Enjoy Destroy.
BY KELDA MANLEY.
Enjoy Destroy frontman Freddie is busy discussing the joys of the British Travelodge. After the Hampshire quartet released their debut EP ‘Little Dreams’ early last year they have been touring and travelling almost constantly.
‘Going from like Lancaster Travelodge to another Travelodge to Travelodge to Travelodge’ he laughs. ‘In Europe we stay at different hotels but in England we just get deals with Travelodge so every night after a gig we stay in a Travelodge and the rooms are exactly the same. It’s kind of freaky. I remember once we stayed in a Holiday Inn rather than a Travelodge and when we woke up we were really scared because the scenery was different, we weren’t used to the different colour soap. It was horrible.’
The bands dislike of their tour accommodation in the UK is in stark contrast to their trips abroad. ‘We’ve done two big European tours now, one with Staind and one with Alterbridge and it’s just insane’ grins Freddie. ‘Every time we get to go to Europe we get to rent an awesome bus with TV’s and playstations. You turn up at these awesome venues, like 2000 capacity venues, supporting these bands and it’s just crazy. There’s all this amazing food backstage and tons of beer and the crowds go crazy as well. So much fun.’
Not to suggest that the band dislike playing on home turf. It’s simply that when faced with the prospect of playing to thousands or to hundreds it would be a simple choice for anyone. ‘We played massive venues and we just picked up lots of fans really quickly [in Europe]’ explains the frontman ‘and I think if you play in Germany the crowd just gets really excited because you’re a foreign bands they like you ten times more than they would a German band. So I think if we play Munich now we’ll probably have more people turn up than if we played in London.’
Since their emergence Enjoy Destroy have been attracting attention all over the UK and Europe. They’ve secured support slots with various different bands including Reuben, The Subways, Julliette and the Licks, Elliot Minor and picked up a mixture of fans along the way. ‘It’s kind of weird. Especially with Elliot Minor’ remembers Freddie. ‘Even though the crowds were big and really going for it [they were] filled with really young girls and for a long time afterwards all our MySpace whatever and coming to our gigs we just had loads of really young girls. I think that may have scared some people away [that there] were coming to watch a rock band, they walk through the door and there is just loads of really young girls there.’
Shortly before the Elliot Minor tour the foursome toured with metal band Alterbridge which led to a rather strange meeting of fans. ‘I remember in Bristol we had a big bunch of little fifteen year old girls coming in dressed in neon clothes or whatever and then we had a big bunch of 35 year old motorbike riding guys coming after them’ laughs Freddie. ‘It was just really weird seeing all these random people we’d picked up on random tours. As long as they’re listening to you it’s cool.’
Freddie is not completely sure why the band have had such success so early in their career but believes their live show is definitely one of the draws. ‘We’re not one of those bands, partly because we’re not very good at talking, but one of the bands who cracks jokes and chats loads between songs’ explains Freddie. ‘We just get on with it, play well. Not in a moody sense, not in a sense that the band are just too cool to say anything. We try and interact with the crowd but not by speaking I suppose. We just kind of go for it and have a good time.’
The band are, equally, not fans of loud and obtrusive fans. ‘It’s kind of annoying’ Freddie admits. ‘Like last night I went to see Razorlight at the O2 and I was in like row Z and then these bloody women got up in front of me and started dancing. It was so annoying. Firstly you can’t dance and “ARGH! What are you doing?” Like when I’m at a gig I just stand there with my arms folded and watch the band. I don’t go there to dance or talk to people I just go there to listen to music. Maybe that’s what more people should do.’
While Freddie’s annoyance at dancing is nothing compared to his frustration with some fans inconsiderate nature. ‘When we played with Staind on tour when they did an encore the singer came out and played an acoustic by himself’ he recalls. ‘Just him and an acoustic guitar. Like no microphones, no ampliphers, no anything. The entire crowd had to be dead silent to hear him and you’ve still got people talking and shouting out things that they thought were hilarious. People should respect the bands by not shouting.’
It seems the behaviour of fans is not the only thing on Enjoy Destroys mind. Like many bands they worry about the disintegrating music industry around them. ‘It’s weird because if you just listen to the radio and watch TV you wouldn’t know there was a rock scene at all’ explains Freddie. ‘Like when you go to rock gigs and festivals and things, the number of people who go to rock festivals is crazy but there is a bit of a crisis but especially looking at the Reading festival line-up this summer. It used to be like a rock festival now it’s sort of a NME, Radio1 type festival . It’s all light, soft rock Indie bands playing, it’s not what it used to be.’
Not that Enjoy Destroy are worrying about it. With mature heads on young shoulders the foursome are ready to take on whatever comes their way. ‘I think as long as we keep getting bigger and better [we’ll be happy]’ grins Freddie ‘and as soon as it stops being fun then we don’t carry on I suppose. That’s the philosophy.’
17 May: The Joiners SOUTHAMPTON, South
19 May: The Fighting Cocks KINGSTON
20 May: South of the Border 18+ LONDON
22 May: Rock City Basement 14+ NOTTINGHAM, Midlands
30 May: Boileroom GUILDFORD
1 June: Kasbah COVENTRY
Check out Enjoy Destroy or ticket details HERE
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