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Who are they? Four lads from South Wales with a love of inspirational tunes, sharp threads and an attitude to match. What do they sound like? Like any of the great British bands would have if they'd been around now. You'll be blown away by the infectious hook lines and the incisive lyrics about modern living. These boys deliver pure terrace pop for the post-Arctic Monkeys generation. Who's in the band: Alex Nash - Guitar/Lead Vocals
Luke Hughes - Drums/Backing Vocals
Hamish Kay - Guitar/Backing Vocals
Jamie Roberts - Bass Guitar
Key tunes to check out I would select two in particular. “Keeping Up With Myself” is a full on piece of power pop oozing attitude and adrenilin. There's a quality video to go with it which is well worth checking - see below for some of the story behind it. “Concrete Sky” will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. It is a poignant acoustic social commentary about post-Blair Britain, complete with strings that augment the song brilliantly. “Meet me underneath the concrete sky“, sings Alex Nash. “Police sirens are like symphony….traffic scent, teenage lament….corner shops they've been replaced by supermarkets that look the same - but I can't breathe”.
Marvellous stuff.Where can you see them live? Various gigs around their native South Wales. The Interview - Rob put some questions to the band.
How long have you been playing those tunes?
We have been writing solid for the past 6 months and playing them since we started gigging in March.We are still writing as much as we can. In the past few gig's, we've had a problem over deciding which songs to drop from the set, which is a good problem to have as it shows that we have so many top tunes to choose from.
How did the band form? Were you mates before?
Well we've all been in the local gigging circuit since we were about 14. We were in different bands, but all playing the same gigs. This is how we all met and how the friendships began. So yeah, we've known each other for about 5 years now. It wasn't until back last year where we decided to form a band but using best mate Hamish who was originally a drummer to come in and play guitar. With a little teaching from Alex and fucking immense dedication, he was perfect for the bill.
Where does the name come from?
The name isn't really from anywhere in particular, we just needed to create a name that summed us up as a band in the best possible way. ‘Kick Superb' is original, hard-hitting, has slight arrogance and has energy. What more do you need?
Which bands/artists would you say have been a particular influence on you?
Well we are all into classic heritage bands such as The Jam and The Clash and Oasis. That's where most of our inspriration comes from to write our songs. There's also bands like the Foo Fighter's and Kaiser Chiefs, who have so much energy in what they do, that we can really relate to their music and performance.
Is there a particular phrase you would use to describe your sound?
We are a new wave band, with attitude and tunes that will blow your ears to shit.
I love "Keeping Up With Myself". Is there must be a story behind it?
(ALEX) Keeping Up With Myself was written at a time where I was about to begin university, looking into getting full-time work and looking to take on the band full-time. It's a song of frustration, where you're at a point where no more weight can be put onto your shoulders. I was finding it hard to keep up with everything. I was finding it harder to make the decision that was going to determine the rest of my life. I chose the right one.
 Tell me about the making of the video.
As for the video; Alex's dad runs a steel works factory, so he managed to blag us a free day up there, where we could shoot the video. It was a great location for us, so we got our mate Tom to film the entire video on his hand held camcorder. Turned our pretty banging eh?
Any other tunes you would mention in particular?
We've just written this new track called “Smug Alert”. It's one of our favourites, and we've been using it to finish off our sets. It sum's us up as a band; It's in your face and what we call a fucking tune. You and your mates will be singing it on the way home, just like everyone else has been...
Do you have a main songwriter, or are the tunes all band compositions?
Musically as a band we compose everything, all the way down to rhythm of the kick drum. We spend a good amount of time coming up with the bare bones of the music, then when its ready, Alex will bring his lyrics to the table to arrange them to the track and then we bang it out at the next gig.
Tell me about local scene.
In Newport, almost every band seems to follows a trend. We're trying to do something a bit fresh and get away from your generic emo or indie shit and even this new rave bollocks. We're here to just get on with it, write simple tunes, with massive chorus' that make you want to sing your lungs out. There is almost a gig everyday in our area, which is a good thing because so many bands that have the opportunity to get themselves out there. In all fairness Newport is a tough crowd to break as sometimes it might be seen as uncool to even nod along to a bands songs if your mates arent doing it. Although Cardiff seems a bit better it is still a tough crowd and you need a good following around these areas for other people to get into you.
And now the dreaded Desert Island question. Which album would you take with you?
Alex – If you asked me last week I would have said “(What's The Story) Morning Glory” from Oasis, but I've just got the new Biffy Clyro album “Puzzle” and I ain't outlistened it yet, and fair play… it's got some tunes on there… so I'd take that.
Jamie – I'd take the Klaxons album because it would go up great on a fire… Nah… Nah I'd probably take The Jam – “In The City” - it was the first Jam album that I bought and on first listen I was hooked.
Hamish – Oasis – “Definately Maybe”, Rock n roll star is the first track on this album and no matter how many times I listen to it, it never gets boring.
Luke – Foo Fighters – “There's Nothing Left to Lose” because it was their album that really pushed them out there and showed the public how much of a great band they are and that they don't just live off the success of Nirvana.
And finally - what are your plans for the future?
Our plans are to write and gig as much as physically possible. We will also be recording a few more demos soon. Then in the long run we're looking at doing a few UK tour's before recording the album. Then obviously we then take over the world. It's quite simple really.
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