Reasons to be cheerful

Industry hype is the catalyst that turns an underground hit into an overground sensation. Frankly, it’s the fucking motherload. For the much lauded Surrey quintet Hundred Reasons, the 18 month rollercoaster from EP number one to debut album Ideas Above Our Station has been quite a headrush. They’ve enjoyed support slots with heavyweights such as Muse, Incubus and Papa Roach as well as a 21 date headline tour, two Kerrang! awards and the title of the ‘band at the fore’ of the new UK rock revival.

“It’s kind of scary,” laughs Andy. “We’re pretty chuffed that people want to say that about us because it’s the biggest compliment you can have. If someone says that your band are spearheading a movement, it’s like ‘what?'".

Hundred Reasons emerged from the ashes of Jetpack and Floor (two local bands under the same management) almost two years ago.

“I was in Jetpack and the rest of them were in Floor,” says Larry, bassist. “We’d done loads of shows together around the local area so we’d known each other for a couple of years. I was into what they were doing, so I muscled in.”

With the line up cemented, Hundred Reasons set about carving their niche in the live scene, and along with bands such as Vex Red and The Cooper Temple Clause, began to re-instate rock n roll into the psyche of music consumerists, providing an acceptable alternative to the fast fading nu-metal machine.

“With nu-metal, it became acceptable to hear guitar music on daytime radio,” says Larry. “Radio 1 are the biggest station in the UK and since they have to play a certain percentage of British music, they’re going to look out for British bands that are doing a relatively similar kind of thing. So now we’re on daytime radio.”

“In the UK scene at the moment, there’s a hell of a lot of bands coming up through the ranks,” comments Andy, “but there aren’t really any two who sound the same. So as opposed to one band leading a movement, it’s more like 10 bands pioneering UK music as a whole. Besides, people are looking for something new now. They’ve had nu-metal for the last six or seven years. Everyone’s like, ‘That was cool, what’s next?’ And hopefully all these young bands coming up are what’s next.”

Sound-wise, Hundred Reasons are the first to admit that their brand of rock is far from novelty, preferring to rely on a more standard format.

“We never saw ourselves as being particularly new or fresh,” says Larry. “We’re just a rock band. We’ve always said that we’re going to be loud and play guitars but that’s the only limitations we ever put on ourselves.”

The album Ideas Above Our Station rose to the challenge and stormed into the UK charts at an impressive number 6.

“We sold 23,000 copies in the first week,” says Andy. “I think it’s at 28,000 now, that’s ten days worth. We expected 30,000 in six months! I actually fell off my chair when I heard the news. The marketing guy from the record company got the midweeks and rang me up saying, ‘Andy, you’re at number 3!’

“This is when the pressure starts – it’s time to live up to the hype with the second album” quips Larry, clearly beginning to feel the strain of life in a successful rock band. “We don’t know what we’re going to do yet, but we know we’ll have a bloody good time doing it.”