Lorna Irvine speaks with two members of the band about their work and inspiration.
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Glasgow's
own indie sweethearts, The Serious Men, have been ripping up the gig circuit
for a few years. Musically, they are melodic, thrashy and a bit
garagey/noirish. Despite knowing cheeky lead singer Adam Hodes since college, I
still...kinda like them. So I caught up with him and drummer Scott
McKellar to enquire as to their current activities and future plans for next
year.
What are you up to at the moment?
Adam: Wondering whether my Gran was right earlier today when she said that my stubble was either too long or too short, but definitely not the right length.
Scott: Playing GeoGuessr- a geography-based game where one has to guess a location from one's surroundings. Despite having never been, I now consider myself an expert on Brazilian, Australian and South African infrastructure.
Who/what are your biggest inspirations?
Adam: Springsteen, Nile Rodgers, Brendan Benson, Larry David and Up The Junction by Squeeze. And the obvious ones like Gandhi, Geldof and Feltz.
Scott: Springsteen, Hitchens (Cristopher, not Peter) and Johnson from Peep Show.
Maths question: If Babyshambles are 1 and The Strokes are 7, and the original Stooges line-up are 10...what number are The Serious Men?
Adam: Like Babyshambles, we are a group of addicts attempting to perform music. In our case, we are addicted to love, Haribo Tangfastics and the rejection of sound grooming advice. Like The Strokes, our drummer is fab. Like the original Stooges, our lead singer will eventually resemble an aged Jennifer Aniston. So, in answer to your question...9.
Scott: I prefer The Strokes to The Stooges (sacrilege, I know) so your scale is not linear. What you have is a ternary phase diagram. I would put The Serious Men in The Strokes corner, but with significant overlap into The Stooges.
You have been known to drop a little Foux Du Fa Fa by Flight of the Conchords into your set, but personally I would like to see you cover The Cramps' Human Fly. Which song have you yet to cover that you'd like to?
Adam: Our first cover was Can't Explain by The Who. The response of anyone who witnessed it was, “Well, don't try, then.” I'd like to think we've improved since then. Thirsty Dog by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is one we've talked about before, and I'd love to have a go at Ghost on the Highway by The Gun Club.
Scott: We have a somewhat chequered past in terms of our ability to do good cover versions, so this is a rather touchy subject at Serious band practice. After once witnessing Hodes's karaoke skills, I quite fancy Anita Ward's Ring My Bell.
Where is your favourite place to play and why?
Adam: In the garden, because that's where the swing is and I like the swing. With the band, I'd say Sleazy’s. There aren't many other venues that will provide you with Buckfast and Gingerbread Russians. 13th Note is always fun too. The sound's usually good and I like being on the same level as the audience. Physically, not mentally.
Scott: The 13th Note. Fantastically noisy and sweaty. Plus, it's quite small, so if nobody shows up to a gig it still feels full.
What are your plans for 2014? Can we expect a Commonwealth Games opener or a stint on Alex Salmond's Hootsfest?*
Adam: I'd love to open the games under the pretence that we'd be performing Flower of Scotland, only to launch into 7 Seconds by Neneh Cherry and Youssou N' Dour. As for Hootsfest, I hope this is the year that Alex Salmond joins Jools Holland at the piano for a “boogie” or even a “woogie.” Normally, that's just a 3am hallucination for me. We've got a lot of new material, so we'll be recording some of that and playing some gigs to let people hear the fruits of our labour.
Scott: Gigs in Glasgow and Edinburgh and releasing some new songs. With the requisite helping of rejection and disillusionment, obviously.
* I made that one up, although the way things are going...
For Serious Men music, go to: https://soundcloud.com/theseriousmen-1
All Serious Men photos are by Keith Lloyd Davenport. His website is: www.lloydffoto.co.uk
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