Morning Parade could be the next big U.K. import to make a splash in America. They’ve already done some amazing things across Europe and the time they’ve spent here in the U.S. so far has been a success. In a recent interview with Alternative Addiction, Morning Parade frontman Steve Sparrow discussed how varied from continent to continent and country to country things have been for the young band.
“When you’re starting out in the music business you don’t really know what to expect,” said Sparrow about the early stages of the band entering into the music world. “We were certainly very green when we started out. You kind of come into it with delusions of grandeur and things that you’ve hoped for. When you sign a record deal people blow a lot of smoke up your ass. You’ve got to find your head and pull it out of there and get your head straight. Now we look at every country as a completely separate entity. Everywhere we’ve been has been very different for us. The U.K. has been one thing; the rest of Europe has been incredible for us. Every single country you go to has a different reaction and people feel differently about it. I don’t really know why, I guess it’s a cultural thing and part of the media and how much support they show us.”
“The U.S. is a very big place and has a lot to offer. On a personal level when people are nice to you and they respond to the warmth you show them in the same way, it’s encouraging. The U.S. has been like that for us so far. Everybody’s been very kind to us and I guess you fall in love with it a little bit. We haven’t had any kind of nastiness, everyone has been open and accepted who we are and what we do, and they’ve done so with open arms.”
The time that the band has spent in the U.S. has been a sample-size. Sparrow and the guys in Morning Parade haven’t spent a lot of time in America, but they have done SXSW in Austin and some touring with label mates The Kooks. While they were out with The Kooks they loved the shows and the fans, but Sparrow and his bandmates also found a new love… Buffalo wings.
“So far we’ve had an incredible time in the U.S. There’s two sides to it, it’s nice to travel and play shows, but it’s also nice to see a bit of the culture. We’re all quite big fans of buffalo wings so the U.S. has offered us that as well. (laughs)” I’ve been back in the U.K. for a few weeks and me and Phil-our bass player- have been searching out for some wings, we haven’t found any that we can get in the U.S. so we’re looking forward to going back there.”
Now the band is looking forward to their world travels but not too long ago, this gig didn’t exist for Sparrow and the band, it definitely didn’t exist in this capacity.
“The first time you get to make a record you’re dumbstruck that somebody’s letting you do this. Part of me is like I know we’ve worked really hard and I know we really want to do this, but f______ hell, EMI has suddenly given us a bunch of money to make an album, that’s a great start. When it was suggested; ‘why don’t you go work in Damon Albarn’s studio’ it was kind of surreal. We went from our day jobs- I was working at a construction site throwing rubble into a skip just trying to make ends meet, until that golden day came along. And then it did and suddenly I was working in that studio making demos. It was pretty crazy.”
Moring Parade’s self-titled debut album is already out in the U.K. and Europe but we have to wait a few weeks before we’ll get it here in the U.S.
“The way we made the record we really tried to develop it over a long course of time; playing live around Europe and developing the songs as we went,” said Sparrow of writing and developing the music for their debut album. “We see ourselves as a live band, so we had to go out and do that to work out the way we wanted to be. In doing that you realize that you can’t make a record the same way you play live. Live you’ve got the power of the bass and the body is a real big factor in that, so we had to have a different approach. Working with Dave Kosten. It was a very different experience. I was quite cagey at first. He brought something really interesting to the table and I think he brought out sides of us that I think we were too scared to show.”
The band’s next path has them focusing a lot on the U.S. in 2012, so much so that they’re considering a move across the Atlantic.
“We’re just over the moon. Europe has been so kind to us and we’ve had such a great time. America represents a different challenge for us and offers something new. I think before the European release we were nervous, now that we’ve released an album in one continent we know a little bit more about what to expect. The U.S. is just a different kind of fish, it’s so big and it’s so challenging. But we know already from the reactions from the people we’ve met there and the shows, and how many radio stations are playing for us. It’s really good for us; we’re looking forward to coming back over there.”
Morning Parade’s self-titled debut album comes out on June 16th, for more info on the band you can find them on Facebook, www.facebook.com/morningparade.
