PT: For the uninitiated, please give us a brief history of Mybe the band ?
Mybe: We got together sometime in late 1995 and played the local circuit for a few years. In ’99 we somehow fell on our arses and got a sponsorship deal from a local businessman who thought it would be good idea to blow about £20,000 on
us. Obviously we didn’t mind too much and managed to kit our selves out with new gear, recorded our second ep ‘The Shite Album’ and had a month long tour in France. After that, things seemed to move on nicely. We got a manager, started playing about 120 gigs a year, nearly signed to various labels and generally spread the word (and man mess) of Mybe around the country. Last year we were lucky enough to sign to On the Road records who had seen us play in London. We’re now promoting our debut full length album ‘Small Man Syndrome’
PT: How would you describe your sound to someone yet to hear you?
Mybe: Probably as a big bowl of energy, with a slab of freshly sliced Derbyshire punk, served with an elegantly prepared side crescent of rock.
PT: Which artists influence your sound?
Mybe: The Wildhearts have always been a firm favorite, they’re probably one of the most underrated bands ever. Other than that, The Living End, Supergrass, Muse, 3 Colours Red (the early stuff), A and The Bloodhound Gang.
PT: Why on earth did you call yourself Mybe?
Mybe: Because ‘The Beatles’ was already taken.
PT: How do you guys write songs?
Mybe: Erm, it’s usually a pretty long winded process. Jim tends to write the basic song then we take it to the rehearsal room and try and make it sound good. When we have a bunch of new songs, we’ll go to the studio and do some live demos, then go back to the practice rooms and try and sort out any problem bits (or re-write the song). As for the lyrics, that usually involves Jim, a bottle of white lightning (preferable vintage 2004), some cheap porn and a dictionary.
PT: Why name the album ‘Small Man Syndrome’?
Mybe: Two reasons: 1. We are small (in height, not in cock size. Our penis’s are of adequate size). 2. ‘St Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band’ was already taken.
PT:Who came up with the description ‘Pop punk Wankers’ and do you still feel it suits the band?
Mybe: After spending the last 10 minutes trying to blame each other for that one, we’ve come to the conclusion that God came up with it. Only he could be so articulate. As to whether it still suits the band, well, we do play some punky stuff that is a bit poppy sometimes and we are wankers so…no it doesn’t.
PT: What are your plans for 2005?Any further releases?
Mybe: The album is in the shops from the 7th of February and that will be backed up with a co-headline tour with none other than Richard and Judy’s favorite bitches ‘Route 215’. Gawd bless ‘em. We’ve also started messing about with some new material but I wouldn’t expect to here any of that for a while. Were talking to quite a few people about various things but, as always, we’ve gotta keep quite for now (mainly cos it’ll all fall through and we’ll look like cocks). Oh yeah, and we’ve just finished a video for our debut single Too Stupid to Care, which will hopefully make it on to Scuzz and the like. It’s a sort of Evil Dead homage ( ie low budget and bad acting) and kind of spooky. Wooooooooo.
PT: If you could cover one (and only one) song from the 80’s, what would it be and why?
Mybe: Bros – When will I be famous? We chose this cos we often ask ourselves the same question.
PT: Who are you favorite small men and why?
Mybe: R2D2 (lovely figure) , Steven Hawkin (he’s so cute), Michael J Fox ( watch him shudder with rage when you call him Chicken), The Umpah Lumpahs (they’re like miniature David Dickinson’s), The Cast of Willow (they look like kids, but really quite old. A pedophiles dream), the psychic of Poltergeist (she’s like a small, shriveled fruit) and finally, The Munchkins (there just little bastards).
PT: Busted or fightstar?
Mybe: Busted, for two reasons, 1. They had the decency to split up 2. Charlie in Busted is much sexier than that trout faced cunt of a singer in Fightstar.
PT: If you came across a magic lamp and found a genie, what would you wish for if you had three wishes?
Mybe: Well funnily enough, this happened just the other week so there is no need to answer this question hypothetically. We asked for: 1. Busted to split up 2. For Charlie to start a fantastic emo band that will light up or dull lives. 3. For them all to die in a horrendous accident involving some form of face melting acid. In the words of fat rock/opera singer Meat Loaf, “2 out of 3 aint bad”.
PT: Any extra messages?
Mybe: Our new album ‘Small Man Syndrome’ will protect you against various evil beasts and radiation. It’s available from all good records stores from Mon 7th Feb – and can be ordered online now from MVC, Amazon and Virgin Megastores.