Spoonfed sits down for a chat with the Austin natives.
Here at Spoonfed we like to champion some of the smaller, lesser known acts – usually before they start fighting in public, become evasive and start making poor imitations of the music that brought them to our attention in the first place. Garage rock band Harlem – from Austin Texas – were in town a week before they play Reading and Leeds, get really big and then start hating each other. I thought I’d don a pair of jeans that were a solid seven on the Shoreditch skinny barometer and have a chat with the guys ahead of their gig at Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen. Hectic touring schedules and little sleep however meant that things were a little slow to get going.
Well first off, the name ‘Harlem’. I was a little bit confused, I heard you were from Texas and then other sites said you were from other places so how did the name ‘Harlem’ come about?
Michael: I wasn’t around.
Jose: I wasn’t there. Next question.
What about setting up the band? How did you guys meet?
We played in bands before this. We played in bands in high school and we play in a band now.
Your sound seems to have elements of rockabilly and other classic American music – were you influenced by classic American bands?
Yeah, although I guess probably not just American. I don’t really think any of us were ever into rockabilly. I think with rockabilly music the people that do it might have listened to the same stuff that we like. Like The Cramps. I like Elvis.
(Said with not enough sarcasm) Elvis. Everyone loves Elvis.
Not everybody, a lot of people hate him.
It seems like you’re on the verge of getting bigger. Do you guys feel like you’re blowing up at all?
Not at all. It’s hard to say, it’s almost the exact opposite. I feel like it’s hard to feel that way from inside.
What about playing at Reading and Leeds, big festivals like that?
Yeah, we’re relegated to near the porta potties. We’re in the little stage.
Everyone’s there at first.
I don’t think Oasis played at Reading and Leeds near the porta potties.
They played at little tiny places as well.
Yeah we’ve been doing that for about as long as Oasis has been huge. That goes back to the question before (blowing up); it’s really hard to feel that way.
I suppose that way you don’t feel under any pressure from outside influences to sound a certain way or change your style as a smaller band?
Not really. I feel like more people would expect that we would keep the style and it seems like we would be more likely to change it. Then that would lead to us not knowing what people would think about that. I think that no matter what, you’re gonna lose the people who were there at the first one. Everybody who was into 'Free Drugs' was like “nah 'Hippies' isn’t really that big” and everyone who is into 'Hippies' thinks we’ve grown up. Then if we ever did another album people would think 'Free Drugs' was shit.
You can’t please everyone.
There’s probably always gonna be people, the core, that see it through.
Michael: My mum. My mum’s gonna love everything I do.
During the next few minutes we're interrupted by a homeless guy asking for £650! We politely decline. The homeless man hasn’t been seen since…
How do you guys decide set lists and stuff?
It usually happens about ten minutes before we go on, if that. We’ve been trying to figure it out before we play but we’re doing it as we play.
What are your plans after this tour?
We’ve got a couple of weeks in the US and then we’re gonna sleep for about a week.
Are you coming back to England in the winter at all?
Hopefully not in the winter.
Click here to read Spoonfed's review of Harlem at Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen.
Click here to see Live Music in London.
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