Hefner formed in 1997 and have gathered much acclaim over the last few years – indeed straight from their debut album ‘Breaking God’s Heart’ they have had the backing of much of the press, being variously described as the ‘best new band in Britain’ by the sadly now defunct Melody Maker, and ‘Cool as fuck’ by Arena.
Now four years on they’ve released their latest album, Dead Media, to yet more praise, and are about to embark on a tour of the UK. Hefner’s guitarist Jack Hayter very kindly took the time out to answer the following questions.
gc(uk): Dead Media is a little more dancey than anything we’ve seen before from Hefner, at least album wise. Why so? And is this the way you see the band progressing?
Jack: Maybe. People never have had too many problems dancing to Hefner in the past... though its not something I personally would do except in our videos. I guess we got a bit bored with guitars and thought we'd bring forward the synths which have been on all the Hefner albums since Fidelity Wars. We're often thought of as a "guitar" band, but if you compare the way our records sound with other's you'll find thats thats never been entirely true.
gc(uk): You’ve released two albums and toured a huge amount in the last twelve months are there any plans for the band to take time off, or are you already working on new material?
Jack: We really dont work that hard. Its other bands that are lazy. It really can't take 3 years to record an album... that would work out at about 10 seconds of recorded output a day! Dead Media took longer to record than the others because its a home recording. But usually it takes us ten days to make a studio album. We're already about half way through recording the next one... weve got about seven songs in various states of disrepair (mostly waiting for me to get off my lazy arse and record my bits). There were 20 songs recorded for Dead Media and we couldnt release them all, so some may find their way onto the next one. It seems to us that we get plenty of time off, but maybe we should take even more as the bands that take 3 years to make an album seem to sell more records than us! Maybe the real problem is that a lot of bands are scared of failing, or want to make flawless records. But some of the best record are desperately flawed. Even though I dont totally share Darren's huge enthusiasm for the Beach Boys, you could never accuse Brian Wilson of excessive quality control.
gc(uk): And do you have any stories from the road that you can share with us?
Jack: Darren and I just got back from a trip to promote Dead Media in Benelux countries... Last Thursday something unexpected happened which stunned us. We were doing this last minute live radio session for VPRO in Amsterdam. The producer kept asking us if we would play the very electronic single "Alan Bean" (On piano and steel guitar(!)...we were uneasy but agreed to fake some kind of a version), This normally very laid back producer was also very insistent to the point of being a pain about how long the songs would be as they were allegedly running to a tight schedule.
Anyway we got set up and sat on the sofa, exchanged a few pleasantries with the DJ (Jap Boots) who kept smirking at us. Then he said "Well, I've someone on the line who would like to talk to you for a minute".....I guess you've got the punchline already.....they'd been on the phone to USA all day and only got hold of Mr Alan L Bean the Astronaut/Artist himself....no mean feat especially as he insisted on double checking lyrics to make sure the piss wasnt being taken. I now know what Darren looks like when he's utterly gobsmacked !
I thought it was a wind up at first and was looking around for someone in the control room faking it. We' only just been joking about how great it would be to get something like an email from him. Anyway he'd heard the record and did a sort of on-air analysis of Darren's lyrics which was pretty funny. We then had to get up off that sofa and play the damn song in a VERY stripped down form which ,as we were so shaken,was probably rather iffy, I guess we were terrified of playing bum notes in front one of the greatest living aviators in history. ....I guess it will be a bootleg one day...
However I guess its a demographic thing...my kids didn't seem that impressed. They tell me that the guy with the dodgy perm out of Toploader goes to the moon every year for his holidays...in a bubble with Fred Durst no doubt.
gc(uk): We’ve done a little research, and in the media you’ve been described as variously sounding like: The Smiths, Pulp, The Kinks, Blur, The Wedding Present, Belle and Sebastian, Billy Bragg, The Velvet Underground, The Levellers and David Byrne. Which would you say is most accurate - if any - and why?
Jack: Lazy Journalism. People hear what they want. None of them are accurate.Those labels are like old comfy socks you can put on . We definitely all like the Velvets,The Kinks and Pulp and very much like Talking Heads. We all very much dislike The Smiths and the Levellers. Obviously Darren sounds like Al Green.
gc(uk): According to the Hello Kitten website, Darren’s obsession with pornography has reportedly caused arguments within the band before - is he still obsessed, and if not, how come?
Jack: Intriguing...I wasn't aware that he or anybody else in the band was ever obsessed with porn. Much less argued about it. Anyway hes got a dog now (called Beulah).
gc(uk): During Big Brother 2, Dean O'Loughlin claimed that one of his former bandmates was now in Hefner, but he never mentioned who it was. Is this true? And whoever it was, do they have any Dean related anecdotes to tell?
Jack: It was John Morrison in his LCage days. John has tons of anecdotes and could have made a lot of money from the press, but his principles seem to be woven from steel girders.
gc(uk): Would any of Hefner consider taking part in a reality tv show? And if so, which one?
Jack: A Definite No.... Reality TV seems to be a bit of a theme in this interview. Does it play such a big part in your life?
gc(uk): A lot of indie groups seem to be forming ‘super groups’ these days have you ever considered forming your own and who would you include in it if you were to do so?
Jack: HaHaHa.... dinosaurs of Rock.... Ha ha ha. Have you ever noticed that "super" groups" generally aren't. Is it true that Marr, Butler, Bell and Bonehead are reforming The Farm...for a special Xmas version of Unchained Melody?
gc(uk): Alas we don't know. But it sounds a horrible idea... And finally, how did it feel playing at the same time as Eminem at this year’s Carling festival? And what’s your opinion on the ‘controversial US rapper ’?
Jack: It felt a bit annoying for me on a personal level because a) I would have liked to have seen him and b) because there was some kind of interference in my monitors on the Carling Stage that meant I was hearing almost as much of Eminem as I was of my guitar. Hes certainly more wholesome than Limp Bizkit et al. I dont buy into the whiny teenage nu metal rock thing...you know..."Waaah Waah..My mum and Dad fuck up my life" sort of thing. My advice to those kids is ..Give your parents a hug and make them breakfast in bed, just in case World War 3 breaks out or a plane lands unexpectedly somewhere. The great thing about Eminem is that regardless of anything else, the guy really knows how to tell a story...and thats a pretty rare thing... and something that we identify with...
Related Links:
Hefner's Official Site.
The World of Jack.
Hello Kitten Fansite.
Alex Finch.
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