Leystone 4-piece Boy Kill Boy have released one of the best debut albums of '06 in Civilian. Over the past year the pop-rock band has scored a top 20 album and two top 25 singles in their native UK, and now they're finishing up a U.S. tour supporting the Bunnymen and The Charlatans. Thanks to Filter I got a chance to ask some questions of guitarist/vocalist Chris Peck.
Tell me a little bit about how you guys came together to form a band.
Ø “We were old mates from school days. We tried to get proper jobs but it didn’t work out. We gave it a final push. The baby was born, hahahaha”!!
Had any of you ever been in a signed-band before?
Ø “No. We are all going through new stuff together; which is lovely. Mmmmm…..”.
How exactly does your songwriting process work? Which comes first, the music or the lyrics? Who writes the lyrics?
Ø “I normally start off the songs, take them to the band and colour them in. I write lyrics normally after howling over the band for a couple of days. You have to catch lyrics like fish”.
What was the process like recording the full-length album? Were the songs that had already been released re-recorded?
Ø “Sometimes it’s a pain re-recording stuff but the album was a pleasure. We did it in the woods in Cornwall, W. England and we didn’t over think it. Just spewed it out”.
Who are your 3 fav English vocalists of the past 25 years? I definitely hear a Morrissey influence in the chorus of "Suzie."
Ø “Yeah, Morrissey. Damon Albarn (Blur). Rob Smith (Cure).”
I love that you guys mix the classic pop-hook with the guitar-band sound, who were/are some of your favorite bands that also do that?
Ø “Some Cure stuff. Blur does it loads, “Song 2”. Supergrass are heroes for doing that- I Should Coco is genius in that way”.
"Ivy Parker" and "Shoot me Down" are slightly different sounds for the band, how did those two songs come about?
Ø “It’s good to have some chilled moments to make a complete body of work. “Shoot Me Down” I wrote drunk at a party after splitting up with my girlfriend”.
The hidden track is really great, nice use of harpsicord, why relegate it to being a hard-to-get-to hidden track?
Ø “[The song] is a final thought. I’ve always loved secret tracks. This song seems to me a bit more “grown-up” than others. It’s actually the most important song to me personally. It’s about life changing”.
Is there a song you'd like to have been a single instead of the label re-relesing Suzie and Civil Sin?
Ø “It’s always been our choice what to release. Those are strong songs. There’s time to open up to the rest of the songs”.
I was lucky enough to catch one of your dayshows at SXSW '06, was that trip the first time you guys had ever gotten to come to America with or without the band?
Ø “We’d been to C.M.J- N.Y.C festival before but never been to Texas before. We had a great time there. When I was a kid I dreamed of going to America but we couldn’t ever afford it. So it’s amazing that the thing I love brought me here. SXSW especially ace. Supporting Flaming Lips for fucks sake. That’s one of my favourite bands. I met some cool people anyway and had some memories to tell the grandkids. If I get some.”
Civilian is out in the U.S. on July 25th. "Suzie" is itunes free single-of-the-week. I've got 5 copies of the album to giveaway. To enter, comment below with your fav debut album of '06.
