Interview: The Mighty Lemon Drops

I spoke with Keith, drummer for The Mighty Lemon Drops, on the phone before their St. Paul show on February 6th. Here’s what he had to say:

SLUG: Could you give me a little background information on the band first? I don’t know a lot about you guys.

Keith: Yeah, sure. The actual center of the whole thing…I suppose it all started really with David and Paul—that’s our guitarist and singer. [They] went to school together in Wolverhampton, which is in the Midlands of England. And they met myself and our original bass player, Tony, through going to the same clubs, you know — clubs where the bands played and whatever. You know we were at clubs, and we’d be watching bands and we just decided to form our own. And it all took off from there. We played a few local gigs and then went on to play some gigs elsewhere. Then we signed to Chrysalis Record Company in Britain and Warner/Reprise in America, and things just went from there — our first album, Happy Head, and from there on to various tours and whatever. So everything’s been a gradual sort of thing. It’s all gone gradually that way. There was no real original “master plan.”

SLUG: But it’s worked out real well for you?

Keith: It has, yeah. Definitely

SLUG: “Inside Out” got a lot of airplay.

Keith: Yeah, that’s the song that I think most people know.

SLUG: But it was Happy Head that turned me on to you.

Keith: Yeah, Happy Head. Just the week after the last one came out, I played the three in chronological order, and I think if we were in the studio now recording Happy Head we could probably play better than we did before, but it just sort of captures our sound at that time.

 SLUG: So, where did you get your name from?

Keith: Well, it was the bass player, Tony, actually. We never could work out how his mind worked. We don’t know where it came from. But I’ve been asked that question so often over the last few years I really should have made a clever story up, but I’m afraid I haven’t.

SLUG: The new album’s called Laughter? The new single’s been getting a lot of airplay.

Keith: There’s “Into The Heart,” and that’s the first single. And the latest one off the album is called “Where Do We Go From Heaven.”

SLUG: Good stuff.

Keith: Thank you. “Where Do We Go From Heaven” is my favorite track on the album. I’ve always had one favorite from each, and on this album…it’s that one.

SLUG: How’s the album going?

Keith: It’s doing really well, particularly since we started touring.

SLUG: And how many shows are you doing in the States?

Keith: Originally, we were going to do about 70, but it looks like about 90 now. It’s really a trip. We’ve got the same number of shows left as we thought we had when we first came out. We finish it in May.

SLUG: So America’s treated you pretty well?

Keith: Oh, definitely. Yeah, we all couldn’t wait to get back here. We did the British tour after the album and played a few dates to get ready for the big tour.

SLUG: You’re not homesick or anything?

Keith: No, not yet.

SLUG: That’s good.

Keith: Actually it’s kind of like being back home. We’re playing most of the places a second time.

SLUG: Do you have anything to say to the people in Provo?

Keith: Well, Just come to the show and I hope you enjoy yourselves.

Here are some more music interviews to read:
Just Don’t Give a Fuck So Much: Form of Rocket’s Tape Release
Not Just a Local Rapper: An Interview with Enzo