In a cosy dressing room backstage an hour or so before the doors open, Frightened Rabbit sit as if they have no idea what to do before the show begins. Off the bat they seem like they don’t mind doing this interview at all as they offer me a drink and sit patiently waiting for the questions to begin.
You have recently released the video for your new single, ‘Swim Until You Can’t See Land’. Is there a specific reason the audience are holding torches?
Scott: Yeah, it was cheaper. We didn’t have a massive budget.
Andy: The lighting is usually the most expensive part of any video.
Scott: The director suggested the idea which we thought worked. So we kept it.
Is this song an indicator of more upbeat material on the new album?
Scott: Yeah, there’s definitely a bit of that. ‘Swim Until You Can’t See Land’ is a good introduction to the kind of stuff on the new album. This album certainly has a more uplifting sound than The Midnight Organ Fight as well as having more joy, but there’s still a dark edge to it.
And what’s the new the album going to be called?
Scott: The Winter of Mixed Drinks.
When starting out, how easy did you find it to get your music heard? Was there any nights that gave local bands a chance to play and get their music out there?
Scott: Glasgow is such a different atmosphere to Stirling. There’s not really any one promoter who gives young bands a chance. It’s more like getting a guy who puts on gigs to like your band. Just pestering them and getting contacts. There could be a last minute pullout and they will have your number, so they could ask you to fill the slot.
Andy: But if they have your number, there’s going to be times where they phone you up to ask for a loan of a drum kit or something and it will just be a pain in the neck.
Scott: It’s just persistence in the face of brick walls, really.
You played at the Tolbooth a while back. How does it feel being back now that you‘re more recognised?
Scott: Well, back then not many people had heard of us, and I doubt many people there knew who we were. The gig itself was just after the first record and we played as a three piece so it is definitely different to be back again. It helps that the venue is filled with great people. You never forget a venue that is nice to you.
You have been touring pretty vigorously over the past year, and you soon embark on another one with Modest Mouse. How does being on the road affect you as a band?
Scott: There are definite fall outs. Grant (the band’s drummer) and I are brothers, so we have been winding each other up our entire lives. People also get really tired. And drunk. The mixture of being tired and drunk isn’t the best one while on tour. Another thing, if you’re in a band, don’t get a driving licence, you get made drive everywhere, and that’s just boring. I guess the only good part of driving around the country is you get to see the countryside.
Grant: But you can also see that from the back.
Does playing your songs every night begin to make the feeling you had at the time of writing the song seem less significant?
Scott: No, not less significant. By the time of playing the song, that feeling has almost completely left me because two years or so has passed and its difficult to remember exactly how I was feeling. But it is still very important while playing live because the audience have taken that song and applied it to their own lives and emotions.
Finally, how does playing acoustic shows such as the one recorded at The Captains Rest compare to playing shows that are fully electric?
Scott: I think its nice to give the songs a sense of where they came from, because almost all of them are written with just a guitar in a dark room. It’s also nice to change things a bit to keep them fresh, and an acoustic show is a brilliant way to do that. I also change the melody a lot when I sing live which also stops things becoming boring or dry. Playing live should take things up a notch from the album. I mean, it’s impossible to recreate the album playing live anyway, due to the sheer amount of time put into to making things on the album right. When we play live it’s definitely heavier than the recordings. Sticking to the album bores me shitless sometimes.
The Winter of Mixed Drinks is out in early 2010. ‘Swim Till You Can’t See Land’ is out now (December 09). Here’s the video…