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EXCLUSIVE: Royal Blood on ‘being on holiday’ as a band, plans for 10th anniversary release and favorite Jo Bro
Ahead of a packed Lollapalooza show at Mahalaxmi Racecourse, Royal Blood spoke in an exclusive chat with us about their experience and plans in India. Read on for more.
Lollapalooza India 2024 announced its lineup and there sat the popular British rock pairing called Royal Blood. Cut to a couple of months later on a particularly hot day, mere hours before their debut set in Mumbai, Ben Thatcher and Mike Kerr sit across from me in all-black looks, fist bumping everyone in the room and intricate tattoos leading our first meet.
The younger one takes on the role of the spokesperson for most of our chat, meanwhile, the quiet drummer hides away behind block sunglasses, probably readying himself for a full house of crowd enchantment that would soon follow. Albeit brief, the conversation with Royal Blood had its perks because how long after Mike Kerr stares with his twinkling blue eyes do you realize it’s only been 10 minutes? Jokes aside- actually no you cannot keep aside any jokes- as the two would take every chance to crack one up and go on to send a message to any waiting fans, and especially the Jo Bros who they wished to pop in for a chat with next. Lollapalooza India 2024, with BookMyShow, saw Royal Blood in their true colors, wowing fans of rock.
In conversation with Royal Blood
Soon as they sit down, the two give off a calm aura, much unlike their music which screams multiple emotions at you. It’s Ben Thatcher’s first time in the country and Mike Kerr’s second after a visit 15 years ago, they are in good spirits saying, “This is a big moment for us. It’s our first-ever show in India.”
A soon approaching decade since the release of their self-titled debut album, Mike Kerr says that 10 years is a long time creatively, “We were in our early twenties. It feels like a lot has changed. It’s quite a dramatic decade in your life whether you’re a musician, artist, or not. It doesn’t really matter. We’ll probably look back from where we began and there are things that we recognise as things we’ve maintained about in our music. In the same breadth, a lot’s evolved.”
Talking about a 10th-anniversary album the duo reveals that they’re working on that, planning a few shows around the date. The concept of their impending release is said to be around the same as their debut record. What’s special this time around, however, is Ben Thatcher’s plans for a fireworks show. The 35-year-old says it’ll be a decade’s worth of fireworks going along with the music.
Speaking about their last release, studio album Back to the Water Below, Mike Kerr dishes, “I think we’re always following our inspiration and more times than not that means you have to go somewhere you have to go somewhere you haven’t really been before. I think being in a band should be like being in an adventure. It’s like when you go on a vacation, it’s quite easy to go back somewhere you’ve already been before ‘cause there’s safety and comfort when really the more fun option is going someplace you’ve never been before and explore something new. Being in a band is like kind of being on a holiday all the time.”
He compares the feeling of playing out to a crowd as a dessert at the end of a meal and everything else like having to eat your vegetables.
With the start of the year, and a celebration of a decade together coming up soon Mike Kerr’s plans involve being able to pull off 100 press-ups (push-ups) in a row. Poking fun at fellow bandmate Ben Thatcher remarks how he’s halfway there and it’s only the start of the year.
Going around the world, bringing their ongoing tour to South America next, the pair is excited to bring a resounding end to this campaign and soon start on another one.
What Indian food did Royal Blood enjoy?
Talking about their Mumbai visit for Lollapalooza India, the two had a fun time trying out some local butter chicken which seemed to be too spicy for Mr. Thatcher and just the norm for the heat-lover beside him.
“All of the pressure is on us. We just want people to enjoy themselves and everyone enjoys themselves in different types of ways,” says Mike Kerr about performing in India for the first time. He goes on say, “I don’t even know if we have any fans here. I’ll gonna find out later on, see if there are any Royal Blood T-shirts or anyone that knows our songs because we’ve never been here.”
Ending off on another hilarious note, as Mike Kerr picks his favorite Jonas Brother to be Nick, Ben Thatcher reminds him how the Camp Rock star can do 100 press-ups. Well until Mr.Kerr can fulfill his 2024 goal and come back to India for their next tour, we’ll keep our eyes peeled for the dynamic duo.
ALSO READ: Eric Nam, The Rose, and more at Lollapalooza India 2024: Know dates, artist lineup, other details
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