Charlotte Cooper Forever Rocks in The Subways

Charlotte Cooper (above) is the bassist/vocalist for the explosive UK indie-rock trio The Subways. (The Subways also include the brothers Billy Lunn on guitar and vocals and Josh Morgan on drums.) The band was founded in Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, England and released their debut album, Young For Eternity, in 2005. The Subways have become known for their incendiary, no-holds-barred live performances, and have built a huge following in their home country.

The Subways are currently on a very extensive tour in support of their second album, All or Nothing. (The album was produced by Butch Vig, who also produced Nirvana’s landmark Nevermind album.) All or Nothing has already been released to great acclaim in the UK, spawning three singles thus far—“Girls & Boys,” “Alright,” and “I Won’t Let You Down.” The Subways have played many of the outdoor music festivals in Europe this summer to promote the album. They also toured the United States in July. (Their show at New York City’s Blender Theatre at Gramercy on July 25th was sensational. A review of that show can be found in the LIVE section of this Web site.)

The Subways’ All or Nothing album is slated for release on September 9th in the United States. So it is quite timely that Charlotte Cooper has agreed to an exclusive e-mail Q&A with Powerline A.D. Among the topics discussed were the origin of The Subways’ name, the band’s songwriting process, Charlotte’s stage performance style, and the free downloading of music. The results of the Q&A are below:

POWERLINE A.D.: Who came up with the name The Subways? Is there a reason that The Subways was chosen as the name of the band?
Charlotte Cooper: We had a lot of awful names before The Subways! Billy used to hang out in a subway in Welwyn Garden City when he was at college. It was a nice green area, and he always felt chilled out there. He suggested the name, and we were happy to have a name that didn’t box us into a certain sound too much, and wasn’t totally rubbish!

POWERLINE A.D.: How did the band come together?
C.C.: Billy and Josh are brothers. I met them, and we used to hang out together a lot. We all had a love of music, and they were already playing together anyway. Billy offered to teach me the basics on bass...and that’s it really! We just started playing gigs in the local area, and everything happened from there.

POWERLINE A.D.: Can you walk us through The Subways’ songwriting process?
C.C.: Billy comes up with an idea on guitar and a melody to go with it. He then brings the ideas to me and Josh and we all build the song together.

POWERLINE A.D.: Since All or Nothing is The Subways’ second album, was the whole process—songwriting, recording, etc.—easier this time than it was the first time around?
C.C.: I think we found it a lot easier. The songs for the first album we written when we were 16 and 17, and we recorded the album when we were 18 and 19. We were just kids really, and had never had any experience in a studio before. I think we were a lot more confident the second time round, and knew more what we wanted each song to achieve.

POWERLINE A.D.: What do you do to stave off boredom when you’re on tour?
C.C.: My laptop! It keeps me in touch with everyone I miss at home. And I can watch films on it. I always have a book with me too.

POWERLINE A.D.: Given that The Subways have played many outdoor music festivals, can you tell us which festival is your favorite and why that festival stands out for you?
C.C.: We played a festival in the Czech Republic recently, called Trutnov. It was in the middle of nowhere, in a forest, and had such an amazing atmosphere! It was our first time playing there, and we got an unbelievable reaction!

POWERLINE A.D.: How long have you been playing bass? Are you self-taught or did someone teach you how to play?
C.C.: It's about seven years now, and Billy taught me where the notes were. I’d played other instruments before, so I could take that knowledge and teach myself from there.

POWERLINE A.D.: Your onstage playing style is quite demonstrative, bounding around the stage and bobbing your head up and down in time with the music. Have you performed in that fashion since the band began, or is it something that developed over time?
C.C.: It’s something that's developed over time. I’m still finding new things to do onstage!

POWERLINE A.D.: What was the first song you heard that got you interested in music? What was it about that song that got your attention?
C.C.: One song that I remember really affecting me was “New Born” by Muse. I’d just started playing bass, and I loved the way the bass player, Chris, played and moved. I was so amazed by the sound they created as a three piece too.

POWERLINE A.D.: Were you in any other rock bands prior to joining The Subways?
C.C.: Nope. This is my first and only band!

POWERLINE A.D.: Do you ever listen to The Subways’ music for pleasure when you’re in your car or listening to your iPod?
C.C.: Sometimes! “Always Tomorrow” is a great song for me to run to!

POWERLINE A.D.:What other bands are you interested in at the moment?
C.C.: I love Cold War Kids, Queens of the Stone Age, Biffy Clyro, and Elbow at the moment. There’s another great new British band called Skeletons who you should check out!

POWERLINE A.D.: After Billy had the surgery to remove nodules from his vocal cords, was there a fear that he might never be able to sing again?
C.C.: It was a possibility that we were warned of before the surgery. It was quite a risky operation. A very scary time for all of us.

POWERLINE A.D.: How is Billy’s voice holding up on tour? He didn’t seem afraid to push his voice to the limit when I saw The Subways in New York City in July.
C.C.: He’s singing better than ever before! He learnt a lot after the surgery. He went to singing lessons after to help him build up his voice again.

POWERLINE A.D.: Your relationship with Billy was the subject of several of The Subways’ songs. Does it bother you now when asked to comment on the relationship by the music press?
C.C.: I don’t really think about it. I’d rather it not be the focus of an interview or article about us.

POWERLINE A.D.: Since the band toured in America before the new album was released in the States, will you be returning to do more shows there after the album gets its domestic American release?
C.C.: I hope so! We love touring in the States! We’re starting to make plans at the moment...

POWERLINE A.D.: What kind of reaction is the band getting when playing the new material live?
C.C.: It’s been amazing for us to see the new songs go down so well live! It’s exciting for us to have so many songs to choose from now.

POWERLINE A.D.: “Rock & Roll Queen” was used in a UK television advert for Rimmel cosmetics featuring the supermodel Kate Moss. Was there any hesitation in The Subways’ camp before allowing the song to be used in the advert? Do you believe that the use of The Subways’ music in the advert helped the band gain exposure?
C.C.: It definitely helped us gain exposure, as that song was used across the world. We just thought it was a great opportunity for us to get our music out there more.

POWERLINE A.D.: Since The Subways gave away “Girls & Boys,” the first single from the All or Nothing album, as a free download several months ago, do you think that giving the song away got more people interested in the band and helped sell more copies of the album?
C.C.: We wanted to give the first single away for free to say thank you to all our fans for waiting so long for the second album. I hope that it got us a few more new fans as well. It’s quite different to the material from the first album!

POWERLINE A.D.: What would you say to those artists who criticize bands for providing fans with free downloads of their music?
C.C.: Every band has to make their own decision about how to release their music. There’s so many different ways music is obtained now, and I think it’s an exciting time to be making music.

POWERLINE A.D.: Final question: Where do you see The Subways being in five years’ time?
C.C.: Hopefully still touring and working on songs for a fourth album! We’ll see! We love what we do and we’ll keep doing it for as long as we can!

For additional information on The Subways, go to:
http://www.thesubways.net
http://www.myspace.com/thesubways

Interview by John Curley