Formed in the summer of 2009, their gigs since last December have propelled The Neon Tigers into the upper tier of ‘most loved’ local bands. Frontman Rich Peacock has previously had his fair share of local adoration with Clams, we grabbed some of his time to quiz him on both bands, other music and make-up…

Q. Congratulations on getting through to the semi-finals of this year’s Dorset Music Awards with The Neon Tigers. How important is the competition to you and which particular potential prize do you have your eyes on!?

A. Really pleased to have got through, if we did reach the finals then our eyes would definitely be on the festival slot prizes! We’d love to play to a festival audience, I think it would be a great experience.

Q. Considering The Neon Tigers have only been playing for a matter of months there’s already a huge buzz around the band. Has this almost immediate local success and recognition surprised you?

A. It has been surprising. We’re still a new band so we’re really pleased that we’re getting a good reaction to the music early on.

Q. Your debut gig at The Winchester went down a storm. That must have been a buzz, huh? Could you hear the gasps from the audience when you de-robed and strapped on your double-necked Gibson?

A. That was an exciting gig, we were really pleased with the reaction we got. De-robed sounds very sexual but I did feel the need to strip off my shirt and get the beast out as it were! The double-neck is a poor man’s Gibson (called Bluerock? never heard of em’ before!) and it used to belong to a guy who played in an Eagles tribute band. I saw it for sale on ebay one night when I had a little too much to drink and just had to have it!

Q. Clearly your time with Clams has given you a head start as far as getting The Neon Tigers up and running quickly, the other guys in the band have all been in previous bands too. Was there any initial negativity from Clams fans, with The Neon Tigers not being ‘Clams’ enough?

A. Not really, there has been a really good reaction from Clams fans, even people I thought would hate it have surprised me by turning up to Tigers gigs. I’m sure there are people who prefer one to the other but they are two very different beasts!

Q. The Neon Tigers musically come from a similar era to Clams, but the sound is quite different. Is this due to your musical tastes changing, and how would you describe the main musical differences between the bands?

A. I think the main difference between the two bands is the way in which the songs are formed. With Clams the songs are fairly heavy and riff based and with the Tigers it’s a more melodic sound. The fact that the piano is used for most of the Tigers’ set means it instantly has a different overall sound to that of Clams. I think it’s refreshing to write songs on a different instrument and it leads to different sounding songs.

Q. Are your future expectations with this band different to how they were with Clams? What are you looking to achieve and what would you call success in a couple of year’s time?

A. I really hope the Tigers do well. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have the cliched, massively ambitious dreams of playing huge shows, but at the moment I’m having such a good time playing in this band that anything else is a bonus. Some bands opt to shy away from that kind of dreamy ambition but I think everyone in this band wants to take things as far as they can but all the while having a good time! Clams wanted the same things too, but I think we hid our ambition under riffs! If Tigers had recordings out there and tours under their belt in a couple of years then we’d be very happy bunnies.

Q. It seems like The Tigers put a lot of thought and emphasis on the ‘performance’, as well as the songs. Who decides your wardrobe and make-up!? It’s the wife-to-be, right? What’s your thought behind this look?

A. We like to make an effort! I stole Victoria’s makeup one day and started shovelling it on! The Tigers sound is quite theatrical so we wanted the look to compliment the music. We’re gradually collecting stage outfits from various dodgy online shops, but there’s a certain amount of D.I.Y. invloved too. Gary (Tigers bass player) has recently bought a boilersuit and dyed it purple, he’s sticking glow in the dark moons and stars onto it at this very moment!

Q. If you could choose your ultimate supergroup to play with, who would they be?

A.
Vocals – David Bowie
Guitar – Josh Homme
Bass – Jack Bruce
Drums – John Bonham
Keys – Jerry Lee Lewis

Q. What other local singers, musicians and bands do you admire? Apart from those you’ve played with

A. I dont get in to Bournemouth to see bands as much as i’d like but there are some great bands about. I love The C-30s, they’ve got loads of energy and I really liked The Wooden Pigs when I saw them a while back.

Q. What are your thoughts on the local scene in general? How has it changed over the last five years?

A. The local scene is good and varied at the moment. I think there are a lot of new bands cropping up which keeps things fresh. People are craving live music and want to be entertained, it’s a shame about the venue closures in recent years but there always has been and always will be an alternative that springs up.

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