Post punk rockers The Leap Year are ready to make their mark at V Festival – having snaffled up a slot in teh Perth finals does the band have what it takes to be a contender. FL Asks the questions. The Leap Year answers…
Was music always an important part of your life?
Absolutely. I can’t speak for everyone in the band, but I really can’t remember life before I was listening to music or playing an instrument. I don’t know what life would be like without it. I’ve always had a strong urge to create it. Music is really important for all of us, in terms of our personal well-being and happiness. I’m fairly certain at least one or two of us would lose the plot without it.
What’s your earliest musical memory?
Having keyboard lessons at the age of 4, and listening to my parents’ old Neil Diamond records. I don’t really listen to Neil Diamond anymore, but I guess I can thank him for getting me into music in the first place.
How would you describe your band’s music?
It’s hard for a band to describe its own music. I think that’s the job of music journalists. To us, it’s just our own brand of rock music. We’ve been told our sound has elements of other bands like Slint, Redhouse Painters and Mission of Burma: which is nice because we like all those bands, but we don’t really sound much like any of them. I don’t think we feel like we fit into any particular scene or genre either.
What are your musical influences?
We all have a lot, as we listen to all sorts of things. We’re all fans of bands like Polvo, Chavez, Shellac, Slint, C-Clamp and …Trail of dead. My personal influences would probably include those and a few other bands like Blonde Redhead, Fugazi, Low and Wire. I think they all have a unique approach to music.
Who are you most looking forward to seeing at the V Festival?
Probably The Jesus and Mary Chain, Queens of the Stone-age, Modest Mouse and Duran Duran. It’d be nice to see The Smashing Pumpkins play a few songs off Siamese Dream too. Would also check out a few unfamiliar things too, just to see what they’re like.
If you win Garage to V what would you have in your rider?
I think we’d be happy with a few bottles of Canadian Club, or some other nice whisky. A few “jazz” cigarettes for certain members of the band probably wouldn’t go astray either. Maybe some nice Japanese food too. We’re pretty easy to please though.
What artist would you want to share a sneaky backstage pash with at the V fest? Why?
As the only member of the band not spoken for, I would say that I wouldn’t mind a crack at one of the girls from CSS. Why? Because I have good taste!
Who would you like to share a dressing room with and why?
I’d like to hang out with Air. Mainly because I’m learning French and need to practise more. Also with CSS (see answer to previous question).
What’s the key ingredient for having at great day at V festival?
Good company, and being in a good mood. Or having the necessary atmosphere and other conditions to get you into a good mood. The right music definitely helps. Not behaving like a dick will help others enjoy their day too.
How important are competitions like Garage to V in the ongoing success of your band?
As a fairly new and small band, we’re open to any avenue that we think would be a good way to get people to listen to our music and see us play. We never go into these things with any expectations, but occasionally we get pleasantly surprised. In this case, it’s probably a good opportunity for people who wouldn’t otherwise hear us, to check us out. And like most bands, we don’t have any money, so we’d love to have someone else pay for us to tour or record, so if it helps us achieve either of those things, we’d be pretty happy.
Don’t forget to RSVP HERE for your slot at the Perth G2V heats with special guests The Prey Tells
