SK vs… Blackbud

At Glasgow’s perennial favourite King Tut’s, a worn traveller is channelling both Jeff Buckley and John Frusciante as he closes his eyes, howls into the microphone and whips out a blistering solo. By his side, an effortlessly cool musketeer lunges up and down wielding thick bass stylings, while a bearded Ryan Reynolds lookalike keeps things tight at the back. The music is glorious, the performance outstanding and the sincerity palpable. The band? Blackbud – the Jimmy Page-approved three-piece that have successfully eluded the Zeitgeist over the past few years.

By all rights, this is a band that should be huge: Blackbud have the hooks, the proficiency, the acclaim, and with two fine albums under their belt (2006′s From the Sky and this year’s eponymous Blackbud), the Wiltshire three-piece should be drawing a healthy crowd each night – but tonight the audience is sparse. Undeterred, the trio – Joe Taylor (vocals, guitar), Adam Newton (bass) and Sam Nadel (drums) – perform to a handful of ardent fans as though the room were as packed as it rightfully should be.

Post-tour, we caught up with drummer Sam Nadel to discuss the band’s latest album, commercial success and the future.

Stereokill: First off, how was the band’s recent tour across the UK?

SN: The tour was fantastic. After two years off the road it seemed to take us about fifteen minutes to get back into the flow of it. It’s a bit addictive really.

Stereokill: Do you have a favourite venue to perform in?

SN: Glasgow’s King Tut’s is always a good one. Just about anywhere in Glastonbury as well.

Stereokill: I was actually at the band’s King Tut’s gig last Sunday. You played a truly fantastic set, but the crowd seemed a little thin. Does playing to a quiet room bother you – are Blackbud concerned with commercial success?

SN: There’s very little you can do about your own commercial success as a musician. If you’re purposely writing a song to be “successful” people tend to spot it a mile off, and it often has the opposite effect you intended. Most of the musicians and songwriters that I know and respect just write the kind of music they would want to sit down and listen to themselves. Then, in a way, it’s out of your hands.

Stereokill: It’s been three years since the release of [debut album] From the Sky. What have the band been up to since then?

SN: We had an intense period of writing after the first album, and we recorded the second record in 2008. There was a big delay between finishing the recording and the release date, which was out of our control. The bonus was we had time to play with other musicians and in other musical contexts. I really think we’re much better musicians for it.

Stereokill: In your own words how would you describe the new album, Blackbud?

SN: It feels fresh – even a year after finishing it. Sometimes you lose that excitement for your own work within a few days! In a way we’ve regressed, but purposely, so in that we tried to capture the essence of what we are as band. We weren’t going for a “big production” this time around: we used less instruments and were stricter on ourselves, on which ideas made the final cut.

Stereokill: Is there any specific reason why the record is self-titled?

SN: Choosing an album name can be surprisingly hard! Gin & Chronic just sounded a bit adolescent.

Stereokill: How was it working with producer [Arctic Monkeys producer] Mike Crossey, compared with [From the Sky producer] David Bottrill?

SN: Producers are always wildly different in their approach, and Mike has an honesty and a simplicity to his. I think David’s style suites going for a bigger production.

Stereokill: Do you have a personal favourite Blackbud song?

SN: “Do You Know”, which was the first song we ever wrote. It’s basically just a twelve-bar blues, but people still request it at gigs for some reason! Maybe we’re making things too complicated for ourselves, and we should just do an album of blues covers?

Stereokill: I’ve read that Jimmy Page is a fan, how does it feel to be recognized and appreciated by such an iconic musical figure?

SN: Jimmy came along to a gig and we had a musicians chat after the show. The whole event seemed a bit surreal to be honest. Jimmy Page only exists on DVDs and the telly normally.

Stereokill: There’s a strong Red Hot Chili Peppers/John Frusciante influence in Blackbud’s sound. Does the band have a favourite Frusciante solo release?

SN: We listen to Shadows Collide With People on the bus a fair bit. To Record Only Water for Ten Days is another good one.

Stereokill: Who are your own key influences?

SN: Well, they change all the time. Right now for me it’s Alberta Cross, Brian Blade and MGMT

Stereokill: Are there any up-and-coming bands out there that our readers should be listening to?

SN: Loads of our friends are doing great stuff. Alessi’s Ark, Mor Karbasi, Mumford and Sons, Messy Subjects. We’re also in some of those bands *smiles*

Stereokill: What’s your own personal take on the music industry these days?

SN: It’s always been a mystery to me really. It’s just so unpredictable that I’ve stopped to trying to predict it all together. This is why I will never work at a record company.

Stereokill: Where do you see yourselves in five years time?