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Tom - The Hosts
Interview - 10 July 2007DW: First of all, for those people who aren’t familiar with the band, can you give us a bit of background. How did you all meet, how long have you been together that sort of thing.
TOM: I’ve known Bailey for years, we went to school together and when he finally moved into town (he used to live out in the sticks) we started writing the odd bits of songs round his flat. It was a good time for us; we went to see lots of band to give us an idea of what (and who) was out there. I guess it was just before the Monkeys broke and Sheffield definitely felt like the place to be.
Shippers came next, we both knew him from his time in “The Fights” and one night we bumped into him in the pub and got chatting. We met the following day, told him the plan and he was in without even hearing anything.
Jim and Ben were slightly trickier to enlist. We met with several perspective drummers but for one reason or another none seemed right, we’d been rehearsing with Richy (Reverend & The Makers) but with his work schedule starting to build we knew he wouldn’t be able to help us out for long.
One night we were at the Grapes and I got chatting to Tim from Bromheads and he said he might know someone who could help us out. This turned out to be Ben President and he joined after a couple of rehearsals.
Jim was last in and most difficult to convince. I’d know him for a few years he ran a studio in town and The Hosts had recorded some early tunes there. I knew he liked the songs; I just had to convince him he was the right man for the job. This took several drunken nights out and then finally he agreed (blackmail is a very powerful tool).
DW: You have a very 60’s vibe to you both visually and musically, is that a fair judgement and who would you cite as musical influences (either old or new)?
TOM: I think I know where your coming from but trying to pin point the sound of the band your in is very difficult, I take influence from all over the place.
My Dad was a huge punk fan and my Mum loved the Beatles so when I was growing up I had The Pistols in one ear and Love Me Do in the other. I can remember my Dad playing me Elvis Costello and the Stranglers, you know actually sitting me down and putting the headphones on and saying, “Listen to this”. He gave me all his records a few years back, which was amazing.
DW: Was there a defining moment when you decided you wanted to be in a band, or is it something that you’ve always aspired to?
TOM: Maybe Live Aid, I don’t actually know, but I do remember watching it as a kid. I went to a few gigs when I was really young and I guess it stuck with me, being in a band is the only thing I’m really any good at and I’ve been playing my own music since I was 13.
DW: At your recent Leadmill slot supporting Reverend & The Makers, you had more photographers in the press pit than the other bands – either you know a lot of photographers or, my preferred reason, you have quite a buzz about you – have you been attracting the attention of record labels and local media?
TOM: When we first started myself and Bailey just said we wanted to form a band to gig, we had no real big ideas of a record deal we were just going to do our thing and see what happened. Through word of mouth and the Myspace site we have attracted some quite interesting people both in and outside the industry.
We’re 9 gigs in and the set only has two songs that survive from the first show so at the moment I’m happy just to write and gig. If the labels want us right now they’ll have to come and find us.
DW: What is your approach to song writing. Is it something that you are all involved in or is it primarily the idea of one of the band more than the others.
TOM: Musically we write as a band and I do the lyrics.
DW: What music are you currently listening to yourselves?
TOM: This tends to go in cycles. At the moment I’m listening to a lot of Johnny Cash it seems to be the only thing really floating my boat right now. The White Album and Rubber Soul are also getting a bit of an outing on my record player along with a lot of motown stuff.
I really rate the Cold War Kids album and a record called “Movie Monster” by a band from Texas called Soundteam who played over here last year with The Walkmen.
As I say it goes in cycles next month I’ll probably be having my Bowie half hour…….
DW: So Gig No. 10 takes place at the Leadmill in a couple of days, that’s quite an achievement. How are you all feeling about that?
TOM: Its great everyone wants to play the Leadmill.
DW: What are your best and worst gigs so far and why?
TOM: I don’t think any gig has gone so badly wrong yet as to constitute a worst gig (touch wood). I think the best one was gig 9, which was the Reverend show last month at the Leadmill, the crowd were great and we played really well.
DW: Arctic Monkeys aside, how healthy is the music scene in Sheffield at the moment and what other bands from the area would you recommend we check out?
TOM: I would say it’s very healthy. There are probably more Sheffield bands putting records out now than at any other time. The other good thing is Sheffield also still has a lot of great-unsigned bands up its sleeve and so should continue to produce good music for some time to come.
Check out ‘Shut Up Dracula’ they’re going to be massive.
DW: And finally on a lighter note, which of The Hosts – has the most? (I’ll leave you to define ‘most’!!)
TOM:
Most Hair - Ben President
Most Glasses - Shippers
Most Odd Middle Name - Jim
Most Distance Between Himself And His Lady - Bailey
Most Interviews Done For The Hosts - TomUpcoming Shows
28 July - Threads @ DQ Bar - Sheffield