Kendal Calling 2024 - Interview With Home Counties

I had the opportunity and, as it turns out, pleasure of interviewing Home Counties at Kendal Calling before their Saturday night set on the Woodlands stage. The Bristol based band travelled quite a distance to bring Kendal Calling their angular guitar work, challenging percussion and determination to be both socially conscious and humorous I was interested to find out what they were like in person, I also got to watch their set after and can confirm it was a riotous good time for all those who were there.

So, you’ve got your beers, how’s Kendal Calling going for you so far?

It’s great, we love it here.

Is this your first time?

Yes, it’s nice, the festivals we’ve been doing recently we’ve just had to jump in, play our set and go but we’ve actually managed to make a weekend of it. We’re enjoying it and looking forward to the bands who are playing tonight.

Who are you seeing tonight?

We want to see Sugababes and the Streets, Peace although I think they clash with the Streets so we will do some of each. We also want to see some New Dad as they’re on the Woodlands.

Have you been up there yet?

We have, it’s nice up there although we did have a nap.

You napped in front of the Woodlands stage?

To be fair there was no-one playing although we have set a dangerous precedent there.

That’s quite worrying for some of the other acts if people start dozing off during their sets.

We are playing there!

So, we're playing at 7 tonight but we’re all set up already. No, we’re not, that’s a lie, we have moved our stuff over there. We actually have one more person in the band coming. He’s been it Italy, in Tuscany. He’s due to arrive half an hour before stage time so that’s a bit tight.

Are you finding Kendal a good place so far? Quite relaxed and chilled?

It’s great but some of us have over indulged. We made the most of Chai Wallahs last night. Although one of us didn’t make it past the Stagger Inn he staggered in and staggered back out.

The problem with that place is the slope in the floor towards the bar. It’s downhill to get to the bar so it’s not your fault, you can’t get back out, the rest of them should cut you some slack.

I’m sure they also lubricate the floor like one of those Japanese games shows.

I think that would be a bit harsh while carrying beer.

That’s a good point.

So, are you looking forward to tonight?

Very much so, the stage looks really cool in the woods everyone seems really chill at the stage as well. It doesn’t feel too stressful, yet!

It never does up there to be fair, it’s a very relaxed stage.

Yeah, the sound guys we saying they meet up with the guys from the main stage when the nights gigs are over and the guys from the main stage usually say that was a really stressful day, had an awful time and they’re like what do you mean man, it’s been great.

Sounds like they’re enjoying it.

Until they have to do our sound, we’ve got about a hundred synthesisers. We’re quite a maximalist band as it goes.

Maximalist, that’s a new one, I’ve heard of minimalist bands before but not maximalist!

We just have a lot going on, we have way too many Synthes! All the synths all at once. We also have six people up there. We have so much stuff we have to put it on a backing track!

Obviously, you’ve not got enough of you and enough instruments on the stage.

Yes, there’s not enough of us!

So, why’s that, is it the way you’re developing your sound.

Yeah, the records are getting more and more dense. Between different releases there have been different sounds and it’s been built up. Our manager tries to make us cull the synths. But it’s nice to have them up there. He wants us to be glorified karaoke!

Who does he want you to be?

Confidence Man maybe?

Confidence Man? They played here last year on the main stage.

Oh really, we love them. One of us could wear a lampshade on our head.

Lampshade? Are you going to explain that one?

Yeah, is it the drummer and the bassist who wear lampshades on their head?

It’s a beekeeper outfit, not a lampshade!

Oh right!

You had me confused for a minute! They were in quite a late slot and got a big crowd.

They know how to party.

The thing with Kendal is bands tend to play the smaller stages first and, if you do well, they quite quickly promote you to bigger stages. So, will you be back next year?

We could be on the man stage next year. We could get five more members!

You’ve already got six!

We like to give everyone a voice.

That’s fair so what’s your pre-gig routine? Or do you not have one?

Drink ourselves into oblivion? To be fair it’s usually we try to not drink ourselves into oblivion. It’s hard, usually when it’s a headline it’s a lot of waiting around so you have to try to not drink too much but with a festival you wake up and have a beer at 10am.

That’s quite late.

We’ll try harder! We stand around before going on, jump up and down a bit. We did sing That’s Life once. A bit of Frank Sinatra.

That could get you going.

Maybe we should bring that back. We also sing Lose Yourself by Eminem. We got into it as we used to play rugby at the same club. The coach had a boombox on his shoulder, he’d march us out to it. We were 10 years old at the time.

He made you listen to it then you’d go play, did you win?

No! I remember doing it when we were in France, playing the strong French team most of whom didn’t speak English. These 10 year old lanky British kids coming out on the pitch with the coach having a boom box on his shoulder. It so embarrassing.

What did the French think of that?

It cemented their hatred of the English! There were some very high tackles!

So how many of you played rugby together?

Four of us but we didn’t play it very seriously, it was only when we were little kids. We started making music as we’d had enough of getting battered! Although for the album we had a terrible French review.

You had a lot of great reviews for the album, but the French didn’t like it?

No, the French hated it! Well one reviewer did, we don’t want to say it’s all French people.

I think you may have already gone past that point!

True.

So how do you feel about the album?

It’s weird because it totally consumed our lives for a year, we’d be working during the day then we’d go into the studio in the evening and everything was just album, album, album. Then we toured it, finished that and our management were like right you need to write the next one and we were like, really? It’s weird the way release cycles work because even though it’s just been out it feels quite old to us. We still love it and are very proud of it. It’s being going down very well live, we’ve been dropping out songs that don’t go down as well live in the short sets, we are mostly playing the album now apart from one old song which has the recorder, and everyone loves it.

The recorder?

A song called dad bod; people still want that. Although who knows for how much longer. At some point you just need to make the decision you’re going to cut it and see what happens. We did actually and then we played a gig and people were like – dad bod. Dad bod.

So that’s it then, you’re now stuck with that one song for the rest of your career?

You had the recorder in your back pocket! I was like, well, if you insist.

Sounds like a bit or preparation.

I was like, well, do I have to, okay then.

If people like it though?

The fun of it is if people enjoy it so best not to alienate them. Give them what they want!

We you guys here for Noel Gallagher last night?

We were, he gave them what they wanted.

While at the same time trying to alienate half the audience with some football comments about Leeds and Newcastle.

We won’t be doing any of that.

No intention to mention Bristol City?

Come on Wycombe Wanderers although our closest team now are Leyton Orient.

We haven’t been to a game, but I’m impressed you knew that. I’d no idea. I only know as I looked it up, me and my girlfriend were watching the Wrexham thing and we were like we should go watch a local football game in a similar tier as they’re like division one, My girlfriend is Welsh and when I looked at their merch they have a dragon on their scarf. I don’t have a team although we haven’t been to see them yet

You’ve been busy with the album and touring. more tours to come?

Probably the album next

Any more gigs planned for this year?

We have Bristol and we are doing our first gig in Falmouth which should be nice as most of us haven’t been there but some of us think it’s nice. Then its gearing up for album two which we are recording very soon.

When are you thinking it will be out?

Probably similar time to the time the last album was out this year. Trying to just keep up the momentum although it will probably take three years to make it like the last one!

That’s the problem with the second album though, you don’t give yourselves as much time.

No, we know we should but them you go quiet for five years!

We like our new album though; it’s going to be good.

Have you written it already?

Yeah, we start recording it next Wednesday (this interview was in August). It was pretty last minute. We’re going it to do, like the first single, probably. Get the rest of it later.

Do you want to tease the name of the first single?

We don’t know if its going to come out, but we think it might be called Spain, you heard it here first!

Listen guys, I’m really conscious you’ve got a gig later, so I don’t want to keep you too long, but I’ve really appreciated your time. Enjoy later.

Interview - Iain McClay