An interview Tom posted on the Brakes message board, November 17, 2005 K: Which bands made you want to make music? TW: I guess when we were really young, like anyone, you just get hold of whatever your parents have got lying about the house - I have to say, The Beatles were probably the biggest influence on us for a good while, especially Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road... then, of course, you start reading the fucking NME!!! K: You were very young when ‘Holes in the wall’ came out, did the fame go to your heads? TW: I think it confused us for a while, but it didn't take us long to realise that it was all rather fleeting... you carry on making music, and people still love it as much as before, but I think the whole industry buzz thing belongs to new bands, and once that honeymoon period is over, as far as the press is concerned, it's time to knuckle down and get on with making decent records. K: What’s the best thing about being in a band? TW: I have to say that, as some dude in some band, it's been a fucking privilege to have got to travel the world - South Africa, Australia, Japan, New York, Europe - it kind of blows my mind thinking that I've been to more places than my folks! K: Describe your vibe in five words... TW: Spiritual. Without. Needing. A. God. K: Are any songs on the new EP going on the new album? TW: Well, we've had our third album written and ready for about three years now, but what with all the shit that went down with our old label after the second record, I guess we kind of wanted to see if our skills were still up to scratch!! Also, we're both advocates of songs being released as soon after they're written as possible, and we had a chance to do that with Truck Records. To answer your question though, probably one or two, though the third album is rather sweet as it is! K: How are preparations for the new album going? Any release date yet? TW: Preparations are going fine, thank you!! It'll be out as soon as it's done - hopefully in the first half of next year. K: Who influenced you on the new EP? The songs seem more epic. ‘Cold World’ is a lovely, catchy song. Is there an art to making the perfect pop song? TW: I don't think anything influenced us particularly on this EP. I definitely put a lot of time into orchestrating "Everybody Wants", and I think that song achieves a kind of size, sound-wise, that we hadn't reached before. As far as there being an art to writing pop songs, I think, as a writer, you're either in one of two categories - writers who let the writing happen unconciously, and writers who force their work into a certain shape. I think by writing unconciously, you let influences in that you would perhaps sneer at, were you scrutinizing everything you write down, and, for me that is the key to writing something that truly reaches out to people. K: Can you explain the artwork for the EP? TW: All of the sketches on the sleeve are from an 1800's medical journal that my friend Mervyn (who we design all of our sleeves with) had lying about his house. I was just looking for something that added to the meaning of the title, but also took it into a different, darker place. K: Why did you call the new EP ‘The Human Body’? TW: I just felt that human life has become a rather disposable thing in modern times. I'm not religious at all, but I guess I wanted to say to people that I think the human body is beautiful and, in a way, sacred, and that you can hide behind your faith or your fucking money or whatever dumb shit you think matters, but there is probably not anything more to life than this one. K: You swap instruments a lot, which do you both enjoy playing the most? TW: I guess, like most musicians, we both kinda like twatting a drumkit now and then!! K: Do you write together or alone and is there any sibling rivalry? TW: We generally write alone. For both of us, writing's the hard part, and getting to a place where you can let yourself go and just write whatever comes is always tough, but when you do, it's a huge release, and that's when you write your best stuff. Sibling rivalry?? Are you kidding??!!!! K: What happened with your parting of ways with BMG? TW: I don't want to start a libel case, but they treated us like shit on their shoes - what can I say?! K: Have you had any groupies? TW: Yeah, what you do is send your tour manager out into the crowd while you're playing and get him to distribute backstage passes to the gadge-est members of the audience, then after the show, just take your pick... well, that's what The Bravery do, any road!! K: Would you ever change you name to ‘The White Stuff’ for 50k each? TW: Who's offering??! K: If you were approached to put your songs on a advert for viagra would you accept for 100k each? TW: Of course!! We're fucking strapped these days!! K: You're on the soundtrack to Teachers Series Two, did you ever get paid for featuring? TW: About seven quid, if I remember rightly. K: Do you keep any porn on the tour bus? TW: We've been touring in converted Royal Mail van recently, so even if we had any, I don't know where we'd keep it!! If you sent us some, though... K: Any touring rituals, things you do before you go on stage? TW: Beer, whisky, a "Best Of Little Richard" tape, and high-grade skunk-weed!!! K: Do either of you suffer from stage fright? TW: Actually, I find the smaller the show, the more nervous I get. Recently, we did a couple of tiny little acoustic shows, and I was nearly puking with nerves before the first one. Of course, supporting Oasis in front of 40,000 Mancunians was a doddle! K: What would you be doing if you weren’t in a band? TW: Probably studying art - that was the only thing, apart from music, that I was even vaguely attracted to at school. K: Who’s the biggest star you’ve met? TW: Without a doubt, Noel and Liam Gallagher. Fucking sweet guys. K: Biggest star to piss you off? TW: I have to say, we're not that easily rankled, least of all by some pop star!! We get far more pissed at George VW Bush or any of those fuckers involved in The Carlisle Group - THE WORLD KNOWS WHAT YOU'RE UP TO, AND WE WANT YOU DEAD. K: Who came up with the idea Brakes? TW: It was just kind of Eamon's (from British Sea Power) songs - just him playing acoustic in a bar, at first, then me and Alex (my bro) figured we'd muscle in and have a piece of the action. Then Marc (from another Brighton band, The Tenderfoot) got involved and, over time, it became a much more serious proposition. Then Rough Trade offered to pay for an album, and the rest is history. K: Was Brakes formed so you could have a laugh? TW: No, it's a vehicle for Eamon's songs, but also good practice for the rest of us. I think it's an undervalued aspect of being a musician, that you have this language you can use to communicate with any other musician on earth. More people should take advantage of that. K: Who’s idea was it for one of the shortest song’s ever? TW: I guess it was really just how Eamon wrote the song. K: Can you see indie music being more popular than dance music in Brighton soon? Why do you think Brighton has such a vibrant music scene? TW: I don't know. I think the two scenes are very separate, and they'll stay that way. Therefore, I don't think anyone in either scene gives much of a shit about the other. I think from the outside, people may see the scene, or whatever you want to call it, as vibrant, but really it's much like any other town, I guess... the only thing that ever seems to stay the same in Brighton, is that there isn't, and there has never been a Brighton "sound". I think that's a kind of unwritten rule, that people can go in any direction they feel, and it does keep things fresh. K: Any last words for Knave Magazine? TW: Didn't your mother ever tell you you'd go blind?!!