Radio X session and interview
The band records a three-tracks live session for Radio X [Link to Session], including Lunatic, Supernatural, You Opened Up My Heart, and I Saw A Ghost. In an interview, Aaron talks to Kennedy about the band’s progress.
We’ve got a strong commitment to memorable melodies…We’re ‘all killer no filler’…I spent a lot of time when we first started out, trying to sound more like everybody else, trying to sound more indy. But I’ve got a reasonable range and as I’ve developed and become more confident in what I’m doing it’s become more honest and truthful. It seems to be working.
Coach Roddy: I’d love to see McGregor-Khabib by end of year
Speaking at the opening of his new SBG Charlestown facility in Dublin, Ireland, coach Roddy talks about McGregor’s return and the potential of a bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov.
There’s been no specific training. But it’s brewing nicely…It seems to be what the fans want, the fight the fans are looking for now. Conor loves to fight. Khabib is potentially the No. 1 contender. I see flaws in his game that we could capitalise on. Id’ love to see the fight happen before the end of the year…I don’t know how far along it is. I don’t know if there’s negotiations. But I can feel it in the air…[Conor] is always in the gym…Nerves affect some people, but Conor embraces it. He’ll go in there and it’ll be like he never left.
Manchester Evening News article
The band are profiled in Manchester Evening News. Aaron talks about playing Manchester’s Apollo on their upcoming tour:
It’s a venue we’ve always wanted to play. There’s something special about the Apollo. There aren’t many places bigger in Manchester. Except the
arena – but let’s not get ahead of ourselves…
On their rising profile:
When you hear the likes of James, The Charlatans, and Clint Boon talking about you in positive terms, to get their
backing, it’s awesome. It makes it all worthwhile when you’re playing the Roadhouse to 20 people and you think maybe you’re mad for sticking with it…It feels a bit mad to be
honest. This is always the nervy bit. Just as tickets are about to go an sale and you wonder if you’re going to get that extra boost. It’s squeaky bum time. But we’re just going to enjoy it…We’re just so grateful to [our fans]. They’ve really driven it. They’ve dragged their mates along to shows or shouted about us on the internet. This gig is as much about them as it is us.
Rock City interview
The band are interviewed before their show at Rock City, Nottingham. On the crowd reaction on the tour:
Aaron: We’ve had good crowds everywhere. There’s one in particular that the crowd have really got on top of, and bouncing around. Manchester’s probably the first gig we had when we had people on people’s shoulders. The energy in the room has been fantastic…On the TV in particular, it’s got a really strong riff from Kurtis and a very direct chorus. The first few days on the tour the album wasn’t actually out, but you could see that people were getting on it in the moment. People were singing the riff through the tune, and before we came on for the encore.
Kurtis: My take was that when we first did the first couple of gigs before the album came out. I thought Supernatural was getting the best reaction. But it’s changed since the album came out.
Build A Tower track-by-track video
The band release a series of short videos where they talk about each track on Build A Tower.
Big Sports Breakfast interview
In advance of their Leeds show, Aaron talks to Darren on Proper Sports’ Big Sports Breakfast, about how their previous tour with James came about.
It was an amazing opportunity for us. They tweeted one of our tracks that we performed — I Saw A Ghost — acoustically in Manchester Central Library. It was like a guerrilla thing. We just turned up and did it for a YouTube channel. Jim Glennie tweeted via the James account, and we were like ‘Christ, gotta get on to this’. Luckily enough for us they had a new album and tour coming up. There’s a guy who’s supported us for years that’s written about us in Manchester that we knew did their sleeve notes and knew the band. So I manged to get a CD to the band via him. Then a week or so later we got a note from their management offering us 14 dates on their tour. We ended up playing Brixton Academy, Manchester Arena, Liverpool Echo Arena. That was massive for us. It gave us an audience all over the UK.
Fab Radio International interview
Aaron and Kurtis appear on the It’s Only Rock’N’Roll show on Fab Radio International. On their growing support:
Kurtis: One thing you notice is audience sizes. Going from doing the smaller venues where the odd pockets of people knowing the words, and then getting to the stage where people are all singing it back and chanting ‘Readers’ is a different level.
Aaron: The connection with the crowd is incredible now…David Bowie said, “Don’t play to the gallery”. That sticks in my mind: you get down and sing to those that are buzzing at the front, and you see it roll back through the venue.
On the upcoming album:
Aaron: A lot of the stuff in the past has been introspective and existential (Kurtis: mean and moody!). I wanted to explore different territory anyway and be a bit more positive anyway. But then Brexit happened, and Trump, and the world seems to be getting very polarized. The trajectory of the planet seems to be completely different. So I thought I was important not to be majorly political, but put a positive message out. Songs like Through The Shadows are about getting through difficult times and the most important thing being about those you love. A more positive message than before, but more universal, and bits of social commentary. Whereas, before it was a bit more about my own insecurities and demons…We’ve sold nearly 2000 pre-orders so far. If we get a decent chart position it leads on to other things.
Too Many Blogs interview
The band are interviewed by Too Many Blogs, talking about their upcoming album, Build A Tower, which will be released on May 4.
The Star Wars thing is just a coincidence, we won’t be doing a gig in Jedi robes or anything.
On songwriting:
We have developed a lot as musicians since Cavalcade, so there is more invention in terms of melody, rhythm, song structure…Some tracks are very personal and explore the feeling of being in love with someone and the delicious fragility of it, the sense that it could disappear before your eyes (‘Supernatural’). Some tracks refer, very specifically, to the external political environment (‘Lunatic’/’On the TV’). Musically, it’s probably more consistent in terms of style, as the album was written in a tighter time-frame than the last album. It’s pretty inventive – hopefully, our existing fans will love it and, hopefully, it continues the work of the previous album (in winning over most people that hear it).
Buzzfeed interview
In an interview with Buzzfeed, Keys talks about his time in prison, where he spent his time refurbishing computers.
The case was serious enough to convict me, only for me to wind up refurbishing computers so the government can make money. The irony is not lost on me…I always assumed that I would be on the front lines when the shit did finally hit the fan. That’s not what wound up happening. Instead I ended up sitting back and watching the world burn.
Wants to return to journalism
In an interview with Ars Technica, Keys says there will be no further appeal, that he did not commit the crime for which he was convicted, and that he wants to return to journalism.
I hope that I’m privileged enough to find work in journalism. I work hard, and I’m smart, but I do have an uphill battle going forward…I came to terms with the fact that I suffer from mental illness. Being online and constantly throwing myself into work—I wasn’t getting help. [Now] I’m eating better, I look better, I feel better. I still struggle with depression and anxiety…I would like to go back into journalism. I’ve had a very small number of people come up to me with leads and with prospective job opportunities. I’m currently tiptoeing around [Bureau of Prison] rules with respect to what I can and cannot do while I’m still here. So I am open to all offers; it’s a matter of when I can act on them. I think I could start acting on them now, but a lot of it is trial and error.
Reyt Good Road Trip
Aaron and Jim are interviewed by Reyt Good Magazine, while being driven through Salford, Manchester. They talk about their early days, the support of the band by James, and the changes since they signed.
We now have all the machinery established bands had. Before we were doing it all ourselves…we did our best to look around other cities and see what they were doing…if you go to a city where a promoter’s built a reputation, you do get music lovers turning up to see what’s going on. It gves you a chance to get in front of new people.
WEF Global Business Context panel
Yaccarino takes part in a panel discussion on ‘The Global Business Context’ at The World Economic Forum.
How do you educate a younger generation about news literacy ? I do a lot of talks about this with younger folks. Where do you share? Where are you getting it from?…The younger generation does not differentiate. They’re used to seeing someone’s phone cam onsite somewhere telling them what’s going on and they take that as real news.
Fred Perry playlist
In an interview with Fred Perry Subculture, the Slow Readers Club talk about their favourite music, and share a playlist.
A British icon or band who inspire your sound?
James: We always get asked this and it’s really hard to answer because as a band we listen to all sorts of stuff… Some better than others. We’ve been compared to the likes of Depeche Mode and Joy Division. Possibly because our sound is quite dark and has some synths. Aaron also sings in a low range at times. We’re not moaning though, they’re both quality bands.
Aaron: Yeah sound wise, it’s a lot of different stuff as Jim says. Lyrically it’s Lennon and Morrissey are probably the biggest influences – I like stuff that’s personal, honest and semi-autobiographical.
Verizon Media Tech Venture Studio panel
Yaccarino appears on a ‘Content and the Consumer’ panel with Tim Armstrong, CEO of Oath, talking about ‘advertising, content distribution, and why brands can never lose sight of the consumer.’ When asked about how companies like Oath and NBC Universal are competing with companies like Snapchat, Google and Facebook, Yaccarino and Armstrong both said that they view the tech giants as partners (not rivals).
We helped Apple monetize their mobile news. That was our entré into the mobile space.
Mayweather first TV interview since McGregor fight
Mayweather appears for his first television appearance since the fight with McGregor, on Steve Harvey’s new talk show. Harvey asks if Mayweather and McGregor have spoken at all since the fight.
No, we haven’t spoke since the fight. We had a beef and settled our beef. We had a beef. I feel like I was the better man. Like I told him, experience will play a major key. But I said on paper everything leans towards Conor McGregor. You know, he’s 28, I’m 40-years-old. But, being in the sport 21 years, I just feel like the wisdom that I have, the IQ is totally, totally different. Especially when it’s at the pinnacle…I knew that he was used to fighting 25 minutes. I said once we get him past 25 minutes, he’s a dead man walking. Dead man walking.
Coach Roddy: ‘I was heartbroken’
Coach Roddy appears on The Late Late Show, to talk about how difficult it was for McGregor and the whole team when the fight didn’t go their way.
I was heartbroken. I don’t only work with Conor, Conor’s a good friend of mine. We’re training partners and sparring partners for many years, and then I took up the coaching role. When you see what somebody puts in — the amount of hours he puts in, the amount of sacrifices he makes and the team makes — when you see all of that, and you’re all working together for one moment, for that night, and it doesn’t go your way sometimes — it’s heartbreaking. I was very upset over the fight, because I know how bad he wants it, and I know how bad the team wanted it.”
McGregor’s post-fight interview
McGregor is interviewed by ESPN’s Brent Okamoto:
I’ve been watching highlights, trying to work out what’s what. I think I smoked him in the early rounds. I was pretty handy with him, but then he changed his style. He Put his hands up, came down low and put his forehead on his chest…He came forward. It threw me off. And he was composed on there…I felt like it was very close. I go through that wobbly stage, from fatigue. Let me go to the corner. Get down on a knee.
Bayliss to Mayweather Snr: Conor will knock your son out
During an interview with Mayweather Snr., Bayliss places a bet that McGregor will beat Mayweather:
Snr: The only thing I’m gonna tell you. I’m not gonna tell you that Conor McGregor is gonna get knocked out, but he’s gonna get his ass whooped…[But] I don’t even think it will last 12 rounds…At the end of this fight (raises hands in winning pose)…a’int no diggity, aint no doubt.
Bayliss: I’ll bet you a suit. Conor will knock your son out, because it’s the only way Conor’s gonna win this fight. Your son is going to underestimate what’s about to hit him, both in will and skill. This guy’s crazy…He’s gonna come at your son in ways you can’t even imagine.
Snr: That’s the way Floyd like ’em.
McGregor: I’ll break Mayweather inside four rounds
McGregor talks to O’Brien, with O’Brien referencing his appearance on the show two year’s before, where McGregor said he wanted to fight Mayweather for the first time.
COB: Conor, you first predicted this fight two years ago on this show. Let’s take a look…What if you were in the ring with Floyd Mayweather?
CMG: If your asking if I’d like to fight Floyd, who wouldn’t like to dance around the ring for $180 million? If we were to get it on, I would most certainly dismantle him.
In the present day:
CMG: There will be no dancing in there. I’m going to go straight forward, and put him away…inside four rounds!…
Responding to Mayweather saying he is going to go down on his face or his back:
I’m going down…down in the history books.
McGregor: Mayweather down in 2 rounds with 8oz gloves
McGregor says the switch to lighter gloves is to his advantage.
It’s backfired on him, I believe…I already agreed to it, but I put it in front of the public, and it must have dented his ego. That’s it. He tried to go ‘let’s do the eight ounces’. Now we’re going to do the eight ounces. Great, I usually fight in four so I don’t give a f***. I accepted these stipulations. No Mexican [gloves], no horsehair, no 10 ounce, all that. Eight ounce great. He’ll be asleep inside two [rounds]…[10 ounce in four]…I’m just trying to be humble. He’s gonna be down in the first. The only reason he may survive the first is because has ten seconds, and I can’t pounce in a mixed martial arts bout.
.@thenotoriousmma gives his prediction for #MayweatherMcGregor – watch the full interview w/ #ConorMcGregor here: https://t.co/f64k3tPoxU pic.twitter.com/ADrMSiACbr
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) August 12, 2017