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The New Lost City Ramblers are a very good comparison, actually. They really took the music seriously, and we take the music very seriously. But we don't take ourselves seriously at all.
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I regret a couple of wardrobe decisions.
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I became obsessed with Simian Mobile Disco's music and poorly attempted to make my own techno music.
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'Babel' is a continuation of a project; it's not like now we are more theatrical. We've grown up, seen places, been places, and that is shown in this album.
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You're always thinking about making new music.
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Somebody told me about a band that works out their whole set as if it was one song. They learn the whole set as one piece, so they know how the dynamics of it work. It's really difficult to do, and you can only really do it while you're on tour, as being in a rehearsal studio is not the same as being on stage in front of an audience.
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We formed the band because we wanted to tour. That was our common interest.
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Some people like the same thing forever, but I don't know. We kind of, like, listen to loads of different stuff, and our attention spans aren't good enough. So there was a bit of frustration when you're, like, having to play the same thing all the time because we play all, like, loads of different instruments.
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One of the things we say in this band is if it's not fun, it's not worth doing.
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We get accused of inauthenticity because we play the instruments we play.
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I think that's why so many school bands start on guitars: because they hide their mistakes with the distortion.
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The day we struggle to enjoy what we do and just get the gig over with we'll quit.
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Things got big quickly for us, and playing arenas... it's like - and every band will tell you this - you don't see any of the town.
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We're not, like, hard men.
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Technically, I suppose I was following all the right behavior patterns of a trustafarian.
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Banjos are funny instruments. They can get pretty irritating.
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We're in a long line of English people pretending to be Americans and not being as good as Americans.
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The less I try, the cooler I am.
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If you can't pigeon-hole yourself, who can you pigeon-hole?
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You can never really tell what your influences are.
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You write in songs what you're too scared to write in real life, and then you sing the songs to loads of people instead of telling it to the person you should be telling it to... Songs are a great way of dealing with those issues but kind of a coward's way as well.
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I want to bring UCB to England. We don't have anything like it.
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Class is a big issue here. And some people get picked on more than others. I think we probably do. I mean, it doesn't help that we wear waistcoats and tweed the whole time. But there is a reverse snobbishness in England towards that sort of stuff. And I think that's one of the reasons we really enjoy America, 'cos we're classless.
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The thing about Nashville that's amazing is everyone plays... so you don't meet up for a drink, you meet up for a pick. It's an incredibly creative town, just bubbling with energy.