Keane is an alternative rock band that has sold over 10 million albums worldwide. "Is It Any Wonder" that the members would play in Chicago with their new album, Night Train? Windy City Times talked with Tom Chaplin, a straight chap who was recently on the cover of England's Gay Times.
Windy City Times: It's the Tom and Jerry show today!
Tom Chaplin: Yes. I still tired from last night in New York City.
WCT: I just got back from New York. Where did you go?
TC: We hung out in the East Village, actually. It was me, Tim Rice-Oxley and Jesse Quin, who just joined the band. It is a phenomenal place to go out. You kind of forget what a great city it is.
WCT: How did the members of Keane meet?
TC: I really don't remember, actually. It was such a long time ago. We are unique in a lot of ways because many bands are made up of brothers and family members. We are not related to each other but we have known each other since we were really small kids. Tim's mom and dad met mine before I was even born. We go back a really long way. We grew up in a small town and had all the same dreams as every other kid. We wanted to be in a band and be like our heroes. We didn't lose our dream. It became more important to us as we got older, instead of it passing us by.
WCT: Did you take voice lessons for that huge range of yours?
TC: I did, actually. I think I have always had that element to my voice. I had a big range, even when I was kid. I loved singing and performing on stage. I really think it was kind of innate. You can't keep it held up inside. Even when I four or five years old I was in school productions. There is no one musical in family. In my teenage years I had a few lessons. The most important lesson was singing in clubs and pubs to learn my trade there.
WCT: I have listened to all of your albums. On the new one I like the track "Looking Back." It has a Rocky theme-song vibe to it.
TC: It literally has a Rocky vibe to it. [ Laughs ] When Tim wrote that song he was pretty excited and said he had a brilliant riff that he had written. [ Sings the chorus ] We told him that was the Rocky riff and it hadn't dawned on him that he hadn't written a new riff but had ripped off an old one! We loved it and it was such an infectious riff to use, we just thought it would be perfect. We got permission to use the tune. As a song it works incredibly well.
WCT: Do you write any of the lyrics, or is it mainly Tim?
TC: Tim usually starts out with a small idea. Then we go in the studio and try to work something out. That is the way things go with Keane. We try to flesh stuff out in the studio and rehearsal. One of the great things about the songs we did with K'naan [ a Somali-Canadian rapper/poet ] is that they were really unfinished. It was quite a process where did a lot of work in the studio and was quite spontaneous. The songs came together as we recorded them, which is quite unusual, I suppose.
WCT: For your Chicago show the lead singer from the group Travis, Fran Healy, is opening for you. Would you ever want a solo career?
TC: [ Chuckles ] I don't really know. I do write songs and I would like an outlet for that. It doesn't preoccupy me at the moment. As a band we are at such a good place. We are full of inspiration and excitement for what we do. There seems to be a great demand for the music at the moment. It would be strange to deviate from that course. I could see it happening one day but I am not making any big plans.
WCT: People can find out about the group at keanemusic.com, correct?
TC: Yeah, a pretty cool website, I might add. We are proud of it and the fans who help run it. It has turned into a massive thing. When we started out websites we just a token effort but has become a central part of who we are. We are constantly updating it and most days there is something new that goes up there. There are videos and news footage. Richard, our drummer, does a lot of photo blogs as well. Wherever we are in the world he gets out there with his camera and takes pictures pretty much of everything, This is really cool for the fans.
If you are a fan, get your tickets at The Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State, before Keane performs there Wed., July 28. Call 312-462-6300 or visit www.TheChicagoTheatre.com .
