Friday May 9, 2008
ym.com > stars > band of the month
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Band of the Month Meet cool bands and listen to their music — free — here.
Band of the Month: Coldplay
Every time I hear Coldplay's "Green Eyes" off of their latest album A Rush of Blood to the Head, I secretly believe Chris Martin is singing to me. Though the boys are painfully cute, it's the band's lyrics I'm obsessed with. Their words are so heart-wrenching (in a good way) and bittersweet, that I wish I could quit my job and follow them around the world. (Listen to some of their MP3s and you'll understand why.) Since that'll probably never happen, I chose them as Band of the Month for January and interviewed bassist Guy Berryman, 25, instead.
What inspired you to learn how to play the bass at 13? G.B.: I got into soul music, which was really bass driven. For some reason there were loads of soul tapes in my house, people like James Brown and Marvin Gay, and I'd put them on and listen to them. I can't put a finger on what I liked about it; it just grabbed me at an early age. It was quite easy for me because if you're passionate about something and have that quiet determination, it comes quickly.
You studied engineering at the University College London, where you met the other three members of Coldplay and formed the band. G.B.: Well if you use the term 'study' loosely, yeah, I did. I was only there for a couple of months then dropped out. I don't think I'll ever go back.
Of all your musical influences whom would you most want to meet? G.B.: I think we're all kind of over the fame thing and don't really get starstruck anymore. But I'm lucky enough to have met James Brown. I watched him play at a festival in Japan. It was cool. I just sort of said hi and had him sign stuff for me.
Justin Timberlake said on MTV.com that you guys are the modern day Beatles and he would love to do a duet with Chris Martin, Coldplay's lead singer. What do you think about that? G.B.: I'm very flattered obviously, but there's no hope in hell of that ever happening. We're not really interested in collaborating [with anyone] at all.
What's it like to always be playing songs full of so much melancholy? G.B.: I think it's difficult to continuously play any kind of music. We do a lot of shows and we're performing the same songs every night and it's hard if we're tired to be enthusiastic and passionate about playing. That's a challenge any band has to face. It's just a mental thing, you just have to kick yourself. You have to say to yourself, Well look at the job that we've got and how lucky we are to be here. Once you start thinking like that then it usually comes pretty easy.
What are your fans like? Are they crazy? G.B.: No, not really. We've got a few people that show up in every state and they'll be outside the back door. But I can't complain about things like that because it just means that people are passionate about us.
Have you ever had a horribly embarrassing moment onstage? G.B.: I can't think of any, but if I rack my brain hard enough I could probably think of something I didn't want to tell you!
Do you have a reputation in the band? G.B.: I'm probably the band idiot because I'm usually staying up late and going out late and doing stupid things.
Are you going to play music and tour for the rest of your life? G.B.: I want to play and record music until we've reached a peak then not go any further. In terms of moving up, I think we've still got a long way to go. As far as playing music forever, I think I probably will be doing something in a musical way forever.
Do you have any other interests besides music, though? G.B.: No, because if you want to be the best, you've got to kind of take it as a full-time occupation. It doesn't really leave a lot of time for anything else. So during time off, I usually go on holiday with my girlfriend or family. But I'm always buying CDs and musical equipment and listening to music and reading musical biographies. It's what I'm all about really.
How has being in the band and becoming famous affected your life? G.B.: I demand higher expectations of hotels because I spend so much time in them. If you go there for holiday and the service is bad, then you kind of forget. But if you're in a hotel for 10 months out of 12, then you want to be looked after. We haven't become prima donnas, but you want to be comfortable when you're traveling around.
So is there anything really annoying about being a celebrity? G.B.: I'm kind of reluctant to complain about my life seeing as so many people would love to be in this position. I hate when you see people in bands, who are successful, complain and whine, because they usually have an extremely luxurious lifestyle. So I love my job, and I wouldn't do that.
To feed more of your Coldplay addiction, listen to their MP3s here or visit them at www.coldplay.com.
