The Hives come out with fighting talk

"We said we were only gonna make three records and then quit. But we're just too good at what we do...as long as there's no band that's better than us we just have to continue" - Chris Dangerous

Sound Generator's Matt Sheret managed to catch The Hives' Chris Dangerous for a few words on the patio outside of Hoxton Bar and Kitchen before their show last week. The intense drummer talked about recording the new album and all things Hives, while sporting the bands new look: Black school-uniform style blazers with black and white striped ties and H embroidered emblems.


How have you been the last few days Chris?
It's been great, a bit turbulent though..

Why's that?
Our sound guy called in sick about two hours after he was supposed to be here. We got a dude who'd great, but we had to make about 500 telephone calls to get him.

Wow. Has it been that kind of mad dash throughout the last couple of days?
Throughout the last six months actually.

Why did you choose to play the play these low-key gigs here and at the 100 Club as opposed to Brixton Academy or somewhere that size?
It's kind of nice here isn't it? Besides we've played Brixton Academy three times. It's good you know, we'll got our clothes worn in and it's a chance to play some show that will be remembered as some great fucking shows.

Every report that came from last night was just smiles and excitement
Yeah, that was sort-of the idea!

So is everything done and recorded now or is this testing out that new material?
No no no, we've been recording for a long fucking time, so we've got songs enough to make a triple CD. But we're mixing it at the moment. We've got monitors set up at the hotel so we can listen to mixes all the time and quickly get feedback to the label America, so there will be a record and it will probably be out in October.

Tyrannosaurus Hives was out on Interscope too, was it weird jumping to the majors?
No, I mean we got fucked by our previous label, so now we know we're dealing with people who like to make money and they don't pretend that they're not. plus they're great people and they obviously like our band a great deal, so I don't really see a downside. There's no such thing as independent music to me. There used to be but I don't think there is anymore.

What do you mean by that?
I guess I mean that we're the kind of band that never expected to become anything and never expected to make money or be able to not have a [day] job and stuff... Of course there are indie bands and stuff, but it doesn't fucking matter to me at all, as long as it's good, you know? As long as it's good it's good, and you can release it on your mom's label or Universal Music, it doesn't matter.

So, back to the new album, what was the approach to this one? I know you've recorded around the world now.
Yeah, well, we've been everywhere but I guess the first records that we did we had a very definite plan for them, and we also said we were only gonna make three records and then quit. But we're just too fucking good at what we do, no band has beaten us, so as long as there's no band that's better than us at what we do we just have to continue. So this record is us just doing everything we got offered to do. We worked with Pharrell Williams because he told us he wanted to in Japan four years ago so we said "Let's do it! Let's get produced, let's record in America with a bunch of different guys and see what comes out of it." We're sort of opening up a bit, I guess, to what we're interested in, people we're interested in."

You've got a reputation for lives shows that are chaotic, and vicious, and exciting, was that ever something you deliberately decided you'd do?
Yeah, yeah, I mean when we started playing in the 90s grunge had been a big thing, and I cannot even invent a more boring live set than watching people in ugly clothes staring at their feet and trying to look hurt. Fuck it, I've got better things do do with my time than that. Music is supposed to make an impression on people...

(Chris pauses here for 8 seconds that, in the hubub of Hoxton Bar and Kitchen, seem an eternity. When he starts talking again he has a look so intense I thought he might punch me. Instead he says...)

It's supposed to be a show, that's what it's supposed to be, you're supposed to feel like you've been blown away, you're supposed to feel like you've been beaten up, that's what it's supposed to feel like. That's how we want people to feel like when they walk out from one of our show. We're entertainers. That's what we do.