'We're just starting here'
Popular in the U.K., Kasabian hopes to duplicate that success in the U.S.
By Chris Nixon
For The San Diego-Union
October 5, 2006
'A lot of the comparisons between us and Oasis are just lazy journalism,” said Kasabian guitarist and songwriter Serge Pizzorno, speaking via phone just before a gig in Montreal, Canada. “A lot of people get caught up in reading old interviews, and letting other people's opinions influence what they feel and write.”
In a way, Pizzorno's right. Just about every piece of rock journalism you read about his band, Kasabian, relates the English band to their mates from the famous Manchester scene: Oasis, Primal Scream, Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses. These bands and the slew of groups hailing from the industrial city updated psychedelic rock in the '90s, using fuzzy guitars to loosen up formulaic, alternative music that ruled the day.
But Kasabian isn't from Manchester. Pizzorno and his cohorts – vocalist Tom Meighan, bassist Christopher Edwards, drummer Ian Matthews and new guitarist Jay Mehler – actually hail from Leicester, a diverse city of immigrants located in England's Eastern Midlands, about 100 miles north of London. And the quintet's two albums borrow more from Gary Glitter's glam anthems and electronica than Oasis or any of the other Mancurian bands ever did.
Pizzorno explained: “It's annoying because if you actually listen to either album, the first album or 'Empire,' it doesn't sound like Oasis. Noel Gallagher (Oasis' guitarist) will tell you that straight up. We share the same spirit.
“We're a gang and we stick together. We have lot of fun and we get into trouble. But musically I think we're far different. Oasis could never get away with putting a song like 'Stuntman' (which features ambient keyboards and a driving techno sound) on a record. We can.”
Named after Linda Kasabian (a Manson family member and driver of the gang during the infamous Tate murders in L.A.), the band delivered its self-titled debut in 2004. The album reached No. 4 in the U.K. charts and No. 94 in the U.S. Soon after the record's release, Kasabian's glam-psychedelic-rock sound drew comparisons to Oasis from critics in England and beyond.
“I think we were simply dismissed as a rehashing of the Manchester scene,” remembered Pizzorno, who noted that the criticism added fuel to the recording of 2006's “Empire.” “We were never a part of that, but people made up their minds that's what we were.
“Rock 'n' roll is at its best when it's challenged. I think we felt like when we went into the studio we wanted to make the most amazing record we ever could. We weren't going to hide. We were going to try and blow people's minds. I think we did that.”
The 11 tracks on “Empire” cover everything from the Gary Glitter shuffle on “Shoot The Runner” (which would make an excellent sports arena rock tune) to Chemical Brothers techno (“Apnoea”), strummy acoustic balladry (“British Legion”), and even a dramatic mariachi trumpet solo on the disc's last track (“The Doberman”).
“It's a positive record,” said Pizzorno. “It's a record that makes you feel good about yourself. With where we are at the moment and the state of the world being what it is, it's important that people can still feel good.”
“Empire” debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. pop charts, but Kasabian still has work to do in the United States to match its popularity in England.
“We're just starting here,” said Pizzorno. “It's a big, big place. We did very well with the first album, considering the kind of band that we are. In a way, we are very British. So American culture is a little alien to us, and I'm sure we're alien to the kids here. It's just a matter of going around and playing, showing people. The people we are playing to – we've sold out every show – they're losing their minds. So hopefully we can get more people to come the next time through, and we'll keep building on it.”
Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.
