Hyde & BeastFrom: Sunderland, United Kingdom
Mackem drummers Dave Hyde (Futureheads) and Neil Bassett (The Golden Virgins) have teamed up to form Hyde & Beast. They've taken time out from superceding the legacy of the bands from which they came to chew the virtual fat with the Devil and share their love of insane Ethiopian & Cambodian records from the 70's, their feather and glue fetishes and the kharmic impact of the letter 'f'.
The Devil : Why Hyde & Beast
Neil : Hyde little, Beast big
The Devil : What other names did you ponder before deciding it had to be Hyde & Beast?
Dave : I think we just kept the very first idea which was "Hyde & Beast". The height of laziness really. But the name made us laugh a little and it seemed applicable, so why waste your whole fucking life thinking of other ones !
The Devil : Who are the biggest influences in your life and on your music?
Dave : Food, Family, Fun, Feathers, Flowers all the F's really for me. As far as musically I own a record player that plays records at weird speeds so it doesnt really matter what vinyl I am playing as it all sounds mad ! But I do like playing vinyls by Slim Harpo, Van Morrison, Tom Petty & The heartbreakers. Neil spends his time listening to insane Ethiopian & Cambodian records from the 70's. Some of it is quite nerve jangling !
The Devil : What was the first record you owned and what was the first record you ever bought with your own money?
Dave : The first record I owned was Louis Armstrong live at Carnegie Hall. Not sure who bought me that or why, but I'm pretty sure that when Louis gets interviewed between the songs on the record he sounds like a Geordie.
Neil : I can remember buying Queens greatest hits when I was younger. I was enchanted by the falsetto voices in Bohemian Rhapsody & equally embarrassed by the words "Fat bottomed girls" in the song Fat Bottomed Girls (I was a very shy young man and easily embarrassed ! !)
The Devil : What makes Hyde & Beast stand out from the millions of other bands across the world? What makes you unique?
Hyde & Beast : We spent 3 hours in an enclosed space glueing feathers to a bass drum skin to come up with the artwork for our album. The glue made us a little light headed but the results were pretty mad. Looked like a stained glass window. I'm pretty sure not many other bands have done this.
The Devil: Which bands or artists on the current music scene make your spine tingle with joy?
Neil : There aint a lot of modern music that we listen to really but I have time to listen to Sleigh Bells, Colourmusic & White Denim. Oh, I also like what I've heard from Ganglians, we are playing just before them at Split Festival in Sunderland so I am sure I will get to hear more. Most of our favourite songs though, were recorded between 1958 & 1977 !!
The Devil : Favourite song?
Neil : I only have eyes for you : The Flamingo's. I don’t really know why, I just like it. I think it’s the beautiful angelic voices and the simple 1 note piano. It’s warm like being in a womb. Safe, comfortable, drowsy, sleepy. Feed me.
The Devil : Favourite book?
Neil : I really enjoyed "The book thief" by Markus Zusak. I can't really remember much about it now apart from it is a novel that is narrated by Death and that it was sad & beautiful in equal measures
The Devil : Favourite Movie?
Dave : Definitely not "Enter the void". It made my eyes water. "Time Bandits" I guess would be it. Very VERY trippy.
The Devil : Favourite word?
Dave : locket
Neil : Moss (maybe we should have called the band Moss Locket)
The Devil : Tell me something that you've never told anyone before.
Neil : I don't really dance in public, but I sometimes do at home and I secretly think that I may be the best dancer in Sunderland. A great answer from a great dancer.
The Devil : If you weren't in Hyde & Beast how would you keep yourself occupied?
Neil : Well, I run a recording studio and do sound for bands at gigs in Sunderland and I can often be found creating and making huge pans of soup. I am a big fan of making soup. And I'm VERY good at it. Dave obviously is very busy with the Futureheads and when he isn’t touring he is a bit of a green fingered bugger and can be found planting what he refers to as "Jungle plants" in his garden.
The Devil : If you were interviewing yourself what would your killer question be and how would you answer it?
Neil : That question itself is a killer question. Therefore my killer question would be : If you were interviewing yourself what would your killer question be and how would you answer it?And I suppose I would answer it with : That question itself is a killer question. Therefore my killer question would be :
The Devil : Is there anything else you'd like to tell the Devil Has The Best Tuna readers?
Neil : keep on truckin'.Oh, also you can get a free pretty little song we done by going to www.hydeandbeast.co.uk
Dave : hmmm not as yet but I'm thinking about it.
Go Try
Hyde & Beast 'Pictures In The Sky' by Generator
Go Visit
Hyde & Beast - Facebook : Website
Go View
Hyde & Beast
Pictures In The Sky