Kinesis With an average age of just 18, Kinesis bring with them a clash of sound bites and radical political chic for the generation that doesn't give a damn about the Manic's or Billy Bragg. Growing up in the sleepy Northern town of Bolton they were far enough removed to miss out on the rich cultural heritage of nearby Manchester and set about forging their own way in the wilderness which saw them head straight for the capital.
As the band prepare to head out on the road with Biffy Clyro and Hell Is For Heroes we spoke to Kinesis mouthpiece and guitarist Conor McGloin about how they're going to destroy the previous generation and end it all before they hit twenty five. Some people just spend their whole life's waiting for something to happen and other bands go out and do something about it. That band are Kinesis and they are the young pups of the New Wave of New Angry.
Q: With Kinesis the thing that sparked you off was this small town syndrome of Bolton. And combined with the fact that you so close to Manchester with its rich culture and yet you were just far enough removed to miss out on it all. Was this the case?
A: A lot of it is also about being young. We've always had to put up with a certain amount of ageism just because people couldn't understand how at 16 years old we knew exactly where we wanted to go. We wanted to get out of where we came from and a lot of bands just hang around their local town, play a couple of gigs and think they're superstars. We just wanted to get down to London because we thought that was the only way we were going to get noticed.Bolton hasn't got any cultural heritage. Manchester next to us has Factory Records, Joy Division, The Smiths, New Order...just this big line of great bands...early Oasis, The Stone Roses. And if you're from Bolton you've just got Badly Drawn Boy in his tea cosy!!! There's just no cultural heritage which I think works to our advantage because we can push forward without having to look to those standards. The only standards we had were the ones we set ourselves, which are high enough.
We don't feel like we've achieved anything until were on Top Of The Pops. Where we come from people don't read the NME so no-one cares if were on the frontcover of the NME. Success for us would be headlining Glastonbury.
Q: And growing up in this environment you must have gravitated towards each other naturally?
A: A lot of bands tend to join from the back pages of the NME and we were predominantly friends who knew each other and formed a group. There isn't a huge alternative culture in Bolton - if you mention Fugazi people think it's an Italian meal or something. So in that respect it was very easy to find each other - 3 of them went to school together and I just live round the corner from Mike, our singer.
Q: I get the sense that you set your standards that high that no-one could ever match this vision of your perfect band. Did you ever grow up with heroes or idols that set you on your way?
A: We tried to take the best from all the influences we hear - we don't hero worship any bands because they all had faults. Were into the Pixies, Radiohead and even through to the lyrics of Public Enemy compared to what white boy guitar bands were saying were amazing. What we were trying to do was take the best bits from every influence we listened to. It wasn't like we were just trying to copy our heroes. We could take an objective look at other bands, we'd look at the Pixies and realize they had amazing melodies and say we might as well take that.At the moment it tends to be going to the two extremes, singing about love or singing about hate, and its all self obsessed. The Nu-Acoustic movement sings about how much we love each other and the Nu-Metal movement is talking about how much we hate our middle class parents because they're white middle class life's aren't good enough obviously.
Q: Going back to what you said about it being as much about a youth movement as being a way out of the boredom. Have you ever felt let down by bands that have started off with the best of intentions and then just grown old with no dignity?
A: I think every band has a life span and I've always respected the bands that don't grow old and end it pretty early. Bands should definitely say to themselves - we've done three albums, the world doesn't need us anymore. Music is so more important than to just carry on to pay your mortgage off. Without wanting to sound cliched music changed our lives and gave us to the confidence to get out of the doldrums and reach for the stars to quote Oscar Wilde.I don't see how people can take it so lightly to make music that isn't life changing. People say bands take themselves too seriously, but you can't do that. Music, it makes you feel extremes like I want to shoot Kelly Jones in the face. You either hate them or love them and you've got to have that element in music. It's important to be dangerous. Great art always borders on the ridiculous - people will either hate you or love you!!!
Q: You're all aged between 17 and 18. Do you worry you'll have said everything you need to say by the time you're 25?
A: Bands just seem to see it as a career. We just want to put everything into each album and everything into each gig and if that kills us by the time were 25 then so be it. I think a quarter of a century is beautiful time to express what you want to say. If you haven't expressed what you want to say by the time you're 25 then you've wasted that opportunity. I think if were still in this band by the time were 25 then we've let ourselves down - if were still going you have permission to shoot me!!!I don't think the world needs any more love songs and there are so many songs about now which are not even about mis-directed hate, it seems premeditated. It's where people are trying to aim that hate at a target market and see a parental guidance sticker that is something to be proud of or something to be cool.
People are just so self obsessed nowadays. I mean were self obsessed as people, but as a band we just want to talk about things which affect the world and things which we can see going on. Its so easy to write a song about your girlfriend, we'd be letting ourselves down if we did. Out of the songs written about in the world there are far to many songs written about love.
Q: When you see this tabloid culture of meaningless sound bites and trash written daily does this spur you on more so to offer an alternative voice?
A: Everything's so sensationalist now and to a certain extent we play up to that. Just because as young people we've grown up in an increasingly media obsessed time. From the age of 11 or 12 I was reading the NME or Kerrang obsessionally taking note of everything that every popstar said and I was always drawn to people who were more controversial.I'd rather read an interview with Matt Bellamy who people may think is a dickhead, but at least he's entertaining...even Liam Gallagher to that extent. Oasis are an awful band but Liam Gallagher is still entertaining. And from that point of view we'd rather be sensationalist than boring. It better to border on the ridiculous than be safe!!!
Q: There's always that thing when you're young and your parents turn round and say "You're saying nothing new. We used to have those same radical ideas as you when we were young and look at us now?". Do you still think you can change the world?
A: I know what you mean completely. I think deep down we know were not going to change the world, but I think its more important to have those ideals than to actually follow them through. The idea that in this corporate society that ideals can co-exist amongst corporate organizations.It's important to have underdogs - were not just rebelling against something without a cause. Were trying to focus what we hate and put that across objectively. Each generation has to take it upon themselves to destroy the generation before it. I think it's very important for a generation to find it's own feet to destroy and denounce everything the previous generation has done before them. We were 15 when we started and for us it was year zero. For us we didn't care what people said. We didn't care what our parents thought. We didn't care what our teachers said. It was a gang mentality, us against the world, and to a certain extent that still rings true.
I think they're are certain groups that when you're older you should give up. Bands like the Manics or people like Billy Bragg should just give up before they get fat - anybody who at the age of 42 thinks they're going to change the world by writing a political record is fooling themselves!!!
Q: After the tour with Hell is for Heroes and Biffy Clyro you release you're second single "Everything Destroys Itself" on August 5th. Its very much about what's going on now across the world. The War Against Terrorism, the rise of the right and the media white wash. Tell us more?
A: People concentrate on the past and the future and tend to forget about what's happening now. Its about the rise of the christian far right in America and how that's destroying culture to a certain extent by censoring it. And it talking about how the media falsifies things to put across certain viewpoints. We thought it was something important that needed to be said and on MTV you can watch a lot of people complaining about parents...nobody says anything anymore.People aren't learning from the past. We aren't learning that the Nazi Party started in Austria. Austria elected a far right government and people don't seem to be acknowledging the past in that respect. We can't comprehend what War is like because we live such privileged life's and were not stupid enough to accept that. I have a TV at home, I have a stereo at home and there are millions of people that don't have those things. We live such privileged life's and I think people have got to start accepting that.
Q: You're perhaps the youngest band in the New Wave Of New Angry scene. What does it personally mean to you?
A: I think bands from all times are angry. It seems like a time when people seem to be getting it together and doing it themselves. People have been languishing about for too long just smoking pot and staying in and it shows to us that it's a very positive attitude for people with a DIY attitude and a bit of get up and go. The world isn't going to come to you. You have to get up and go to the world. That's what the New Wave Of New Angry represents.************
Kinesis tour throughout July with Biffy Clyro and Hell Is For Heroes
"Everything Destroys Itself" is out August 5th
For more info
www.kinesis-official.co.uk
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