Photo by Flickr User Antanith

I got a chance to interview White Arrows, the LA-based psychedelic band, while they were on tour in London through the magic of email. (They are coming to the Showbox at the Market on October 12th.) For details on their show supporting The Naked and Famous, check out this preview article.

Tom Mohrman: Is the 7″ a harbinger of a full length coming out soon, or is it meant to be its own thing?

Mickey Church: It is definitely a look into things to come.  One of the songs will most likely be on the full length (‘Get Gone’), and the rest will be new material.

TM: What have been some highlights of your current tour?

John Paul Caballero: As our UK expedition focuses exclusively on London, we can hang out and party after each show, sleep in, and work on our collective tan. Getting down-and-out in east London, imbibing spirits (both alcohol and human), hanging out with our extended circle of friends out here, and indulging our unhealthy love of flapjacks have all left their mark on our hearts and wallets. Every show has turned out to be a banger, so its hard to pick one in particular. Performing on XFM DJ John Kennedy’s program was a most surreal and pleasant experience…

TM: What can audiences expect from your live shows vs your recordings?

MC: It’s a sensory overload. People dancing on the ceilings. Tripped out visuals. People down for whatever.

TM: What’s the best part about performing?

MC: There isn’t anything I don’t like about performing.  Sometimes I feel like it’s the best, or maybe the only way I can communicate people and band mates and say everything I want to say, but not saying anything at all.

TM: What bands would you most like to share a stage with in the next year?

MC: We’ve been listening to so many people. I think it’s unanimous in the band that we’d love to play with Deerhunter, and Animal Collective. As well as bands like MGMT, The Strokes would be amazing to tour with… All these bands we grew up listening to.

TM: How does performing overseas compare to the States?

MC: There is a passion here that is uninhibited. Everyone generally cares and wants the best show possible. Sometimes you find people in the States who seem to think it’s a chore to have to listen to a band when they need something in the mix. You don’t get that here. The people running sound at the venues care about the sound, and are great at working with the band for finding the right mix. Also, there is no method for time slots out here. It all depends on the party, the night of the week, the type of music etc etc. We’ve had such amazing turnouts on time slots that are so new to us… it also helps that everyone starts drinking earlier, so at least we’re not playing to a sober crowd.

TM: Do you work on new song ideas on the road? If so, what’s that like?

MC: We mostly just work on remixes on the road due to the lack of space, but we are trying to start demoing out some ideas when we can.

Tickets are still available for the show through Ticketmaster. It should prove to be a night of exciting fun music. Check back soon after the show for my review.