20 Questions with… Hot Club de Paris

-

Our infamous 20 Questions have had a bit of break whilst we reformulated them, now with 10% extra stuff… So, who better to kick off the Second Coming than Matthew Smith, guitarist/vocalist for the wonder of modern pop that is Hot Club de Paris who release new single ‘Hey! Housebrick’ on the Monday and new album Live At Dead Lake on 16th June, both through Moshi Moshi.

1. Describe your sound in 3 words.
Buy our records.

2. What was the first record you ever bought? And where did you buy it?
I think it was Ugly Kid Joe’s first EP and I bought it in Australia many many years ago. It contains a particularly bonkers Black Sabbath medley thing.

3. What’s the best cure for a hangover?
Hair of the cups of tea.

4. What’s on your rider?
Beers that we never drink because we drive, fruit and a specific request that nobody goes out and buys tons of sweets as is often the case.

5. How do you get ready for a live show?
Arrive on time, strap instrument to body/sit down behind instrument, commence performance. I have witnessed group hugs and those teenage mutant ninja turtle style central group high fives… it goes over my head.

6. What’s your favourite song to play live?
‘Call Me Mr. Demolition Bal’l… it’s the first song on our new album. I also like saying that it’s the first song on our new album as that’s the opening line of ‘Check Your Head’ by the Beastie Boys.

7. What’s your guilty pleasure?
Bad american science fiction/horror TV series. The kind that you get bullied for liking.

8. Who would win in a fight, a stoat or a goat and why?
I doubt such an inter-species clash of the titans is particularly likely to occur, therefore I am not going to speculate on the outcome of the improbable.

9. Who’s your favourite new band at the moment? Tell us a bit about them.
Arms at Last are probably the band I see that most at the moment that haven’t done an album. They’re my friends but they’re awesome too. It’s Kinsella band influenced indie rock, much the same as a lot of the bands I like. http://myspace.com/armsatlast

10. Who would play you in a film based upon your life?
Someone desperate for work.

11. Dead or alive, what 5 acts would you have play with you at a festival?
Queen circa 1986, Bruce Springsteen circa 1976, Owls with Mike Kinsella on drums, Mike Watt and the Black Gang with original recording line up, SSS.

12. If push comes to shove, what is your all-time favourite album?
Owls Self Titled.

13. What’s your most memorable on the road story?
There was this one hilarious time when Al was hillarious and we all laughed lots and lots!

14. If your life flashed before your eyes, what would be the highlights?
I’d probably go for a bloopers reel.

15. What’s the best piece of advice someone has ever given you and did you take notice?
“Stop being a miserable”. Alasdair Smith, all the time and no I didn’t.

16. If you had to leave a body part to science, what would it be?
The misery stump.

17. What’s the best book you’ve read and film you’ve seen in the last 6 months?
I read an ace book on 18th Century medicine. It was completely depressing yet made you thankful that you didn’t have to get 3 pints of blood drained by a barber everytime you have a little cold. I saw John Rambo last night, which was about as violent as 18th Century medicine… but that wasn’t particularly good. I really liked The Dhajeeling Ltd but other than that I’ve been pretty disappointed with what I’ve seen recently.

18. What three things could you not live without?
Air, food, water.

19. Tell us a fact about yourself we probably don’t already know.
I like the colour blue.

20. And finally, we’d like you to make us a mix-tape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice.
BEDROOM MOSH
SSS – The Beast
Death Angel – Bored
Municipal Waste – Unleash the Bastards
Metallica – Creeping Death
Anthrax – I am the Law

Links
Hot Club de Paris [official site] [myspace]