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For Kasabian this has been a year to remember: a Mercury nomination, a Q Award for their number one album ‘West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum’ and a return to the Championship for their beloved Leicester City. A time then for songwriter and elegant style icon Serge Pizzorno to reflect and rest on some metaphorical laurels? Not a bit of it:
“This is it where it starts man,” he exclaims. “This is it where it all kicks off. Playing a stadium tour is just the beginning for us and I don’t want this to be the peak – there’s work to be done!”
As a band Kasabian are becoming known for their cocksure arrogance but on the eve of the aforementioned stadium tour it’s hardly surprising that they’re brim full of the swagger and confidence that attracted so many people to their mentors Oasis.
“I’m not scared at all about playing arenas but it’s a difficult thing – you’ve got to be careful. They’re big buildings so you’ve got to put on a show but also keep the vibe going. I think it gives us more of a chance to do everything bigger – make it a real psychedelic trip. It will be a beautiful show.”
Serge is surprised when I tell him about the recent crowd trouble at Liverpool’s Echo Arena which saw Morrissey leave the stage after being hit by a plastic pint glass. For a band that seems to revel in debauched beer-soaked gigs, he has a surprising sympathy for the indie icon:
“I know how he feels man. I needed six stitches in my forehead after being hit with a bottle up in Glasgow. I wanted to get back out there but there was a doctor there who said I really shouldn’t.”
“Personally I’d always want the show to go on but I’m not gonna tell Morrissey what to do – he’s a 50 year old bloke and didn’t he have a heart attack recently?” (Morrissey actually collapsed due to ‘breathing difficulties’ on stage last month)
“We have shows that are pure chaos but what I don’t understand is why you’d queue up for 3 hours to get a pint and then throw it? Why not just drink it?”
Rumours that Kasabian’s gig at the Echo Arena might even be ‘dry’ are also given short shrift by Serge: “I’m not having that – it’s wrong to ban drinking at a gig. I think there’d be more trouble caused by banning beer to be honest.”
All this talk of lager and stitches does little to dispel the belief that Kasabian are merely lad rock staples, fortuitously stepping into the gap left by Oasis and before them, the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays. Outspoken singer Tom Meighan hardly helps nor do the sort of headlines that have seen both the NME and The Sun proclaim the band the biggest in the UK.
It’s a problem that the self-aware Serge seems sensitive to. As the band’s songwriter he’s taken Kasabian into various uncharted waters on their latest album, with obscure prog, gypsy violins and hip hop producer Dan The Automater all present in ‘West Ryder’’s enjoyable mix.
“We’re certainly not pub rock or just a lads’ band,” counters Serge. “You could play Status Quo stuff by us and it would blow their minds. Anyone with any nous could see the shows and realise there’s more to it than that.”
“We never actually said we were the biggest band in the UK but what we did say is that now with Oasis splitting up, there aren’t many proper rock n roll bands left. Can you name one?”
The question’s clearly rhetorical because Serge is in full flow now: “There are only us and the Arctic Monkeys. All the rest of them have released shit albums or didn’t care enough in the first place.”
Not caring is something you certainly can’t accuse Pizzorno of. As he chats passionately about his love of kraut rock or his memories of playing Liverpool University when the band were just starting out, you get the impression that Serge is above all a music fan – perhaps this is why the band provoke such rabid support and why thankfully he doesn’t seem to have an opinion on X Factor or the current ‘Jedward’ controversy.
“It goes over my head to be honest – I’ve no interest whatever. It’s for kids and I know my sister’s kids swear by it so why should I have an opinion? When they get older I’ll play them some Hendrix or some Amon Duul – that’s my job!”
At this point I can’t help but ask the football mad Serge his opinions on Liverpool FC’s current woes. Again there’s a typically committed response:
“It’s the manager man. They’ve got to sack him. Liverpool should get Martin O’Neill (current Aston Villa boss and very successful former Leicester City manager) – he’s a great bloke and a friend of ours. He’s come to see us before and it was one of my proudest moments man. I’m sure he’d come here – when you hear that crowd singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ it just does something to your soul.”
A similar atmosphere at the Echo Arena next week isn’t totally out of the question. Just don’t throw any pints OK?
Kasabian play the Liverpool Echo Arena on Mon 16th Nov