The Vaccines – “We don’t want to start name-dropping”
When this year’s Fuji Rock Festival line up was announced, I for one was pretty excited to hear the inclusion of The Vaccines. Whilst the name of this garage-pop four piece is still pretty new to Japanese audiences (this will be their first visit to Japan), the name of this band is on the lips of every self-respecting music fan in the UK. Having only formed in June 2010 to tumultuous acclaim, the band released their debut album “What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?” in March, reaching the giddy heights of number four in the UK charts. From here they have not only become the darlings of the NME, they have picked up fans like Debbie Harry and Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos along the way. Ahead of their Japanese debut, we had a time out with Arni Arnason from the band to talk festivals, hygiene and Merzbow.
The Vaccines story started as a bit of a whirlwind – Your debut album reached no. 4 in the album charts and you were placed third in the BBC “Sounds of 2011” poll, that must have been pretty epic?
Yeah, I guess so. We never really understood what these things meant, and therefore didn’t really pay any attention to it. But it’s always really flattering when people speak highly of you. So, yeah, it was a really nice feeling.
Is it difficult to maintain the pace and to keep your feet on the ground when surrounded by that kind of hype?
It’s not really no. We have all been around music and musicians for a long time and have all had our fair share of failures. That makes us appreciate our situation a lot more than I think we would have done a few years ago. We are fiercely ambitious and try to stay focused on the only thing that we’re in any control of, and consequently the only thing that really matters, and that is the music that we release and how we present it live and so on. You can’t control what people think of it or say about it.
Your last show in Japan was canceled due to Justin needing a throat operation, how did that feel? Has he fully recovered?
Yeah, we were absolutely gutted about that. It was a bit of a scary time for us. Justin had a few problems that kept coming back so he really needed to rest properly but after that forced rest he’s been getting better and better every day. Even better than before the operation.
You must be pretty excited being able to bounce back from that and play something as big as Fuji rock Festival?
It’s unbelievable. We were all so excited about coming earlier in the year, and so happy that we get to come over for Fuji. I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about the festival and can’t wait to experience it. Pretty psyched about it.
Is playing to a festival crowd a different experience to your own live shows? In what way?
Yeah, it’s definitely different. People tend to come to our shows because they want to see us, but at festivals people might be a bit more curious. Not necessarily familiar with the band. Just come along to see what’s going on. So you tend to have to work harder at festivals. Don’t get me wrong, we savour the challenge and work hard to convince people that we’re worth their time.
What are the three best and three worst things about a festival?
They’re all very different. We’re finding that out quite quickly since we’re doing an endless amount of them but I love going to festivals as a punter. My favorite things about them are the feeling of belonging to a shared excitement over a whole weekend, running into a lot of people you’ve never met, and will probably never see again and then I just like the opportunity to discover new music. My least favourite things are sleeping in tents, festival food and lack of hygiene. The first shower after a festival is the best shower you can possibly take. Ever.
What is your impression of Japan?
Well, I’ve never been, and can’t wait to come over, but now my impression is just based on what I’ve heard about the place. I’ve heard people are really friendly and the place is absolutely beautiful. Technologically advanced and just quite an interesting place. Do you know a band called Melt Banana? Or an artist called Merzbow? I don’t really know a lot more than that too be honest.
Much of the press you receive pigeon-holes your sound as rather retrospective, do you agree?
To an extent I do yeah. We love old, classic pop music. The best pop music was written in the 50’s and 60’s and we are very influenced from that search of the perfect popsong. Searching for that is always going to sound quite retrospective, because the pop song hasn’t really become any better than it was then. Or that’s our opinion anyway. But we do strive to sound timeless rather than retrospective or modern. I like the idea of not being able to pinpoint our music to a certain time or place.
Your first London show was famously attended by indie heavyweights such as Alex Kapranos and White Lies. Do you get starstruck when things like this happen?
This story has been blown out of proportions a bit. These musicians live in London and attend gigs, and it’s not uncommon to find them at shows like our first show. But no, I don’t really get starstruck unless I meet people that mean something significant to me personally, not necessarily famous people. I got starstruck once when I saw Nick Diamond (from The Unicorns, Islands and so on) but I generally don’t get starstruck.
Is there a celeb with whom you have particularly hit it off (or indeed had a problem with!)?
Still haven’t had a problem with anyone, but met a lot of very fun and interesting people. Don’t really want to start namedropping too much though.
Finally, if you are The Vaccines, what is the disease?
Do you know what, we’ve been asked this question a million times but still haven’t found a good answer to it. We really should start thinking about it… but for the time being, let’s say boredom.
Make sure you join us at Fuji Rock this year (29th – 31st July 2011)
Weekend ticket: ¥ 39,800 (tax included) ⇒ (pre-sale price – ¥ 39,000 (tax included)
Day ticket: ¥ 16,800 (limited to 10,000 for each day)
For more information and details on how to buy tickets, please visit the official Fuji Rock Festival website
Words: Mark Birtles
Translation: Asuka Ozutsumi
July 19, 2011
