TMC interviews… November Fleet

by Devil’s Food Cake, photos by Kat Green

Who doesn’t love a girl with a guitar? Or any musical instrument, to be perfectly fair. There’s something to be said about a woman who’s good with her hands (ladies…) and if she can do it while commanding attention on stage – all the better.

We’ve raved before about the musical lustre of November Fleet, and they were so nice the first time around we thought we’d send off a couple of questions and see what they had to say for themselves.

How did you get together?

El: Nic and I met in the first year of university at the SU club. It turned out we lived in the same halls. She came to my room, picked out and played Evil Empire from my CD collection, and it was a done deal – friends. We lived together for years before finally being in a band together, but it was always going to happen. I think so anyway… I met Jess doing geeky student politics stuff a few years later. She had literally the best hair I had ever seen.

We’ve all been playing music since we were teenagers. The band has been going a couple of years, which is nothing in terms of a band. It’s in its infancy.

What do you see as your inspiration?

We want to be challenging ourselves to make different music, to not be lazy about anything, to not cling to anything standard, but to do so without alienating people with layers of pretension. If it’s even possible to be an intellectual band without being pretentious prats that is. We all want this band to be the best thing we’ve ever created musically, and I think a challenge of that scale is inspiration in itself. Beyond that, we just love to play!

Who are your role models?

El: I look up to these two a lot, and family members I’m glad to be able to say, but that’s about it. Aside from our friends in the local music scene, I guess musically I’d go with Jesse Lacey from Brand New, particularly because of the extraordinary nature of his lyrics. I don’t know if he’s one of those people who can just churn them out or if he labours over them for weeks on end, but he captures ideas and feelings in such original and compelling ways. I would never have thought of a lot of things in the ways he describes them, but what he does is majestic and inspirational

Nic: For me when I first started playing in bands I always looked up to the older bands where I grew up. They would organise shows anywhere they could hire (church halls and sports centres mainly) and design the posters, promote the shows themselves etc. When I moved to London and started a band we got pretty fed up with playing shows put on by ‘promoters’ who would expect you to bring 50 people, charge £6 on the door, then not pay you, and rarely even show up to the gig themselves. So we got back into DIY and organising our own shows. Maybe this band will start our own night sometime soon. The DIY scene in London is pretty exciting at the moment, so many more bands are taking that approach.

Jess: Musical role models? In terms of conducting oneself in the making and selling of music, I’d say Ani DiFranco, but not in the music itself. It’s tricky. Other bands that we might sound like musically can’t count as role models in the traditional sense for me. Lyrics are, for me personally, the biggest part of a song and there’s definitely a gender frame in which men can sing lyrics that are admired because it makes him look in touch with his ‘feminine side’. But a woman singing about matters of the heart like that is received very differently. Lyrics are played through the only part of the band that is usually automatically and obviously gendered. So I feel there is a whole thing there that we need to re-invent and lots of frames to consider. It can’t be a simple case of having a role model.

What do you consider the ideal fan? Have you ever had any crazy fans?

Anyone who listens to our music and really feels like they get something out of it, and isn’t put off by elements that might require a more active sort of listening. It never gets old having people come up and say they thought this was interesting, or that was cool, and that they enjoyed it – it’s so awesome that people bother to give us the time of day and make the effort to come over and say hi. We’re doing what we love and putting ourselves right out there every time, and for other people to say ‘yeah, this is ace’ – that’s fantastic. We appreciate it no end. When we’re playing away from London anyone who offers us a floor to sleep on is considered legendary.

You’ve recently been touring round the country – what was that like? Any stand-out moments?

El: Touring is the best thing ever. I thought I’d be a bit of a princess about it, but I have so much fun. Being with my two dearest friends in the world and playing guitar all over the land, meeting new and invariably generous people… I can’t be enthusiastic enough. This time the guys took me ice-skating for the first time in my life when we were travelling in between shows, which was one of many stand-out moments.

Nic: This latest bout of touring has been our first as a band and it was an absolute belter from start to finish. Having said that, driving London to Glasgow in a day was a bit of a mission for me… My fondest memories, aside from the shows and all the hugely generous people we met, would probably include drunken ten pin bowling, our pitiful attempts at various northern and Scottish accents, and partying with the other bands after the show in Leeds.

Jess: Tour was cool. Extra special bits included: meeting a tortoise and a bat, living off extravagant van-made sandwiches and dressing up as the Loch Ness monster. Getting to play almost every night was great.

You guys put on a fantastic show; what are the best shows you’ve been to? Who would you say is the showiest of the three of you?

El: :) Thanks! Mainly the best gigs have been little crazy DIY ones. It’s completely different. You’ll pretty much always see something you’re glad you came out for, and the atmosphere can be electrifying in astonishing ways.

Nic: I think one of my favourite shows last year was the Rip This Joint all dayer which was held at a big squat in north London – half the bands outside, half inside, some just setting up in the bushes, a wicked bbq, bonfire, photography displays…and all for a £5 donation. Another favourite was a youthmovies gig years ago, in a big shed in someone’s back garden, with everyone in fancy dress (I was a carrot). It was just such an amazing show and you really felt you’d been part of something special.

Jess is definitely the showiest on stage. She tends to push it the most, and has mastered the art of making falling/slipping/knocking mic stands over look deliberate.

Jess: Yeah…I do enjoy a bit of a bounce! I’ve enjoyed loads of the bands that we have played with lately, I don’t really get out to many other gigs though because I prefer playing them to going to them. Music is very personal to me and I selfishly like sitting and listening to it all by myself.

Where did the band name come from?

We had the name before we had anything else because of the concept – the words and the images they bring to mind are supposed to represent a strong sense of adventure into the unknown, of hope, courage and friendship – like us versus the vast, the powerful. Just getting out there together and doing our level best. Mystery, freedom and aspiration, you know? It probably sounds corny as hell, but it’s sincere. It was also, perhaps obviously, about our unit and the dynamic of our personalities.

Ever played Guitar Hero? Knowing that it’s not the least bit like real music-making, who do you reckon could get the highest score?

El: I know for a fact Jess would beat us both without batting an eyelid. I’m ok, but I find it really counter-intuitive to actual guitar playing. I listen to the music and my hands want to make chords all the time! Jess is a demon on it though, seriously.

Nic: I’ve only played it once and it was pretty embarrassing.

Jess: I’m a guitar hero(!)

And finally, favourite cakes?

El: A lemon drizzle cake is always welcome, esp. when augmented by a cup of tea. And those little red velvet cupcakes that are all over the place these days.

Nic: Those mini angel slices. Can’t go wrong.

Jess: As El already took the lemon driz I will go with carrot cake.