PopGurls Interview: Snow Patrol's Nathan Connolly

With the release of Eyes Open, the highly anticipated follow-up to 2004's Final Straw, Snow Patrol had been touring for several weeks when they were pulled off schedule by singer Gary Lightbody's throat problems. They're back on track, giving U.S. fans an extended chance to catch the band rock out live.

Before they started out on their first foray to support Eyes Open in the U.S., guitarist Nathan Connolly spoke to us about recording the album, playing live and just exactly when Snow Patrol gets crazy and runs around naked.

What are you most looking forward to on your U.S. tour?

There's a couple of cities that we really, really love – Austin, Texas being one of them, Seattle and obviously, New York. This time, the venues are slightly bigger and we've built up a solid fanbase. When we first started playing [in the states,] there's between 10-100 people in a little club. And we didn't have a radio hit or anything like that, so it was kind of built up over that period, and every time we come back it'd be a bigger audience. I think this time we're excited that we're in these venues, and that they're sold out already – it's pretty incredible.

I know the Roseland show here in New York was sold out.

Yeah, the whole tour was sold out pretty quickly. For a band coming from Ireland - we grew up listening to American music [and have] a strong American influence, it was amazing for a British band to come over and to do that.

What surprised you the most when you toured here the first time?

It definitely has its own culture and its own identity, and driving across - doing it by bus you really get to see all the changes. We went on one tour, it was just under eight weeks, and having five days off – it was pretty intense. An amazing experience, as well. We always kind of knew how big it is, we were under no illusions, but once you actually get over and see it... (laughs)

Gary Lightbody has said that he struggled with the lyrics on the latest album. What is the biggest difference between recording Final Straw and Eyes Open?

Well, the simple thing first is that we had a lot more time. We recorded Final Straw in four weeks, and we recorded this album in 10 weeks. The second difference this time around is that we were incredibly lucky to work with Garrett "Jackknife" Lee. He had done Final Straw – this time we'd known him for a lot longer, we built a relationship with him since Final Straw which has been three years. We've learned a lot in that time, he's learned a hell of a lot in that time.

I suppose "confidence" is the key word – on Eyes Open, we were a lot more confident to go with our instincts, or have the confidence to try new things. Just go with it. As the guitar player on Final Straw, I was a little timid. When I was making the record this time around, I just took [the attitude that] if it didn't work, it didn't work. Gary had more problems with the lyrics but that was really because he wanted to get the best that he could do. They're very private, personal things – lyrics.

There's difficult times in any record you make, but, specifically for me, [Eyes Open] was really quite a joy, for want of a better word, to make. Everyone worked incredibly hard – there was incredible devotion to this album.

One of the main reasons Snow Patrol songs resonate with so many peoples is the lyrics. Is there a Snow Patrol lyric that describes you best?

Oh god, I don't know a specific line. I think you're right – there's an incredible truth, an incredible honesty in the lyrics that Gary writes. His lyrics do everything that people [go through] – they may not be the same scenario or situation or they might be about a different situation or different scenario – whether it's boyfriend/girlfriend or just relationships in general, they're things that resonate in us all, that we carry in our heartbeat. That's what comes across in his lyrics.

When you're playing a gig, what are your favorite songs to perform?

At the moment, quite a lot of things off the new album, [Eyes Open] because we've been playing it for almost two months now live – we rehearsed them for a while, obviously – but we've been playing them to an audience for two months. "Shut Your Eyes" and "Set the Fire to the Third Bar" when we can do that live with Martha [Wainwright], it's just an amazing thing. "It's Beginning to Get to Me" – it's changing every day. Ask me again in another six months. (laughs)

Off Final Straw, "Chocolate" is probably my favorite song to play live. But every night of gigging, the songs get pretty much the same reaction, but every night is completely different which is why it doesn't become boring or mundane.

Are there any songs from Eyes Open that surprised you in the way it clicked with fans once you started playing it out?

Yeah, well, not surprised but I'm glad they like them all (laughs), which is good you know, because otherwise that would have been a disaster.

You can never tell what kind of songs that a music listener is going to grab hold of. "Make This Go On Forever" has gone particularly well – not that I felt it wasn't done well live, but it just wasn't one of the ones I thought would be instant. It's surprising, but that's what keeps it interesting.

Do you have any pre-show superstitions or rituals before you go on stage?

Unfortunately not, I wish I had an exciting story for you. We pretty much just try to rest. A half an hour, 20 minutes, before we go on, we keep it just the five of us in the room. And just chill out – have a beer or a chat, and some of us warm up. It's just pretty much relaxing. There's no weird devil worshipping or silly rituals involving toys, it's pretty much normal. (laughs)

No running around naked like crazy people?

No, that's for afterwards. (laughs)

"Chasing Cars" was featured on the Grey's Anatomy finale - If you could choose one television show to feature your music, what would it be, and what song would you want them to use?

Oh, that's an incredible good question. I know "Run" was used in the adverts for Empire Falls on HBO. HBO just has amazing shows. We're all huge film and TV fans – we don't watch a lot of TV, we watch a lot of DVDs, like box sets – we love so many shows. 24 is one of our favorites. One of my favorites is Without a Trace, it's just a fantastic TV show. I suppose I'd like a song to be in Without a Trace - any song (laughs), as long as it fits the mood.

You guys have quite a bit of touring under your belt now -- what are five essential tracks on any roadtripping mix?

Bloody hell (laughs). That's incredibly tough. I'll pick five songs that I'm listening to at the moment, I have a bag of CDs right here:

• The Secret Machines – "Lightning Blue Eyes"
  
• Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – "The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth"
  
• The Spinto Band – "Oh Mandy"
  
• The Flaming Lips – "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song"
  
• And let's say The Yeah Yeah Yeahs as well – "Riot"
  

2006-08-07