U.K. rock act Swervedriver is aiming to hit the road in the spring for its first tour in nearly a decade, frontman Adam Franklin tells Billboard.com.
"There are so many bands reforming. I've seen a lot of them get back together and they were awe-inspiring: Dinosaur Jr, the Stooges, the Pixies," he says. "We kind of thought, if we can give people a good time, hell, why not?"
Franklin says bassist Steve George and drummer Jez "have been rehearsing to get their chops together in England. Those guys haven't really played many shows in the past 10 years. But Steve was saying he went through the songs and found he could remember all the parts."
The plan is for Swervedriver to be back on the road by April, likely starting in the United States. "We always thought we were better received here," says Franklin, adding that there is chatter about the group playing the 2008 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, Calif.
"Initially, it's a touring thing," he adds. "We'll get together and do some dates. There's no rush. We figure, we'll take it one step at a time."
Franklin has spent his post-Swervedriver career in the band Toshack Highway and has also recorded solo. Amid an ongoing solo tour, which plays in Ottawa, Ontario, tonight (Oct. 26), the artist found time to record an EP with Interpol drummer Sam Fogarino under the name the Setting Suns.
That project is due next month via Coldplay/Interpol manager Dave Holmes' new label, DH. "It's cool because most of the music has been Sam's," Franklin says. "Some is guitar-originated, some is keyboard-oriented. I've sat down, come up with vocal melodies and words, and then given them back to him."
Asked if Swervedriver might consider making a new album, Franklin reports, "I don't know. You move on and you move into a different mindset. The songs I'm writing now seem right for the quote-unquote solo Adam Franklin stuff. I couldn't even think of what songs that are kicking around that could be Swervedriver. But like I said, it's really one step at a time."
"There are so many bands reforming. I've seen a lot of them get back together and they were awe-inspiring: Dinosaur Jr, the Stooges, the Pixies," he says. "We kind of thought, if we can give people a good time, hell, why not?"
Franklin says bassist Steve George and drummer Jez "have been rehearsing to get their chops together in England. Those guys haven't really played many shows in the past 10 years. But Steve was saying he went through the songs and found he could remember all the parts."
The plan is for Swervedriver to be back on the road by April, likely starting in the United States. "We always thought we were better received here," says Franklin, adding that there is chatter about the group playing the 2008 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, Calif.
"Initially, it's a touring thing," he adds. "We'll get together and do some dates. There's no rush. We figure, we'll take it one step at a time."
Franklin has spent his post-Swervedriver career in the band Toshack Highway and has also recorded solo. Amid an ongoing solo tour, which plays in Ottawa, Ontario, tonight (Oct. 26), the artist found time to record an EP with Interpol drummer Sam Fogarino under the name the Setting Suns.
That project is due next month via Coldplay/Interpol manager Dave Holmes' new label, DH. "It's cool because most of the music has been Sam's," Franklin says. "Some is guitar-originated, some is keyboard-oriented. I've sat down, come up with vocal melodies and words, and then given them back to him."
Asked if Swervedriver might consider making a new album, Franklin reports, "I don't know. You move on and you move into a different mindset. The songs I'm writing now seem right for the quote-unquote solo Adam Franklin stuff. I couldn't even think of what songs that are kicking around that could be Swervedriver. But like I said, it's really one step at a time."
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