The Hoosiers

UK pop band The Hoosiers shot to fame three years ago with the undeniably catchy Worried About Ray, and have since enjoyed consecutive hits with the likes of Goodbye Mr A and more recently Cops and Robbers. Renowned for their tongue-in-cheek slapstick humour and zany music videos they have established themselves as one of the more unique sounding pop groups of the decade. With this in mind it’s no wonder Russian Standard Vodka Originals have invited them to take part in it’s winter festival which starts on the 14th November at the HMV Picture House in Edinburgh. Plan B will open the six night event with The Hoosiers and White Lies following on consecutively. The festival will then make it’s way down to London where Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Kelis will take to the stage at the HMV Forum followed once again by The Hoosiers and newcomer Paloma Faith.
Music News caught up with The Hoosiers Reading born frontman, Irwin Sparkes ahead of the forthcoming festival.


Music News: How did you get involved in the Russian Standard Vodka Originals programme?

Irwin Sparkes: I like to think it was more a case of they chose us, which is how we like it. Having just finished the ‘festival season’ it's great to have an event like this which is kind of like a winter festival. For us it’s a brilliant opportunity to be part of something that celebrates the arts and music. There are some great acts taking part and we are proud to be involved.

MN: Are you a Russian Standard Vodka drinker?

Irwin: Hmm, when I drink vodka I tend to forget the rest of the night fall asleep and wake up in a cell. It’s absolutely true, it happened to me in Latvia, I don’t remember a great deal, but a friend ended up paying a policeman £5 to release me.

MN: You’ll be one of six live acts to perform as part of the Russian Standard Vodka winter festival line-up. What can fans who manage to secure a free pass for the gig expect?

Irwin: I think we are going to spice things up a bit. It’s important to start things off with a bang, so we’ll be planning something dynamic, we may even incorporate something on wheels. Keep it fun! As far as the setlist goes, we’ll of course include favourites from the first album, with some new ones from The Illusion of Safety. We’re really looking forward to it.

MN: What have The Hoosiers been up to since the release of your second album, The Illusion of Safety?

Irwin: As well as performing our tracks live to promote the new album, we’ve taken part in lots of different things, including some TV bits. We had Katy Brand follow us around as part of a reality TV type spoof music video for her show, which was a lot of fun and different to what we normally do. We also appeared on The National Lottery, which was really surreal. You know one minute you are writing songs in a bedsit and the next you are pushing the button live in front of millions of viewers for The National Lottery. Luckily it’s a huge button that you have to press, so there was no way I could miss it or mess it up (laughs).

MN: Your second album came out in August, how has it been received so far?

Irwin: It was really well received actually. It’s always tricky bringing out a second album. I think it’s so easy to fall into the trap of trying to replicate the first and to just continue doing what you do best. The music scene is a very different place to what it was when we released our first album in 2007, and we had to work that much harder with the second album which is why it took us so long. We’re really pleased with it.

MN: What single will you release next from the album?

Irwin: That’s a very good question, it was going to be Unlikely Hero but now we’re thinking we may release Bumpy Ride, we're still not 100% sure.

MN: What can fans expect from The Hoosiers in the coming months?

Irwin: We’re gearing up for a tour. Although the album has been released, there may still be a few surprises in the way of videos to accompany the singles from the album.

MN: Who do you admire most in the charts at the moment?

Irwin: Hmm that’s a tough one. There aren’t a lot of groups or acts in the charts currently that are really doing it for me to be honest. I think a lot of music has become so overly electronic and produced to such a level it loses all clarity and it is becoming increasingly harder to distinguish one track or group from the next. I think so much is lost particularly in the vocals. I guess if there was anyone it would be The Killers as they consistently keep things fresh and always come up with something different while still retaining their own distinct sound.

MN: Who are you biggest influences as a band?

Irwin: There are so many and they kind of change as you grow, and are so diverse. Key bands and names that stand out for me and for different reasons include; ELO, The Cure, Supertramp and Jeff Buckley. As a band there are so many more, but the list would be endless.

MN: If you could collaborate with anyone in the music business who would it be and why?

Irwin: I’d love to work with Stuart Price who is known for his work with Madonna, Brandon Flowers and Kylie Minogue. Also Dave Fridmann the American record producer behind MGMT and The Flaming Lips, two great bands. In terms of actually collaborating, it would have to be Ana Matronic of Scissor Sisters or Ladyhawke, or even the lead singer from Bat for Lashes. There are so many strong female vocalists at the moment I thinkg I’d be pushed for choice.


For your chance to attend one of the gigs organised as part of the winter festival, simply purchase of a bottle of Russian Standard Vodka, and visit www.rsvoriginals.co.uk to either register the on-pack privilege card number or if there is no privilege card on-pack, the bottle’s batch code to become a member of the Russian Standard Vodka Originals programme, which will enable you to enter the draw to win a ticket for you and a friend.