Interview: The Xcerts

The Xcerts decided that the Bournemouth leg of the Rock Sound Exposure Tour was the perfect opportunity to discuss cross-dressing and a Bob Dylan tribute act…

What have you got planned for the next few weeks on the Rock Sound Exposure Tour?

Murray (vocals/guitar): I was thinking about wearing a dress for a show or two. But I haven’t given it much thought about what I should wear. A lacy number? Or a gown?

Jordan (bass): When you do the same thing every night, you wanna mix it up. Do something different. All this rocking out, I thought about maybe for one of the shows just not rocking. Something a bit different. So I tried not rocking but it didn’t work, as it happens. But I tried something new.

Have you ever played Bournemouth before?

Murray: Yea we’ve played here twice. The first time was actually with our original line up a couple of years ago. And we played a club NME show and we thought it was the biggest deal.

Jordan: And it totally wasn’t

Murray: It sucked

Jordan: And then we played iBar once before as well. And that sucked. There was nobody here. And apparently it sounded a lot better in the toilet than it did out front. So anybody that was taking a whizz that night was loving it. But you couldn’t watch because it just sounded awful.

How would you describe your sound to people who have never heard of The Xcerts before?

Murray: Distorted pop. I guess its rock music. But we like our pop music as well.

Who would you say are your influences?

Murray: Weezer.

Tom (drums): Weezer.

Jordan: I guess I’m gonna say Weezer for a third time.

Murray: Weezer and Elliott Smith. I think that’s it. Perfect combination

What’s the story behind the name of the band?

Murray: Nothing

Jordan: 14 year old kids trying to sound cool. We never really got around to changing it.

What do you do when you’re not writing or performing?

Murray: Tom works.

Tom: Yea, I occasionally work at a video shop.

Jordan: No brand names.

Murray: Blockbuster.

Jordan: Ah

Murray: It’s the only one though!

Tom: It could have been some cool independent one.

Murray: They’re all dead.

Tom: I’m a corporate whore now. Thanks.

Murray: I’m in another studio based group. So I’m busy making an album right now with them.

Tom: And Jordan goes to open mics and makes noises under the guise of ‘The Troubadour’.

Jordan: Yea that’s my other character. Sort of a Dylan-esque folky poet. I talk really nasal. It doesn’t pay really well but I’ve got a really loyal fan. This guy that comes to every open mic, he’s great. Hi Steve!

What have you got planned for the rest of 2011?

Murray: We’re touring again in April. Hopefully a few festivals but because we’re a smaller band we kind of have to wait until the start of summer to find out where we’re actually going. Then hopefully we’ll go to Europe and tour there some more, and the States, hopefully. And then onto album number three. Or maybe we’ll just do a ‘Troubadour’ record.

Jordan: That would be ideal for me. I’ve been trying to launch this side of me for ages so to jump on the back of The Xcerts would be amazing. Maybe I could open for some tours. I see really bright things for ‘The Troubadour’ in the future.