When you start the year feeling a wee bit lost, and end it by appearing on Channel 4, something is obviously going right, and such is the case for Chelmsford based band The Library Suits. In the last few months they’ve released a single, a full length album, and appeared on The Hollyoaks Music Show, as one of the final nine unsigned bands competing for a performing slot on the mighty Hollyoaks itself!! Our writer Rich, and his bandmates Paul, Jon, and Matt, are busy bees then, but that didn’t stop me tracking them down for a Q&A session to celebrate their second single release of the year, the excellent ‘Christmas Retreat’. Read and enjoy everyone!
2009
1. How do you feel 2009 has gone for The Library Suits?
2009 has been amazing really. We started the year as a band with some hopes and aims, and have finished it far ahead of where we thought we might be! To think this year consisted of an NME gig, a single release, an album release, a Barfly gig, a full page spread in the local paper, and to cap it all a TV performance on Saturday morning on T4! The good side of it has been amazing! There have been low sides though. We were a bit lost as to where the band wanted to be before we finished writing the album, and it all nearly fell apart then, plus we’ve played some truly demoralising gigs, but on the whole its been fantastic. A rollercoaster of emotion you might say.
2. Do you have a favourite gig?
Matt – Album launch show
Rich – Album launch show
Paul – Album launch show
Jon – Barfly gig.
3. What would you like to tell us about your singles and album release from this year?
The single ‘You Don’t Have To Be A Wizard’ was a modest download success, peaking just outside the HMV top 100, and just about making the top 10 of the Indie download charts!
The album ‘Suffer:Recover’ is a full 13 tracks, we’re really really pleased with it (a big thank you to Neak for this!!)
The Xmas song ‘Christmas Retreat’ is available from December 7th. It’s an old fashioned Christmas song. Bells, trumpets, sing-a-longs! We feel its got everything a Christmas song should have!!!! So buy it from the 7th December!!!!! All are available on I-TUNES, hmv.co.uk, play.com, napster, 7digital and also you can listen to it on Spotify.
4. Please compile your 2009 music playlist?!
In terms of new music in 2009 there have been a few stand outs! Biffy Clyro’s ‘Only Revolutions’ is a big favourite. ‘Journal for Plague Lovers’ is an outstanding record also. Offerings from Jamie T, Marmaduke Duke and Paramore have kept us entertained. We’ve also exhausted nearly everything from the 80’s on Spotify (power ballads included) Blur, ACDC, Gaslight Anthem, Journey, Muse, Green Day, Michael Jackson, Magistrates….the list goes on!
5. Name something new that you have learnt or tried this year?
Rich ate crackling for the first time and didn’t like it! Matt tried to be Murray Hewitt for a week and failed! Paul tried to shake his addiction to Mums and failed. Jon tried to do sport and failed. As a band we tried to drink 60 big delicious beers in 1 night and failed. We did
however drink 59, so we’re pleased with that!! (We can just imagine the hangovers!!!)
Christmas/New Year
1. Please introduce us to your Christmas Song, I’ve heard it’s rather good?!
Christmas Retreat has all the traditional elements to a xmas song. It’s a party song, a feel good song, and has nearly every stereotypical Christmas song trait in it….It won’t let you down!
2. What do you think of the other Christmas Songs out there?
We like the older, more upbeat songs – Wizard, Slade, Elton John, The Darkness etc, but a special mention has to go to Last Christmas, and Fairytale of New York which are ace!
3. Music.co.uk have heard a rumour you like cake, so we’re giving you a Christmas Cake to decorate. What would you put on it?
The TLS xmas cake would be layered in sweets, and topped off with probably another cake!! (Ed: Yum!)
4. What would be your ultimate Christmas/New Year party?
The ultimate New Years party would be hosted by Noel Edmonds, with Alan Partridge as the guest of honour! We reckon Queen playing live and also more balloons and alcohol then any other party before! (Ed: Can we come?!)
5. The games normally come out when boredom sets in at Christmas, so what are you guys best at?
TLS would take on anyone at Scrabble, Jenga, Bop It and Tiddley Winks!
The Band
1. Which member of the band is:
a) Most likely to forget their words or music? Matt when drunk!
b) The most stylish? Rich
c) Has the best sense of humour? Jon
d) Has the worst habits? Paul (spends a lot of his time being a cockney…very bad habit indeed!)
e) Takes the longest getting ready? None of us really. But we are ALWAYS late for everything!
2. The Library Suits win some money to spend in a department store, what do you buy with the cash?
We’d buy a new table for band meetings, 4 new black t-shirts for gigs, and a massive packet of tea bags!!
3. Are there any TV shows or characters, that WOULDN’T appear in your songs?
Before he was our mentor on Hollyoaks The Music Show, we would have definitely mentioned Josh Ashworth, however now we know him as Sonny, we think its best to spare him!!
4. I’ve heard you warm up with a Girls Aloud riff, anything else you know the music to, which perhaps you shouldn’t? a guilty pleasure maybe?
We don’t feel guilty about playing any music; however we do often play Beat It, Word Up, More than a Feeling, and anything by Rage or Green Day, just to pass the time!
5. What are your guilty pleasures on facebook/online?
Again there is nothing we look at on the internet that makes us feel guilty!
6. I believe there are football fans in your midst, time to compile your own fantasy football team!
As we support Liverpool, Man U and Tottenham between us, we thought we’d make up a team of those players:
Keeper – Ray Clemence.
Defenders – Jamie Carragher, Alan Hanson, Ledley King, Denis Irwin.
Midfield – Steven Gerrard, Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne, Glen Hoddle, Ryan Giggs.
Strikers – Eric Cantona and the legend Jonnie Wark.
7. Finally, we like to give every act featured the chance to leave a message for all the people that will be reading about them soon.
As a band we want to say a sincere THANK YOU to everyone who supported us this year; all the people who came to the gigs, brought the CD’s, downloaded the single, helped us with promotion! God only knows where we’d be without you…..!
We’ll be back in 2010 with new stuff, hopefully a new album, but until then Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and for God’s sake buy ‘Christmas Retreat’ on Monday 7th Dec………. 😛
If this interview has sparked your interest in the band, then why not head on over to www.myspace.com/thelibrarysuits and find out more, or download a copy of Christmas Retreat now from all good download stores!