By the time we meet Kelsy Karter & The Heroines backstage at Download, not only are the gang still in all their stage-worn clobber, but they are still breathless and grinning smiles as wide as the nearby East Midlands runway, with their set literally wrapping minutes before.
“That was really fun…. a lot of fun,” beams Karter. “The boys are from here, so it was a really special show for us.”
Karter has the stage presence of Stevie Nicks, the feeling shit could kick off at any second like Courtney Love, and pipes to rival Lzzy Hale. She’s a hybrid of sounds and influences, perhaps not surprising as she is a bit of a global citizen.
“I’m from New Zealand but live in LA and I’m in England today, but Australia is probably my most homey home,” she reveals. “I grew up in Australia, but I was born in New Zealand and my family is from LA. But my band and my boyfriend are from England, so I just jump around. So, this is home to me, definitely. We, for sure, want to live here long-term, for sure.”
“This is literally my home,” says bass player Tommy Gent in an unmistakable Midlands twang. “I walked here the other day. Yeah, it’s only like a 40-minute walk. Well for most people it is only 10 minutes for my legs.”
Karter has built her reputation on soaring choruses, infectious hooks and also searing, refreshing honesty in her songwriting and lyrics. A trend she is keen to continue on a brand new album she tells us is in the works.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s all honest,” she begins. “That’s a big thing for me, that everything needs to be autobiographical. It’s just new stories, isn’t it? Everything’s been said. I’m just saying it in a new way…Yeah, new stories and more guitars.
“We have an album coming out but it’s not announced yet, so I’m not going to announce it. I can’t give you anything about it except yeah, it’s really good and it’s got a lot of songs. We just released a single called Laser To The Heart, which came out a couple of days ago. But, yeah, it’s a rock opera, so it’s theatrical and electric and vulnerable.”
Gent leans in now excitedly with a secret to share – or is it a red herring?
“There’s a secret track that I actually recorded. If you listen to one of the songs for 20 minutes, you’ll hear something I wrote. Yeah, you’ve got to listen to the ending. It’s blank for, like, 15 minutes. No. I really wish I had done that. There’s not much space on it. There’s, like, 23 songs on there already,” he roars with laughter.
“He’s been trying to do this since the beginning,” grins Karter, rolling her eyes.
“What’s his name? Oh, Ringo Starr. That was his name. Yeah, I’m pretty much him. Apart from playing the bass and the drums,” adds Gent cheekily.
Now that the mud is starting to dry on their boots and their heart rates are slowing down to normal pace, are the band going to go check out some of the other bands on the Download bill?
“I want to watch Bowling for Soup, Sum 41, and Limp Bizkit,” shouts Gent. “That’s what I want, like the smelly 15-year-old teenager I used to be. I think I’ll just turn my phone off and go. We have time.”
“Noooooo,” says an exasperated Karter. “You can’t turn your phone off.”
The dynamic between the band members is obvious. They are the best of friends, living the dream on stages and in arenas around the world, but amongst the excitement and obvious delight at playing one of the world’s premier festivals are nerves and pressure, with the band admitting to feeling the stress of the event.
“Imagine you’re sitting your GCSE exams again, and you’ve got to do all that revising, but it’s all on the same day. It’s like that level of stress,” Gent explains. “But then, for 30 minutes, it’s the most fun in the world. So it’s kind of like a relationship.”
Karter picks up the chat: “But we’ve got a mindset. If it’s solvable, we’re not going to freak out about it. Also, if you have a party fear, you have to put the party hat on. Yeah, we have a new rule. If you’re in a mood and it won’t go away, you’ve got to put a kid’s party hat on until it’s gone away. Yeah. That’s what’s happening now, guys.”
The band are full of fun, energy and itching to get out into the mud filled fields of Donington Park. But before they set off Gent reveals he has discovered the secret to festival life – the ultimate Download hack.
“I know you’ve not asked the question, but some people do. But I’ve got the best festival hack,” he says, leaning in closer so nobody walking past can hear the secret. “When it’s dark, always bring a torch with you! When you’re walking through the crowd, you go like that (motions waving an invisible torch) and you look like a security. Everyone moves out of the way, and you just walk to where you’re going.
“It definitely works and I’ve even had all my friends walk in like a train behind me, do that. Everyone moves out of the way in the light, and you just get through to where you’re going. That is the number one festival hack. You’re welcome.”
Interview by: Eric Mackinnon
