Since bursting on the scene with their debut album back in 2008, Reading electro punk outfit Does It Offend You, Yeah? are back with their second record, Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You, and an Aussie tour. We called up synths man Dan Coop…
Looking forward to Australia?
Yeah, we’ve done three or four times in Australia and they’ve each been an experience. I think one of us had swine flu or something really bad one time. It was pretty riotous anyway, just drinking to get over the illness.
You’re renowned for your great live shows. Do you plan them much?
Well I think that’s the difference between us and a lot of bands. We actually don’t put a lot of thought into it. A lot of bands spend loads and loads of money on projectors and video screens, we don’t like to do that. We like to let the music do the talking and have a bit of banter with the crowd. I think the more you connect with your fans, the more they connect with you and it just becomes more electric.
You’re quite outspoken about bands…
I wouldn’t say we’re better or worse than other bands, it’s just we like to do our own thing. There’s loads of other bands that do really well at and make lots of money and go all around the world, but it’s a case of if you want to do that or not. I think we’re quite happy with what we’re doing. Ha, maybe we’ll do a Lady Gaga record next.
You’ve said the album is like putting two fingers up to music industry…
I’d say it’s a bit confrontational and not extremely accessible because there’s a lot of different styles on there, so there will be a lot of kids who will be like, “what the fuck is this?” Haha. We’ve got like a Rage Against the Machine, Prodigy type track, and then like a more indie track and then a completely instrumental thing, it’s not the most accessible album in the world, but I think that’s why it’s been getting such good reviews. It’s something different.
How’s it feel being compared to the likes of Prodigy and Rage?
I mean, we grew up watching bands like Rage Against the Machine at festivals like Reading so you can’t say you didn’t take anything from that, but I think when we first started out we got quite a lot of acclaim from bands like Muse asking us to do remixes, or Prodigy asking us to produce tracks. We were more a band liked by other bands than perhaps the mainstream festival crowds.
Is it good having more freedom since leaving a major label?
Yeah, we can do what we want, which can be nice sometimes. Other times you do need a kick up the arse. We’ve made a few mistakes and we’ve made a few good decision, but then life’s all about learning from your mistakes. I’d rather have a rollercoaster ride than the same boring existence. I’d rather it was up, down, all over the place, seeing where it takes you.
Ever get into trouble on tour?
Matty missed a couple of flights on the last tour of Oz. He had no money and no phone, but still managed to get back on a flight. Ha, I don’t know how he did that. I think he slept outside the airport for a couple of nights. Things always seem to work out in the end.
Why are you named after a quote from The Office?
It was just a silly moment, we chose it because we didn’t know what to call ourselves and it just stuck around. We were big fans of The Office and Ricky Gervais stuff, plus he’s from Reading as well which is a weird coincidence.
Got any tattoes?
Yeah I do. God, this is pretty strange. I’ve got this tattoo of the map of Texas, from when I was at South by South-West Festival, and then I’ve got “LA” written in the middle of it just to freak people out. It’s more one of those tattoes to remind you of good times.
Does it Offend You, Yeah? play Adelaide (Aug 2), Perth (Aug 3), Sydney (Aug 4) and Melbourne (Aug 5). www.doesitoffendyou.com
