“It’s the Best Job in the World.”

• filed under Music

The good folks at Sony were kind enough to set up a short interview with Rab Allan of Glasvegas yesterday. The band has been on a short tour of the U.S. that lands tonight in DC.  Tickets for the show are still available.  This is likely the last time that a band this good will be playing a venue as small as the Rock and Roll Hotel — so get them while you can.  As regular readers know, I’m a huge fan of the band, and was delighted to find that Rab couldn’t have been nicer or more generous with his time.

A transcript of the interview follows:

Howard Wolfson: Welcome back to the states.

Rab Allan: Thank you.

H: You’re here just for the week correct?

R: We are actually here for about 2 weeks. We’re doing some recording in New York after the shows and some promos so we’ll be here about 2 weeks.

H: Is this for the highly touted Christmas album?

R: Yes, we’re doing 2 days of pre-production in New York. And then we fly straight to Transylvania.

H: I didn’t know there were recording studios in Transylvania.

R: There aren’t but actually we are kind of building us a studio. We’ve hired a space and we’re just going to take equipment over with us.

H: Why a Christmas album  Is Christmas music bigger in the UK than in the US?

R: I don’t know. For us as a band we really like Christmas. We think it is quite a romantic thing. I guess James always wanted to do a Christmas album. Ever since we started the band, he always wanted to do either a Christmas single or a Christmas album and I guess now would be the chance to do it. So we’re taking it.

H: Do you think you’ll end up doing an album or just the single?

R: We have 10 songs.

H: Wow. And all Christmas themed?

R: Yes.

H: That’s great. As a big fan, I’m looking forward to it.

R: I heard some of the songs, the demos, and they sound incredible so I’m really excited about getting started.

H: That’s great.  You have had this hugely successful debut in the UK, congratulations on that. Obviously you’re not as well known in the States – at least not yet. Do you have any sense of how you go about breaking the band in the States? How important is the States to the band?

R: To us, it’s very important. From the first day of the band, I know that to all of us America has been really important. I think we’re going to put in a lot of in America to try and make it. Next year we’re going to do quite a lot, quite a few tours. I think to a lot of people in Britain and to a lot of bands, they want to break America. That’s the big thing because not a lot of people can. It’s quite a hard market to get into.

H: There’s no question. It’s amazing there are some bands that are huge in the UK and are barely known at all in the States.

R: Yeah, totally. I don’t know why that is — but we’re actually enjoying out time here, which is quite an exciting thing.  We’re just looking forward to doing more shows.  Last night we were at Radio City with Echo and the Bunnymen, which was incredible.

H: How was that show?

R: It was incredible. A really special venue. It was just incredible standing on stage looking out. We were told before that that people like Frank Sinatra had played there. Legends. It was special. And Echo and the Bunnymen was incredible. They were just fantastic.

H:  In the UK, you’re now playing to pretty big sized audiences that are there to hear you and can sing along with every word. Here in the States obviously, the audiences are smaller. Is it at all difficult to being a pretty big headliner in the UK and then come over here and play for audiences that are smaller?

R: I think for some people probably, but I think you have to be able to adapt to whatever situation you’re in whether playing to different sized venues or different crowds. We would give 110% whether we were playing to 1000 people or 1 person because we enjoy being on stage and playing the music.  But as long as we are enjoying ourselves, I think that’s the most important thing.

H:  I saw you open for Echo and was impressed with how much focus and energy you had for an audience that was much smaller. You guys definitely seemed pretty passionately into it.

R: We are. We all believe in the music. Personally, I hope that comes across when people come to see us: that the music and the band are confident. The way we portray the music in a confident way. Do you see a lot of bands that come over from Britain?

H: Some. It’s not just bands from Britain. It’s anytime where a band has been used to playing for a larger audience and somehow finds itself in front of a smaller audience. Sometimes you can imagine people have the reaction of: gee, where are all the people? Some bands just react badly to that. There are other bands who take it as a challenge or see it as an opportunity. It definitely struck me that you guys were seeing it as an opportunity.

R: I would agree with that definitely.

H: Just a couple more quick questions. All of the reviews of the album mention Phil Spector and mention the girl doo-wop groups from the 50s and the 60s. How influenced do you really see yourself by American music?

R: I think in general, as a band we’re probably quite influenced by just America in general. As far as the music goes, Phil Spector and the girl groups is what we were listening to. I mean James wrote the album basically. I think in terms of the band, it’s definitely a big influence. Even today, we were still speaking of Phil Spector today and again, obviously making the album in America as well…

H: That’s right. What were your impressions of New York when you were here making the album?

R: I have to say that I want to move to New York [ed note -- Rab is clearly joking]. I guess my impressions are very good.

H: Your fan base back home might not react well to that.

R: They might not, I would call some of them so they wouldn’t feel too left out.  I would definitely like to spend some more time in New York. It’s such a great city. It’s quite a special place.

H: We would welcome you here. Two more questions and then I’ll let you go. The music is in a lot of ways, it sounds very American. It’s very universal to American-sounding ears, if there are such things if I can say that. The lyrics are very specific to your experience and the band’s experience in Glasgow, in the UK, in Scotland. Ever a worry about translating that very specific experience to an audience outside of the UK?

R: I don’t think the band would ever worry about that. I think maybe the record company was worried, and maybe other people. But I think when we left Scotland and we’ve been doing gigs all over England, we’ve been doing some gigs in Europe - I think quickly you realize that although the lyrics are maybe Scottish, the themes in the songs are universal. People being left out. Parents breaking up. That happens all over the world. Anyone can relate to that. I think that in that sense, people can relate to it. I don’t think it’s only a Scottish thing. I don’t think that.

H: I was struck when I was there over the summer  a couple of times, not knowing about it at all, all of a sudden reading about all of the stabbings in the UK as an American, not really having a sense of that and then saying, oh that’s where that song comes from.

R: The song was actually written 2 years ago

H: You were ahead of the curve.

R: Yes. We had good songs. When that all comes together, you can get something quite special.

H: No question. And any big thoughts or little thoughts on what it’s like to go from a band that was unsigned to a band that gets signed and then essentially has a number 1 album in the course of a very short period of time? What’s that been like?

R: You know what? It’s the best job in the world and it’s not even a job. It’s like having a hobby that you get paid to do. Every day is exciting. I’m doing the thing that I love. Maybe the past 10, 11 months, I have not had a bad day. Every day has been fantastic. We’re all best friends in the band and we get to spend it with each other. It’s the best thing in the world. I just think if more people followed things that they actually want to do there’d be a lot more happier people. We all had to take a chance and leave our jobs and be unemployed to deal with the band, and take out loans from the bank. It was hard but I think that pays off in the end.

H:  I thank you for your time.

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