GRAMMATICS
The SiS Interview by Dany Sloan

Leeds outfit Grammatics like doing things a bit differently. Whereas most musicians tire of the tour and record grind and retire to a hip indie dance night in Camden Town, Owen and Dom decided that they were sick of spinning tunes from other people which led to the formation of Grammatics in April 2006.

Dom, Owen and Rory recently nuzzled up to their computers to answer some questions from us here at Stranded in Stereo. The band, who feels that they might be "stylistically incoherent," seems to have quite the '08 lined up, including putting the finishing touches on their debut album.

SIS: How did the band get together? What were your initial goals? How has that changed?

Dom: Owen and I ran a club night called Grammar. Rory was invited to play after meeting Owen in other bands. We realised that we wanted to start making our own music rather than playing other people's, so we stopped the club night on its first anniversary, stole its name and formed Grammatics. We enlisted Emilia, our very own Swedish eccentric, on cello after she answered an advert we posted in Leeds University.

Owen:Our initial goal was to create music with a lot more depth and detail than the stripped back Arctics/Libertines minimalist sound that was de rigeur when we formed. We heard every record that was released whilst we were DJing and became disaffected with what was around. The easiest thing would have been to start a new rave band, but I suppose we were kind of sick of the dance floor. However, tiny little hints and elements seeped in to the bass and rhythm.

SIS:What are you guys up to in 2008?

Dom:We’re recording our debut album at the moment. We have a few festivals to play this summer and then we have a tour and a new single out in August.

Owen:After that our first full non-limited edition release will arrive late 2008, then we're going to be hitting it hard with the LP come the start of 2009.

SIS:Who do you often find yourselves compared to, and do you like or dislike
that comparison?

Rory: Reviewers have gone from Blur to Bjork, Jeff Buckley to QOTSA, Cursive to Kate Bush and Radiohead to Suede.... most make fair enough sense to us but I think the fact that the comparisons are so wide means that we don't really sound like any one of them in particular.

SIS:Who are some of your favourite bands to play with? Do you think any of
them will take over the world?

Rory: Our individual tastes vary but I think members of the band enjoyed playing with all the bands we've toured with this year. I really like These New Puritans and was very into The Futureheads when I was a bit younger and we've toured with both of those bands. Apart from that there are a few really good bands in Leeds at the moment and it's encouraging to see them. Predicting world domination is a bad idea (as demonstrated by Pinky and the Brain) but it's nice to see your friends succeed. Maybe even we will.

Owen: This Et Al, Pulled Apart By Horses, Laura Groves and Paul Marshall are all spectacular Leeds musicians that are more than worthy of worldwide attention. I don't think any of them will take over the world...fantastic and deeply moving acts almost never do.

SIS: What is your favorite and least favorite thing about being on the road?

Dom: The worst thing is the sheer boredom. We seem to spend most of our time in the back of a van or sleeping on floors and it’s tough, tiring and monotonous. The best thing is going to places you've never been before and meeting people you wouldn't usually meet. You can look at a map of the UK and think of the great people and experiences you’ve had in each city or town and that more than makes up for the negative elements of being on the road.

Owen: Favorite - Amazing gigs, drinking afterward. Worst - Atrocious gigs, drinking afterward.

SIS: If any member of Grammatics were on the cover of a tabloid, who would
it be and why?

Dom: I think it would be our cellist Emilia and it would probably be for receiving a restraining order from some poor celebrity who couldn't deal with her talking about Sweden any more.

SIS: When family ask you what your band sounds like, what do you tell them?

Dom: Post-pop. Pop music with a cello and an aggressive rhythm section. It’s normally utter nonsense and always seems way harder when it’s your family.

Owen: Like an angry drunken cabaret band playing on a ferry at stormy seas, fucking up and skewing all their parts on purpose...or a bit like Tears For Fears.

SIS:What's something about your hometown that most people don't know?

Owen: It kicks the living fuck out of London and is home to the best music scene in the UK.

SIS: In 15 words or less, why should people buy your records?

Owen: Because we care.