(MUSE) Dominic Howard interview - PURE

Pure

2015

Q: Hello Dominic!

DOMINIC: Hello, how are you? 

Q: Fine, and you?

DOMINIC: Doing good, thanks. 

Q: What's your feeling just before going on stage?

DOMINIC: Ummm....dunno...well, you know, a bit of uhh, like...normally a little bit nervous. You know, you're kind of like...uh...excited, a bit nervous. You know, you have a bit of a weird feeling. I suppose it's kind of like a weird build up of energy, that you then go on stage and then kind of release within the first few songs, so...um, you know...excitement mostly.    

Q: Mostly? It has been a long time since you have played in a small venue in front of a small audience, uhh, what is your feeling about that? 

DOMINIC: Uh, it's an amazing feeling, actually. Actually, we've been lucky this year, because we've played in quite a few smaller venues as well as like doing the bigger festival stuff this summer as well. But, um, playing in smaller venues its awesome. It's a different kind of energy. It's much more intense. It's kind of...

Q: Intense? 

DOMINIC: Yeah, it's more kind of a sweaty, kind of rock gig, you know, in a smaller venue. And it's um...it's much more about, the music really, rather than a big show, or a big production. So, it's a very different feeling, and it's a different, you know, type of energy you get from the audience as well, because you can really see the faces. You know, I mean, they can see us, and we can see them, so there is a different type of connection. So the big shows, I mean, the big shows are also amazing. Like, the stadiums and festivals, because it's very overwhelming and it's such a big celebration, but I think in the smaller venues I think it's maybe kind of more fun, because it's more just like a fun party. 

(The interviewer translates everything into rapid French)

DOMINIC: Great translation.

Q: You understand French?

DOMINIC: Uhhh...a little...yeah...a very small amount. I could kind of get, you know, got the gist of what you were talking about. 

Q: So it's a good translation? 

DOMINIC: Yeah. It was good. 

(Q LAUGHS)

DOMINIC: Very energetic

Q: After sixteen years, or seventeen years of touring (?)...something like that...

DOMINIC: Yeah, well...sixteen, I suppose this September...yeah, now, it's probably like sixteen years from when the first album came out, Showbiz.  

Q: Are you still surprised with the love from the audience? With authority(?) and stuff like that?

DOMINIC: Um, yeah. No. Absolutely. I mean, it's amazing we're still (laughs) here like making music, and playing to people who enjoy it, and it's um, great. You know, it's you know, the audiences have always been you know, just great for us it seems. You know, the very kind of...just, the people who do like it, who are really into it, and you know we just ultimately enjoy making music ourselves, so...um, I don't know...the feeling...the feeling is the same as how it used to be when we first started, you know. 

Q: Really?

DOMINIC: Yeah, it can still be as equally exciting, and fun. And, um, like I said, have immense amounts of energy attached to it, particularly the shows, so we're...as long as we're kind of enjoying ourselves making music, I don't see why we won't go on making another seven albums (laughs) I think we have done seven now, so I kind of feel like we have to do ten. I think before we did six, uh, we done like three, maybe four, and I was like, 'We have to do six', because six to me was a good amount. But now we've done seven...

Q: Why six? 

DOMINIC: I don't know. Just in my mind it was always like that was a solid amount of albums, but now we've done over six and we've done seven, we have to do ten. So, we might do ten and it will be like, "Well, fifteen". We'll see.  

Q: The last question, on Saturday you will play in Beijing, in China, in the first step of your Asian tour, and then South America. Do you still like this travel lifestyle and stuff like that?

DOMINIC: Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah, we still love touring. Still love travelling, and um, we're going to China for the first time. We've never been there before, so I mean it's going to be interesting to go to a place we've never been, and try and learn some things about the cities and culture. Be exciting. But, um, yeah. We love travelling. We still do, you know. We, uh...it's great...you know, we...fortunately, and unfortunately...we get to travel a lot. Unfortunately, sometimes we only spend a little bit of time in each city, but because we do a lot of it, over time we can gradually get to know cities.

Q: Merci beaucoup, Dominic!

DOMINIC: Merci.