Sometimes the best things come out of the smallest confined spaces. Internet Forever is essentially a supergroup of Laura Wolf, Heartbeeps and Christopher Alcxxk, who on their own make no-fi bedroom anti-pop in various flavours but together make, erm, no-fi front room anti-pop. They fall somewhere between Casiotone For The Painfully Alone and Times New Viking, which means deceptively unsimple open hearted songs plus a shitload of fuzz. Their debut 7", very limited in the UK (and quite limited in the US where Art Fag are releasing it, in fact), is imminent and they've since been working with, if you don't mind, Pete Gofton AKA Johnny X AKA J Xaverre AKA George Washington Brown. In the meantime they're taking off round the capital and taking part in Q&As like this (EDITED since earlier):
First single bought
Heartbeeps: I think it was something like When Will I Be Famous by Bros, on seven inch vinyl. I remember being well into Bros when I first got into music, and I really wanted to win a competition once on Going Live to get Matt and Luke round for lunch at my house. Eventually I realised that Bros weren't all that great and I moved on to more serious chart bothering stuff, like 2 Unlimited and Shaggy.
Alcxxk: Feathers Furs and Fins, an Australian folk song. Dunno who recorded it :(
Laura: I literally cannot remember this because my mum and brother bought
me 7 inch singles from a really super young age. I remember owning a lot of Kylie and Michael Jackson, though. The Wrestlemania single was also a favourite.
First album bought
Heartbeeps: Push by Bros, on cassette. My parents joined the Britannia Music Club (remember that? You used to get leaflets in the newspaper for them and could join and get so many albums per year for a subscription). First one I actually went to a shop to buy was the 2 Unlimited album, on cassette, from Woolworths. It was £7.
Alcxxk: Space - Spiders and the Simpsons album Songs In The Key Of Springfield
Laura: Again, same as the singles thing. I loved the Queen Greatest Hits
and I remember owning Big Fun's album on tape and I had a Bros album too. Basically loads of crappy boy bands.
First gig voluntarily attended
Heartbeeps: When I was 15 I went to see Stereophonics at Town & Country Club in Leeds. I thought I was way cool. The Crocketts were supporting. I loved The Crocketts.
Alcxxk: Interpol playing an XFM night at the Barfly, 2000
Laura: I went to see Take That when I was 10 at Wembley Arena and it blew
my mind. I was sure Robbie waved at me during the Beatles medley.
The record that most made you want to get into music
Heartbeeps: Word Gets Around by Stereophonics. I think I was in Year 10 or something and it was the first album that made me think 'WOW. I want to do that'.
Then I saw their Live At Cardiff Castle DVD and formed a band with my friends during a residential trip in the Yorkshire Dales. It wasn't until three years later that I actually bought my first guitar. It's worth pointing out at this point that I didn't actually find my feet musically until I was at university where I met people who were far more knowledgeable about music than I was.
Alcxxk: Probably Whippin' Piccadilly by Gomez :s
Laura: I'm not sure what to take 'get into' as meaning. All the Britpop bands that were around when I was about 11 or 12 made me begin to want to find out more about music and its history. But all the pop music I listened to as a kid started me off writing songs and singing and playing piano and stuff! It took getting into riot grrl when I was 15 or 16 to make me really think I could 'do it' though.
The three headliners at a festival you were curating
Heartbeeps: A reformed Pavement, a reformed The Unicorns, a reanimated The Beatles.
Alcxxk: Fugazi, Bowie, Radiohead
Laura: Dead or alive? If dead is allowed then I'll have Beat Happening,
Hymie's Basement and The Postal Service.
A song not enough people know about but everyone should hear
Heartbeeps: Dreamscaper by Ye Olde Maids. Such an aptly named song. Reminds me of playing the Industrial level on Sonic The Hedgehog 2.
Alcxxk: Proud By Looking Around by The Love Of Everything
Laura: 24 by Best Friends Forever
A song you'd play to get people dancing
Heartbeeps: I REALLY hate dancing, but if I had to choose one, it'd be Schizophrenia by Sonic Youth. Remember that crowd scene from 1991: The Year Punk Broke when the riff starts? Wow.
Alcxxk: I used to DJ at a student indie club. The correct answer is "something by the Kaiser Chiefs lol"
Laura: Depends how drunk people were, but Justin Timberlake or Beyonce usually does the trick for me.
The last great thing you heard
Heartbeeps: Too many to chose from, so for overall experience, I'll plump for Future Islands at the Old Blue Last. Intense.
Alcxxk: I just wrote a demo that sounds great to me, not so great to my gf
Laura: The sirens on a police car coming to arrest this man that was
screaming crazy shit outside my house.
Your key non-musical influences
Heartbeeps: Photography, travel and people. Also, the internet.
Alcxxk: I'm really not a very well rounded person, so this isn't easy. um. Chris Morris?
Laura: I like cycling around London, exploring new places and people watching.
Your favourite new artist:
Heartbeeps: Dead Gaze. This guy added us on Myspace a few weeks ago when his profile was about four days old. He made an album and put it online for free and I've been hooked ever since. I saw him described as 'a tropical Wavves', which is pretty accurate. A special mention also goes to Ye Olde Maids, whose album is out soon through Art Fag Recordings (the same guys who are putting out our first seven inch) and Best Coast, who are also putting something out on Art Fag I think. Art Fag is great.
Alcxxk: I love The Cardboard Band. Lovely folk fun.
Laura: Mat Riviere
Internet Forever next play the Brainlove Festival on 30th May at the Brixton Windmill with Napoleon IIIrd, Pagan Wanderer Lu, Kid Carpet, Ace Bushy Striptease, The Duloks, Jam On Bread etc. and they're all doing solo sets too. This is the self-made version of Break Bones plus expensively commissioned video:
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