D-bar open mic night sees record 43 renditions of ‘Hey There Delilah’
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Jonathan Cridford interviews…
Caligula’s Jockstrap Of late we have seen a renaissance in lo-fi culture; by which
we refer to highly intellectual, solitary undergraduates locked away in their rooms, recording music on makeshift instruments. Inspired by the writings of J.D. Salinger and a surly, unrelenting grip on estrangement, Caligula’s Jockstrap are grouchy, overly-literate troupe slowly taking over the local music scene. From behind a shower-curtain, LP interviews members Dominic Charter and George Kelly. Your name is certainly original. How did it come about? Kelly: It was a joke between me and me really. It’s quite meaningful in its own way. You’ve been inspired by Salinger’s ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ I believe?
made the high-hat sound by whistling into a paper cup and the bass drum sound by smashing my head on my bed post repeatedly. There are no lyrics on this record…
Charter: Personally rather than musically; people never notice anything, I spend a lot of time in my room. ‘The Great Gatsby’ definitely affected me, it taught me a lot about being miserable for no reason.
Charter: Communicating to others is not a strong point. My first girlfriend went on holiday to Cornwall and I took two trains and a bus to ring and see if she got there safely, that informed a lot of the keyboard parts.
Your music doesn’t fit into one distinct category. Is it true you just invent genres to sound impressive?
There are some attempts at humour on the record, was it difficult to break the old routine?
Charter: Really…I wouldn’t say it’s hard to define. I would say we’re akin to post-minimal-hardcore-no-wave-dream-pop; it’s a new sound we’re creating.
Kelly: Humour…that’s an interesting concept – I like the idea of it more than I actually like it. ‘Gee Whiz Guys…but the World is a Chore’ saw us dealing with notions of positivity and joyousness, which until recently, were completely alien to us. It was nice to experiment.
The percussion is interesting on this release, could you elaborate on that? *sighs* Kelly: Well, I knew everyone in my school, not through popularity, but close-proximity demographics. There was a girl in my English class whom could tap-dance; I set up a Panasonic tape recorder in the sports hall with an extension chord and recorded her feet. I sampled it on a mini moog I bought at a car boot sale, Singles out this week I’m Running A Bit Late, Please Bear With Me – You Me At Roughly Quarter Past Eight Berkshire Blues - We’d Rather Not Offend You As We’re Really Quite Pleasant, Yes? Apocalyptic Indigestion – Jimmy Eat World How To Build Yourself A Cupboard Of Sadness – Nine Inch Nails CMe2NiTe4LuV – We’re Not Scientists, We’re Bad Lyricists
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Any final comments? Charter, Kelly: Yes, you’re not a typical music fan. You’ve got long hair, a tan and a t-shirt saying ‘PLUG IN, ROCK OUT’. For example, where are your Woody Allen glasses, your reindeer jumper, and your book of introspective poetry, why aren’t you boasting about the classics you’ve read? It’s all wrong. Albums out at some point in time Redundant in Summer – Snow Patrol Third Time Lucky – Plan C Who Framed Dick Dastardly? – The Pigeon Detectives The Seldom Seen Body Part – Ankle We Only Sound Good Because The Media Tells You So - Placebo Valhalla is a Discotheque - Norse Hula Dubstep Horses ft. WonderElk
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