Brightest Young Things

Camera Obscura is back in town on Tuesday (Well, back in Baltimore) and even though they refused to do our "bling hearing test" (and can you really blame them?) we sat down, keyboard to keyboard with Carey Lander (piano, vocals, organ) and Gavin Dunbar and speak of unspeakables including their love for "Do you Believe in magic", their "pre-show" rituals, skipping DC this time around and (imaginary) Belle and Sebastian fights.

BYT:So last time you played a sold out show at the Cat (we were there, as was Tony Hawk). How come no DC shows this time around?
GD:We really love playing in DC, the last two shows there were really special, the crowds seem to be really into what we are doing. I believe Tony Hawk was actually thrown out by security for being over enthusiastic. I don’t think they realised who it was.
CL:Sorry! We’re kind of winding up the touring for this year so I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for our next full US tour. This is just supposed to be a quick jaunt, we’re only playing a few shows. That DC was gig was brilliant for us and totally exceeded our expectations though so you can be sure we will return.

BYT:Apology accepted, I guess. DC almost started to view you as one of their own since Georgie James toured with you guys. Do you have any on-the-road nightmares to share from that trip? Any unspeakable dirt?
CL:Unspeakable things wouldn’t really make for a good interview, huh? (you got us there-ed) We enjoyed touring with Georgie James and it was great to catch up with them. They were at out gig in North Carolina too and so were The Rosebuds from our first US tour so it was a total tour-mates reunion. Miraculously I seem to have wiped all the nightmares from my mind.What I remember most was teaching them Scottish and failing to ever go out partying with them. We’re more of a few-drinks-back-at-the-hotel sort of group.
GD:We don’t have any dirt, but on the way to the opening show, Kerry, our tour manager phoned them up to check everything was cool, and they were having a little car trouble and were running a bit late, Kerry told them to turn around and go home cause running late just wasn’t acceptable. There was a few moments of silence on the other end of the phone, and Kerry told them he was only joking, and after that, everything reverted to normality and the breathing started again at the other end of the phone.

BYT:“Lets get out of this country” was received well and you’ve been playing non stop since then…do you miss Glasgow and what do you miss about it the most?
CL:We did miss home when we were on tour so much. We’ve been back for a little while now. I didn’t miss the place so much as having somewhere to call home, sleeping in my own bed, cooking my own meals and trying to rebuild a life with my friends. I love touring but there’s always a sense that your ‘real life’ is on hold and at some point you have to face up to that.

BYT:Favorite place you ever played? And why?
CL AND GD:It is quite hard to choose, but its probably Mexico City. We played in a building that houses the world’s largest mural, and the venue is in the middle of it all, which is a pretty spectacular to play in. On top of that the crowd were absolutely nuts and really went for it, which makes us really go for it too.

BYT:Least favorite place you ever played ? (and why, this why being all the more important)
CL:Ah there have been so many. Sometimes a venue can just be so depressing when you walk in that’s its really hard to have a good attitude, although sometimes those places can turn into wonderful gigs. We once played upstairs at a tiny pub in Leeds there was no room for the band. We had to arrange ourselves around the bar which sounds kinda fun but wasn’t.
GD:Probably the Westport Bar in Dundee back in summer 2001, purely because it was the quietest show we’ve ever played (we cleverly played a show the week after all the students had gone home for the summer). There were about 12 people in the venue, and about 7 of them were in the support bands. A woman came in halfway through the set trying to sell flowers to the ‘crowd’. It wasn’t out finest moment.

BYT:Is there anything else you would like to shamelessly promote aside from your Sonar show? Any new works in store, exercise tapes etc etc…?
GD:Fraid not, we’re off into the studio when we get home, and we aren’t coming out until we have a new record in our mitts.
CL:You are welcome to watch exercise tapes and pretend they feature us.

BYT:Ok, so now that we have that out of the way, lets play a BYT game called: “The Soundtrack to Camera Obscura life” (we actually stole this from some myspace survey, but you know how these things go):

You can answer them all and add little explanations (or not) :

Carey's anwers:
Opening Credits : To Go Home by M. Ward. Uplifting.
Wake up to: Just a Little Lovin’ by Dusty Springfield. Beats a cup of coffee, apparently.
Sing in the hairbrush to: I’m too uptight to do that.
High school flashback to: Motorcycle Emptiness by the Manic Street Preachers
Agony, pain to: Fuel for Fire by M. Ward
Breakdown to: Oh My Love by Richard Hawley
Twee-out to: Lollipop by the Chordettes
Makeout to: Go or Go Ahead by Rufus Wainwright. As you can see, I spend more time listening to miserable music than actually making out.
Dance montage to: Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher and Higher by Jackie Wilson
Victory to: Rocky theme. Played backstage before we go on stage. Ahem.
Get the party started to: Do You Believe in Magic? By the Lovin’ Spoonful. Perhaps the only song I’ve seen us all dance to simultaneously at a disco.
Car chase (tour van chase) to: Blue boy by Orange Juice
Karaoke to: Mendocino by The Essex Green
End credits: It’s Over Love by Richard Hawley. Always end on a low.

Gavin's Answers
Wake up to: Rod Stewart’s Maggie May, partly because it starts with the line Wake Up Maggie, but also because you can’t beat a bit of Rod Almighty.
Sing in the hairbrush to: Rehab – Amy Winehouse.
High school flashback to: Gregory’s Girl Soundtrack because that’s what all Scottish Secondary Schools are like.
Agony, pain to: The music from Star Trek when Captain Kirk fights that Lizard thing.
Breakdown to: Queen – Stone Cold Crazy
Twee-out to: We don’t do twee. No serisouly.
Makeout to: Rod Stewart returns to sing Have I Told You Lately that I Love You. Again, you can’t beat a bit of Rod Almighty.
Dance montage to: New Order – Blue Monday, timeless classic. I love new order, and had to fit them in somewhere.
Victory to: Gonna Fly Now from Rocky
Get the party started to: Orange Juice, Blueboy, the sound of the intro is enough to get any party started.
Car chase (tour van chase) to: Theme from Cannonball Run
Karaoke to: The Shadows - Apache
End credits: our very own Razzle Dazzle Rose

BYT:Who is the biggest control freak in the group?
GD:We don’t have any of those.
CL:Too close a call. While others may well display the characteristics of the control freak, only I know the extent of what goes on my head. Ok. Me.

BYT:Admitting is winning half the battle. And who is the biggest slob?
GD:We don’t have any of those either.
CL:We’re all quite clean but Gavin always forgets to pack anything and thus always has to go on an emergency shopping spree for shaving foam and shirts.

BYT:When Camera Obscura is out, what is the drink of choice for the group round?
CL:Guinness or red wine are safe bets.
GD:I reckon a tray of drinks would include two red wines (or gin and tonics) a large rum and coke, and three pints. There may also be some nips of whisky.

BYT:What is your favorite song to perform? (I myself am partial to “Keep it clean” but nevermind me)
CL:Oh no, that one’s a bit tricky. Razzle Dazzle Rose. My part is easy but it feels good.
GD:For me the segway of Lloyd, I’m ready to be heartbroken into If looks could kill is the most fun to play, although I am quite partial to Keep It Clean too.

BYT:And do you take requests (as long as its not “Free Bird”, of course)
GD:We have enough trouble trying to remember our old songs without trying to remember other people’s, but we may occasionally surprise ourselves.
CL:Actually,we love the idea of taking requests but there are some songs we can’t really play anymore and there are some we just plain hate.

BYT:Best Band we have never heard of?
GD:Herman Dune
CL:The Aislers Set (well, we actually have heard of them, but more people definitely should-ed)

BYT:Song you wish you had written and why?
GD:Doctor Who theme, its simply amazing.
CL:Anything except You’re Beautiful by James Blunt

BYT:That song makes us want to jump off a cliff, and not in a romantic way, so we understand. Speaking of non-romance, in a Belle and Sebastian/Camera Obscura (very theoretical) fight, who would win?
GD:We couldn’t be fannied fighting, we’d probably just go to the pub.
CL:Hmm, I hear a few of them have been going to the gym recently so probably them. They’re a bit healthy.

BYT:All the more reason to get on that excercise video train.
In 5 years Camera Obscura will be….older and fatter.(fill in the blanks).

BYT:NOT IF YOU ACTUALLY DO THAT EXCERCISE VIDEO. And finally, we gave away a pair of tickets to your show (congratulations to Katie Bolton who won on account of BOTH quantity AND quality), want to add some extra sugar to go with the prize (a signed cd, a snow globe with the band photo in it, an old walkman?)
CL:I might need my old walkman; my MP3 players broken. I have a lot of snow globes without the band in but I’m kind of attached to those. Let me think.
GD:I have a signed snowglobe with a picture of a walkman in it somewhere.

We'll take it