months – which was amazing. This is the first time we’re actually going to play in the US so it’s very exciting!

WHAT’S IT LIKE PLAYING IN GLASGOW, YOUR HOME TOWN?
It’s amazing. You get a great crowd and it’s so good to be home. I think everyone should go away just so they can come home and realise how lucky they are and what they have. I love Glasgow!

DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE SONG FROM THE ALBUM?
My favourite track at the minute is SAD Light. I like that one, it reminds me of recording in New York. Because it was a new song, I remember sitting in my bedroom in this beautiful old brownstone building learning to play it on my pads and thinking: “That’s such an emotional song,” and missing everybody from home.

HOW HAVE YOU FOUND THE FAME THING? ANY WEIRD EXPERIENCES YET WITH FANS ON THE STREET?
Aye, it’s very bizarre – people knowing your name and asking: “Caroline, can you sign this?” It’s the same for all of us. It’s very
surreal. Every day is too bizarre to comprehend, really. Anything can happen. I have managed to meet two of my heroes – Paul Weller and Debbie Harry, which was amazing! We played with Paul Weller at the iTunes event in London, and we met Blondie at Latitude and we got some photos taken. It was the first time I have been like: “Oh! My! God! Debbie Harry! My heroine!”

SO, ARE YOU JUST ENJOYING IT?
We are trying our best to, but everything’s moving so fast you just take in what you can.

WHAT’S PLANNED FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR?
We’re in America for two or three weeks, I think, and then we are going to start recording for the Christmas album. When we come back from New York we’re hoping to get a few days off and then we’ll be on tour again. After that, we have to go to Transylvania to finish recording! It’s all madness!

DO YOU MISS IRN BRU WHEN YOU’RE OUTSIDE SCOTLAND?
No, we have it on our rider! Buckfast and Irn Bru – it cures hangovers. We need it. We can’t live without it! We are so very proud!

Glasvegas 5th September
Glasgow QMU

It starts with me standing outside, in the freezing cold with the pounding excitement of seeing Glasgows finest band play a hometown show. From being unsigned this time last year and a whisker away from taking the number one album slot from Metallica, you could say that this year has been a bit of a whirlwind for the four Glasweigians. But from the look on James Allans face as he strolls onto the stage, with 900 fans screaming ‘Here we ****** go’, he may as well have walked into the Clansman for a pint. As for Paul, Rab and Caroline, they seem as unphased as James. With the chants still going, Glasvegas thunder into ‘Flowers and Football Tops’ where the whole room starts bouncing. The perfect opener is followed by the infamous intro to ‘Geraldine’ where 99% of the crowd begins to sing along (the other 1% were ordering at the bar). The hammering beat turns swiftly into the swaying melody of ‘It’s My Own Cheating Heart’ .

The crowd lets out a deafening roar as the last song of the night kicks off. It can only be ‘Daddys Gone’ and as the drums pound through every inch of the building, you can’t help but grin like a loon. As the music dies down to a singular cymbal, the band leave until its just the front man. Looking slightly in awe, James Allan thanks the crowd about a thousand times, shakes the front rows hands, and scurries off looking like the happiest man alive.

By Lyndsay Gallacher from Whitehill Secondary School.

MORE INFO
www.glasvegas.net
www.myspace.com/glasvegas

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