The band have had four singles released, 'I Wish I Was You, 'From the Beginning', 'The History of Britain', and the Top 40 hit 'You've Given Me Something That I Can't Give Back'. The band released their debut album 'Songs From The Lodge' in October 2006, and off the back of that won the best unsigned band award at the Vodafone music awards.
New Rhodes' forthcoming album 'Everybody Loves A Scene' is to be released on Monday 2nd February through Salty Cat Records and is preceded by the single 'The Joys of Finding and Losing that Girl' a week earlier.
What are the band up to at the moment?
We're just released our download single, and we're preparing to release the album over here. We're planning gigs at the moment. Hopefully in January or February we'll start touring again.
How come there is a Japanese release of 'Everybody Loves A Scene'? Are you big in Japan?
Well, we released our album out there last time around, and surprisingly we probably sold more in Japan than we did over here. Even though we have never been there, we seemed to get a really good response. So, they were really keen to do this one as well, and it just so happened that it came out first over there.
I guess that means that you might be doing a tour over there sometime in the future?
Well, we have been angling to try and do one for a while. It's just finding the money to be able to do it, because the costs involved are quite prohibitive. Hopefully we will find a way. We were planning to go out this year, but it fell through but it's definitely on our list of things to do. As soon as we can we'll definitely go out there.
Are you still unsigned?
Yes, we are, we release everything ourselves at the moment.
Where is the band based?
We live in Hackney, we moved from Bristol to London in about 2003, and we're been pretty much based in Hackney, for most of those five years, apart from a year in Camden.
Were you surprised to win the Best Unsigned Band category at the Vodafone Music Awards this year?
Yes! We didn't really expect it at all. We only heard about it half way through the campaign where people voted, and then when we turned up to the awards they told us that we had won, it was pretty good. Sitting next to Queen and Girls Aloud with free champagne, was all we wanted really.
Did you get a chance to talk to them at all?
No, unfortunately we were far too drunk and more concerned about how much champagne we had left.
How long did it take to you put the second album together?
We had the songs pretty much as soon as we finished the last one. We're continuously writing. I don't know because some of the songs took a long, long time to piece together and some of them were really quick. It probably took about a year to get everything up to scratch, and then we actually finished a number of them while we were recording the album. We did nineteen track in two weeks. It was quite good having the pressure, and it was a really creative time. We got quite a lot of stuff packed into those two weeks.
You must have to be quite driven to be able to do that, without a record label being on your back to motivate you?
It's just we love what we do, and we believe strongly in ourselves and what we can do. We thought that we could create a really strong album, and we just wanted to get it out there. We don't really need the motivation of a record company, obviously the money would be nice. Primarily we do it because we just want people to hear our music and enjoy it.
Are you able to do it full time?
We all have day jobs unfortunately. I work in a solicitor's office, and the others, Jack and Joe have just been made redundant from a call centre. I think they're going to have new jobs. We basically do whatever we can to get by, we don't get much money from what we do at the moment. Hopefully, as we just want to play and get our music out there, the more we play the more people we can get to, and obviously we'd make more money. But, that's not how we do it.
Talking of the more you play, have you got any gigs lined up?
I think the only one we've got this side of the new year is one in Bristol. We're going home, because we always end up doing a Christmas gig. so we have one of those, and then, basically, we put together a tour to support the album next year. That will probably be the next time we go out properly.
If you had to pick one track of yours that everyone should listen to before they go to a New Rhodes gig, which one would it be?
Hmmm, I don't know... I'd say either 'Everybody Loves A Scene' the title track, or 'The Joys Of Finding And Losing That Girl' off the new album. Either of them, probably the latter, I think it does sum up pretty much what we do. That's why it's going to be the next single because I think it's where we are as a band now.
Who have been your musical influences?
We all listen to loads of different stuff, we all have quite diverse musical tastes. I grew up with Queen, The Beatles, and The Beach Boys pretty much as the only things I ever listened to.
Finding yourself sitting next to Queen must have been good then.
Well, obviously I love Queen, but I think that stuff with Paul Rodgers is just wrong. I disagree with Queen now, I'm sure they have enough money to sit back and just bow out. I think it should have been left where it was.
I'm probably the most backward looking of the band because all I listen to is the old stuff like Love, The Beatles, and The Velvet Underground, at the moment. I think the whole time writing this album it was pretty much quite a lot of older music. Everyone else in the band is far more up to date than I am. Joe likes MGMT that's his thing at the moment. Jack has thousands of things on his ipod.
How would you describe your music?
I think the best thing that someone wrote in a review, was that we sounded like New Rhodes. I think that's it exactly. We've spent years being compared to every band that was 'in' that week, even though we've never changed our music to fit in with anybody else, I think we're constantly still being compared which is rubbish. We've just taken the musical influences we grew up with, and it's our take on it. Everybody thinks we sound like The Smiths but I can't see that. I dunno I suppose it's a bit like The Cure, but I don't think we sound like anyone else to be honest.
What's the best gig you've bought tickets for?
I went and saw the Manic Street Preachers play at the Cardiff Coal Exchange, I can't remember when it was but I queued up over night in the freezing cold Welsh winter, and it was so small. That was pretty good, this was around 2002. It was quite good to see them in such an intimate venue, there was only something like 300 people. It was well worth getting a cold arse. Then there was also when I saw Morrissey at Glastonbury, and Paul McCartney was pretty good, but I'd have to say the Manic's one was probably the best one.
What are your plans for Christmas?
I think we're all going home, then as soon as that's out the way, we'll come back and start playing again. I think have a relaxing Christmas, and then kick off the new year playing as much as we can. We've always been a live band really, we've played a lot of gigs, maybe not in the last year or so while we've been writing and recording. But we've always played lots and lots of gigs. Our aim for next year is to try and get on the bills for Reading and Glastonbury.
Well have a good Christmas, and I hope you achieve your ambition for next year.
Yeah hopefully, thank you very much, bye bye.
article by: Scott Williams
photos by: Scott Johnson
published: 21/12/2008 08:56
FUTURE GIGS
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