Band of Skulls are a band that have helped keep the faith in guitar music. Their album ‘Sweet Sour’ went all the way to number 14 in the UK charts recharging the hope in modern day guitar music showing hard work pays of, well that and being able to write a tune or two. They are also an extremely hard working band who never seem to be not on tour. We were lucky enough to grab a few minutes with bassist and artist Emma Richardson to talk about life on the road, exploring cities and album number 3…
US: Where are you and what have you been up to today?
EMMA: We are in Rochester New York state and today we played an acoustic session for the local radio station, then a sound check and then we play a show later this evening.
US: It seems like you have been on tour forever and will keep on touring forever, how do you cope with life on the road?
EMMA: We love playing live and travelling to new countries. Just these past couple of weeks we have gone from Spain and the south of France to Australia and now we’re in America. It’s great to be able to pick a live set from 2 records and play for longer each night. We cope quite well on the road as its what we’ve been doing for a while now and there is always the excitement and adrenalin rush of playing a show each night. Getting enough sleep helps too.
US: What do you do on your days off?
EMMA: Try and see some of the city we’re in and eat a good meal. We recently had a day off in Chicago and I visited the home of Chess Records which was amazing. Also had time to catch a few exhibitions at the art Institute, Roy Lichtenstein had a show and there were some great black and white short films of Chicago and New York in the 40’s and 50’s.
US: Are you getting your head focused on album no. 3 yet?
EMMA: Yes we are already playing through a couple of ideas at soundcheck and talking about it a lot. We will be demoing some new material in November.
US: Are there any bands around at the moment that get you excited?
EMMA: Yes there’s a great new band called Savages. Four girls based in London who have a great free intensity about them. I love the new Dr John album Locked Down and also the latest Sharon Van Etten album Tramp, is a beautiful piece of work.
US: When in London where do you like to hangout?
Art galleries, gigs, bars…there’s a lot to choose from in London.
On tour…
OCTOBER
20th London Brixton Academy *
24th Leeds Leeds Festival (main stage)
25th Cambridge Junction
26th Reading Reading Festival (main stage)
NOVEMBER
27th Glasgow ABC
28th Newcastle Digital
29th Sheffield Leadmill
DECEMBER
1st Liverpool Academy
2nd Cardiff Coal Exchange
3rd Nottingham Rescue Rooms
5th Manchester Ritz
6th Birmingham Institute
7th London Brixton Academy
8th Northampton Roadmenders
9th Southampton Guildhall
* Special guests for Kasabian