We Were Promised Jetpacks Interview: SXSW 2010
- Posted on Mar 9th 2010 2:43PM by Linda Laban
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We Were Promised Jetpacks are a rag-tag group of four young Scotsmen who make doleful-yet-strident rock songs that are colored with everyday observances and cut by bubbling emotions. The Edinburgh-based group released their debut album, 'These Four Walls,' on FatCat Records in 2009 and headlined their first-ever US club tour this winter, while following up with an EP, 'The Last Place You'll Look,' in March 2010. Singer/guitarist Adam Thompson spoke with Spinner the day before their winter-spring US and European tour -- featuring a stop at SXSW --began.
Describe your sound in your own words.
It's just guitar music that's sometimes quiet and sometimes loud.
How did your band form?
We were friends and then instead of playing in our rooms on our own, which is very sad, we decided to get together and play as a band. 2003 was our first show, but we'd been practicing a while before that. I met Sean [Smith, bassist] in high school. He knew [drummer Darren] Lackie and I knew Michael [Palmer, guitarist], so that was it.
What are your musical influences?
Music that's honest; music that's loud, music that's interesting and makes you feel something -- all that sort of stuff.
You left out music that's quiet.
Yeah, yeah. Definitely. The more I think about it, I don't really listen to music that's loud. So, it's nicer stuff like the National and Bon Iver. Quiet stuff. Thanks for reminding me.
How did you come up with your band name?
I can't remember. It was five years ago. One of us mentioned it when we were deciding on a name and we just chose it. There's no pining for jetpacks or any s--- like that. We don't even care about jetpacks. In fact, I hate jetpacks.
So, the name is not an existential take on where society is in regards to the once promising future of technology that was projected decades earlier?
Nah, it's no big statement like that.
What's your biggest vice?
Chocolate milk. We have a lot of chocolate milk from all over the world. We get Chocomel from Germany that they ship there. That's the best.
What's in your festival survival kit?
Condoms! [Laughs] That was our drummer's suggestion. You need Wellingtons, you need booze, you need a tent and you need your own soft toilet roll. Also, Germoline, a toothbrush, toothpaste, scissors and an axe.
An axe? For noisy neighbors in the tent next to you?
Yeah.
Who was your first celebrity crush?
Jennifer Aniston. The first [erection] I got from a celebrity was Halle Berry. You know 'The Flintstones'? When she was in that movie, that was my first celebrity [erection]. Then it was Jennifer Aniston. 'Friends.' Oof! She reached her peak in the second and third season.
What's your musical guilty pleasure?
What's that song that goes "Like P. Diddy, and a bottle a Jack"?
You mean Ke$ha's 'Tik Tok'?
[Sings] "The party won't start till I walk in da-da-da." That one. Any big pop female solo artist -- Taylor Swift and that 'Party in the USA' song by Miley Cyrus. All that stuff, anything like that.
Beatles or Stones?
Neither. I don't care about the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. I suppose I'd choose the Beatles. They're good for family gatherings because everybody knows their stuff. But I'm not going to sit and listen to the Beatles.
What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?
A lot of the days are the same. It's not so crazy; something must have happened. No one in the band can think of anything. There was a story about the drummer, but he doesn't want it told. I don't think his mother would want to hear it.
Describe your sound in your own words.
It's just guitar music that's sometimes quiet and sometimes loud.
How did your band form?
We were friends and then instead of playing in our rooms on our own, which is very sad, we decided to get together and play as a band. 2003 was our first show, but we'd been practicing a while before that. I met Sean [Smith, bassist] in high school. He knew [drummer Darren] Lackie and I knew Michael [Palmer, guitarist], so that was it.
What are your musical influences?
Music that's honest; music that's loud, music that's interesting and makes you feel something -- all that sort of stuff.
You left out music that's quiet.
Yeah, yeah. Definitely. The more I think about it, I don't really listen to music that's loud. So, it's nicer stuff like the National and Bon Iver. Quiet stuff. Thanks for reminding me.
How did you come up with your band name?
I can't remember. It was five years ago. One of us mentioned it when we were deciding on a name and we just chose it. There's no pining for jetpacks or any s--- like that. We don't even care about jetpacks. In fact, I hate jetpacks.
So, the name is not an existential take on where society is in regards to the once promising future of technology that was projected decades earlier?
Nah, it's no big statement like that.
What's your biggest vice?
Chocolate milk. We have a lot of chocolate milk from all over the world. We get Chocomel from Germany that they ship there. That's the best.
What's in your festival survival kit?
Condoms! [Laughs] That was our drummer's suggestion. You need Wellingtons, you need booze, you need a tent and you need your own soft toilet roll. Also, Germoline, a toothbrush, toothpaste, scissors and an axe.
An axe? For noisy neighbors in the tent next to you?
Yeah.
Who was your first celebrity crush?
Jennifer Aniston. The first [erection] I got from a celebrity was Halle Berry. You know 'The Flintstones'? When she was in that movie, that was my first celebrity [erection]. Then it was Jennifer Aniston. 'Friends.' Oof! She reached her peak in the second and third season.
What's your musical guilty pleasure?
What's that song that goes "Like P. Diddy, and a bottle a Jack"?
You mean Ke$ha's 'Tik Tok'?
[Sings] "The party won't start till I walk in da-da-da." That one. Any big pop female solo artist -- Taylor Swift and that 'Party in the USA' song by Miley Cyrus. All that stuff, anything like that.
Beatles or Stones?
Neither. I don't care about the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. I suppose I'd choose the Beatles. They're good for family gatherings because everybody knows their stuff. But I'm not going to sit and listen to the Beatles.
What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?
A lot of the days are the same. It's not so crazy; something must have happened. No one in the band can think of anything. There was a story about the drummer, but he doesn't want it told. I don't think his mother would want to hear it.
- Filed under: Concerts and Tours
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