So you wanna be a pop star?
Matthew ‘Cale’ McHale,
Marsicans Being a pop star is a serious job. You can’t just walk through the door and get started. You need to have a proper interview first. This month’s applicant is Marsicans drummer Matthew ‘Cale’ McHale. The board will see you now.
What can you tell us about yourself?
Hi, I’m Cale. I drum. I named my dog “Hendrix” after the guitarist and recently waxed my shoulders, which is the most painful thing I’ve done.
Why do you want to be a pop star?
So that one day I can follow in Britney’s footsteps and shave my head bald. Also, to own a Boeing 747 like Iron Maiden.
How would your bandmates describe you? Weird, out there, spontaneous, devilishly beautiful, a liar, the hairiest in the band, weird.
What are your best and worst qualities?
Best: Confident and driven.
.Drummers. Will work .for cider. S.
Worst: I occasionally like chilling by myself, which can seem anti-social. Also, swearing (the ‘C’ word).
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
I’ve made some pretty good beer pong shots, scored a hat trick on my debut, lost my virginity... but I suppose the proudest is getting a shit load of kids down to our shows, jumping to our music.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Me and *insert best-looking actress in five years’ time here* have just had a date, looking over *insert best view in five years’ time here*, drinking the finest can of special brew a Yorkshireman can buy from *insert cheapest shop in five years’ time here*.
What is your salary expectation?
Some bloody ciders. You’ve no idea how hard it is to get bloody ciders on the bloody gig rider. I know way more people drink beer but, c’mon, I want my salary to start and end in cider. CIDERRRRRRR. So... when do I start being a pop star? P
Catch Marsicans on Dork’s stage at The Great Escape.
In the know
Alcopop! Records boss Jack Clothier There are always more bands - the biggest question is who do you listen to when it comes to recommendations? Obviously Dork, your new music bible, should be your first port of call, but there are others too. This month, Jack Clothier, the brains behind the most inventive (and fun) label on the planet, Alcopop! Records.
Hello Dork. Your redesign is looking super fly. I’m into it. I’ve been listening to a lot of music recently, which is always a good thing. Top of the pile absolutely must be Nervus, who are about the loveliest people in the world, and spend most of the time decorating my ears with awesome sounds from their new record. I’ve found they segue really well with Frauds when I want some power in the headphones. Imagine a McClusky meets Lenman powerhouse of intelligently put together buzzsawn angular rock and you’re somewhere close. Meanwhile on a gentler tip I’ve gone all head over heels for Kississippi, and
for some reason I’ve taken a leap back several years and keep listening to Sam Isaac’s Bears album. It was out (hang on – just checking Wikipedia) back in 2009, but that was a great year for music all told. Tubelord’s seminal debut came out around then and we’ve just reissued that on vinyl with the original test pressing crumbled into the record [already sold out and probably up for a stack on Discogs] – so perhaps we should do the same with this record? I’m duty bound of course to remind you that this year we’ve released absolutely next level albums from The Spook School (Body), Happy Accidents (Wait it Out) and DZ Deathrays (Shred For Summer) so have, for your delight and convenience, picked an absolute standout track on each album for you to have a listen to (in the brackets). Please check them out, because they’re genuinely all glorious. Final thoughts must go to Pink Kink (‘Bubblebutt’ is a delightfully OTT piece of glitter strewn pop genius), Indoor Pets (because every song they write is a fucking hit, and we like fucking hits) – and Kero Kero Bonito who you can’t help but love. There new stuff is a bit of a departure to what you’d expect and it’s ace. P DOWN WITH BORING
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