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For Dancing Or Thinking: A Q&A With The Lodger

by Allison Carter
11/01/2007

Ben Siddall started The Lodger in 2004 in Leeds, England. It took the band a few years to get things going, but now the excitement about the band doesn’t seem like it is going to stop. They released their debut album Grown-Ups in June 2007. This is their first US tour and after hitting cities in the northeast their tour will finally come to Athens. They will be performing at Flicker Theatre at 8 p.m. Don’t be late!

While they were in-transit between Washington and their performance in Richmond, Va., Athens Exchange chatted with The Lodger’s Ben Siddall.

AE: Your band began in a flat in Leeds. What was your motivation to start a band?

BEN: Well, yeah actually, I’ve been in bands for a long time. I’ve been making music for a long time. But not ever taken it very seriously and then in 2004 when I started the Lodger. It was my first time kind of really releasing that sort of thing. And so I got a band together and things have just gone from there really.

AE: How did you come up with the name The Lodger?

BEN: The name comes from the fact that living in the roof of someone’s house in Leeds, that’s kind of the definition of lodger. And I think that we’d use it quite well as the name. So that’s the story behind that.

AE: Has Leed’s music scene had a major effect on how your music sounds?

BEN: No, not really. It’s just a bit coincidental that quite a few bands from Leeds have done quite well in the last few years. I know the members of the band personally that are doing quite well. I’ve not made a conscious effort to sound like any of them; its just we hang around the same places and play the same venues and things like that, but it doesn’t have an effect on our music. I write songs in the way that comes naturally to me, really.

AE: Many websites say your music is influenced by ‘fellow northerners” like The Smiths and The Wedding Projects. Do you believe this to be true?

BEN: Well, yeah, I mean I’m a big fan of both bands so I’ve probably been influenced by them. I really don’t try to rip them off or anything. But yeah I suppose they came from similar places to me and sort of small northern bands. Yep, yeah, I’m happy with those comparisons.

AE: What is your bands signature sound?

BEN: Signature song?

AE: No, sound.

BEN: Sound. I suppose its something just jangly, indie-pop, catchy short catchy pop song. Quite into making hopefully making short, pop songs really. Is that ok?

AE: Yeah. What is the first song you would tell a new listener to listen to?

BEN: Don’t know really. I just try to make them all equally good really. So I think that... just get the album, really. Then people can make up their minds up about what the best song is.

AE: What is your live show like? Should people come ready to dance or ready to think about things?

BEN: A mixture of the two, I think really. We tend to play the songs quite a bit faster live. So quite a lot of it is danceable, I suppose. But also the lyrics are quite heavy. So you could stand there and listen to them or you could just not listen to them and just dance to the fast music really.

AE: This is your first US tour- what do you think of the States? Have you been here before?

BEN: No, none of us. Well, our bassist Joe went here on a family holiday when he was 10 years old, but that was at the beach and everywhere we’ve been has been completely new. We’ve had a really good time so far. New York was really great and Washington has been great as well. Just, yeah, it’s all really new. So it’s all really exciting to us.

AE: How did you like Washington?

BEN: We've kind of been staying at a friend’s house in Washington. Like we’ll have a day off and we’ve been going back to Washington and staying in someone’s house so we’ve seen quite a lot of Washington. The venue we played in Washington was, I mean it, one of the best gigs in terms of how we played. It seemed to all come together really well for some reason. I wouldn’t say it was a favorite venue. But yeah, I dunno, I’d say New York is our favorite place we’ve been.

AE: I’ve heard you’re much bigger in the UK. Have you noticed a difference in size of energy of the American crowd?

BEN: Not really. It’s quite similar to the UK really, I think. A reasonable amount of people come down. You get some people that really like it and some that don’t.

AE: Is there one of you band’s songs you never get tired of playing? And why is that?

BEN: The first song on the album “Many Thanks For Your Honest Opinion” that one seems quite... We’ve always played that song, but it’s strange because when we get home from this tour we’re going to the studio to record the second album. So its coming to the end of playing these songs really and moving to the next set of songs we’ve written. The Athens gig is the last opportunity for people to hear quite a lot of the songs on the first album. The American crowd anyway.

AE: Of all towns to pick in the US, why did you end your tour in Athens?

BEN: I don’t know really. I don’t think it was a conscious decision. It kind of worked its way down from New York southward. The last gig on the rail really. We’re quite looking forward to seeing what Athens is like. So it should be good.

AE: What do you most look forward to when you return to Leeds?

BEN: Sleep, I think, staying in bed for quite a long time trying to recover from the indulgences of touring for a while.

AE: After the tour is finished you guys are going back to the studio to record a new album. What should fans expect to hear?

BEN: What can you expect?

AE: Yeah.

BEN: I don’t know really. I’ve actually sat in the van on the way to the next gig in Richmond with a little notebook. I’m writing down notes, some things about going into the studio to work out what’s going to be on every song - all the instruments and things like that. It’s gonna have more variation to it, I think probably, than the first album’s quiet kind of just catchy pop short songs. Try different things out. Make it have variations and make things more diverse. It’ll still be catchy.