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Phil Storey talks to The Like drummer
Tennessee Thomas about drinking strong coffee, drugs, Primal Scream and the
tough choice between Reading or V Festival!
Phil: How are you Tennessee?
Tennessee: I?m fine thank you, although I?m shaking because I?ve just had a
really strong coffee!
Phil: Ha, ha.. Are you looking forward to tonight then?
Tennessee: I am, although I?m a bit worried because we haven?t played in a
couple of weeks so if it all goes horribly wrong and we forget what we?re doing
then that?s why!
Phil: Have you even rehearsed over the last couple of weeks?
Tennessee: Well we haven?t. We played Coachella Festival. That was our last
show. We?ve been here in England for a week now but we haven?t practiced. I
think we?ll be alright. It?s actually quite fun to play again after a while
because when you practice them so much?
Phil: You get a new kind of appreciation for them I suppose?
Tennessee: Exactly. As long as we don?t get distracted and forget what we?re
doing!
Phil: how many times have you played in the U.K?
Tennessee: Well I lived here until I was 14 but I?ve lived in L.A for the last 7
years. The other two are from there. It?s our fourth time here playing shows.
Phil: You're doing a few dates with Dinosaur Junior ? that?s so cool!
Tennessee: I know! I haven?t seen them before but apparently they?re the loudest
band ever!
Phil: Are the U.K. shows different from the ones you?ve played in the U.S?
Tennessee: Yeah, I think every show is different but on the whole, in the U.K. the
shows have a lot more energy. I don?t know if it?s the younger drinking age but
by the time you go on its very energetic. Also, in America a lot of tours are
over 21 because that?s the drinking age. Here people know how to have fun, like
to drink, like music and it makes the difference. The last couple of shows over
here have been great. We got a really good response when the record came out ?
people were singing along, so we?re very pleased to be back.
Phil: I heard tonight?s close to sold out?
Tennessee: I think so, we?ve got a rather large guest list! We?ve been telling
everyone we meet, ?oh, we?ll stick you on the list!?. We?ll see.
Phil: Thinking about the music, who writes the songs and how does the
song writing process work for The Like?
Tennessee: Z writes the lyrics and basic song. She?s a perfectionist! When we
first met her, she had already written a lot of songs and we hadn?t started
writing so she was always ahead of us so we had something to work with. Now she
doesn?t bring a song to us unless it?s fully written and it?s perfect which is
nice for us! We just make it sound like a band and do our little instruments.
Then we just rehearse it to death and figure it out and then it?s ready to play.
Phil: A very smooth process then!
Tennessee: Yeah, we?re actually playing a couple of songs tonight that we
haven?t played ever so that should be fun. They?ve never been played live
before.
Phil: Do you have any major influences?
Tennessee: Erm, there are a lot. When Z was a kid, she didn?t listen to anything
other than The Beatles until she was 10! If you?re going to learn how to write
songs, that?s pretty much the best school you could ever go to! Once you?ve got
that understanding of what a song should be?(pauses) I keep doing this
(shakes her wrists), it?s the coffee! (shakes wrists again). We all grew up
listening to classic rock and through the nineties we are all big fans of Elastica, Blur, Oasis, Pulp and then we all went through Punk phases and now
we?re all listening to so much different stuff.
Phil: I think for me, there?s a certain element of Elastica in your music but
without the problems they had maybe.
Tennessee: Well unfortunately at this point we don?t do enough drugs! That?s a
compliment though, that?s for sure.
Phil: Is selling tons and tons of records something you?ve ever thought about
much or something that you directly aim to achieve?
Tennessee: Our policy as a band is no expectations because then you?re never
disappointed and I think that?s a good way of looking at things. It would be
nice, just because we?d like to be able to do this for as long as possible. If
you don?t sell enough records, sometimes you get dropped or you?re forced to
make something that you don?t like but I think the way things are going, our
label?s very understanding of our sound. We?re also very adamant to get our way.
I think they?d be pretty scared to mess with us! Things are great and I just
hope they stay this way so we can keep doing it.
Phil: You mentioned you?re coming back later this year and you mentioned playing
Wireless Festival. Are you playing any more festivals or U.K shows this year?
Tennessee: I think we?re playing Reading and Leeds which will be really good. We
got an offer for that and V 2006.
Phil: Wow ? you got the choice!
Tennessee: We got the choice! Probably the choice of going on at 10 o?clock or
11 o?clock in the morning!
Phil: But it can?t get any better than Coachella though!
Tennessee: No, it can. I?m excited to play a festival here. I mean, Coachella is
nice because it?s very hot and sunny and pretty but Reading and Leeds are just
about the ultimate ? plus Glastonbury.
Phil: If there were one band that you could go out on the road with, who would
it be?
Tennessee: Well, as a group we would love to go on tour with Primal Scream. I
doubt they?d take us though.
Phil: They?re playing at the moment aren?t they!
Tennessee: They are. I think we just missed the London show. We saw them about a
year ago at Brixton Academy and it was the best show ever.
Phil: Thank you very much for your time!
Tennessee: No, thank you! I need to get something to eat now!
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