Interview: Editors' Guitarist Chris Urbanowicz

As Chris Urbanowicz, guitarist for the British group Editors (above, second from left,) was stepping out for a bite to eat in the midst of the band’s first North American tour, I caught him for ten minutes of enlightenment.

EC: So first of all, how was South By Southwest?

CU: South by Southwest was a crazy, manic burst, is probably the best way to describe it. I think seeing the bands was the best bit, you know, sort of like, being a punter, going around, hearing lots of music. We were so, so busy, doing so many gigs, so many radio stations, acoustic sessions, interviews … but it was still really fun.

EC: Is there anything like this in England? Are you able to experience the same sort of thing, seeing up and coming bands, in England, or is SXSW kind of ‘it’?

CU: I don’t — I mean, we have something similar in Manchester called In the City, but it’s not really as good. At the same time you have — our thing is the festivals, loads and loads of bands play festivals, so you can go there, check out whoever you want. We’ve got Glastonbury, so that’s kind of like the alternative for us. Instead of doing it in a town, we do it in a big field. Hopefully it doesn’t rain, but it always does.

EC: So having grown up in the U.K., I understand a bit how the radio stations work there, and it seems like now, there’s more of a chance for bands like yours, who are not exactly mainstream, to get serious airplay. How important do you think airplay is to your success?

CU: Well, getting played on the radio — that’s kind of the reason why we took off. There’s a guy called Zane Lowe who does a really influential, kind of alternative, kind of rock 'n' roll show on Radio One, and he basically — we were just about to put our record out, and he was the first person to get involved. We weren’t getting rave reviews from the press, you know, NME wasn’t interested or anything like that, and it was kind of Zane who made our single the Single of the Week, and just loved it, and got us in for a session. It was vital for us. It’s so different in the U.K. than in the U.S. We have kind of independent radio stations, and local stations, but we have stations that are nationwide as well, and we also have, you know, XFM, and 6 Music, and you can pick up London-based stations wherever you are in the country. So yeah, radio play’s very important, of course.

Article Author: Elizabeth Colville

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