Our guest interviewer Kate started writing for the site when she interviewed Taking Back Sunday a couple of months ago, and now she's back with an interview with Sikth. Read on to find out about their next album, their favourite songs and...erm...obsessed fans (I'm not mentioning the T-shirt!)

Weller: Come on then spit it out.
Pin: Swallow if you like.

Pin, that’s disgusting

(Weller and Kate laugh)

So wrong. Right, firstly, how are you all today?

Weller: Fantastic.
James: Do we have an accent?

What?

James: Do we have an accent?
Pin: Like you’ve always got a brummie accent, but we…does ours sound like a weird accent?
Weller: We’re southern aren’t we?

I don’t know, I don’t really hear an accent in you, 'cause I never pay attention to what you say, when you talk. No not like that! (Weller laughs) That came out bad.

Pin: Anyway, yeah man…
Weller: We’re just objects to you.
James: We’re fine today.
Weller:Yeah, everything’s fine, my dinner’s really nice.

Good, good. How did the tour of Japan go?

Weller: Really, really well.
Pin: Yeah, crazy.
Weller: Better than we could’ve expected. We didn’t realise we had a lot of fans; well, as many as we found over there. So it was, er, really exciting and really kind of a strange experience. It’s very different to Britain.

What’s your weirdest fan experience?

(Everyone in the room laughs)

That’s a stupid question considering I’m wearing this shirt…

Pin: No I think we should use that.
Weller: It might be a bit of a biased interview if the interviewer is wearing that.

(For all of you that don’t know, I was wearing a t-shirt with “I love Mr Dan Weller And Graham Too (You Know Who You Are)” on it.) I thought I’d be the answer somewhere along that line.

Weller: Well, I’ve got two weird experiences. One of which is when, er, a guy took a toilet seat…

I read about that.

Weller Oh, and he asked me to sign a toilet seat that I’d just had a shit on about 5 minutes earlier. In Leicester. I hadn’t shat on the seat…

See, I’d never do a thing like that, it’s pretty wrong.

Weller: But probably my weirdest is you wearing a t-shirt saying I love Mr Dan Weller on it.
James: Yeah, that’s probably the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.

I’m never gonna live this shirt down am I really?

Pin: No.
Weller: Well I normally only attract men you see.

Oh…(laughs)

Weller: You do know I’m gay. You know I’m gay.

Don’t say that!

Weller: I am.
Pin: Dan’s actually rubbing my crotch right now. With his third arm!
(Weller laughs)
James: Dan wouldn’t do that, not with a member of the band, but he is gay.
(Weller, James and Pin start insulting each other although it’s hard to make out what they are actually saying!)
Pin: Oh, Christ!
Weller: Right go on.

This could get messy!

(As Pin makes strange noises)
Weller: It will only get messy if he creams under the table.
James: Yeah, it’ll be like gallons of white piss.
Pin: You better put your goggles on!
(Weller laughs)
Weller: Right go on.

(To Pin) Uh, what are you doing? You’re actually hitting around!

Pin: Yeah, oohh!
Weller: In brackets “at which point Pinney starts to rub himself!”
(Weller and Kate laugh)
Pin: Yeah, after Dan fingered my ring.
Weller: Yeah!! You’re getting a really candid interview here!

(At which point I’ve lost it and can’t stop laughing)

Weller: No, this interview’s gonna be like no other thing, you see, so you got a good one.

Erm, what influenced you to be in a band?

James: Other bands!
Weller: Yeah! I think, the desire to try and be better than everyone else. I mean because we’ve all grown up being obsessed with music. Erm, when you get the bug for writing music, and it collectively comes together, you kind of create something beyond what you imagined.

Who are some of your favourite bands?

Weller: James?
James: Broccoli. That’s not my favourite band, that’s what I’m choking on!
(Everyone laughs)
Weller: I’ll answer, you can catch up. Some of my favourite bands are Extreme, Alice In Chains, Metallica – classic Metallica –
James: Whitesnake.
Weller: Whitesnake, Meshuggah –
Pin: Symphony X.
Weller: Symphony X.
Pin: Racer X.
Weller: Racer X.
Pin: (With a mouthful of chicken) Rhapsody.
Weller: Rhapsody! Yeah, that’s wicked. You think we’re taking the piss, we’re not.

I’m just thinking this could go on for a while. I'll have the whole tape filled with bands.

Pin: The Yeah, Yeah, Na’s.
Weller: The Yeah, Yeah, Na’s! And obviously, Metaliban.

(After an uncomfortable silence.) Have you finished?

Weller: Yeah

Ah, good. If you weren’t in Sikth what do you think you’d be doing now?

Weller: Probably trying to form Sikth.
James: Or be in a band called Whore Moan.
Pin: I’d be in a band called Slab.
James: I’d be in a band called Whore Moan. As in, you are a Whore and Moan.
Weller: James is referring to a list he found in my front room, from years ago, of potential band names before we came up with Sikth. And some of them were terrible.
Pin: No all of them were terrible!
Weller: Yeah!

Nice! Even though you haven’t finished it yet, how do you think the new album will compare to ‘The Trees Are Dead And Dried Out…?’

James: (In a deep voice) It’s got to be heavier!
Weller: It’s gonna be a lot heavier and er, a lot more precise. It’ll have plenty of journeys but as a package it’ll sound like it was written in the same period, you know? Cause, our first album was written over a few years, but this album was written in a shorter period, it’s more focused. But er, it’s hard to compare really because all of our songs sound different to the last one so, just loads of different progressions really.

What are the highlights of being in a band?

Pin: I love Mr Dan Weller T-shirts!

Look, it’s the T-shirt again. Here we go. This shirt, I’m never gonna live it down now.

Weller: Highlights of being in a band?
Tech Guy: Hey, can we interview you about that T-shirt?
(Everyone laughs)
Weller: There are loads of highlights, but they’d all be clichés probably about being able to erm, (Pin burps) get in a van or a coach and get out the other end and meet loads of people that love your band, it’s great. And the buzz, the buzz of finishing a song, recording it, hearing it and hearing what you’ve created, it’s just…
Pin: And hanging around with ten sweaty blokes everyday. It’s amazing!
Weller: Yeah, seeing a load of blokes picking up heavy boxes.

Are there any lyrical concepts on the new album?

James: Do I look like a vocalist? Pin: Yeah, do I look like a vocalist? Weller: There are but we don’t know a lot of them yet. 'Cause the songs are up there, musically they’re almost finished, but vocally, it’s just starting to happen. Erm, but I’m sure Mikee will answer that question when he’s finished his dinner.
Mikee: What?
Weller: Lyrical concepts. For the next album.
Mikee: There are lots of different things, inspired by other different things.
(Weller, Pin, James and Kate laugh)


Good answer.

Foord: How long’s your tape by the way?

30 minutes each side, like, an hour.

Mikee: They’re a lot more focused because I’m writing like the songs before I write the rhythms and shit like that….
(It’s impossible to hear what Mikee says at this point as Pin is constantly scraping his fork along his plate and everyone is talking.)
Weller: Are you picking that up, love?

Well, you can turn the volume up anyway, so…

Mikee: It’s a lot more focused as Dan said as a whole thing.
(Pin makes a banging sound as he hits his cup full of ice cubes against the table!)

Noisy sod!

(Pin bangs his cup again – three times and I laugh at him!)
Weller: Jesus, I’m getting heartburn. (To Pin) What are you doing?
Pin: I don’t know but I’m moving away from you.

He’s weird, ignore him.

Weller: I’ve got heartburn. Jesus. That’s real bad actually.
James: Yes, let it go down.
Weller: Carry on.

How were you first noticed as a band?

Weller: By the press, or by… where did we get our first break? Well, we played a show with a band called…
Cook Lady: Would you like some apple pie and custard?
Weller: Yeah, bring it on.
Pin: That’d be amazing.
James: What was that?
Pin: Apple pie and custard. (James drops his fork on his plate and looks silently satisfied!)
Weller: We supported a band called Miocene who our current manager used to manage. He put us on with them; they got a review in Rock Sound, we were mentioned in the review, that was our first bit of press. Rock Sound really liked it…
Mikee: Actually Dan, we didn’t have a manager when we played.
Weller: No, no, no I didn’t say that. We weren’t managed at that point. But that’s when our manager kind of got involved with us.
Pin: That’s when it all went wrong.
Weller: I say manager…
Pin: Yes, dog’s body.
James: Keith’s our manager, he’s totally amazing, and he’s the best manager ever.
(Pin burps – AGAIN!)

What advice would you give to anyone who’s thinking of starting a band or who’s just got into a band? Like me.

Pin: Don’t play any gigs until you’re really good.
Weller: Yeah and don’t, whatever you do, feel the need to slip into a genre or a fad, because the way you get noticed and you stay popular is to innovate and to be different. Cause fads died out as soon as they came in. that’s if you’re listening to me!

I am, sorry.

Weller: That’s alright.

Pin’s distracting me. Fuck off Pin!

Pin: But I wasn’t even looking at you. You just can’t help looking at me that’s your problem.

Don’t flatter yourself…. Do you have an overall theme for song writing? I’m asking the wrong people, but still….

Weller: What for the lyrics?
Pin: I think our overall theme is to try and not replace anything that we’ve done before. So there’s never a general theme…
Weller: Yeah, we set very high standards on ourselves in that we don’t… a lot of bands would write an album, and then go back to their first album and go “we could do something in that style again” but, we don’t, we’re hearing it as a completely fresh canvas. A lot of bands hear other bands and go “yeah, we gotta do a riff like that and make it our own” we don’t do that, we totally try and start from scratch.

Do you have any particular favourite songs?

Weller: What, Sikth songs?

Yeah.

Weller: I’m very proud of ‘Scent Of The Obscene’.
Pin: (Looking up to the sky) ‘Skies Of Millennium Night’.
Weller: ‘Skies…’ is kind of an all round fave to play live. ‘Wait For Something Wild’.
James: ‘Pussyfoot’.
Weller: Yeah, I think collectively, the newer stuff on the album is probably more our favourite.
James: We’ve got some working titles as well.
Weller: Huh?
James: We’ve got some working titles.
Weller: Obviously (censored).
(Anything you see that is censored is a working title for Sikth’s new album, but we’re not giving them away just yet! You will have to wait…)
Pin: Yeah!!
Weller: Basically we’ve got a load of new songs without names. (Censored) that’s a newy.
Pin: (Censored)
Weller: These are all songs that have working titles so they’re our favourites. No one but us knows what they sound like. You think we’re taking the piss, we’re not.

No, I’m just wondering if you’ve finished so I don’t interrupt you.

Weller: You’re an impatient interviewer. You’ve gotta let them finish.
Pin: You know our best stuff comes out when we’ve been talking.
Weller: See we’re getting the flow now and I was just about to say something really like, special…
Pin: And you killed the vibe.

No, I just don’t want to interrupt you. Like, I don’t want to – (As Pin interrupts me!)

Pin: But you just did interrupt us by looking really bored.
(I attempt to hit Pin with my rolled up piece of paper.)
Pin: The abuse!
Weller: She’s a dominator this one is.
Kate: I haven’t hit you yet!
Weller: Onto the next one.

Do any of your songs have significant meanings?

Welle: Well they all do yeah, or they wouldn’t have any meaning at all I suppose. Hey Mikee.
Mikee: Yes Dan?
Weller: What does ‘Hold My Finger’ mean?
Mikee: It’s like a circle of energy…
(Everyone starts laughing)
James: Don’t make me laugh.
Mikee: No, this is what it means…
Pin: What a circle of energy, like a bum?
(Everyone laughs again)
Weller: But yeah, they’ve all got significant meanings. They’ve all got significant meanings. Carry on.
(I laugh hysterically)

You have to tell me when to carry on! What are your plans for the rest of 2004?

Pin: We’re gonna record the second album, that you were referring to earlier.
Weller: In America with Colin Richardson. Erm, we’re going back to Japan soon, well next week we’re going back to Japan and then we’re going back to Japan in December. And hopefully doing a load of shows in America.
Pin: And Dan’s being stalked by you.

Dan’s been stalked by me for a while now, it’s nothing really new.

Weller: Well, I didn’t know that. That’s news to me.
Pin: Yeah, we’ve got it on tape now.
Weller: Well I know… no I wouldn’t call you a stalker, I see the irony in that.

If I had your name tattooed that would be a stalker.

Weller: But you’re getting Sikth written on your leg.

I’m getting a Sikth tattoo not a Dan Weller tattoo.

Weller: No, no don’t get a Dan Weller tattoo.

No god no. I love you but that’s a bit extreme.

Weller: That would possibly kill your trend forever. If you do get a Sikth tattoo, take a picture and email it to me. That would be amazing.

That’s pretty much it. I ran out of intelligent things to say at, like, 3 in the morning.

(Everyone in the room starts clapping me)

I ran out of intelligent things to say years ago.

Weller: So did we. No that was really good. You got some answers that we’ve never given.
Mikee: I would tell you the meaning to ‘Hold My Finger’ but it might hurt you, it might harm you, because you’re only a tender age.
Pin: Yeah, you’re young.

I’ve been round Pin for quite a while, I’m pretty safe in that area.

(James looks at me as though I’ve said something disgusting) AROUND PIN!!
(Weller and Pin are telling Mikee to shut up)
Mikee: No, no. I’ve explained it to these people here and they understand. It isn’t hard. You just have to think a little further, open the doors, and widen your horizons.
Weller: Mikee, I remember what you used to say when people asked you that.
Mikee: Yeah, I told them it was about my floppy dick!
Weller: (Laughs) Yeah!!

Oh thank god for that! I thought it wasn’t recording then!

Weller: That was a good interview, well done!
Pin: Yeah, nice one.
Weller: Sorry for taking the piss.
Pin: We’re horrible aren’t we?

(To Pin) You are! You’re really evil to me.

Weller: No one in the world knows the working titles to our new album. You’re the first person outside of the band to know, so that’s quite a revealing interview.

See according to Pin, I’m an old-git-ophile (to Pin) when you’re older than Dan so you can shut up!

Weller: Yeah! Pin: But you’re not after me.

I’m not ‘after’ Dan, I just love him. I don’t want to go out with him.

Pin: Oh, you liar!!
Weller: But I’m gay! Lads, tell her I’m gay, aren’t I?
Mikee: Yeah.
Weller: It’s no joke.
Justin: It’s those shorts mate. The ones you love wearing.
Weller: Well, I turned on that day, I like those shorts.
James: You should make a special point in the interview about how Dan’s gay and maybe, like, bring up the special flow.
Weller: Let me give you a quote, yeah, ‘there’s something about a bad arsehole that’s just way better than a fanny.’
(As I start to rummage through my bag, my wallet with “Sikth rock and so does Mr Dan Weller, I love him” written on it falls out and I try to hide it!)
Pin: What’s going on down there, what’s going on down there?

Absolutely nothing.

Sarah: She’s written something on her wallet.
Weller: Oi, show him that studly picture of me, you’ve got in your wallet.
Pin: I’ve already seen it earlier.

The one where he looks really scared? Apparently, you’re giving a blowjob!

Weller: Am I?
Pin: To an invisible cock!
Weller: What does that say?

Nothing.

Weller: What does it say?

Nothing.

Weller (With a hint of pleading in his voice) Oh, come on, you’ve shown us the T-shirt and the pictures.

And now I’m not showing you my wallet!!

James: That’s what ‘Wait For Something Wild’s’ about, it’s called ‘Wait For Something Wide’ – it’s about Dan.
Weller: Are you referring to my weight or my willy?
Justin: Your willy.
James: Your weight.
Weller: (As he reaches over the table) Come on show me…

You’ve seen my shirt now, that’s pretty much…. It can’t be half as bad as the shirt I’m wearing now.

Weller: (Laughs slightly hysterically and shows it to the rest of the band, the merch guy and the manager!) Why do you flatter me so much?

I don’t know.

(James and Pin laugh) Weller: Don’t pass it to Mikee, you’ll have no credit cards left.

I don’t have – No, I have £30 in there!!

Mikee: Yeah, like I’m gonna nick all your money.
Weller: Can I get a picture of this later?

Yeah sure.

(At this point, the band has lost it and are playing with a bunch of mini magnets that I gave to Weller, minutes earlier!)

Thanks a lot to the band for taking the time to answer Kate's questions, and their manager Keith for sorting everything out, and thanks to Kate for doing the interview! You can find out more about the band at their site, www.sikth.com.