PAUL: “You were originally called Lassie Come Home, then changed to Not Katies. Why
the change of name, and how did you come across your present moniker?”
DAVE: “We kind of had to change the name. Some venues were like “we really like
your music, but the name is just bad.” Add to this the fact that we were probably in line for a major law suit from 20th Century Fox, it had to go. The new name was the result of much word play, arguments and stupid suggestions, in the end it just stuck.”

PAUL: “You are all from the Southampton area, what is the local scene like down on the south coast?”
DAVE: “It’s got a good scene with a lot of people involved. There’s some really good bands, there is a lot of ska-punk bands, but I think that’s pretty much the same for any area at the moment-kids love the trumpets! There’s been some great bands coming through recently also, such as New
Found Glory, The Movielife, Gameface and The Ataris. All in all it’s pretty cool.”

PAUL: “You’ve recently signed to Deck Cheese, how did that come about and how have you been finding life as a signed band?”
DAVE: “Basically, we sent out a copy of our first cd out to Vanilla Pod and Steve, the guitarist, got back to us saying that he really liked it. So then we started sending out cds to various labels in Britain and the US and Deck Cheese got back to us saying they would review it, and that they wanted to
come and see us play. So, when we got a gig with Capdown in the summer of 2001, they came down and showed us the review, which was awesome. As a result we stayed in contact over the next 6 months and they got us some good gigs, and eventually they said that they wanted to release our music. It was a godsend really, because they are some the nicest people you could meet and are so supportive. Plus, they’ve been amongst the scene for ages, so they really know what they are doing. Also, they run Big Cheese magazine (which kicks the shit out of Kerrang!) so you know that they are going to give you great promotion straight off.”

PAUL: “You’ve released three EP’s so far, are there any plans for a full-lengther in the pipeline?”
DAVE: “I think Deck Cheese are planning to release a new e.p or a split sometime in July. So after that, we’ll see what happens. I hope that we can probably start working towards an album in the autumn. That would be ace.”

PAUL: “It seems popular for so called ‘punks’ to slag off people that like mainstream
bands like New Found Glory and Blink 182. What school of thought do you belong to, are those kind of bands ‘sellouts’ or do they merely make some rocking music?”
DAVE: “Me, personally, I couldn’t give two shits about those so called ‘punks’. So what if a band is successful? Does that devalue their music because more people are going to hear it? I don’t think it does. I started a band because I wanted to, the fact that people like it is cool. However, this
has no influence on my songwriting, when I pick up a guitar – I write what I want to hear and like. I’m sure its the same for Blink and NFG. They write the music that they love, it’s as simple as that. If a band has great songs and a lot of heart, then I don’t care if they’re successful or not.”

PAUL: “I notice on your website (www.notkaties.com) that you’re currently listening
to The Starting Line latest EP. Pretty good, huh? Especially the cheesy cover of Starship’s ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now’. So, what cheesy 80’s cover
would the Not Katies consider doing and why?”
DAVE: “I think the Starting Line are great. We were luky enough to hear the demos of them and Finch in March last year, cos Richard Reines, the owner of Drive Thru invited us to play our CD – I can’t wait for their album. We have and still do toy with the idea of a cheesy 80’s cover. I don’t know what we’d do though, we can’t really agree on one at the moment. I really like that song at the end of the Karate Kid you know, when they are all fighting in
that tournament, it goes: “You’re the best, around, No-ones gonna ever take you down” that’s cool, i’d like to do that. As I said, it’s hard convincing the others. I think that we may cover a couple of older punk songs in the near future, maybe some Bad Religon and Lifetime stuff.”

PAUL: “I also noticed your love of Weezer. What do you think of The Green Album compared to their previous two releases?”
DAVE: “I think that Pinkerton is their best album. It’s got better songs and it’s more of a grower than the other two, which are very immediate. The Green Album has got some really great songs on it, but I think the album sounds too polished. In a way, they are one of the most frustrating bands around because they seem real lazy, always cancelling tours and stuff.”

PAUL: “You’ve just toured with The Movielife in the UK. How did that go?”
DAVE: “Well, we only played one date, but those guys are the coolest band we have ever played with. We’re all big fans so the fact that we got to share a dressing room and hang out with them was the best. They are all really nice and take the time to talk to you, rather than just listening and thinking about something else. I would love to tour with them, that would rule. We played well on the night, and it made such a change not to play with a ska band. It seems like we gained a whole new fan base as well, because people haven’t stopped emailing saying how cool they thought we were and how much they liked our band. I could never have imagined that we would get that kind of response from our hometown.”

PAUL: “On the subject of touring, which band that you’ve played with have been the nicest guys and which band have been the craziest?”
DAVE: “I think I may have got a bit ahead of myself on these questions. We haven’t really played with anyone that crazy yet, although its something I look forward to. Having said that, we just played our second headline show in Wincester last night, with Phinius Gage and Poindexter, and whilst they weren’t crazy themselves, some of the people in the audience were. There was this guy called Lex and it was his birthday and he was completely fucked-every few minutes he lost control of his legs and just fall down. Very strange.”

PAUL: “What do the band have planned for 2002? Any further tours/festivals in the bag?”
DAVE: “We got a few gigs coming up, one at the verge in London with Fletcher in March and one with the Four Foot Fingers in Wycombe. No tours yet because me, Luke and Rich are still at school, we’ve only got a few months left before we graduate so we may as well stick it out. I hope that we will be doing some kind of tour in the summer to support our release. That’s the aim anyway. Actually we were talking last with Phinius Gage and we may do some kind of mini tour with them.”

PAUL: “If you weren’t in the band right now, what the hell would you, and the other three guys, be doing instead?”
DAVE: “God knows! You see, I came to uni to a) escape the prospect of full-time work and b) to form a band. I’m really glad it’s worked out as planned because I don’t know what else i could do! I’d imagine it would probably involve music. I’d like my own label, so something along those lines.”

PAUL: “If you could be one of the other members of the band for a day, who would you be and what would you do?”
DAVE: “That’s a good question! I’d probably be Rich as I was a bit of a frustrated
frontman in my youth. I always used to pose in the mirror with my guitar, singing into a broom pretending to be Billie Joe from Green Day, so i’d like
the chance to make the dream real! I’d probably suck mind you…”

PAUL: “Finally, if Hollywood decided to make Not Katies: The Movie, which four actors would they get to play the band, and why?”
DAVE: “I’d like Corey Feldman to play me as he hasn’t done anything in ages and I think he’s pretty cool. Maybe Ralph Machio to play Rich, just because he needs a break too. I think it would would funny if the guy who played Gary in Byker Grove was Luke because right now he’s about the only actor I can think of with long hair. And Ewan? Possibly Kevin Bacon…or maybe Stringbean from Pugwall’s band the Orange Organics.”

PAUL: “Any shout outs or random words you want to share with us?”
DAVE: “NOT KATIES = PUNKTASTIC (or words to that effect)”