Indietracks interview #21: Sarandon

Sarandon are three men who like pop to be short and sharp and spiky and infectious. The band formed in 2003 with a mission to make exciting, snappy, itchy, uncontrollable pop music

Their 2004 seven track album, 'The Miniest Album' received radio play on the John Peel show, and turned Everett True into a fan. Three further seven track albums followed, with a full length album 'Kill Twee Pop' released on Slumberland Records in 2008.

The band are playing with fellow Indietracks 2010 stars The Cannanes in London tonight  (Friday 2 July) and in Nottingham tomorrow (Saturday 3 July) so do pop along if you can.

Hiya, tell us a little bit about Sarandon

Sarandon currently consist of Crayola, Alan Brown and Tom Greenhalgh. They play together very rarely as they live in different parts of the UK and have far better things to do with their time.

What are the band up to at the moment?

The band are currently working on the follow up to "Kill Twee Pop!" which looks set to be something of a concept album with the title "Sarandon's Age Of Reason". It will be released later in the year on Slumberland (USA) and Oddbox (UK). As with KTP! it looks like there are some interesting people lined up to make guest appearances. Over the years Sarandon have never really been a three piece as they've always had extra people helping out. There's been Phil Wilson and Rhodri Marsden, John Robb and Ian Masters to name but a few. The people who will join the band for the new recordings are currently being kept tip top secret.

What do you get up to when you're not being Sarandon?

Outside of the band Crayola spends much of his time being irritating in various online journals and generally being grumpy about things, Alan can usually be found supporting Doncaster Rovers and complaining about how he always ends up in bands with a guitar player that can't tune his own instrument, and Tom is still young and full of beans and has far too much energy for his own good, which is why he hits the drums so hard.

Crayola and Alan plan to knock some sense into him.

Do any band members have any interesting hobbies or claims to fame?

Alan has perfect pitch.

Tom shares his name with a member of The Mekons and is very muscley.

Crayola doesn't have perfect pitch and isn't very muscley.

What's going to be on your compilation tapes as you travel down to Indietracks?

As Crayola will be doing the driving for Indietracks and the UK tour with The Cannanes it'll be his car and his iPod. That means plenty of the following:

Genesis (circa Peter Gabriel), Dr. Feelgood, bIG fLAME (much to Alan's embarrassment), Wolfhounds, Marillion, Sparks, Eno, The Creepers, The Fall, Julian Cope, Napalm Death, Membranes, Dawson, Age Of Chance, Adam And The Ants, Jethro Tull, Beat Happening, Iron Maiden, Thinking Fellers, Gary Numan, Bauhaus, Tubeway Army, PIL, Killing joke, Nightingales, Dire Straits, and various bits of 60's garage punk.

And finally, what attracted you to play the Indietracks festival?

In all honesty we were surprised to be asked considering the stance the band takes regarding The New Millenium of Indie Pap. How could we possibly say no?

Thanks guys - see you at the festival!