Hang out backstage with British band Eagulls and you can quickly burn through topics as diverse as pedophilia, serial killers, and cannibalism in a matter of minutes. But the post-punk band isn't a sinister bunch: more like a group of silly lads joking about the crimes that happen in their hometown, Leeds. Known for their open letter ranting about the dark side of the music industry (that they later took down and replaced with a picture of a hairy ass), this band of misfits is actually all jokes, with their band name coming from an inside joke that ended up sticking. We checked out their first American gig outside of festivals at the Mercury Lounge in the LES, where we talked druggie parties, Public Image Ltd., and stick 'n' poke tattoos. Don’t forget to catch their performance on David Letterman airing today, January 31.
Fill in the blank: Our name is _______ and our music sounds like _______.
Our name is Eagulls and our music sounds like post-punk, angsty, atmospheric, dark, and hopeful.
How does performing in the US differ from England?
This is our first gig in the US that hasn’t been a festival. Festivals are a lot broader and the audience more varied. People are less in a clique of musical tastes, so it’s not just punk fans. We’re curious to see how our first solely punk show goes.
Where is the weirdest place you’ve played?
This old hippie sort of store man, a rocker guy, and all his friends who are all in their early 60s, get together once a year. One of them has a big garden with an old abandoned barn, and this bunch of bluesy men all bring their families to this huge event. The guy had really wanted to see us play, so we were playing in front of all these families, and no one apart from the adults were really enjoying it. There were hay bales everywhere, like a hillbilly sort of thing. But, there was this old skinhead guy who was going mental, and jumping around when we were doing a Public Image Ltd. cover. He came up to us after and started explaining that he was in prison back when the Sex Pistols were big and by the time he was released Public Image Ltd. was getting big in the punk scene, so he was a big fan of them. Then he asked us to play his daughter's christening because he had dropped acid and said God had appeared to him in a fire and told him to get his daughter christened. He wanted us all to be his daughter’s godfathers. We swapped information with him because we were stoked on it and wanted to film a music video at the christening, but we think he was just fucked on acid and we never heard back from him.
What punk bands inspire you guys?
Magazine, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Public Image Ltd., and right now Iceage, and Merchandise. There are a lot of good bands around Leeds right now like, Perspex Flesh, and our friend’s band Autobahn.
What is your dream band to play with?
I don’t think we’d want to play with our dream band. However, we did get to play with the Buzzcocks, which was surreal. It was in an old ranch just outside of Barcelona in an old restaurant/hotel that was on a big hill. It was an industry party and there were so many drugs flying around that no one was even bothered with the bands, and some people were walking around asking who the Buzzcocks were.
Whose style do you worship?
Tom (Bass): Vic Reeves
Mark (Guitar): I really liked the Ramones, I used to have the drainpipe jeans and
Fill in the blank: Our name is _______ and our music sounds like _______.
Our name is Eagulls and our music sounds like post-punk, angsty, atmospheric, dark, and hopeful.
How does performing in the US differ from England?
This is our first gig in the US that hasn’t been a festival. Festivals are a lot broader and the audience more varied. People are less in a clique of musical tastes, so it’s not just punk fans. We’re curious to see how our first solely punk show goes.
Where is the weirdest place you’ve played?
This old hippie sort of store man, a rocker guy, and all his friends who are all in their early 60s, get together once a year. One of them has a big garden with an old abandoned barn, and this bunch of bluesy men all bring their families to this huge event. The guy had really wanted to see us play, so we were playing in front of all these families, and no one apart from the adults were really enjoying it. There were hay bales everywhere, like a hillbilly sort of thing. But, there was this old skinhead guy who was going mental, and jumping around when we were doing a Public Image Ltd. cover. He came up to us after and started explaining that he was in prison back when the Sex Pistols were big and by the time he was released Public Image Ltd. was getting big in the punk scene, so he was a big fan of them. Then he asked us to play his daughter's christening because he had dropped acid and said God had appeared to him in a fire and told him to get his daughter christened. He wanted us all to be his daughter’s godfathers. We swapped information with him because we were stoked on it and wanted to film a music video at the christening, but we think he was just fucked on acid and we never heard back from him.
What punk bands inspire you guys?
Magazine, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Public Image Ltd., and right now Iceage, and Merchandise. There are a lot of good bands around Leeds right now like, Perspex Flesh, and our friend’s band Autobahn.
What is your dream band to play with?
I don’t think we’d want to play with our dream band. However, we did get to play with the Buzzcocks, which was surreal. It was in an old ranch just outside of Barcelona in an old restaurant/hotel that was on a big hill. It was an industry party and there were so many drugs flying around that no one was even bothered with the bands, and some people were walking around asking who the Buzzcocks were.
Whose style do you worship?
Tom (Bass): Vic Reeves
Mark (Guitar): I really liked the Ramones, I used to have the drainpipe jeans and