Hip Parade
Hip, not square (Q&A with Katy Whitelaw)
Glasgow 4-piece Hip Parade have had a sudden rise to semi-stardom, following a battle with fellow Scot Tommy Reilly in Channel 4′s Orange Unsigned series.
However, they still found time to talk to itm?
So the past few months have been pretty hectic, are you enjoying the change of pace and celebrity lifestyle?
Yeah, its been a crazy 6 months! This time last year we were trying to convince our pals to come to our gigs, playing once every couple of months wondering what we were going to do with our lives. A year on and we have been on national telly, have a solid fanbase who go out of their way to come and see us and are actually beginning to make a career from our music its amazing.
What were you all doing before Orange unsigned came along?
We were all working our normal jobs and trying to break through which is really tough because there are so many bands out there in the same situation. We were actually on the brink of giving up the Rob decided to enter us into the show. Next thing we knew we were on TV! It was a total whirlwind going from playing to some friends to playing live in a TV studio in front of over a million viewers every week.
What has been your highlight of the last few months?
There have been so many amazing things that have happened it’s hard to pick just one. Our first sell out gigs, that was a bizarre feeling! We booked a few gigs not knowing what to expect and ended up selling out places like Glasgow and London
But I think for all of us playing at T in the Park was our big BIG highlight.
Were you secretly gutted when Tommy Reilly won? You can admit it!
Yeah, we were raging, we don’t speak anymore!!…..just kidding, we really just couldn’t believe how far we got, we entered because we thought it would be really fun to play our songs on the telly, we couldn’t have dreamed we would have got this much out of it. The further we went the more we thought we could win it but we all agreed getting to the final was a massive achievement. We wanted to finish the show and we managed that, and of all the other acts if anyone else had to win we were glad it was Tommy, he is a mate after all.
Did you know Tommy before the show?
Rob knew him beforehand through a friend. They used to go to the same family Christmas parties somehow, it was a bit of a random connection. It’s fair to say those Christmas parties won’t be the same again, I’m sure they will be forced into a few Kareoke collaborations now!
Do you keep in touch now?
Yeah we can’t get rid of him, he is always showing up at our Glasgow gigs trying to steal the limelight haha… no, seriously though we do keep in touch a lot. The show was on for about 3 or 4 months so we became pretty close.
What are your feelings about two Scottish acts making it to the final stages?
That was crazy, last year there were no Scottish acts in the final 10 which is unbelievable considering the musical talent we have.
What do you ask for in your rider?
The entire first series of Eldorado on DVD, a cardboard cut out of Chico, Keith Chegwin’s autobiography and a selection of 18th century hats….but all we normally get is beer and some sandwiches!!
Tell us about your TBreak experience?
It was AMAZING! We were so nervous because at some points the tent had been pretty empty but when we came on there was a big crowd and they were pretty wild! It was so amazing to see people up on shoulders throwing beer and singing along to our tunes. W e were all pretty freaked out afterwards but in a good way – best gig of our lives easily!
What is the biggest/best gig to date?
Well, Tbreak was the best gig but the biggest crowd we’ve played to was at the SECC in Glasgow. We done an event called ‘Choices for life’ which basically makes kids aware of the perils of drink and drugs. So it was to every pupil of a certain age in Scotland. We stepped out in front of 10,000 of them and they were INSANE!!! It was pretty terrifying but gave us the experience of being that famous…and we liked it!
What is the worst?
Considering that T in the Park was our best gig we actually played another festival in Stirling called “Sound Central” long before Orange Unsigned act days, which was probably our worst. It was basically in the field behind the Wallace monument and was full of nutters! We were supposed to camp out but while we were on stage, as well as one of the guitars breaking, Dave’s tent got set on fire so we all ended up sleeping in our cars and leaving very early the next day. We were a little wary of playing another festival but things ran much smoother this time!
You have posted on your bebo there is v. exciting news ahead…want to give us a sneaky taster?
Well, we will hopefully be recording our debut album soon – but shhhh….
Who is Katie in ‘Katie Goes Dancing’…can I pretend it’s me?
Of course you can! But we may have told a few other Katie’s that its them as well! We like to keep it a secret, it is just a good time song. It’s every girl on a Friday night getting ready to go out and party. We get a lot of friends requests from Katies on myspace so its worked out pretty well for us.
Who is the lass in ‘Girl On The Radio’?
Most people thought it was about Lauren Laverne but it’s really about Michelle McManus because Sal had a bit of a thing for her……
What are the plans for next single/album/world domination?
We haven’t decided on the single yet, we have been writing like crazy the past 6 months and keep arguing about what the single should be because we all have our favourites. We all can’t wait to record the album.
Have you had any dramatic band fall outs?
We’ve been quite lucky that way, we are having way too much fun at the moment. We have silly arguments but that’s what happens when you have brothers in the band….well actually its mostly Dave and Rob that argue!
If you were going to throw any item out of your hotel window what would it be?
This question left us a bit stumped so we decided to ask some of our fans on Facebook and Twitter and some of their suggestions included: the room service man, the minibar, traffic wardens, a bogey, the interviewer!!, swine flu!, DAVE!!!, and some other that were too rude to mention!!! Some of our fans are a bit crazy!
If you could order anything on room service what would it be?
Earplugs to combat Sal’s snoring, Air fresheners for Dave’s smelly feet, Irn Bru for Rob’s addiction and an egg to keep Kris amused.
The band’s Bebos, Facebooks and tweets all accessible from www.hipparade.co.uk
Katy Whitelaw
