Shimmering bass and ringing guitars Meaningful lyrics healing your scars Heart-breaking beat put on repeat Mystical keyboards make us complete
Curious, happy, honest and sad Future of mankind makes us gloomy and mad Don’t try to run, nowhere to hide There is no escape from our little Plastic Tribe!
Romantic and honest, gloomy and curious, melodic and melancholic, Plastic Barricades chronicle life in the troubled yet fascinating XXI century with painstaking sincerity, asking questions and trying to find the answers. Inspired and influenced by almighty Radiohead, Oasis, Coldplay, Muse, Razorlight, Nirvana and many others, the band loves to experiment with styles, sound and approach.
Based in North-West London, Plastic Barricades are Dan Kert on guitar and vocals and Paul Love on drums.
Check out my chat with drummer Paul below:
Emmy: How did the name come about?
Paul: Have you ever been to a gig in Japan? The people there are so polite. It’s incredible. They have the ultimate respect for personal space, performers, craftsmen, artistry and everything so the security crew have the easiest jobs in the world. I know their constitution doesn’t allow invasions but I didn’t know it extended to stages (who doesn’t love slightly non-pc constitutional law jokes?). Because of this their stage barriers are made from flimsy little pvc pipes instead of steel and they would be useless in any other country. I’m pretty sure my dog’s fleas could knock one over (I don’t have a dog… or fleas). It just goes to show: if we all learned to respect and care for each other a little more then we wouldn’t even need plastic barricades.
Emmy: How would you describe your genre to someone who isn't familiar with your music?
Paul: Brit Pop, but with more optimism and not British... or pop. We’re like Coldplay if they kept writing good songs after X&Y.
Emmy: How did the band form?
Paul: Dan has been Plastic Barricades since long before I met him. We met a few years ago when I was running a recording studio in north west London. We didn’t work together at the time, other than me unlocking the rehearsal room door for him. Years later, after my studio and marriage collapsed, he got back in touch and we started making music together. It was really refreshing. I felt like a kid making music without limits with a real friend for the first time in years. I’d become a little jaded making music for hire.
Emmy: What are some of the artists that influence you?
Paul: Right now my biggest influences are Jacob Collier, Michael Jackson and Kanye. I’m sure you can’t hear that in the music. I love big harmonies, tight rhythms, beautiful melodies and raw lyrics. I want to feel first and foremost and those artists are doing it for me right now. Dan loves 90s Grunge and Britpop and we crossover there. I grew up in Liverpool in the 90s so I somehow know every word to the Beatles and Oasis. Don’t know how they got in my head, I guess it was like that scene in the Matrix where they download kung fu into Neo. Emmy: If you could tour with any artist or band (still active or not) who would it be?
Paul: I would have given anything to be on the Motortown Revue tours in the 60s. The lineup was insane and they had the best backing band in the world. The Supremes, Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder, James Brown (occasionally), Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye… just wow, and with James Jamerson on bass and Uriel Jones on drums! Must have been mind blowing. Only problem with that is I’d be scared to touch the stage, never mind play on it.
Emmy: What's your favorite show you've played?
Paul: My fave is when Dan ripped his hand open on a vintage Fender Mustang in The Cavern and bled everywhere. He may disagree.
Emmy: What's the future hold for the band?
Paul: More gigs, more recording, more releases and hopefully my mum will like us on Facebook.