Rock and Pop: Interview - Two Door Cinema Club frontman Alex Trimble
Published: 3 March, 2011
by ROISIN GADELRAB
Two Door Cinema Club frontman Alex Trimble sounds weary. Polite, but weary.
The Northern Ireland trio returned from Tokyo the day before speaking to Grooves after a six-week tour.
But for now, Alex has allowed us to disturb precious time with his girlfriend, to discuss keeping healthy, his debt to Kanye West and handling groupies.
Two Door returned from the Far East with a selection of very personal souvenirs.
Alex says: “It can be a lot more quiet and more mental. I guess it’s more extreme. The (fans) are kind and polite and bring us presents. We got drawings of ourselves, caricatures, which are a bit strange, some chocolates with our faces on them and a lot of socks – strange but quite cool.”
The band have created new material from snatched soundcheck jams and notes on the road and Alex expects some of this to make its debut at the Roundhouse on March 12.
There are no outrageous demands on their rider, although lettuce may be deemed contrary to the rules of rock ’n’ roll.
Alex says: “I’m vegetarian so I get very picky – there have to be healthy things. If we don’t say that we end up with bread and cheese so there’s a lot of veg. Being healthy is important when you have such a hectic schedule.
“At the start, when we were a smaller band, we didn’t carry the weight to get what we needed and ended up living on crisps and bread. We were in a terrible way, always tired and never got anything done, but it’s getting easier.”
Alex has learned from touring with heroes Phoenix, the importance of keeping the band’s friendship, which can be tested when trapped in a tour bus.
“You all need your own space” he says. “You can always get into your bunk, put your headphones on and zone out from the rest of the world.”
Kanye West posted their first music video for I Can Talk on his blog.
Alex says: “We were an unknown band, and for such a famous person to give us that press – did so much for us, thousands of people heard of us after that – so many liked us up on Facebook and followed us on Twitter after that. That was a really big thing for us.”
And, Grooves can reveal, Two Door have rented a house in Glasgow, where they will record the next album. “We’ve got a lot of connections in Glasgow, it’s always a place we loved,” says Alex.
And his tip for handling groupies? “There’s a lot of attention, a lot of groupie-esque propositions. We’re always happy to talk to fans, but as soon as it gets a bit more heavy we make our excuses.”