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Ian Watkins (vocals)
Mike Lewis (guitar) Lee Gaze (guitar) Stuart Richardson (bass) Mike Chiplin (drums) Jamie Oliver (keyboards, programming) Everyone has choices in life. However, when you grow up in a working class mining town as small as Pontypridd, Wales, those choices are limited. Sure, there is getting drunk, hanging out and getting into fights... this was the case for Lostprophets, 6 young lads who were unsatisfied with the idea of conforming to their surroundings. Motivated by their lack of apathy and desire to do something, they formed a band. Lostprophets set out to get some gigs, so they made a demo in their basement for 4,000 pounds. They had no idea that the demo would end up being released on both sides of the Atlantic and would garner reviews and awards in the UK that most bands would kill for. That first recording, thefakesoundofprogress, went on to sell over 100,000 copies in the US and went GOLD in the UK. Bolstered by a gushing UK media who hailed them as "indie wunderkinds" and heralded lead singer Ian Watkins as a sex symbol, the burden of being labeled "the next big thing" was the last thing this hard working group of guys expected or needed. After all, thefakesoundofprogress was a "demo". In 2001, Ian told Kerrang! magazine, "People have tagged us as the band most likely to break America, which is nice, but we don't really think about it." Instead of getting caught up in the hype, they put all their energy into their live show and winning over fans, one fan at a time. They spent the good part of 2001 touring America. Since their inception they have shared stages with bands like Glassjaw, Deftones, the Used, Movielife, Linkin Park and Hoobastank. Despite the instant attention they got in the UK, they enjoyed their underdog status in the US. Without MTV and radio shoving their music down anyone's throats, they knew the kids coming to see their shows were genuinely interested in their music and their message. After their stint on Ozzfest ended in the fall of 2001, almost one year after the release of fakesound..., they went back home not wearing the crown of "the band who conquered America" and to their surprise, they were met with an unexpected UK media backlash. They were slapped with a reputation of being "arrogant" and bashed for being "too good-looking", "skate-hunks" and maybe the worst insult of all - they were accused of being a "nu-metal boy band". Most bands would have chosen to take a breather at this point, maybe lick their wounds, but the Lostprophets took this opportunity to further their agenda. They returned to the basement studio back in Pontypridd where thefakesoundofprogress was conceived and immediately began writing their first "real" studio album. They named the album Start Something, a title that reflects the "fighting spirit" of the band. This time out, they knew there was something important on the line. "On the first record," Ian says, "we didn't know if anyone would hear it. Now, we knew there was an audience, it's a chance to make a real statement." "We're all about fighting apathy." says Jamie Oliver, the band's keyboard player. For guitarist Lee Gaze, it's important that the album bring a positive message to people: "Get out there and do it. Get off your ass and go for your dream." The key to making that statement was composing an album that exploded with creativity, and reflected the excitement of the band's live shows. They chose producer Eric Valentine (Queens of the Stone Age, Good Charlotte) to put their vision on record. "We loved the Queens album," Ian says. "It was just so big, yet so stripped down. Then we heard the Good Charlotte album he did and it was really polished, and we thought it was cool that he could do anything from underground rock to the most mainstream band; the only niche he fits in is making amazing records." It's a perfect fit for a band who knows no niche. It's not easy to balance the band's unexpected juxtaposition of styles and positive messages that have made them an uncompromising and uniquely rousing band. So the band decamped in Los Angeles, and not without a few butterflies in their stomachs. "We didn't know if we would like doing it," Ian laughs. "We may have found that we preferred doing indie albums in one week." But by the end of the second day, the band knew they'd made the right choice. For the band, the sessions were incredibly creative and instructive. fakesound... was a rush job, recorded in less than two weeks. "We spent three years semi-apologizing for the last album," Jamie says with a laugh, it just couldn't help but pale when compared to their live shows. Start Something stays true to the band's mixed bag of influences, ranging from the hardest guitar rock like Faith No More and melodic progressive pop rock like Incubus, to their unapologetic love for eighties icons like Duran Duran and The Police. Just when you think you have a song figured out, it takes a hairpin turn, maybe to a bone-crushing, full-throated passage, to a weird, ambient interlude or a dramatic piano coda. For Ian Watkins, it's all about following their muse, not some sort of trend: "We're not a post-hardcore band, we're not a nu-metal band, we're not interested in proving anything to anybody. We just want to make music we like." There are no apologies involved in the next chapter of Lostprophets' success story. For Ian, Start Something is "an evolution. Everything's a bit more coherent. It still has the same idea and ideals we had, playing whatever we wanted and not worrying about genre or anything. We still combine loads of different influences, but in a more coherent, considered way, not just throwing things together. This is just us and this is the definitive us. This is what I want people to hear when they think of us." The new friends they made while in Los Angeles have already started calling... reporting back to the band how great their first single, "Last Train Home" sounds on modern rock radio station KROQ where the song has already become a favorite. Months before the official release of Start Something, their hard work is starting to pay off. Maybe Pontypridd, Wales will finally have someone other than Tom Jones to brag about. |
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