Gig Reviews
Vended
Pumpehuset, Copenhagen, DEN - 28/4
Album Reviews
Paramore
Previous Nextauthor TL date 25/06/13
It's the day of Paramore's first show in Copenhagen since they shrank from a quintet to a trio back in 2011, it's 3 in the afternoon and fans are packed outside Store Vega's entrance singing along to a stereo booming out the band's hits. On one hand this must be a welcome sight for a band that must have worried how their changes would go over with the fans, but on the other, getting this big as such a young band, and finding so much success with such a young crowd, must have meant that you've had to answer some pretty ridiculous questions during interviews. More so considering the occasions when band members have had their privacy exposed to the internet. So as I'm preparing at home - and really still when I'm waiting to meet the band backstage - I'm trying to weigh what I can ask that'll interest you readers while not coming across too much like "the enemy". To find out how I managed, you can either listen to my chat with the band using this player, or you can read on below, as things start off right after I've had the audacity to introduce Rockfreaks.net as "sort of a Denmark-based absolutepunk.net, only with a lot more reviews and with a lot less people arguing in the comments", prompting some early laughs and nods of appreciation from the band.
Hayley: Yeah at least we think so, [laughs]
Taylor: Yeah at least we feel that way, and we're really lucky to have amazing musicians playing with us - good friends of ours too.. So it's going really well.
RF.net: That's my favourite song on the new record actually!
Taylor: Oh, thanks! [laughs] It's like we didn't set out to write that kind of song, and at first we were scared of it, but we figured that the only thing that we could really do is write a record that we love and believe in and think is good, Obviously we want people to connect with it, but we didn't want to compromise our art just to make people happy. We wanted to make something good. So I guess it just kind of happened really.
RF.net: Well like I said, "Ain't It Fun" and "Still Into You" are both great songs, you have my vote at least.
Haylor: Thank you!
Taylor: Yeah not all of them but it's kinda been common.. The cool thing is that Hayley is such a badass. She's really confident and she really fights and wins people's respect and attention. And if they don't like it then that's okay. I think it's just always been cool for us to be different in that way and it's something that we've learned ot embrace.. And it always feel like we have a mutual respect between us and the other bands regardless, so I don't think we really think about it any more, but I guess we do notice every once in a while.. Especially in the rock scene..
RF.net: Well that was actually more what I was getting at - because it never crossed me that you guys wouldn't feel confident about it - it was more sort of asking about what you think about the state of the scene? If it would be better thing if it was more mixed and not so many bands with all dudes?
Hayley: I just don't think it should be a thing. Girls like music, and in fact girls and women have been a big part of the reason that a lot of these artists have been successful in the first place, just from being fans and loving music. And I don't even care if it's just because they have a crush or whatever.. I know from experience growing up as a kid that I loved boy bands, old 50s and 60s rock'n'roll, I liked r'n'b - I liked all of it but never for any other reason than because it meant something in my soul.. Something that was deep to me. So I don't think it should be a thing. Guys and girls have the capacity to be passionate about all the same things. Sure we're different, we have different minds and I think that's part of what make humans beautiful, but I don't know why it's such a thing..
Taylor: I think ultimately good art just rises to the top..
Hayley: Yeah that's exactly right, but on the other hand, we just did Soundwave Festival and Shirley from Garbage came up to us on one of the first days and she mentioned it. She was like "We're like the only girls here!", and I was like "Yeah, you're right, it's crazy!" .. And she was really encouraging to our band as a whole but also to me, saying "you guys are doing the right thing, you're doing great!" .. And it was such a simple thing for her to say that and be supportive of us, but it meant a lot, and to me too as a woman it meant a lot for me to see this powerful frontwoman that really just gave us her stamp of approval. That was cool!
RF.net: Did it ever make a difference when you were making the music? Like having to communicate emotionally and musically across the gender-gap?
Taylor: It's not a thing..
Hayley: Yeah I don't think it's a thing. It's not for us anyway.
Taylor: I think it's really just personalities, not so much gender. You're three individuals coming together around one piece of art, and there are differences between us, but I don't think gender has anything to do with it.
RF.net: Can I ask you how you write the songs to begin with? Because you get bands that come into the studio and one or two guys have written almost the entirety of the songs on acoustic guitars in their bedrooms and everybody else just adds little stuff, but what's it like for you?
Hayley: That has actually usually been us, especially in the past. The majority of a song would always be done. But this record was crazy because I would have ideas for lyrics or melodies and we were all scared to death of what would happen when we started writing this record.. It was a really nerve-wrecking situation to go into.. So if I had the courage I would sort of whisper "I have this little idea.. I don't know if it's good or not.." and some songs would happen that way. It would be melody first or lyrics first. Other things would be Taylor messing around with these weird sounds on his keyboard and then "Ain't It Fun" would happen. Jeremy would be "Let me put some slap bass on that!" .. And it's been cool to not have a formula for the first time in our entire career. Making this record sort of felt like writing our first record, not really knowing what we were doing. Just enjoying it and pushing every song to the limit y'know?
RF.net: Do you have any specific big dreams left, that are still out of your reach but you're hoping to some day get to realise them?
Taylor: ... Erhh, sure..! I think there are, but I don't think there's anything that all of us have our eyes fixated on..
RF.net: Well I mean it could be individually?
Taylor: ... Well, you know we always want to be better and to connect with more people.. But.. Awards are cool but that's not why we do it.. There are things like that which it's an honour for every band to get to do, but I think we've already gotten to do some cool things where we used to think "that'd be such a cool bonus!" ..
RF.net: You sound pretty comfortable! That's good!
Hayley: Yeah!
Taylor: Shoutouts to your online community that doesn't fight a lot!
Hayley: Yeah, for real!
Taylor: Yeah don't talk so much trash, just spread the love man! Spread the love!