invernessGiGs managed to catch up with Selective Service prior to their gig at Mad Hatters, Inverness on the 28th of April, 2012.
You mention in your Facebook bio that you sound has matured over the past year, can you tell us about the process, and how you see the style of the band developing further?
I think it’s just one of those things that happens when you play together a lot. We never really had a set sound or genre that we had to stick to, from the very time we all met it was very much open minded, and I like that. The stuff we’ve been writing recently is still very much groove based, but maybe a bit more laid back. The groove is the backbone of any song, so it’s important to get that down first. In terms of future development, I guess it’s impossible to say really, we could be an Austro-Hungarian post punk outfit this time next year!
With an obvious 60’s/70’s slant, which bands have the biggest influence on you, and is there any contemporary acts that you would identify as an influences?
Obviously I can only speak for myself here, but there are just so many, it’s hard to narrow it down! I guess the hammond sound comes from a mutual love of the small faces. On the reggae side of things, Bands like Toots & The Maytals, Burning Spear, The Wailers of course, and guys like Horace Andy and Max Romeo – that’s kind of where that influence comes from. We get a lot of people comparing us to The Black Keys, but I only heard them for the first time about a year ago (I think I missed that memo!) but they’re now one of my favourite bands – probably one of the last great rock ‘n’ roll bands we have left!
You’ve recently announced a few dates, what is your preference playing local venues or new venues, and why?
It’s great to play in your home town, but you need to be careful that you don’t overkill it, or else people just get bored. We tend to only play in Glasgow a few times a year, and when we do, we make it a big event. We like to have control over the venue, hand pick the other bands, and even the songs being played between bands. I think it’s important to create the right vibe at a gig, and hopefully introduce people to other bands that we like too. But this can be pretty stressful, so we always enjoy coming out of Glasgow to places like Inverness, Elgin, The Greenside in Fife, as well as the bigger cities like Perth, Dundee & Edinburgh.
Can you tell us your plans to follow up to ‘You Best Believe’ ?
We’re discussing a few different things just now. There are plans for another video, this time an outdoor shoot, we were out on location last weekend actually. We’ve also just finished 2 new tracks at La Chunky in Glasgow so there could be a possible single in the pipeline.
What does 2012 hold for you guys?
We’re heading down to London in April, got some really great gigs planned down there. We will be playing at Death2Disco and This Feeling, 2 of the biggest club nights in the capital, as well as an instore gig at Pretty Green in Covent Garden. We’ve already confirmed a couple of festivals for the summer as well, you really can’t beat that time of year, I just hope the weather is better in 2012!
Which of the band’s tracks best represent you, and why?
Jeez, that’s a tough one. When you have so many different things going on, it’s hard to narrow it down to one track! But I would probably say “You Best Believe”. We used to open with it, but we’re finishing with it these days and it really ends the night on a high. But I’m certain that the new songs we’re introducing at these gigs well end up being just as popular. But that’s the beauty of live music, it’s not up to me or the rest of the band, it’s up to the crowd! That’s why we love Inverness, they know their tunes up there, you can’t dupe them, and when you get it right they let you know, for sure!
Selective Service play Mad Hatters on the 28th of April, 2012.
