The View

Dundee indie folk speak out...

	I'll probably go on the spirits later. I kinna drink too much beer, but 'cos it's during the day, I'll have it!

You can't beat a cheeky pint in the afternoon. Especially when it's a chilled can of Red Stripe straight from the fridge. Scottish indie folk The View (the 'same jeans on' guys) certainly agree with such a philosophy. When we met them backstage at the 2010 Red Stripe Music Awards, which saw them headline a show with four unsigned comp winners, they were already dabbling with the gods' own nectar. Can't blame 'em. We would've been too!

(The awards was won by Laurel Collective. Check them out. They might be giants. One day. Soon).

Right, it's an awards ceremony. So what awards have you won, and I don't just mean music awards?

Steven Morrison (the drummer): I won a karaoke night at a club in Dundee. I was drunk and I just went up and sung a song and won a bottle of vodka for it. Then I got more drunk.

What did you sing?

SM: 'Valerie' by the Zutons.

Kyle Falconer (the singer): Really, you sung 'Valerie'? And what did you get?

SM: Vodka, man.

KF: Aye, that ain't bad!

SM: Aye!

Did they know you're in a band? 'Signed musician in karaoke victory'. One might consider that cheating...

KF: Well, I won Batman Returns on DVD in a newspaper crossword! And I didnae cheat.

SM: [suddenly very excited] Huh?

KF: Aye! It was pretty cool, it was a boxset, the SPECIAL EDITION!

SM: We won an NME award for best single 'Wasted Little DJs'. And we were nominated for a Mercury [debut album 'Hats Off To The Buskers' in 2007], but that slipped through our fingers. The Klaxons got it!

How were those awards?

SM: It were good. We got leathered!

KF: Aye, proper smashed.

SM: Aye, real leathered. We were on the champagne during the day, all this posh shit, big bottles. Aye, it were alright!

How sloshed do you normally get at awards?

SM: Well, the NME awards were pretty mental. But you know, we go for it at every awards!

KF: Ahhh, what about that do in Scotland. Fuckin' 'ell...the one with the guy who punched the terrorist at the airport! He's a proper legend in Scotland.

SM: Ah yeah, that were great, that.

KF: *does huge burp*

Hmmm, how much free Red Stripe are you drinking today?

KF: Well I'll probably go on the spirits later. I kinna drink too much beer, but 'cos it's during the day, I'll have it!

SM: I like Smirnoff Ice 'cos I drink litres of it. It's like juice. It sorta refreshes you but you get drunk.

Moving on from the booze...at these Red Stripe (mmmm) awards, four unsigned bands have won the chance to play alongside you. When you were unsigned, which band would you have liked to play with?

SM: Oasis or something. No, probably The Libertines before they split.

KF: The Beatles man!

SM: Dead or alive.

Dead Or Alive? I know that name. Hang on, aren't they an '80s act...? Pete Burns' old band! That's a weird choice, guys.

SM: Nahhhh! I mean can they be dead or alive? Hahahaha.

KF: Yeah, not Pete Burns. Hahaha!

Good thing I asked, I was gonna write you were both Pete Burns fans.

SM: Aye! Haha!

KF: Hahaha!

So what do you think about the state of British music?

SM: It's all goin' a bit electro and poppy and r'n'b, and it's all going a bit about how you look these days. I can remember the Arctic Monkeys, which were just good tunes, like, with these drum and bass lines, when you could just go in a club and get pissed.

KF: It's been like that for a while.

Are there any good new bands to look out for which you can recommend?

KF: Twisted Wheel and The Twist, yeah. Me big brother's just joined them as well.

Is there a new View album soon, chaps?

KF: Aye, we're working on it right now. We're in the studio and been working on it for weeks, writing and stuff.

SM: Hopefully should be out by the end of the year, or maybe start of next year.

KF: The legendary producer 'YOUTH' [Martin Glover] is doing it. He used to be in Killing Joke, and produced for Crowded House and The Verve's 'Urban Hymns'. Legend.

Any Pete Burns influence?

SM: No.

Fair 'nuff. I'm gonna let you get back onto the Red Stripe. Good luck with the show tonight!

SM: Aye, cheers!

KF: Aye!

***

XFM's John Kennedy hosted the Red Stripe Awards. At the end, he said: "'The Red Stripe Music Award is a great opportunity for new bands to not only battle it out with their peers but get lots of valuable experience with music industry insiders who can help them on their way to success. The final is always a fun night for everybody involved but talking to all the bands the impression I got that they already felt they'd got a lot out of being part of it and that winning would have just been the icing on the cake.

"I was still delighted though for the winners The Laurel Collective as they're band I've been following with interest for the last couple of years and they deserved their victory. Hopefully this is just the start of greater things for them and for the award."