Kidnapper Bell interview

[MrFlicks]

Kidnapper Bell Interview

Kidnapper Bell are an Anglo - American band based in Birmingham in the Midlands.

The band members include

LIAM = Guitars,Samples,Keys
JENNY = Bass,Vocals,Keys
KEITH = Vocals,Glockenspiel.
ELLIOTT = Drums.

Kidnapper Bell on MySpace

Kidnapper Bell have the accolade of being the first band interviewed on TVWorlds.

OK first questions to Liam of Kidnapper Bell

How would you describe your sound?

Who are your main influences?

Why the name Kidnapper Bell?

[Liam Kidnapper Bell]

How would you describe your sound?

Quite hard to answer really. I would rather let others describe our sound. Which is why i sent about 100 copies of our first EP out to every Blog,Fanzine,Mag,podcast i could find. Cost me a fortune in stamps/envelopes. But i did get to know the nice lady in the post office rather well as i took most of them in to be weighed. I was in good company as they told me that aswell as having me come in they also had "That black fella from Big Brother" come in, but he hadnt been in for a while. So i felt like a minor celeb.


The word "Original" has come up quite a few times when people have reviewed our first E.P. I know thats quite vague so i can give you a snippet of what Rock Sound Mag said

"Enigmatically splashing their way through a sea of intense melodies, subtle electro distortion and plucky Math Rock grit,This Ep showcases an intense intriguingly original range of danceable alt-indie,In terms of technical ability and pop prowess, this is an impressive start"



I would say our sound comes from our differing influences (of which there are many)

Which leads me on to.....


Who are your main influences?

I can really only answer for me 100% as i know what the others like but as far as music goes i am quite into (at the moment) This Town Needs Guns, Grammatics,Youthmovies, Johnny Foreigner. Whats better than all of these is discovering a new band with a fantastic sound which is inspiring either by seeing them support a band i like or just general myspace mooching around. I'm the indie snob of the band!

Keith(Singer) is like an encyclopedia of music.He seems to know everything right from modern day bands to obscure D.C bands that released one cd then split without anyone really having heard of them! I dare anyone to challenge his knowlege.

Jen (Bass) likes a lot of Folk music. I have never met a girl more into her music.A lot of her music i would not have on in the car however she has got me into quite a lot of older artists such as early R.E.M/ Jaques Brel and also some early Elton John.

Elliott(drums) seems to like music in a different way to the rest of us.you can see him listening to it and deconstructing it in his mind. Mainly the first thing he will comment on is the drummer.
The only bands i have seen Elliott express a fondness for are larger bands like The Who, The Foo Fighters and Led Zepplin however he will turn to me on occasion and reference a song by a relativley unknown band and I will be like "What the hell"?

To be honest Its better that we all have differing influences rather than all liking the same music. I was in a post rock band before this and we all listened to the same music so we ended up sounding like the one band we loved the most!


Why the name Kidnapper Bell?
The name Kidnapper Bell comes from a song by a Japanese band called Mono. It is prob my fave song of all time. They named the song after a film or something however this really means nothing to me as its really just the song I am interested in.
I travelled to Belgum to watch this band even though they were playing in this country as i wanted to see them in a particular venue (The AB Club) and it was fantastic!

When we first started we were called "Fast Touch" which sucked. It was after a long time spent choosing a name and settling only to find that one of us didnt like it.
That name was slightly too 90's boyband for me anyway!

[MrFlicks]

I would be interested in hearing that Kidnapper Bell track from the Japanese band Mojo Liam. Could you possibly post a link to the track if one is available?

It's always interesting to hear what others listen to and especially when a track means so much to a person their own band is named after it. If we all just got to hear what the mainstream commercial Radio stations.

When I had a listen to "What Arthur Said" at first the lyricist sounded a little like a Rock version of Robert Smith of the Cure (though only a little to begin with). The track has Hawkwind and early Pink Floyd like qualities especially the electronic sounds I found that very reminiscent of some early Pink Floyd.

Although not mentioned do you feel either Hawkwind or Pink Floyd have had any influence on your sound?

I have to admit to not having heard of some of the bands you mention as influences Liam which is part of the reason I started the "Interviews with Music" forum on TVWorlds. It is nice to get to hear things that you would not normally get to hear I think.

For example I would never have got into Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin during mty twenties if it hadnt been for others who did not just listen to what was played on the radio Blue Oyster Cults "The Reaper" is an example of a track I really like and would probably have never heard

My 22 month old daughter had a good dance to "What Arthur Said" so you have achieved a danceable rock style as she likes to dance to Rockstar by Nickelback. Anyone who wants to sample what the sound of the track is it's available on MySpace which you can find through the link in my first post.

I was unable to listen to "The frequency" due to my dodgy broadband connection which is somewhat inadequate so am unable to comment on that one.

I note you mention Elliot the drummer expresses a fondness for larger bands like The Who, The Foo Fighters and Led Zepplin and I must say both The Who and Led Zeppelin have produced some of my all time favourite tracks.

I once went to "The Mean Fiddler" in north London with Paul and Simon Townshend brothers of "The Who's" Pete Townshend. I understand "The Mean Fiddler" is a well known music venue and wondered if the "AB Club" in Belgium is similar in reputation.

Also have Kidnapper Bell played the A B Club or do the band have aspirations to play that venue?

I see on your MySpace page you are the Derby Vic on the 13th Sept 2008 what other gigs do the band have lined up?

Keith sounds like a font of musical knowledge heres one for him - has he ever heard of "The Chequers" they were about in the 70's. I ask as Dave James a jazz pianist who was my uncle was their manager.

You say Jen loves folk music - I class some of what Fleetwood Mac do as folk like music does Jen like Fleetwood Mac or is influenced by Fleetwood Mac in any way. I ask as Fleetwood Mac just happen to be one of my favourite bands.

[Liam Kidnapper Bell]

sadly it woulddnt let me post a link to the Mono song "Kidnapper Bell". The song is more about the building of music really and a lot of it is how the band move onstage.You can tell they are in the music and just rocking out. A lot of people say that they are the loudest band they have ever heard live when in actual fact they are the quietest. On occasion you can hear a pin drop thats why on some of their songs when they kick in it seems like they are louder because there is such a difference in the levels of sound from one bit to another.

I think you will find "The Frequency" is quite different to the one you listened to on the Myspace.

Yeah Jen likes Fleetwood Mac aswell as Nick Drake, John Martyn,Jeff Buckley,Tori Amos.

I shall have to ask Keith about that 70s band as i have never heard of them.

[cybertwigg]

sounds very good and my scene why did you get together did you know each other or did you bump into each other

i will give your myspace a look when i get some time

[MrFlicks]

If you PM me the link I will post it for you Liam (sorry for the inconvenience but we have a cant post links until 15 posts have been made modification on the forum to stop people coming on and just posting one spam post - it saves us a bit of time deleting clutter LOL)

So the A B Club - I am sure I have heard of it - will Kidnapper Bell play there any time?