Riding Shotgun with Camera Obscura

hen it comes to Camera Obscura, the only question you need ask yourself is this: what's not to love? Adorable, twee songs played by a sextet of adorable Glaswegians has most certainly proven a recipe for success. Drummer extraordinaire Lee Thomson put down the sticks and picked up his computer to answer some questions. See below for Lee's take on Camera Obscura (John Peel! Curry! Oven mitts!), and then make the trek to Baltimore to see Camera Obscura's sweetness and light live at Sonar next Tuesday (August 21).

Touring is: Hard work and fun.

Our first gig was: John, Traceyanne and Gavin playing in a small pub in Glasgow, sans drummer. Luckily, Stuart and Richard from Belle and Sebastian happened to be there and hey presto! Drummer. The current line up performed together in an even smaller pub in London.

Our favorite venue to play is: We have played in some great venues recently; the El Rey in LA springs to mind. The venue we played in Mexico City was stunning. The venue (Polyforum) contained the world's largest mural, amazing! Playing for John Peel on his 65th birthday party in his garden was special, too.

Hygiene on a tour is: Very important to us. Seriously, we are probably THE cleanest band on the planet.

Our favorite thing about touring is: Meeting loads of cool/interesting folks and being able to try all kinds of wacky food. We love to eat.

And the least favorite: Lack of space and not being able to find a good curry (a challenge has been set, my friends).

City with the best audiences: I don't think there is a particular city with THE best audience, some crowds are louder than others in a good way. San Francisco, Toronto, Madrid, and Sydney have all been good to us, so far.

Band member most likely to disappear after a gig: I like to explore after a gig, but a lot of the time our evil tour manager makes us go to bed early.

The tour bus/van smells like: Girls.

Laundry is: a) washed regularly, b) washed irregularly, c) we go shopping a lot: We prefer to wear clean clothes and we also love to shop, like I said, we keep it clean. We always try to spend a little time in thrift/vintage stores.

What's the most unusual item on your rider? Nothing unusual, we're not really excessive that way, as long as the bread is big enough to "work with".

Who controls the music in the touring vehicle? And what are you listening to on this tour? We generally listen to music individually. It seems to serve as a chance to escape, especially when you have little room. On the last tour I listened to a lot of Sonny Rollins, Final Fantasy, Blonde Redhead and Boards Of Canada, amongst others.

Most amusing memory from your current or most recent tour? Waking up somewhere in Northern California with our very young and hyperactive trumpet player jumping all over the hotel room singing a Red Hot Chili Peppers song wearing only his underpants. You'd need to have been there I guess.

Favorite tour activity (other than the gigs themselves): Playing "celebrity look-alikes", the rudest game ever. We once saw a female Iggy Pop in a Spanish supermarket.

Please name the city you wouldn't ever play in again? Or if not a particular city, which venue (if any) would you not mind seeing razed to the ground? For some reason we've played the worst venue in Manchester, England, twice! Someone else please burn Jabez Clegg to the ground.

Apart from the obvious CDs, what's the merch item of yours you think people should shell out for? Our lovely T's. Oven mitts coming soon.

Any pre-gig (or post-gig) rituals? Only if you count shaking, pacing and general sweating.

In how many languages can you swear? Not enough, but I have to say that Scotland is the best country in the world to hear "inventive swearing".

Have you been to the top of the Washington Monument? What does it look like?

What would you like people to be saying about Camera Obscura in 50 years? "They really are the best-looking octogenarian pop band around!"

Who is your favorite Glasgow band (excluding yourselves)? Tough one. Orange Juice, the Pastels, or Teenage Fanclub.

Best place in Glasgow for a pint? The Laurieston Bar on Glasgow's South Side. Looking from the outside, you'd never think you'd leave alive. For fans of old guys' pubs.

How did you enjoy the recording session in Sweden? This was probably the most productive, positive and fun time for us as a band. We were completely focused and happy in our environment with many cool people around us to help. If you've never been to Stockholm, well... you just have to see it for yourself.

Please recite a line of poetry: Some people never go crazy / what truly horrible lives / they must lead.

And finally, it's BigYawn's round. What's your poison? Keep the girls away from the gin. I'll have a whiskey, Irish if you've got it.

Further Camera Obscura-ing can be done here: www.camera-obscura.net and here: www.myspace.com/cameraobscuraband.

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