I CONCUR
The SiS Interviewby Dany Sloan

Growing up, I was enamored with the music from the UK, and all I ever wanted to do was visit the country. Apparently it works both ways, as this group of lads from Leeds not only drew on the music from their local patch, but also the sounds of Americana, creating a sound that would fit in well among most red states.

The band will be dropping their first single on Brew Records in March, and we recently bridged the Atlantic to talk about their influences, their mums and some of their favorite locals.

SIS: Tell me about the band, like how it formed and all of that stuff. Tell us something about Leeds that one would not find on Wikipedia.

I Concur: Tim (vox) and James (drums) were already in a band together. Chris (guitar) met them at a Low gig. We threw some ideas around before finding Toby (bass) in the back of a pub called The Packhorse. He liked the Smiths and Bloc Party, so he was in. The name I Concur was created in the back of a different pub which also happened to be called The Packhorse.

Non Wiki fact: Leeds has two pubs called The Packhorse.

SIS:  Who do you often find yourselves compared to, and do you like or dislike that comparison?

IC: The good: We like it when we get compared to bands like The National, My Bloody Valentine and Godspeed You Black Emperor. There’s a long list of stuff we like on our Myspace. The plan is to one day use it to curate an ATP.

The bad: We once got compared to Placebo. Probably because we’re a bit noisy. Another said REM but that was probably because of our collective hair loss.

SIS: Who are some of your favourite bands to play with? Do you think any of them will take over the world?

IC: In a Blitzkreig style fashion? I hope not. That wouldn’t be helpful for human kind. Our favourite bands are mostly local bands from around Leeds; The Pattern Theory, Vessels, Napoleon IIIrd. We played with a band from Glasgow called The Twilight Sad who we all love. We also had the pleasure of supporting a band from Japan called Lite who are amazing.

SIS: What is your favorite and least favourite thing about being on the road?

IC: Favourite thing would be meeting really cool people who you might not otherwise ever come into contact with. Least favourite would be the lack of diet and nutrition from eating service station ‘food’.

SIS: If any member of I Concur were on the cover of a tabloid, who would it be and why?

IC: It would definitely be Toby -- probably for an inappropriate proposition to a lady in high authority. You’d never guess it to look at him.

SIS: When family ask you what your band sounds like, what do you tell them?

IC: “The Smiths,” (waits for mum’s face to screw up) “but not as depressing. Honest.”

SIS: In 15 words or less, why should people buy your record?

IC: The remixes by Bracken (ex-Hood) and Napoleon IIIrd are worth it alone. They’re both amazing.