Male Bonding – Interview – London, September 2009
By: Jack Bartrop, Toby L
On a bill that also featured Deep Sht and The Strange Boys, Male Bonding played a raucous, ramshackle, ruddy great set for a Rockfeedback/Rough Trade hush-hush show in a warehouse in East London. We caught up with the three of ‘em after the gig, said the following words to them, and got the following replies.
ROCKFEEDBACK: So, Male Bonding... this is a lovely experience, straight after the show, how does it feel kind of coming off stage? Well, there wasn’t a f**king stage was there, you were just on the floor...
MALE BONDING: I feel like we haven’t come back down to earth, ‘cos there was no stage...
ROCKFEEDBACK: What was different about performing in that sort of environment?
MALE BONDING: We’d much rather play that kind of thing than on a raised stage, cos’ we’re all so hideously repulsive; it’s much better if people can’t see us. We’re kind of a bit paranoid about how ugly we are. We really weren’t that exposed too much, we were playing in a dark place. We like to play in dark rooms.”
ROCKFEEDBACK: What’s it like when you rehearse? What kind of environment?
MALE BONDING: “Oh, pitch black. Pitch f**king black. Sometimes it’s really bad. Sometimes we won’t even talk to each other. We live together, and sometimes there are bad vibes...”
ROCKFEEDBACK: So you actually live together as well as playing the band?
MALE BONDING: “Yeah. Kev’s good with the washing up. But sometimes there will be something that’s not quite right in the flat, and we go into the rehearsal with us as well. So we have to try and... we don’t iron it out, we just ride it, then always the next one’s not so bad.”
ROCKFEEDBACK: Well John, I’ve seen you in so many contexts over the years, so I’m curious as to how this all formed and all came about? Male Bonding for you; what is this in your musical career?
MALE BONDING: “This is it. This is the pinnacle in my musical career; this is the last... the last waltz? The last roll of the dice? Yes, that’s exactly what it is. I’m so glad that I managed to get Robin and Kevin, it’s really exciting for me.
ROCKFEEDBACK: One of the things I wanted to mention about the live show is that it’s a real integral thing, you’re completely in each others’ faces; playing with each other and against each other. Is that a conscious thing or like a reaction, spontaneous when you’re playing?
MALE BONDING: “With all honesty, without sounding a bit gross; I love Kevin and Robin more than anyone could possibly understand. I think if that comes across in a live show, I guess were doing something good, you know.”
ROCKFEEDBACK: It’s nice sort of having a chat now, but on stage it felt quite tense?
MALE BONDING: “I think we hate each other really... we f**king hate each other. You know, if it’s intense we’re not really getting on and if it’s like... Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young without Young basically. I was looking at David Crosby’s autobiography today, it was amazing. It had a photo, like no other autobiography I’d ever seen, in that the photo section; he edited and he put a photo of him having sex with a beautiful woman in the f**king photo section of the biography.”
ROCKFEEDBACK: Amazing!
MALE BONDING: “Yeah, that’s pretty amazing. That’s some serious fucking ego.”
ROCKFEEDBACK: You guys should start planning you’re autobiography before the album if anything.
MALE BONDING: “It’s a good job you reminded me of that cos... (winds up camera) I guess this book will be out in a couple of years. A book of quick snap photos.”
ROCKFEEDBACK: Your first Rockfeedback interview - that’s up there with getting banged by David Crosby.
ROCKFEEDBACK: You’ve just signed to Sub Pop which is really a wonderful accolade - what attracted you to join that staple of acts? What was exciting about being a part of that? They invited you at all?
MALE BONDING: “Yeah they invited us, we didn’t gatecrash.”
ROCKFEEDBACK: I envisage it’s like an XFactor sort of thing .I imagine John Poneman sitting at a table.
MALE BONDING: “How are we allowed to be on SubPop? I don’t know, it still feels weird. I was listening to Nirvana; the unreleased box set last night when I got a phone call on my mobile from Sub Pop just talking about stuff. I had to turn it down, I was really worried; I thought they’d be like; ‘he’s listening to Nirvana...’ Its weird Toby, it’s really weird.
ROCKFEEDBACK: Do you feel like you’ve got that sense of freedom because of the way they look after bands?
MALE BONDING – I think they’re amazing from what we know, we’ll be free. A free bird. In the same way as if Lynyrd Skynyrd was signed to SubPop I guess. Like that’s where we’re at. It’s very important that everybody knows that on record we just want to be American. When I get that visa and my passport next year, that will be it!
ROCKFEEDBACK: Just as a final point, what is it that you want Male Bonding to end up being, when it comes to actually making the record?
MALE BONDING: I’m not even sure if we know the answer to that. I don’t know, we mean it, and as long as that comes across its fine. The Drowned In Sound forum is the goal – if we can get popular on that...
[Interview transcribed by Jack Bartrop. Questions asked by Toby L.]
Artists in this article: Male Bonding