Photos by Will Grundy
I managed to catch Brooklyn based band, Oberhofer at their packed-out show in the heart of sunny East London. 2012 seems to be the year for these guys, kicking off with a three month tour to spread the love of their debut album, Time Capsules 2. The band has taken the world by storm, with the charming talented front man Brad Oberhofer leading the way. He likes cute girls, honesty and burritos. Brad tells all (pre-burrito).
How are you feeling about the show tonight? Are you excited to play?
Yeah I’m really excited to play – I’m just in a really good mood today so I’m really looking forward to it. I’m still buzzing off of last nights gig in Manchester. It was really fun but I wasn’t in a very good mood – today though, I feel great. I love playing in London; it’s my fifth show here.
Do you think the crowds and the atmosphere differ when playing in London compared to say, back home in the USA?
Nah, I think it’s pretty much the same. I really don’t compare honestly. I don’t really remember what a New York crowd is like, I don’t really remember what any sort of crowd is like. I only remember the personal interactions I have with people, or if I make eye contact with someone that’s really sweet or something like that in the crowd. I remember those things but I don’t remember the over all crowd or anything. I care about those individual people that come to a show and just make everything feel great. For example, last night I met Chester, a woman that flew from Japan to come to the show and she bought me an action figure. She was like, “I bought this from Japan.” I thought that was the sweetest thing ever.
You’ve recently just released your debut album, Time Capsules 2. Do you think the able has been well received? Has it had notable good feedback?
Yeah we have. I had Lester from The Guardian give me a call and said that it was ‘the indie blood on the track.’ And I was like, man, that’s a big deal. This guy really knows his shit and he really believes in it. So yeah, it really means something [for him to say that]. It was cool to have that respect. It was cool to have someone call me and really care about me and what I do.
It’s safe to say, this album is a youthful lyrical love story. We can see that from the word go, opening the album with the title called HEART. Will your future work follow the similar teenage sweetheart theme?
I don’t know. I mean, I’ve written the next album for sure. I just don’t know. If you’d have asked me if this record would even suit that theme just after I recorded it. I wouldn’t have thought. I think it’s just a subconscious thing. I think we are all just expressing these things in our lives and you can’t really control which themes you are expressing. Everyone wears their feelings on their sleeves.
What does it feel like being on the same label as the likes of The Temper Trap and Mumford and Sons? Because they are pretty big names, especially over in London.
Those guys are really cool but the goal is to not be big, its about being able to have the freedom in my life to just write music for a living and do that with people that really care about the music.
You’ve worked with producer Steve Lillywhite, who has also worked with the likes of the Rolling Stones and U2. There are some big names thrown into the mix so early in your career. How was working with him for you?
He’s a really nice guy, so friendly and easy to work with. And he really likes chocolate!
Are there any secret mission or long time goals? Where do you see yourself this time next year?
I don’t really know where we see ourselves or I see us and it’s the same as in life. I mean yeah, you can set yourself goals but if you assume standards you could end up really disappointed. I think as long as we do everything the right way and just be good and just be honest all the time. In a years time I just see us in the place where honesty takes us.
Ok, so final question not too sure how your going to feel about this, but I’m going to ask you anyway, we have asked every USA band we interviewed the same question.
So, if you had to pick just one action hero who would it be and why 'Arnold Schwarzenegger or 'Sylvester Stallone'?
I’m not sure. These action heroes typically have such violent tendencies that I can't say I could call any action hero my favourite. But if I had to pick a real life hero, I'd pick my Dad because he's so smart and pretty cool.
Time Capsules 2 is available to download on iTunes and can be purchased from all good music stores.
Words Koral Webb
