British rockers The Hoosiers, hailing from Reading (pronounced "Redding"), Berkshire, have finally made it to the big time after 10 years....
Flying high ... Berkshire rockers The Hoosiers
By JACQUI SWIFT
04 Oct 2007
The Sun
THE HOOSIERS are:
IRWIN SPARKES: Vocals/Guitar
MARTIN SKARENDAHL: Bass
ALFONSO SHARLANDO: Drums
The Hoosiers' debut album The Trick To Life was released on 22d October 2007
LISTENING to the Hoosiers’ quirky, feel-good pop you would never guess they came through ten years of misfortune before they became one of 2007’s biggest pop sensations.
Their high-spirited, catchy singles have won them plenty of fans. Debut single Worried About Ray was a No5 hit and spent eight weeks in the Top Ten while forthcoming single Goodbye Mr A, is already all over the radio and looks likely to chart even higher.
But their fun attitude masks a story of bad luck and frustration, including a terrifying car smash and failed football careers.
Singer and guitarist Irwin Sparkes says: “It’s taken a decade of travelling, including a stint in America, plus a scary crash that has led us to where we are now.
“If we were successful back then, it would never have lasted as we were too young and needed the bad luck to give us experiences for our songwriting.”
Irwin and drummer Alfonso Sharlando first met in Berkshire as part of a covers band which played Radiohead, Oasis and Blur songs in pubs.
But, says Irwin, 26, when they started writing their own music they were “a load of rubbish.”
“We’d met playing covers but when we started songwriting together we were too serious about making it and it wasn’t very good. It wasn’t right. We just didn’t have anything to say.”
After getting a record deal as part of former band, Myst, they embarked on a tour around Spain that ended in disaster before it had even started.
Irwin explains: “We were ten minutes away from our first gig when we were involved in an 80mph crash. The van tipped over, then exploded but luckily we didn’t get injured or even break a guitar string.
“But it was a turning point for us. We realised we had been taking things too seriously. And what a crap band name we had!”
It was when Irwin and Al moved to the US, after winning football scholarships at the University of Indianapolis, that things started to happen.
He says: “We didn’t get anywhere with the football but it was still an amazing experience. We saw a lot and met fantastic people and started to write better songs.
"We came up with the band name Hoosiers — the name for people native to the US state of Indiana.”
Returning home to the UK their fate was sealed when they met bassist Martin Skarendahl.
“Everything slotted into place. Our old bass player had quit the very morning we met him.”
Now The Hoosiers’ ethos is all about having fun — which sometimes includes dressing up as superhero characters and skeletons.
Irwin says: “We want to have as much fun as we can. The first time the head of our record label came to see how the album was progressing, he arrived to find us in the car park dressed up as skeletons. It was something to relieve the boredom of being in a studio for months.”
But Irwin stresses that though they like to fool around, when it comes to their music they take it very seriously.
“Our reputation for daft costumes has been blown out of proportion. We’ve only done it a few times and we are very keen on our music. In interviews we can be silly, but many of our lyrics are quite serious. Our music is adult pop.”
Irwin says anyone who sees The Hoosiers as gimmicky will be surprised when their album, Trick To Life, is out next month.
He says: “We have our own eccentric style that comes from not trying to follow any fashions. We’ve always been unfashionable.
“I remember being in a studio in east London, and every other band in there was trying to sound like The Libertines. We’ve always been into melodies and that’s why we’ve sometimes been compared to The Feeling. But I’m looking forward to getting the album out because there’s so much variety on it.
“The rest of the album doesn’t really sound like our first two singles. Tracks like A Sadness Runs Through Him and Run Rabbit Run are more melancholic, written from a sad perspective and have been compared to Jeff Buckley and Radiohead.
“There’s so much more to our music that’s yet to be heard. We’ve taken a decade to get to this point but I would never complain. It’s been worth the very long wait.”
*********************************************************************
I HEAR THE HOOSIERS are more worried about where they will sleep than their mate Ray at the moment.
The band may have reached the Top 5 with their debut single "Worried About Ray", but they’re still so skint they can’t afford the rent. Singer IRWIN SPARKES has been kipping on a couch in West London in between touring. He told me: “It’s true ? we haven’t got any money yet and I had nowhere to stay.
“My mate lives in a vicarage in Shepherd’s Bush and he lets me sleep there. I hope to get my own place before long. I am fed up of sleeping on the sofa.”
thesun.co.uk
Flying high ... Berkshire rockers The Hoosiers
By JACQUI SWIFT
04 Oct 2007
The Sun
THE HOOSIERS are:
IRWIN SPARKES: Vocals/Guitar
MARTIN SKARENDAHL: Bass
ALFONSO SHARLANDO: Drums
The Hoosiers' debut album The Trick To Life was released on 22d October 2007
LISTENING to the Hoosiers’ quirky, feel-good pop you would never guess they came through ten years of misfortune before they became one of 2007’s biggest pop sensations.
Their high-spirited, catchy singles have won them plenty of fans. Debut single Worried About Ray was a No5 hit and spent eight weeks in the Top Ten while forthcoming single Goodbye Mr A, is already all over the radio and looks likely to chart even higher.
But their fun attitude masks a story of bad luck and frustration, including a terrifying car smash and failed football careers.
Singer and guitarist Irwin Sparkes says: “It’s taken a decade of travelling, including a stint in America, plus a scary crash that has led us to where we are now.
“If we were successful back then, it would never have lasted as we were too young and needed the bad luck to give us experiences for our songwriting.”
Irwin and drummer Alfonso Sharlando first met in Berkshire as part of a covers band which played Radiohead, Oasis and Blur songs in pubs.
But, says Irwin, 26, when they started writing their own music they were “a load of rubbish.”
“We’d met playing covers but when we started songwriting together we were too serious about making it and it wasn’t very good. It wasn’t right. We just didn’t have anything to say.”
After getting a record deal as part of former band, Myst, they embarked on a tour around Spain that ended in disaster before it had even started.
Irwin explains: “We were ten minutes away from our first gig when we were involved in an 80mph crash. The van tipped over, then exploded but luckily we didn’t get injured or even break a guitar string.
“But it was a turning point for us. We realised we had been taking things too seriously. And what a crap band name we had!”
It was when Irwin and Al moved to the US, after winning football scholarships at the University of Indianapolis, that things started to happen.
He says: “We didn’t get anywhere with the football but it was still an amazing experience. We saw a lot and met fantastic people and started to write better songs.
"We came up with the band name Hoosiers — the name for people native to the US state of Indiana.”
Returning home to the UK their fate was sealed when they met bassist Martin Skarendahl.
“Everything slotted into place. Our old bass player had quit the very morning we met him.”
Now The Hoosiers’ ethos is all about having fun — which sometimes includes dressing up as superhero characters and skeletons.
Irwin says: “We want to have as much fun as we can. The first time the head of our record label came to see how the album was progressing, he arrived to find us in the car park dressed up as skeletons. It was something to relieve the boredom of being in a studio for months.”
But Irwin stresses that though they like to fool around, when it comes to their music they take it very seriously.
“Our reputation for daft costumes has been blown out of proportion. We’ve only done it a few times and we are very keen on our music. In interviews we can be silly, but many of our lyrics are quite serious. Our music is adult pop.”
Irwin says anyone who sees The Hoosiers as gimmicky will be surprised when their album, Trick To Life, is out next month.
He says: “We have our own eccentric style that comes from not trying to follow any fashions. We’ve always been unfashionable.
“I remember being in a studio in east London, and every other band in there was trying to sound like The Libertines. We’ve always been into melodies and that’s why we’ve sometimes been compared to The Feeling. But I’m looking forward to getting the album out because there’s so much variety on it.
“The rest of the album doesn’t really sound like our first two singles. Tracks like A Sadness Runs Through Him and Run Rabbit Run are more melancholic, written from a sad perspective and have been compared to Jeff Buckley and Radiohead.
“There’s so much more to our music that’s yet to be heard. We’ve taken a decade to get to this point but I would never complain. It’s been worth the very long wait.”
*********************************************************************
I HEAR THE HOOSIERS are more worried about where they will sleep than their mate Ray at the moment.
The band may have reached the Top 5 with their debut single "Worried About Ray", but they’re still so skint they can’t afford the rent. Singer IRWIN SPARKES has been kipping on a couch in West London in between touring. He told me: “It’s true ? we haven’t got any money yet and I had nowhere to stay.
“My mate lives in a vicarage in Shepherd’s Bush and he lets me sleep there. I hope to get my own place before long. I am fed up of sleeping on the sofa.”
thesun.co.uk
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