Noisettes Bond With Bloc Party Over Karaoke

Posted on May 8th 2007 1:00PM by Jolie Lash
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London trio the Noisettes are certainly in the running for this month's title of "The Hardest Working Band in Indie Rock." For starters, they recently flew back from Coachella only to embark almost immediately on a series of U.K. dates. And guitarist Dan Smith is using the little time he has before last night's gig in Southeast England, to multi-task -- downing pints and taking a series of spirited questions from Spinner, like which celeb hanger-ons he collected at the recent California music festival.

"It was kind of funny because the whole backstage area was like a trailer park for celebrities," Smith says. "I met Amy Winehouse and Jarvis Cocker, who was literally across the way from us. I like hanging backstage and watching how those kinds of stars behave."

Though he grows silent before divulging any naughty celeb antics, Smith is happy to dish on how his quirky set of rock misfits hooked up with Kele Okereke, whose band Bloc Party is taking the Noisettes on their U.S. tour later this month. "Me and [singer] Shingai met Kele at a party," he says. "Shingai brazenly went up to him and asked him for a gig. We got a tour with them in 2005, and we've been playing a lot together."

In fact, the bond between the two like-minded bands, full of creativity and an uncommon earnestness, grew during a gigging trip a few months ago to Japan. "[Bloc Party drummer] Matt [Tong] likes to sing karaoke and we went to a karaoke bar together," Smith recounts. "He likes to sing 'Wuthering Heights' by Kate Bush. I did 'Close To You' by the Carpenters."

It turns out the karaoke bar is not the only place the Noisettes enjoy a spot of cover action. Just listen to the tune 'Scratch Your Name' from their album, 'What's the Time Mr. Wolf,' as it may employ a bit of experimentation. "Sometimes it works better if you slip in just a really short version of, 'What do you see, you people staring at me' ... 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,'" he laughs. "Shingai likes those kind of songs."