NEWS
EVENTS
In Conversation: Dexters
Indie | Thursday 13th June 2013 | James
Dexters are Tom Rowlett (vocals), Chris Heggie (guitars, backing vocals), Ben Debo (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jamie Harris (bass) and Chris Mardon (drums). Established in 2011, they have toured the UK with high-profile outfits such as Happy Mondays, The Courteeners, Miles Kane, The View and Glasvegas as well as having their debut single ‘Recover’ sell out in merely two hours when it was released on 7-inch. The track was placed on XFM’s Evening Playlist with NME declaring it a “high energy guitar anthem” whilst The Sun called their sound reminiscent of The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys.
We spoke to lead singer Tom Rowlett ahead of their show next week at London’s KOKO. The frontman, who grew up in Hoxton, chatted to us about the state of current music, how their high-profile support slots have helped the band and their plans for a debut album.
Hi Tom, how did the band come about?
“We had all been mates for a while beforehand actually. We had all tried to do various other projects but I think it’s fair to say none of our hearts were in it. We didn’t give it our all or anything. One day we just decided to meet up and give it a go and write some songs. We started taking it seriously and Dexters came out of it.”
Your debut single ‘Recover’ is one of the most accessible and catchy debut singles of the year. It sold out in two hours when it was released on 7-inch. What do you think makes your music resonate with people?
“It all goes back to our choruses I think. People want and need bands who are going to be passionate and hit those choruses hard and that is what we try to do. We give them sing-along anthems with substance. Our lyrics actually mean something and they clearly connect. Too many bands don’t say what they feel or think but we try to.”
Who do you see your audience as?
“Predominantly indie kids I’d say. That’s not to be exclusive, though. We have people from all walks of life coming up to us after gigs and our audience seems quite diverse. We have people coming up to us who don’t necessarily enjoy this genre of music but have been won over by us and that’s nice.”
How important is guitar music to British culture? There seems to be a resurgence in great British guitar music this year.
“British guitar music has always just been the absolute best. It may not have been at the forefront of culture over the past few years but Britain always need a new band to come right through and smash it, you know? Sometimes it may get some negative stigma but all the other music genres seem to pass. They seem to be fads. If guitar music wasn’t popular then we would still play it definitely.”
You grew up in Hoxton. How special is London to you?
“I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else! I’ve been to New York and other places briefly but London is the only place for me. I loved growing up in Hoxton. It’s multi-cultural and has taught me a lot. We love getting around the UK and seeing various other towns and cities but London will always be home and it’s the best place for us.”
You are set to take the stage at KOKO on Friday 21 June. How important is playing live to your band?
“Playing live is the best thing about being in the band. I love studios and recording and also writing the music. But that said, there’s nothing better than playing it live. We can’t wait to play KOKO. We have dreams that one day we will a big enough band to sell that place out and I think we definitely will. The crowd is always drunk and going for it. The first time people ever crowd-surfed at our gigs was at KOKO.
A lot of bands seem to be doing things the other way around these days. They make music on their laptops and get loads of songs before they have even learned how to tour. You’ve got to get out there and get experience of playing live. We do it the old school way to try and learn and better ourselves. You need that experience of playing live because it teaches you how to adjust when things go wrong. And believe me, things do go wrong!”
As a youngster and teenager, which songwriters did you admire?
“When I was younger I got massively into The Clash. Joe Strummer was a huge influence and his songwriting is great. I also love The La’s. I was massively influenced by British music and its songwriters. My aim with Dexters was to channel The Clash’s aggression with the melodies of Lee Mavers. Later on, obviously The Strokes were huge so I got into them and they were another important factor in our sound.”
You’ve had support slots with a whole host of brilliant bands. How did those support slots help Dexters grow?
“The greatest thing about those support slots is that you look at these great bands and think “that can be us”, you know? All the bands we have supported have been great. The Courteeners were a lovely bunch of boys. They would always check if we had enough beers and looked after us. It’s nice supporting these bands because we’ve met some of our heroes and they’ve totally lived up to our expectations.”
Which 3 things do you think all new bands need?
“Well, the most important one is obviously songs. They need to have a lot of very strong songs. Too
many bands have no songs or only one or two, but a debut album needs to be packed full of singles. After you’ve delivered that then you’ve earned the right to go off to the desert and experiment and discover wah-wah pedals.
You’ve also got to be yourself. You take a look at some bands these days and you know in an instant that they are uncomfortable on-stage and trying to pass themselves off as something they are clearly not. A lot of bands seem to fake it. I’d say you’ve got to have a talent for playing live, too. Playing live is where you grow and learn. It’s also where you can attract a fanbase. Bands don’t make money off single sales, they make money by playing gigs to people who love them enough to pay to see them.”
What music excites you right now?
“I think Peace are great. They seem to be growing and growing. I love Splashh, too. They are from London like us but we haven’t played with them yet. I saw them support Palma Violets and they are another great new British band. There seems to be a great young crop of British talent. There’s no shortage of great bands and music seems to be in a healthy state.”
Your follow-up single ‘Start to Run’ is released soon. What can we expect from that release?
“It sums us up as a band, really. We’ve got great support from Absolute Radio and 6 Music. It’s just a catchy indie rock song with a big chorus that sums up who we are and we hope people like it.”
Can you tell us about your plans for a debut record.
“The songs are there. The songs are written. I’m always writing songs. I’ll sit around all week writing songs and every week sees us growing. The longer we leave the debut record the better it will be. We want to build our fanbase naturally by touring and playing a lot of shows. If I had to put a tentative release date on it I would say that it’ll be out at the end of this year or the start of 2014 at the very latest. We want to put an EP out with a new single after we’ve released ‘Start to Run’.”
Thanks, Tom. See you at KOKO.
Cheers mate. Take care.
Dexters are set to play KOKO on June 21.
By James Rodger @jamesdrodger
