Kate Nash is well on her path to becoming massive. Her single "Foundations" is out now and her debut album will be out soon.
Armed with a dictaphone, a banjo and an old Q&A book, we met with the lovely Miss Nash at an office in London. We were only
given ten minutes.
Roy: Tell us about your album.
Kate Nash: I haven't finished recording it yet. I've been recording with Paul Epworth and
I'm really excited. I'm not happy yet because it's not finished so I feel like I can't relax about anything until my album's
finished. We need it to come out in September because of all the press I've been getting and because people are asking for it
all the time. It's gonna be really cool.
Rob: Do you feel that the pressure is making you rush things?
Kate Nash: In a way... I sometimes feel that it's not my choice that it has to come out
soon but I know that if it doesn't, I'll be bored and people will find something new and people will ask why is it
taking so long. This is my time to really push my career in the right direction and also I know I won't release anything
that I'm not happy with. I won't release an album that I'm not proud of. So it's not too much pressure 'cause I know we can
change the dates of mastering and stuff if I need to have some more time.
Roy: Everyone seems to be saying "Kate Nash, oh she's the new Lily Allen". What do you feel about that? Like? Not like?
Kate Nash: I don't know. She's been really supportive and really helpful and that's been
really good for me
but at the same time everyone wants to be an artist within their own right. I think we're actually really different.
I've listened to her album and we are different and just because we're young girls from London we are boxed into the same
thing but it's fine because I haven't really released anything yet. When my album comes out that would be what people can
judge me by.
Rob: What did you want to be as a little child?
Kate Nash: I wanted to be an ice cream lady because I thought I could just eat ice cream
all day in the van. I really wanted to do that. That was when I was really young and then I wanted to be a marine biologist,
I just wanted to hang around with dolphins.
Roy: Who's your favourite artist... of all time... or one of them...
Kate Nash: I'm going to say Regina Spektor because she was the first person I really fell in
love with when I was sixteen or seventeen and I just couldn't believe... she inspired me loads.
Roy: Who's your favourite visual artist?
Kate Nash: I'm not very good at that kind of thing. What, like paintings and stuff?
Rob: Or something that you like...
Kate Nash: I'm not good at names and stuff. Oh god, I want to be cleverer.
I only remember stuff that we looked at at school like... Salvador Dali - He's pretty cool
Rob: Surreal.
Kate Nash: Sur-Real!
Tim Burton I really like. His drawings...
Rob: I've got this old book, it's like agony aunt questions from last century so...
I will open it at random and ask you a question.
Kate Nash: It looks wicked.
Rob: The question is - should a mother in law share a bride's home?
Kate Nash: No way. Oh god no. You are going to kill the relationship and each other. There you go.
Roy: Choose a better one.
Rob: Here's another one - My nephew steals and is lazy, how should I deal with him?
Kate Nash: I love that question. You need to make him respect you and other people. My mom and dad have always
given me leeway because they trust me for morals and stuff. I am taking this so seriously aren't I? Rather than shouting at
them, make them feel kind of guilty about doing it and show someone why you shouldn't do something and
threaten them that they are going to end up at Safeway for the rest of their lives and maybe make them work there for a month.
Rob: Could you draw us a self portrait?
Kate Nash: I'm really good at drawing actually. I do draw portraits of everyone.
I'd love to draw yours but it would take me about an hour.
Rob: We haven't got long.
Roy: Ten minutes.
Kate Nash: [Drawing]
Roy: Do you have any pets?
Kate Nash: We got two dogs.
Roy: What are they called?
Kate Nash: Max and Molly.
Roy: Why?
Kate Nash: It took us ages to figure out the names for them actually.
Me and my sisters, I've got two sisters, were having a bit of a rubbish sisterly time, not being friends
and not getting on and being a bit rubbish and then we had a breakfast to make up and y'know... and then we
were driving home and we saw the pet shop and there was a sign on the door saying labrador puppies. We used to have a labrador
when we were young and we were like, "Oh my god, I'm ringing the man right now" and we all got really excited and we were like
"Mom, we booked an appointment to see some labrador puppies" and we thought she would be like "ugh" but she was
very excited and got changed and we all went and we fell in love with this chocolate girl and this black boy. Max
is so stupid, and he is banging into things all the time and he loves Molly so much. She's really like a cat,
she's such a bitch and if you pay more attention to Max she will not speak to you for three days.
Rob: Is there a question you always wanted to answer in interviews. As long as it's not really long.
Kate Nash: I don't know. I love talking about stuff. I guess more about writing and what that means.
Rob: Your writing or reading writing?
Kate Nash: Both. My writing and short stories and film scripts and stuff.
Rob: Who are your favourite writers?
I'm really kind of obssessed with Tim Burton. I'm reading his autobiography and I really
like that because you read about what inspired the people who you're inspired by and you can really get a history.
Poetry and stuff I got into because my friends are performance poets and they tell me about stuff. There's loads.
Roy: What poets do you like?
Kate Nash: Aisle 16, they're my friends, you should listen to them, they're really good and...
what was that book? The worst thing about me is that I'm really rubbish with names... There's a book called Letters
and something [Birthday Letters] and my friend was showing it to me and is Sylvia Plath the one that burned in the oven?
Roy: Yeah
Kate Nash: and the guy who...
Roy: Ted Hughes.
Kate Nash: Yeah, I'm reading that. So dark!
Rob: It's very intense.
Kate Nash: Yeah, so dark. Yeah. It's mental.
Rob: Do you know the song Hound Dog?
Kate Nash: Yeah.
Rob: Want to sing it?
Kate Nash: Ok.
[to Roy] Will you clap with me?
Roy: Sure.
Kate Nash:
Roy: What do you look for in a band member?
Kate Nash: Sense of humour. Skill... a little skill not too much skill.
I had another drummer who didn't quite click with. Someone who wants to actually hang out and who gets excited
about music and gets excited about gigs and is funny. Why, do you want to join?
Roy: Yeah.
Kate Nash: What do you play?
Roy: I clap.
Kate Nash: You clap? Ok. there's always room for clapping.
Rob: [reading from Roy's notepad] What's your favourite word?... that's a stupid question.
Roy: It is.
Kate Nash: Egg. Say egg!
Roy and Rob: Egg
Kate Nash: Sounds good doesn't it?
Roy: Do you have any nicknames?
Kate Nash: Nash, Nassanoid, Nashville
Rob: Nashville Skyline.
Kate Nash: Nashville Skyline.
Rob: Has no one ever called you that?
Kate Nash: No. What's that TV programme? It's like Nash something? Nash Bridges,
that's like an old cop programme. I don't have very good ones, they're just like my name with a bit of something on. What's yours?
Roy: Roysville
Kate Nash: That's really good
Roy: Royster, Rooster, Roybles, TOM.
Kate Nash: [laughing] Why Tom?
Rob: His second name is Marmelstein and it's short for The Original Marmelstein.
Kate Nash: Wow! Someone called me Cake Stash before instead of Kate Nash. Actually, I've got
good ones! Bangers and Nash and Nash Potato or Kate Mash, they're good. [to Rob] What about your nickname?
Rob: People call me Robby.
Kate Nash: That's rubbish! How can you slag off mine when you've got worse?
Rob: Also Robear and I get called Bobbert by my friend's dad.
Kate Nash: What about Robbo?
Rob: Everyone thinks they're going to call me Bob but they never do. I made a nickname for
myself which is Robbety Bobetty Bobarooni, Avatrino Pascketi Concona Tornoto but it never quite caught on.
Kate Nash: I think people should call you Cornetto.
