Welsh four piece Catfish and the Bottlemen have really blown up this year. On the back of their first album, The Balcony, the band is coming to Australia, both supporting The Kooks and playing their own gigs. Lead singer Van McCann chatted with Patrick Muller and here’s what he learned.
1. Their name has an Australian connection.
Yes, the band has an obscure name. McCann says: “My first few years were spent driving around Australia with my mum and dad. My first memory of music was watching a busker in Sydney Harbor named Catfish and the Bottlemen, so that’s where the name comes from.”
2. They are all good soccer players.
The film clip for the band’s latest single, Pacify, features the lads having a kick about. “We hate music videos cos we’re terrible at them. We’re not good looking enough. I said if we’re gonna have to do one, let’s just have a big footy match. One thing we’re dead proud of is that we’re badass footballers”. The clip also features UK DJ and band manager, Steve Lamacq.
3. Van McCann is a fast songwriter.
“It honestly takes as long as it does to listen to to write,” McCann says of his process. He also shared some of his philosophy on song writing, emphasizing honesty and rawness to tell a story. “I get criticized loads in the English press ’cause I swear and stuff, but I basically just talk out loud, say exactly what I’m thinking. If I’m driving a girl around in a shit car I won’t change it to a Cadillac to make it more romantic.”
4. The band enjoyed working with producer Jim Abiss.
McCann painted a picture of Jim as a friendly genius, who was just like one of the boys when it came to worrying about how songs would sound. “He was very much like, ‘Van, shut up, go into the kitchen and make some dinner, by the time you get back it’ll sound amazing’,” McCann says of the legendary producer to acts such as Kasabian and Arctic Monkeys. “I’d listen to him cos he’s the man, and I’d find myself enjoying it like I was a fan, like, ‘who are these guys? They’re pretty good’.”
5. Van’s aunty makes better gravy than his mum.
What are McCann’s plans for Christmas? “I always go round and get my aunty’s gravy, ’cause she makes better gravy than my mum and she hates it.” He also mentioned an upcoming second album to be recorded in the not-too-distant future, that he’s been hard at work writing. “I’m gonna go home and have a couple of days to myself, ’cause I finished writing the second album a couple of days ago when I wasn’t supposed to start writing it till April. If it was up to me, it would be released tomorrow, but we have to get this one around the world a couple of times first.”
The Balcony is out now through Caroline Australia. Catfish and the Bottlemen tour Australia in 2015.
Catch them live on the following dates:
Saturday 17 January – Belvoir Amphitheatre, Perth (supporting The Kooks – All Ages)
Monday 19 January – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney (headline show)
Tuesday 20 January – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney (supporting The Kooks – All Ages)
Friday 23 January – Riverstage, Brisbane (supporting The Kooks – All Ages)
Saturday 24 January – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne (supporting The Kooks – All Ages)
Sunday 25 January – The Hi Fi, Melbourne (headline show)
Grab your tickets here.
