We caught up with Alex Henery from Basement to talk about what it’s like to be part of the soundtrack for whole generation of counter-culture kids in the UK and worldwide.
With their recent signing to Fueled By Ramen records and a sold-out run of multi-night headline shows under their belts already for 2017, Basement aren’t taking their feet off the gas anytime soon. With hooks that suck you in and spit you out, and probably what was Download Festival’s most unexpected wall of death ever, Basement have proved themselves to be worthy of the big stages, and able to hold their own even with the heaviest of crowds.
Taking their music from tiny sold-out shows to huge festival tents without protestation, Basement have cracked what it means to capture a sea of people. The singalongs are getting bigger, the mosh harder, and the overall experience comparable to bands of much grander stature.
Basement aren’t afraid to pull together a creative bill, and when they’re taking out bands that might push the envelope for their fans, Alex says it’s really just because they wanted to tour with bands they like. “I think that’s one of the things I care about the most, putting together a package that we like. We’ve been really lucky, we’ve never really been on a tour where we didn’t like the bands that we toured with. Especially for our headliners we’ve always wanted to put together a package that we really care about. We just bring out people that we like, and it’s awesome when people say yes and want to do it. And it’s cool when we get asked to go on tours.”
“If I was going to a show I’d want to listen to different types of music. I don’t want to listen to five alternative rock bands. I want to listen to a whole range of music, show people there’s other things out there, maybe a band they’ve never heard of before, and I get excited if they’re like “oh I really liked the opener” that’s so cool. People took us out at one point and we want to repay the favour and take out bands we like. We will never take out a band just because someone throws some money at us, or tells us that’s what we should do. We’re gonna take out whoever we want because we really care about that kind of stuff. And I want to see a good band play every night.”
Basement released debut album ‘I Wish I Could Stay Here’ in 2011 and for many people, that record has become more than just a collection of songs. The band recently posted about the record being six years old and Alex says his Mum couldn’t quite grasp what was happening in the responses. “My mum was like ‘I don’t understand, why are all these kids saying that was the soundtrack of my high school and why are they saying “that album saved my life?” I don’t really know why people say that, I guess they relate to the lyrics. Andrew’s lyrics are really personal especially in the first two LPs. They cover a lot of things to do with relationships and what’s going on and I think he’s just really good at writing down his emotions in an honest way that people can relate to. It’s not pretentious, it’s not too simple, it’s coded enough where you can relate to it, I dunno, I think it’s cool.”
“I can’t really imagine it, because I think of when I used to go and listen to CDs in my room when I was in high-school and stuff, to think about someone doing that for our band blows my mind. You’d think that you’d get used to it, but I’m not. I just think that’s insane, it’s so cool that a kid would be listening to our band when they’re walking into school, which is what I would do with like Pearl Jam or Muse, or whoever I was listening to. I had my little cassette or CD player walking into school listening to a band and getting excited. That’s crazy that someone’s listening to our band now, it’s a really humbling feeling to know that people care about our music, and that they see it as a way to categorise a time in their life. Like “Oh yeah when I listen to that album I think of school, or this person” that’s a really huge accomplishment I guess.”
Being able to soundtrack the moments in peoples’ lives is a pretty special opportunity, but equally, those songs are moments in time for Basement too. They come from powerful, personal places, and have grown their own meanings for members of the band too. For Alex, that song is ‘Spoiled’ off 2012’s ‘Colour Me In Kindness’.
He admits that it’s possible he relates to the lyrics a little differently to how Andrew wrote them, but finding your own meaning in a song is part of the joy of music. “Spoiled is one of my all time favourite songs to play, it means a lot to me. I think it’s a really meaningful song that delves into stuff about life with regards to suffering. Sometimes you can look and see friends who are really suffering and feel almost guilty about having had a really good life. I feel really blessed, and when you see people in real pain, and to not go through that, to imagine that, if I had to go through it, would I be able to really deal with that stuff? I think it makes you really grateful. It makes me grateful to feel I’ve had a really blessed life and there are people who don’t. I think it just reminds me to be empathetic to other people who lead completely different lives to me and have different experiences.”
“Every time we play that song I connect to it on an emotional level and I get really psyched up. Lyrically I just really think about that song a lot and I think the lyrics are pretty powerful. I love playing it live. I feel like there’s just an energy that we all have when we play that one that’s never become dull or boring. It’s always been exciting to play.”
So what is it like to play the big shows after all this time on the grind? Is it all that different to a sold-out floor show? For Alex, they both have their own pleasures. “We grew up at hardcore and punk shows, and that’s who we are. We all go to shows outside of the band and that’s always going to be part of who we are as a group of musicians. It’s going to reflect in the way you see our shows live. We like being able to take our live show and do it big and small.”
“After we did the Bring Me The Horizon tour we all wanted to go back to basics and do something small. The last time we were in the UK [before the underplay shows in March] we were playing in arenas, that’s something we’ve never done before.”
Alex explains how the underplay tour in March was somewhat of an antidote to those arena shows, it was about getting back to doing shows that are in their comfort zone. “We’re really lucky that we get to try both ends of the spectrum, playing small shows and bigger shows. There’s something really special and dear to our hearts about playing small shows and interacting with people; no barrier, no security, that’s how we started going to shows so I think it will always be like that. Just because we signed to a label doesn’t mean we are going to stop playing small shows, we always will. It’s something we’re always excited about. It will never stop being part of who Basement is.”
“Honestly it’s a really different vibe”, Alex explains. For him, playing a small show when there is no barrier and everyone is running and stage diving is an undeniable energy source for the show. “It’s very different when you’re playing a festival show and the crowd’s going off, they’re awesome shows, but it’s so different. But I can be just as pumped up even if I feel far away from the crowd.”
“When we play festivals or bigger shows I just get so hyped up on that element of things that I’m just like wow this is insane! I really appreciate it. When we play small shows it’s exciting because you’re right there in the moment with everyone else and they’re participating to make the show awesome, it kind of fuels you to keep going. They’re both awesome, I don’t know if I could say if I prefer one or the other.”
Luckily for us, we don’t care where we see Basement play next, as long as they promise to play ‘Aquasun’ because frankly, we’re still obsessed with it.
