We Were Promised Jetpacks
The band name is pretty unusual, did you have other names and what made you settle on this one? Did you ever get your Jetpack?
Yeah we had loads, but they were all awful. in fact, moving clocks run slow was on our list which is a song title. It’s a pretty gross band name but works as a title, i hope…
Glasgow’s music scene is legendary. What have been some of the bands from Glasgow that have been an influence on the band?
The obvious ones, i’m afraid. Frightened Rabbit, The Twilight Sad. I’m just getting into mogwai now. it’s taken me long enough. vertigo of bliss and infinity land, the biffy clyro albums, were a huge influence. because of those records, we’ve tried to get that loud and melodic at the same time thing going…
I found your band via Myspace. How do you guys feel about using the social media sites in getting your music out there?
We’re fans of myspace, we’ve been using it for years.. when we first got started it was how we got gigs. There’s far too many these days of course, but there’s no harm in letting people know what you’re up to if people want to find out. it’s a nice way for fans to keep in touch with bands. I’m saying this from the point of view of a fan of course, we’re not big-headed enough to assume we have fans who care what we’re doing!
You’ve played SXSW this year. How did you get on the bill and how did you enjoy the experience?
We enjoyed the experience a lot! We applied for funding from the Scottish Arts Council, who paid for our transport and accommodation. they were great. you can apply for all sorts of funding from them, and if they dig the idea and think it’ll be worthwhile for the band and/or the Scottish “scene” then they fund what they can. good bunch of people…
What’s the best aspect of live performance?
When it sounds great on stage and there’s people in the room. it’s still pretty fun if those things aren’t there, though, but most fun when they are. loads of noise is always good!
You have a single out, “Quiet Little Voices’ did the label allow you to pick this song as the single?
it was a joint decision. that’s one of the many good things about FatCat. we chatted, and it seemed like the obvious choice. it’s our oldest song, and probably one of the only ones that’s quite catchy. some radio stations had started playing the demo, so we hopped on the bandwagon and put it out!
I am a big b-sides fan. So, would you ever see you getting a song remixed for a possible b-side?
Absolutely. We struggle greatly for b-sides. when we write, if a song isn’t a keeper then we ditch it and it’s gone forever. we’ve never really thought “oh, we better keep it for a b-side”. our next single is going to have a proper b-side as it was a song we recorded for the album that didn’t really fit. ut we’re probably going to struggle so much writing for the second album that it’ll be remixes all the way from now on!
How is the rest of year looking like for the band?
Fun! we’ve got the album coming out in june and a wee tour, with some summer festivals. we’re pretty excited! after we finish our exams of course…
Photo: Neil Thomas Douglas
