George Haverson talks the ‘FEET machine’
The frontman chats about the band’s DIY ethos, new album and desire to make music in its most potent form.
Photo: Press
“We’ve had quite a few knockbacks in our time,” FEET frontman George Haverson tells us from his side of what must be another mundane Monday morning Zoom call. “So, to be honest, us getting those bits stolen, it’s another hurdle, but I think you just kind of have to get over it.”
From this casual, laid back attitude, you’d never guess that just a couple weeks ago, one of the band’s cars was smashed into in North London, with all the gear that was stored inside being stolen.
Happening just weeks before their album release show at Rough Trade East and a little less than a month before going on tour (again) with Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, you’d expect to see the internal alarm bells still ringing. But Monday’s more introspective — George seems almost horizontal. After all, this isn’t the first spanner to be thrown in the ever-efficient cogs of the FEET machine. I mean, it was only a few months ago that the band embarked on their ill-fated support slot with Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, which was abruptly halted only three shows in after PPC frontman Jack McEwan was attacked by a dog.
With no hint of frustration, George says: “I think every time things like that have happened, it’s made us operate in more of a group. And now, to be honest, because we’ve been doing it so long, it just feels like we’ll go round the long route. It seems part and parcel of being in this band now, so I’m waiting for something worse to happen. We can take that hit, I’m sure.”
And from the way their fans have responded to their most recent short-lived crisis, it really seems like they can. Just ten days after setting up a GoFundMe to help pay for their replacement gear, FEET have reached their target amount and couldn’t be more grateful:
Photo: Press
“You just think working people, people that are getting on with their lives, how could they spare any small donation? It’s not come at a good time but it coming close to the album, you just feel a bit more supported. More so than necessarily we would have if we hadn’t had needed to reach out for people to back us up. So, it’s actually been quite nice. The whole experience of being robbed has actually been quite lovely.”
So now that robbery’s been ticked off the bucket list, the band are ready to hit their next target, releasing their sophomore album Make It Up. Featuring a more refined and mature sound from the five-piece who once named themselves after a frustrated former member who said “Well, we can’t be called something stupid like feet”, the album feels like a new and defining era for the inventive band. And perhaps one that will quickly become a fan favourite.
“With the first album we’d just come out of uni somewhat,” George says. “We were in our own bubble, and don’t get me wrong I enjoyed that thoroughly. But we’ve lived together for about two, three years now, so you get to know each other a lot more and those kinds of boundaries when you’re writing and creating stuff start to break away. So, it’s less about the individual or trying to mould individual parts, it’s more for the greater good if you like.”
“We all have roles. Everything you see and gets put out, is done by us. It’s not done by anyone else and whether that’s advancing for shows or booking hotels, or I do all the artwork, it’s an insular machine.”
So, it’s this DIY ethos that keeps the FEET machine running and that’s always at the heart of everything the band do. Yet, it’s also the source of the five-piece’s ability to explore every avenue of musical interest, no matter how minute, brilliant or strange.
As George demonstrates when explaining his view on music: “For me, a song is the equivalent of like a chocolate bar. From the first bite to the last, you want it to be as good, consistently. I really like that idea of using the band and album as a machine to pump out songs. And, you know, in the future when we’ll all be eating our meals in pill form, I like that kind of idea of songs being that size. It’s not this grandiose thing. It makes it more digestible and more potent. So, we’ve got three and a half minutes to give you an idea and do that in the tightest form that we can do that in.”
With their lyrical observations as sharp as ever and their completely captivating guitars still working hard, recent singles Sit Down and Greasy Boy go to show just what FEET can achieve in these three minutes. Exploring pauses in the monotony of our everyday lives in Sit Down, as well as the weird reality of finding an original name for a not-uncommon male guitar band in Greasy Boy, George sees this new album as his chance to disrupt traditional ways of looking at the world. Because it’s better to take something small, and give it it’s proper moment, rather than try to do it all.
“I really just like the idea of taking something super simple and trying to expand it as much as possible. Take something that doesn’t seem like there’s a lot there and try your best to expand,” George says.
“I think this gets lost a little bit more in politically driven music, when you’re putting a point across, how do you weigh something up? How do you give it both sides? How do you define something and go into detail in three minutes? To my mind, it never really does it justice, so I see my position as — and where I’m coming from in terms of observations — taking something small and giving it its moment to be big. Rather than taking something big and trying to tell you how I feel about it.”
So, what does George hope fans will get from their latest album then? Taking his time to make sure he says exactly what he means, George replies: “The album name epitomises the DIY ethos that’s maintained this band, we make up the cogs in the FEET machine and we take great pride in it.
“I’d like this mantra to be passed onto our fans and anyone thinking about getting a band of their own together. They can do it too. I firmly believe there are infinite moments in everyone’s ordinary lives that great songs could be written about, you just got to get some mates together and have at it.”
Make It Up is out June 14th via Sub Cat Records. Pre-order the album here.