My solo album is a strokes of genius

Jul 6 2008 Avril Cadden

Tell us about your new album.

I'm very excited about it. I had finished the first one and didn't know I was going to do a second. I wrote the song GfC first and knew then I was going to do another record. I knew there was another side to me and a whole new story to tell. After I finished this album I wrote a song called Tea And Cake Never Hurt Nobody and I thought, 'There we go, we got a third record brewing.' It's something I've not been able to stop doing since I was 14.

You have a great backing band - do you see yourself as part of a band or solo?

I always considered it to be a band. It had formed into one by the end of the first album. We're like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It's got to feel like a band.

It's got to have people in it that you respect.

Why is the album title in Spanish?

We were thinking about band names and just liked the sound of it. It says, 'What's your name?' Mixed with the album cover with the anonymous cut-outs, it just seemed to fit.

Why is your single called GfC?

Originally it stood for Grandfather Clock but I liked it better as GfC. It reminded me of the Roald Dahl book The BfG, Big Friendly Giant, and I just liked the way it looked.

What is happening with The Strokes?

I haven't left the band. There's no recording going on at the moment, nothing going down.

Your dad is a famous songwriter who has penned hits for Whitney Houston and Julio Iglesias. Was he a big influence?

When I discovered music, I discovered people like Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison. That's what got me excited about music and to fall in love with writing songs. My dad's influence was as an honest person when it came to writing. He told me to work hard at it. When I played him my first song, he said, 'You'll get better as you write more.' I didn't get it at first but now I look back and I'm really happy he was so straightforward with me.

Are you coming to Scotland on tour?

I'm very excited to play these songs live and we have some cool things planned. Hopefully we'll visit Europe towards the end of the year.

You headlined T in the Park a few years ago - do you have good memories of playing in Scotland?

The last tour we did included an amazing show. It was really fun and like a football chant with people singing along. It was like having a big choir with you. Our guitar tech is from Scotland. On the whole of the last tour we were watching Still Game on the bus. I love it, it's a great show. I saw five seasons. It's so funny and during it you feel many different emotions. It's the quality of it I like more than anything else. I've watched a lot of different shows in my time and that one is really good.

Are you a football fan?

I like football. It's one of the best sports out there and I've been to a few games. I'm always bummed out America isn't more into it. If that does change, it's going to change over a period of time. It's a worldwide sport and I feel very sad America can't be a bigger part of it.

What do you do to chill out?

Build puzzles, pick up the guitar and watch movies. I go bike rides and to museums. I've got two dogs, so take them for walks. They are a mini daschund called Violet and a mini daschund/shih-tzu called Lola. They are my two girls and are adorable.