Each week, the Gazette shines a light on one of the borough's more interesting residents or organisations. SANDY DHALIWAL talks to up and coming indie band MisterKite
TAKING their name from The Beatles song Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite, these indie popsters are vocalist Rob Ball, 23, guitarist Bill Hann, 22, bassist Bobby Ridout, 23, and drummer Mark Pearson, 18.
Although there are already a few bands with the same moniker - including a Swedish progressive hardcore band - they have no plans to change it.
Bill says: "It could make for great publicity - the great MisterKite legal war."
The fourpiece, all from the Uxbridge area, having been playing together for over a year. I saw them a couple of weeks ago in a near-empty pub on the Kilburn High Road.
Undeterred by the turnout, they played with charm and enthusiasm, even managing to stir up hysteria among the passers-by who had come in off the street just to show them some love.
As Bill puts it: "Filling out smaller venues is better than playing bigger venues. We played Barfly on my birthday and it was dead."
That said, Rob hopes that before too long they'll be playing venues such as The Borderline, in Tottenham Court Road.
In the meantime, they all agree that they are happy to play anywhere, as long as there is a crowd[2026] while support slots with Kings of Leon and The Holloways would do nicely too.
And the adoring fans soak up their energetic brand of upbeat melodic indie.
Fusing rhythmic beats, catchy guitar-driven hooks and gruff yet dulcet vocals, they draw on influences from seminal acts such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Jam, to modern contemporaries such as Kings of Leon and The Cribs.
Mark adds the Red Hot Chili Peppers, various session artists and Led Zeppelin as his own influences; while Bill cites Cliff Richard, Richard Blackwood and Mystique as his predominant and major influences.
Punked-up bass lines on Happy To Be Here tip their hats to The Clash while catchy number Off has a Libertines-like danceability.
Don't Let Us Down has a pretty Stones-esque melody while Caroline showcases an upbeat ska element.
With banter, a little bit of cheeky swagger and lots of high energy, MisterKite are a party band worth looking out for. Catch them while they're still our best kept secret!
The next opportunity locally is at The Breakspear Arms, in Harefield, in November. Check for details at www.lemonrock.com/ breakspeararms?page=gigs. [25cf] For more about MisterKite, go to www.myspace.com/misterkiteuk.
