The Heavy Perform Live on the Interface

Posted on Aug 27th 2010 10:00AM by Melinda Newman

Collin Erie for AOL

For many people, their first introduction to the Heavy's music was the image of several stuffed animals living it up to the British neo-soul band's ultra-funky 'How You Like Me Now?' in a Kia Sorrento Super Bowl commercial.

Not surprisingly, some more ardent fans have now felt compelled to prove their love for the Heavy by bringing the band puppets to sign. "It's just like, 'OK, this is mad, but let's go with it'," said guitarist Dan Taylor during the band's recent Interface taping in Los Angeles.

Luckily, one concertgoer, Tom Waits, saw no such need to bring such adornments -- his presence alone was enough. "He was at our show in San Francisco [with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings] in San Francisco," Taylor said. "We were sitting on the bus and [drummer] Chris Ellul came in, gone white. He just had this look of terror, and he's like, 'Tom Waits is downstairs, Tom Waits is downstairs.' And we're just like, 'yeah ...'"

Ellul spoke the truth. The band, which also includes bassist Spencer Page and vocalist Kelvin Swaby, decided to go backstage and get a visual on Waits. "I just wanted to look at him. I didn't want to say anything -- just to kind of reaffirm that he was there," Taylor said. "Kelv went to speak to him. By all accounts, he really enjoyed the show. And it was just an incredible experience because he's had such a profound influence on everything I do and we do."

Watch the Heavy on the Interface

Download the Heavy Songs | Buy the Heavy Albums