Everyone’s giving Dave Grohl a run for his money these days. First it was Killers drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr releasing a solo album, now it’s not one but two drummers getting busy together: The Futurehead’s stickman Dave Hyde and Neil ‘Beast’ Bassett formerly of The Golden Virgins. Their neatly crafted debut is rammed with mellow psychpop gems that recall both Bolan and The Beatles. Plus they utilise horns. Hyde & Beast’s debut album, ‘Slow Down’, is out now. Hyde leads us through the essentials of the band right now.
The project was an accident.
‘Beast started running a studio in Sunderland three years ago and with The Futureheads being on tour for ages we hadn’t really stayed in contact, but when the band got back home, we started hanging out. I had two songs I’d written a few years ago and I went in with them and I just kept going. He couldn’t get rid of me. Plus I had five months off from The Futureheads and it seemed right to get in there and try something out to keep busy.’
Hyde was actually a guitarist before he was a drummer, but then his big brother Barry came along…
‘I was always messing around on the guitar and then Baz [aka Barry Hyde, The Futureheads singer] became a genius all of a sudden and kind of embarrassed us so I left the guitar alone. I’m just getting back into playing guitar really.’
Rocking out as the frontman does not come naturally to him.
‘Nerve-wracking? Yes! Horrible! But I think I’m getting better. We’ve done five gigs now and I’m starting to look at people. I’m not a rude person, it’s just nerves. I find it so odd to be in the front. Eventually, if we have a little bit more space on stage, I’ll probably just go to the side.’
Neil Bassett is an anagram of ‘Silent Beast’. That’s how he got his name.
‘He’s a beast, like, very tall. He’s hairy, but he’s a friendly beast and he does have a luxurious beard. I’ve stopped growing one now because of him. I’m clean these days.’
The current single is called ‘Never Come Back’ and it’s not autobiographical.
‘It’s about a mental hospital. The “cracker jack” is a nuthouse. It’s about trying to stop yourself ending up there. Lyrics don’t turn us on, it’s the music. You could be singing about bloody vegetable soup for all I care. That might be a good idea. I’ll write that down.’
Funnily enough Hyde is a keen gardener and Beast makes soup.
‘Beast makes an amazing vegetable soup and I like planting things. I used to have quite a big garden but I have a yard now and I don’t have as much space for plants as I would like in my life. Beast doesn’t take my vegetables for his soup, though, he buys them from Morrisons.’
Although it was just the duo in the studio, there are as many as seven musicians onstage when they play live.
‘You think we should all play together in a straight line? That’s not a bad idea actually. I might nick that. Barry plays keys and the tambourine. He’s kind of like my Linda McCartney, which I’ve always wanted deep down. Deciding to work with him was so easy because he’s a great I was actually really, really, really pissed when I asked him. I mean I probably shouldn’t tell you that, but he knows, we joke about it.’
Futureheads fans don’t fret: those Sunderland harmonisers are back this autumn.
‘I’ll be blending and juggling the two bands. Our next Futureheads record is an a capella album called “Rant”. It has no instruments on it at all. The Futureheads is still my priority and it always will be. It means a lot to us. We just thought maybe we should try something completely different. We’re covering quite a few old traditional north-east folk songs. We’re really chuffed with it.’
