And I see them very clearly actually… This morning I’ve been listening to Drive in my imaginary convertible car and I’ve decided to do a little e-interview with Lindsay, the engine behind the band.
Hi Lindsay, thanks for taking the time to chat to little ol’me (not so little and not so old either, just to clarify)… Why did you decide to go with the name ICENI and why the capital letters?
Because of an old celtic tribe with the same name. They were led by their queen called Boudica who burned down London and Colchester as a vengeance on the Romans for how they had treated her and her daughters. Capitals because it looks cool and also in some fonts the “i” looks like an “L”. Prosaic or what!
Messing with peoples’ minds, are you! So tell us about the ICENI tribe’s members, please.
Well, let’s assume we’re all lovely people to start with and after that..Liz (piano/vocals) generally drives too fast, is fully commited to any fancy dress party she’s invited to and can interpret ‘Prince’ songs via the medium of dance like nobody’s business.
Caroline (drums/vocals) knows the secrets of bee-keeping, painted the cover of her solo album and writes deeply moving songs about animals- including small pigs and worms.
Me (bass/vocals) can speak fluent scat, can remove horse shoes and im in love with my van.
I hope the van loves you back. Too many heartbreak stories around. What about your music? How would you describe it for those who haven’t heard it yet (but will after reading this interview of course!)?
Errr..sorta piano lead rock pop disco with kick ass harmonies? I hate when bands try and tell you what they sound like rather than givng you something to listen to.
You’ve got plenty of music to show to us which we’ll do in a second… What’s your favourite part of being in a band?
Our private jet. Extremly convenient.
Oh I’ve got one too in my happy meal recently. They’re awesome, aren’t they… You all seem like such characters. How would you describe each one of you with one word?
Liz -Alive! Caroline-Eccentric! Me-Talkative! If you met us, the ‘why’ would become instantly apparent.
And what does your daily routine look like from the moment you wake up ’til you go to bed?
I dont think daily or routine applies to me- changes ALOT. Could be anything from , wake up, return to jazz cafe, drink and sing till kicked out at closing OR wake early, drink many teas, read a book and go to part time job at castle before coming back home and getting bass out to write OR open van doors (bed in the back) , admire morning, start van and drive on randomly untill stopping for sandwiches and ukelee interlude. I daren’t speak for the other two!
Hah, sounds super rock’n’roll actually! You and your van are close, aren’t you… I bet he has a name too (I presume it’s a he because that’s the world we live in and men still rule the world, kinda)… Apart from Mister Van then, what’s the most memorable moment in your music career so far and why?
We supported Jamie Cullum recently and apart from that he was a lovely guy who got the pints in. Oh, and the lights on stage while we were performing were AMAZING. Is that dead shallow?
I’m guessing it’s a rhetorical question, therefore since I’m always so very politically correct (and have learned my lesson in the past about calling a woman shallow), I will swiftly move on to the next topic which is… songwriting. Who writes songs in your band and what does your creative process look like?
We all do. Either someone brings a tune in various stages of completion to the practice and we’ll work on it together. Sometimes Liz and I will get together and actively start a new song having decided on a topic/riff/thing we’ve found that we like. Then we jam it endlessly with the three of us to get it to a point were we think it’s ready to perform. The songs often keep changing shape or being modifeid after they’ve been gigged a bit if we feel they’d benefit from being more streamlined or longer, louder, whatever.
I like the whatever part. I’m sure doing a lot of that in a rehearsal room comes in handy… So since you’ve been gigging a lot and recording in the studio a lot. Which one do you prefer?
We do love performing because I think when it sounds good on stage and people are loving it we kind of feed off that and really get into it thinking ‘This is a great tune!’. You dont get that when you’re playing in the studio cos you’re thinking more about how you’re playing and improvements you could make. That said, we’de love a chance to take a couple of weeks solidly sitting in a room together working on new tunes and developing some stuff we have on the go.
Can you tell us one weird fact about yourselves that nobody knows about?
I rode in the opening parade of a rodeo in Texas.
Wow, really? It doesn’t get any more bad-ass than this! So I guess if you weren’t a musician, you’d be a rodeo-cowgirl?
Nah, I’d be an artist and astronaut.
What and who inspires you to make music?
The impossible magnificence and horror of everything. Oh and Freddie Mercury! How we love Freddie!
I’m curious. Do you guys scream and fight a lot or do you agree most of the time?
We definitely don’t scream and shout, we’re more subtle than that! We actually get on very well despite not agreeing with everything but musically we’re just concerned that the songs are as good as they can be so usually we can keep the egos out of it.
Sounds pretty peaceful for a band actually… So, the upcoming single is called “Drive”. What’s it about and why did you choose it as a single?
We’ve chosen that one because we think it’s great, ha! We think it’s pretty unique and the piano, the changes of feel, the big, sweeping harmonies and the epic drumming are very ‘us’ somehow.
The song is about someone who’s restless, thinking of someone they want but not being with them, not even knowing where they are or what they’re doing, so getting into a car and just driving somewhere, anywhere with no direction, just to be out doing something.
That someone has clearly occupied your mind quite a bit! Well, a great song came out of the pain, so I’m guessing it was worth it… So what’s next for ICENI then apart from the release?
We’ve got a fair few gigs lined up for the summer and we’re generally always writng but we’ve started to record an album so thats exciting! We’ve got some songs we’re dying to record but as we’ve only ever played them live we’re trying to really treat it as a studio album and let rip on the endless possibilities!
Thanks so much for this Lindsay! For those who haven’t heard the upcoming new single yet, here it is:
