Your Vegas

Do you have a favorite article of clothing? Jon: Accessories are of vital importance. You can't beat bangles, wristbands, neck scarves and big belt buckles.
Mat: I'd have to say my Cuban heeled boots, they sound great on a wooden floor.
Mark: my Christian Dior tweed jacket I bought from a Salvation Army store for $10, bargain!

Where do you pick up ideas about style and design? Is it related to your music? Coyle: From all over really. Pieces of art, other bands, magazines...loads of places really. Music and fashion often go hand in hand. We always try to make our artwork and image relate to our music in its color, shape and style. It is always nice to have strong, bold and passionate images together with strong colors.
Jon: Yeah image is important but it should never be more important than the music.

Do you have a favorite band or musician whose style you really liked? Coyle: I always liked Springsteen's style in the old days. He just looked effortlessly cool.
Jon: Jimi Hendrix for me, he always looked cool as a cucumber and Prince could pull off a binbag!
Mat: Led Zeppelin taught me that if you're in a band, you should probably wear tight trousers. It just helps.
Coyle: And have a cucumber down your pants!

Did that play a role in the development of your style? Coyle: Maybe I guess. If it has it is not intentional. As a band we've always kind of dressed this way. We did before we were in a band together when we were friends in other bands in Leeds.

What does Playboy mean to you? Coyle: An extra five minutes in the bathroom.

When do you recall discovering Playboy? Jon: I remember when I was really young, about 9 or 10, my best friend and I went to the woods to build a den and we found a Playboy magazine. I remember being fascinated. I couldn't stop thinking about it for weeks. I took it into school to show my friends and got caught showing it off in the toilets. My parents got called in to see the Headmistress. I was grounded for months. So thank you Playboy! Thank you very much.

Beatles or Stones? Mat: Beatles: albums, Stones: live show.

Were there bands you heard at a certain point in your life that made a huge difference in how you thought about music? Mat: My dad has great taste in music, it was all the Rock and Roll that he played when I was a kid that made me want to pick up a guitar. All the greats—Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, the Stones, The Doors etc.
Coyle: For me yeah I guess there were quite a lot. Like Mat I grew up listening to my dad's music which was usually Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, The Beatles, Led Zep. Then the band that first really made me want to be in a band was Nirvana. I got the angst and the pain in the voice. I used to spend hours playing and singing along to Nirvana songs in my room. Then I heard Oasis and decided from that moment on that I wanted to be a rockstar. I wanted to be doing what they were doing.

Who put on the best live show you ever saw, and why was it so good? Coyle: Oasis at Maine Road, definitely. Being a huge Man City fan and being on the pitch was good enough but also seeing one of the greatest British bands of all time playing at their peak was just fucking amazing! The whole experience of that gig blew my head off. U2 Popmart was pretty amazing too. They had a 60-foot lemon for fuck sake! You can't argue with that.
Mark: Muse, because I've never seen U2 live.

Do you guys have a pre-game ritual or a superstition before or during shows? Coyle: I have thousands of weird things that I do. They start about an hour before we go on stage. I'm not telling you what they are though.
Mat: Yeah then it's a group hug and then Jon dictates the order in which we walk on stage.

What was the best show you ever played? Why? Jon: Leeds festival in 2005 was a great show for us. It was a hometown gig so we had the crowd on our side. The atmosphere was amazing and the crowd went mad for us. We got lots of great press and reviews from that show. I think it was a real turning point for us. We suit the big stage!

What makes a good show from your perspective? Mal: A good show for us is when we connect with the audience. When everybody is on the same wavelength and just loving it.

At what point do you know a song is good? Do you ever have an idea you just know is going to kill on the dance floor? Coyle: When I can't get it out of my head and keep playing the rough recording of it over and over until everyone's screaming at me "turn that fucking song off!"
Mat: Yeah that's true. You do that. I guess when you know you know. A certain guitar hook or a killer beat can turn me on.

What's the most exciting thing you've done in the past year as a result of your music career? Jon: I took a bite of the Big Apple and it tasted sweet!

What's your favorite place on earth? Mal: New York City baby!!

Best song you've been listening to lately? Jon: I've been listening to "Real Gone Kid" by Deacon Blue a lot recently. Absolute classic

Favorite new band? Your Vegas of course!

Favorite driving album? Coyle: Born To Run, Bruce Springsteen it's the ultimate driving album!
Mat: Steve miller, Fly Like an Eagle
Jon: Anything by Dire Straits because it reminds me of driving to holiday destinations as a kid.

Favorite bedroom album? Mark: Sigur Ros, Takk
Jon: What's Going On? Marvin Gaye
Coyle: Oh, yeah that's a good one. Mine's probably a Sigur Ros too. They are a real sex band.

Do you think the album format is dying? Jon: Definitely not. There will always be demand for a physical product. It's a piece of art after all and always will be. People want an album they can hold in their hands; true music fans want to look at the artwork and read the lyrics and credits. Get the whole experience of what the artist has created.

How have the technology boom and the internet affected the way you approach promoting your music? Coyle: It's amazing for bands. You can do so much on your own now. With pages like MySpace and ReverbNation you can get your music out to people all over the world for free. There is no doubt that the future of music lies strongly in the Internet. The power is shifting from the corporations back into the hands of the artist. You can sell your music, your merchandise, arrange tours and market yourself worldwide from your computer and for free!

Are you doing anything specifically designed for online that we should know about? Mal: Well there's our MySpace and ReverbNation pages that we still run ourselves. We often have various things going on our pages. We're very active on the net. We're also launching our new website in the next few weeks which should be awesome. It'll link all our online pages and communities and make it easier for YV fans to get hold of our music, merch and all other things Your Vegas as well as help build a Your Vegas online community.