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    <description><![CDATA[Q: Why are you called William?

A: We are named after a pub back home - The King William - where our bassist Mark was both conceived and born.

Q: The songs are constantly changing shape and direction - is this a conscious decision or do they naturally develop like that?

A: Art is always a process of groping in the dark, and the worst part is you don't even know what you're looking for. Many of the songs don't so much 'develop' as occur accidentally, after long, arduous periods of apparently futile struggle. Others come together much easier, though through an equally mysterious process: they seem to just 'be there' already, and all we have to do is position ourselves to receive them. Both these examples are really the same thing, i.e. it's always a question of becoming a medium for the song, just that some days this is effortless, and others harrowingly difficult.

Q: How did you come together?

A: At the time we met we were all going through similar battles, both with ourselves and with what's commonly referred to as 'reality'. In other words, we did a lot of drinking. We frequented the same pubs in south-east London, and one night we just got talking about music etc and said we should get together and play. Normally you just say that and nothing happens, but this time something did happen, though what that thing is we are still discovering.


Q: Lyrically I can hear themes of cultural frustration and disconnection.
Discuss.

A: Well those are bound to sound like clichés when put like that, but living in times when all alternatives to corporate culture have apparently been stamped-out, one is bound to experience some 'frustration', as you put it, though that term seems rather too mild when you recognize what's at stake, which is nothing short of one's personal survival when faced with insurmountable odds.

Q: The lyrics also seem to frequently address an individual - is this a
particular person or a type of person?

A: Well this is what I was hinting at above. If one desires to be an individual - that is, to think for oneself and act upon rather than suppress one's deepest needs - then one immediately faces the monstrous, towering antipathy of the world. There are outside forces that will destroy you in an instant given half a chance. But we have certain defences against this. Music is one such defence.

Q: How are the songs written and who provides what in the creative process?

A: After a short prayer session, I throw it open to the floor for ideas. The others, being drunk and/or stoned, usually grunt and moan, while I try to change the world in under three minutes.

Q: Name some non-musical influences.

A: Our time in America, where we realized that Manifest Destiny could be applied to a contemporary pop context. Lego. John Waters' moustache. Nick Dixon's beard (pre-trim). Cup o' mud. The Animal Kingdom. Haunted Houses. David Markson.

Q: Gavin, did you develop you vocal style deliberately or did you just open your mouth and it came out that way?

A: It came out pure and fully formed, like the Saviour. It was a gift from God.

Q: Where do you want to go?

A: 'He who seeks to find himself is lost. He who consents to be lost, finds himself.'

Q: Would you ever expand beyond a three-piece?

A: See above.

Q: Very melodic songs but no choruses - design or accident?

A: Hmmm, well there actually are choruses but, again, the songs are accidental initially, and then we work like dogs to perfect them.

Q: Who should be getting William?

A: Anyone who happens to dig them. There is no preferred type of fan because if you like William then you must be basically alright.

Q: How important is the visual side (photos, artwork, stage costumes) of the band?

Sometimes, you can polish a turd.

Q: There is a very American college rock side to your sound - have you heard of Blur and the Kaiser Chiefs?

A: We all went to college in America. We went to movies and took out cute broads. I drove an Oldsmobile. Wendy's was our restaurant of choice - sometimes you just need a Biggie inside you. We would be lying to ourselves and our fans if we didn't acknowledge this.]]></description>
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      <title>MemoryNet</title>
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      <pubDate>Wed, 12 Nov 2008 06:12:12 -0800</pubDate>
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      <title>hard to heart</title>
      <link>http://virb.com/williamtheband/photos/1693850</link>
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      <pubDate>Wed, 12 Nov 2008 06:04:28 -0800</pubDate>
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      <title>william_album</title>
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      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Nov 2007 15:33:22 -0800</pubDate>
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      <title>fox light</title>
      <link>http://virb.com/williamtheband/photos/1431567</link>
      <description><![CDATA[<a href="http://virb.com/williamtheband/photos/1431567"><img src="http://g.virbcdn.com/i/resize_575x575/Image-167470-871205-william_fox_30aug07_010.jpg" /></a><p>live at the fox</p>]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 Sep 2007 11:46:27 -0700</pubDate>
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