Maz Behdjet, from Alias Kid, spoke about the origins of the group.
Alias Kid came about when Maz Behdjet was sitting in Sean O’Donnell’s garden one Friday night, bored because no one was going out. A few drinks and some good tunes later, they thought “let’s just have a band”.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO MUSIC?
We said we would do a few small gigs and get the lads out for a drink. That was all it was about. But by the third gig, Alan McGee had signed us and now we are on Creation Records. Then it has just grown from there.
HAVE YOU HAD ANY TRAINING?
If you count loads of late nights with guitars, vodka and drunk mates then yeah, I’ve had plenty.
WHAT GENRE WOULD YOU SAY YOU WERE IN?
Indie I suppose, but you could say rock’n’roll. I think we have a bit of a punk side to us but we aren’t a punk band at all. It’s hard these days to say you are an indie band without people assuming you will be a bunch of haircuts with no edge.
DO YOU WRITE YOUR OWN MUSIC?
Yeah, me and Sean write the songs. I wouldn’t be interested in being in a band or listening to a band who aren’t doing their own stuff. They might as well audition for X Factor.
WHAT IS YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?
I just write what comes out when I sit down with my guitar. It all comes from somewhere real and I suppose at the time you don’t even always know where. I’m not one of these writers who walks about looking for stuff to say. To me that’s contrived. I think you make your own reality and that is where your songs should come from in a natural way.
DO YOU TOUR A LOT?
We are always on tour – either our own gigs round the country or in Moscow where we have a good following too. Then we are out with Happy Mondays, Cast, Jesus and Mary Chain, Sleaford Mods, The Enemy and Black Grape. So we get about all over the place. Playing live is the best bit for me, it’s about the only place you can hear rock’n’roll these days.
WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE MUSICIAN?
I was lucky growing up that my mum was into Leonard Cohen, The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, Dylan – the lot really. So all of that stuff has a place for me. Then, for me, I was into the Manchester bands. But if I have to pick one person then I would go for the one who wrote the most songs I love and who I admire the most as a songwriter, and that’s John Lennon.
WHO HAVE YOU LOVED PLAYING WITH AND SUPPORTING?
We’ve been lucky enough to tour with some big bands and we’ve been supported by some great bands too on our own tour. The bands who supported us are proper rock’n’roll grafters – there are loads of them so people can look back at our dates and see all the names of them. Bands like that are what keeps rock’n’roll alive in the face of all the insipid crap that is being fed to us day after day.In terms of supporting other bands, for me personally it is Black Grape. I love that band’s music and they are all such top lads. Can’t wait to be back on tour with them again.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE TO PLAY ON TOUR?
I don’t really care where we are so long as the crowd are up for it. Scotland gigs are always great for that. I like the attitude up there – people aren’t afraid to have a good time. You go to some towns around the country where everyone takes 20 minutes to warm up but up there it is like they are ready to go out straight after breakfast. It’s top.
WHO IS IN THE BAND?
We have Col on drums, Nick on bass, James on lead guitar and then me and Sean play rhythm and sing. James weighs in with a few harmonies too. The band was just thrown together for a laugh so we got James in as he’s Sean’s cousin and then we knew Nick and Col already so we just asked if they were up for it. Luckily, there weren’t any auditions or probably none of us would have made the cut.
DOES EVERYONE GET ALONG?
It’s strange since we are all very different people but we kind of get along like a dysfunctional family. We argue and fight and all that but ultimately we all always have each other’s backs. We’ve been mates for years, even before the band, and I think that comes across on stage and when people meet us.
WHAT IS YOUR INSPIRATION?
I think you just get the bug for it. So we started without any aspirations but the more you carry on the more you think yeah let’s do that and then that. It’s that attitude that gets us over to Moscow or Amsterdam or touring round the country. Live gigs are an end in themselves for me, so the chance to get out touring is enough inspiration for me.
