Journalist Alan Cross has shared a preview of the interview he conducted with No Doubt yesterday as part of the band’s Canadian press junket. He mentions some highlights and that audio and video of his interview will be released before the album comes out in September. Curiously,he writes that two of the song titles are “Busy Signal” and “Take It Easy”-we think though that these might be typos since the band shared in the past that one of the songs they recorded is called just ”Easy” and Busy Signal is the name of the dancehall artist they collaborated with on the title track.
Yesterday was a bit rushed. Up early, drive to the airport, fly to NYC, cab to West 26th Street, 20 minute No Doubt interview. Repeat in reverse.
The new album, Push and Shove, comes out September 25th and is the first full album of No Doubt material in 11 years. I had a chance to talk to everyone in the band and the full interview (audio and video) will be available before the new record comes out.
I can, however, offer these highlights:
1. Gwen Stefani is as gorgeous as you think she might be. I was taken by her fingernails, each of which featured perfect tiny black-and-white checkerboards in the ska tradition.
2. The band is a little freaked out by everything that’s happened in technology since the last record. When Rock Steady came out in December 2001, iTunes wasn’t even a year old. The iPod had just been released six weeks earlier. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and Wikipedia were yet to be invented.
3. There was a long, difficult period of writer’s block in 2005. It took going on tour to break through.
I had a chance to listen to the album. If you’re a No Doubt fan, you’ll be pleased. I really liked the title track. Other song titles include “Undercover,” “Busy Signal,” “One More Summer”, “Looking Hot” and “Take It Easy” as well as the first single, “Settle Down.”
Much, much more as we get closer to the release date.