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By Laura Nineham
After playing a series of intimate gigs to showcase their new material, the Maccabees returned to Bournemouth for a DJ set at Fat Poppadaddys. I met Hugo and Rupert to discuss the NME awards, Hollyoaks and the last time they played Bournemouth.
The guitarist and bassist from the Maccabees make for interesting DJs; the music they play is faultless. They are the only people I have seen give the Postal Service a spin on the decks. Their technique, however, leaves a little to be desired, often pausing between songs for seconds to switch tunes.
Thankfully, being DJs is just a side project to entertain the boys when they have a break from writing and touring. “We get asked to play our own tunes a lot,” says Rupert, “but I’m not up for that”.
Sat in a radio studio at Southampton’s Student Union, and feeling like an impostor, I ask the boys if they watch Hollyoaks. ‘Toothpaste Kisses’ was used to open the programme a few days before the interview. “I saw that,” says Rupert, “My girlfriend has got me into that. I don’t like the way the song was cut up though”.
The last time the Maccabees were here, they played at the Old Firestation but they can only remember one thing; “Someone had split a bottle of poppers so the whole front of the stage stunk of poppers. That’s all I remember!”
They confirm their name is a biblical reference, but they’re not religious. The Maccabees were a Jewish national liberation movement that won independence. Rupert says the name was chosen, not because of the religious connotations, but because they like the name.
Anyone who saw the NME awards will remember the cringe worthy moment when presenter Matt Horne lead the cameras up the stairs, to where the non-VIPs were sat, and said hello to the Maccabees. The band looked a little uncomfortable at being pointed out, especially when they were on the stage a year ago.
“This is embarrassing,” explains Hugo. “You have to be nominated to sit down there. We’re really bored at the moment because we’re writing. We do like four hours a day and in the evenings there’s nothing to do.”
With that, Hugo spills his Jack Daniels and Coke over the studio floor. A couple of Southampton students start looking for something to clean it up with, and one rushes to get a replacement. “Don’t worry that. I’m more worried about your floor” charms Hugo.
So back to the NME awards. Hugo adds, “It was really embarrassing. We know Matt; he’s lovely. He was trying to be nice to us but it ended up being embarrassing for us.”
After learning I was an out-of-towner the boys give me the number for their taxi driver and I leave them smoking outside the Student’s Union, where they chat with groups of fans, hiding out of the rain.
The Maccabees will be playing Redfest and Get Loaded in the Park this summer. Head to their MySpace to listen to their best song yet, ‘the Real Thing’ which makes ‘Toothpaste Kisses’ sound like a sloppy half-hearted love song.
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