This month, Matt from The Amazons runs the gauntlet of our random, stupid queries.
Hello. How are you?
Good thanks. Been at home for a couple of days after a long tour.
What have you been up to today?
I’ve been watching a lot of music documentaries in my room with the curtains shut. 8 Days A Week and Gimme Danger are great.
Tell us a secret about yourself?
This almost never happened. I got accepted to a Medieval History course at Winchester University and didn’t drop out till the last minute.
What was the first record you bought?
‘Hybrid Theory’ by Linkin Park. I played it very loud in my bedroom pretty much every day I got home from school. My dad sat me down and asked me why I thought the singers were angry.
What’s your biggest accomplishment?
So far, releasing the album this year.
When’s your birthday?
22nd November. We spent it this year in Paris on tour; it was wild.
What strength Nandos sauce do you order?
Started on Lemon and Herb but I’ve been steadily turning up the heat in the last year. I think I could handle the dizzy heights of Medium now.
Which defunct band would you most like to reform?
None really. I love when bands don’t reform and don’t try to recreate the magic. A one-off show like Led Zeppelin at The O2 is okay. It’s just never the same. Let it be.
What is your earliest memory?
Dancing around the living room with my mum singing along to music. Everything from Springsteen to Simply Red.
You have to support either U2 or Red Hot Chili Peppers on tour. Who do you pick?
Extremely hard decision. Love both bands a lot. I’ll pick the Red Hot Chili Peppers purely because one of my first ever shows was them at the Madejski Stadium in Reading.
How tall are you?
6 foot 2 I believe.
How punk are you out of ten?
I literally just finished the Iggy Pop doc ‘Gimme Danger’, and I like to feel like one of the characters after I watch these kinds of films, so I’m feeling a good 7.
If you could have a super power of your choosing, what would it be?
Not sure it’s a ‘super power’ but to be instantly fluent in every language would be very useful.
What did you last dream about?
The world ending. Trying to remember the specifics but it’s the feeling of helplessness that is coming back strong.
Have you ever fallen over onstage?
Yes. A good friend of ours Phoebe Fox got it all on video too. It was at the Boilerroom in Guildford, and I was right at the front of the stage, in front of the monitors. I stepped back and tripped over one of them. I turned it into a kind of roll though, got up, took my guitar off and stage dived into the crowd. I felt at the time I made it look kind of natural, but watching it back, I really didn’t.
Which band do you feel is criminally underappreciated?
I always listen to this band Aphrodite’s Child and their song ‘The Four Horsemen’ and just can’t believe more people haven’t heard it.
What was your favourite subject at school?
History. Music was cool too just later on when we use the equipment and do more of our own thing.
What’s your biggest fear?
Death.
Have you ever won anything?
We won an award from ASCAP a couple of months back. That was probably the first like ‘trophy’ I’d ever won. It was called the Vanguard Award, and we shared it with Dua Lipa. The Most Promising Musician award at school went to a guy who later drummed in the army.
What’s the most impressive thing you can cook?
My housemate taught me how to make vegan banana bread. It’s delicious AND ethical.
Do you believe in aliens?
Who doesn’t? The universe is so vast it would be strange if there was nothing else out there.
Have you got any secret tattoos?
Not yet…
The Amazons tour the UK from 1st February. Taken from the February issue of Dork, out now.