23/06/15
Prawn are a totally radical group from the US of A. Their songs have a definite 90’s indie-rock feel to them, with elements of Pavement and Arcade Fire to be heard in their tunes. Their album Kingfisher came out last year, and is a collection of really good solid songs, full of slacker-style emotion. I spoke to guitarist and lead singer Tony ahead of Prawn’s FREE show at The Owl Sanctuary this month. See you down there, Norwich! With some marie-rose sauce, am I right?
I have to ask; why are you called Prawn?
The name Prawn came about when we were in high school. We were messing around, learning how to play our instruments, and our old guitarist randomly came up with the name Prawn Prostitutes. After a few open mic’s and bad shows, we dropped the Prostitutes and kept Prawn. Somehow after all these years, the name has stuck around.
How did you guys meet?
Jamie, Andrew and I all went to high school together. I worked with Kyle at a summer carnival. We invited him to come play with us and it worked really well. We’ve had a few line-up changes, but that’s how all the original members met.
You had your first trip to the UK just three years ago. What were your impressions of it, and of British audiences?
We’ve always had a wonderful time playing in the UK. Jamie is a dual citizen so he feels absolutely at home there. Your beer and food is great. I don’t know; we just love the UK.
Your website, record sleeves and merch are all beautifully designed. Who did the work for you and how did you come to decide on these images and style? I love the solar system t-shirt so much!
Thanks! We’ve worked with a few different designers, but our main guy now is Charlie Wagers. He’s done all our recent merch and all the designs for Kingfisher and Settled. We always admired Charlie’s work, so when we had the opportunity to work with him we seized it. We’ll give him a vague idea of what we are looking for and he runs with it. He’s a truly gifted gent.
You’ve toured extensively for years, mostly through the States. What particular venues or nights have stuck in your memory?
That’s a great question. We opened for Senses Fail right when we started the band, which was our first show playing in front of a few hundred people. We played a crazy co-op in Austin, TX. Playing Fest in Florida is a wild, PBR induced experience. We recently tour the West Coast of the US. The LA and Seattle shows were two of our recent favorites. Oh, and playing a sold out Underworld in the UK with Gnarwolves was insane.
What would you say Prawn’s musical influences are? I can hear some Arcade Fire, Pavement, The Cure and even a UK band called Seafood, who you may not know.
The first three are definitely big influences. I’ve never heard of Seafood, but judging by their name we’d probably get along ha,ha! We love post rock, so the big hitters like Explosions in the Sky and Mogwai are huge for us. We also love older indie stuff, like Broken Social Scene and Built To Spill. Recently we’ve all been on a huge The National kick.
Who did you grow up listening to?
I grew up listening to heavy stuff, like Sabbath and Megadeth. That was until I fell in love with grunge. I was a big Pearl Jam and Soundgarden fan when I was young teen. However, my mom fed me The Beatles growing up as a wee little kid.
I’ve seen you described as indie, emo and also punk. If you had to label yourselves as a band, which would fit best and why?
I would say indie rock. It’s probably the most expansive and lenient genre. Any band can be an indie band.
Which British acts are you a fan of?
Clearly Hindsights and Brightr. We’re huge fans of Gnarwolves, so touring with them was amazing. We’ve known and liked our label mates Nai Harvest for a long time. We’re also big fans of Bombay Bicycle Club and Lucy Rose.
One of my favourite tracks by you is Old Souls; it’s a real heart-wrencher. Call you tell me the story behind that song?
Thanks. We really like that song as well. It’s a bit different for us. That song is basically about two lovers going through life. Most of the time when two people are in a relationship, one another has to pick the other one up. The song is mainly about having a long relationship where both partners pick the other one up when they’re down.
If you weren't in Prawn, what would you all be doing now?
Jamie and I substitute teach when we are home, so maybe teach? I really have no idea. Prawn has taken up such a big part of our life the last few years, that I can’t imagine what I’d be doing if not for the band.
Can you tell me a bit about your second album, Kingfisher, which came out last August? Did you have the songs all ready to go before you got in the studio?
We had all the songs completely finished by the time we entered the studio. We started writing the record around June/July of 2013. We wrote throughout the summer and fall. We entered the studio in February of 2014. Kingfisher is probably our favorite record we’ve written; it really encompasses everything Prawn has to offer. The only regret I think we have is that we had to cut two songs. Those two songs eventually became a separate 7”, but we really wish they could’ve been included on Kingfisher.
Lizz Page
Prawn play The Owl Sanctuary on 7th July. It’s a free show! Yeah!