Talking to two-thirds of The LaFontaines feels a bit like watching a tennis match set to dubstep.
Frontman Kerr Okan’s in his house down south, fresh in from taking the ‘wee man’, his 22-month-old son, to the swimming baths.
“It’s madness man,” he smiles wearily. “I was trying to get him to stop pulling stuff out of people’s lockers, but-”
Alas, the details of that mischief are lost to the annals of digital communication as Kerr’s bandmate Jamie Keenan materialises on the Zoom, backed by the glare of a blinding sunny sky.
“Sorry, my headphones weren’t charged!” the drummer announces. “I’m on this beach on Croatia so let me find somewhere quiet.”
“You literally said to me today: ‘Tell me the times of the interview so I can make sure my headphones are charged'” Kerr chastises through a grin.
“Aye well, turns out they’re not!”
Three original LaFontaines thick as thieves
And so it goes, in the way of old pals, which it’s clear these Motherwell boys are – despite The LaFontaines’ tendency to change up their line up every few years.
“What happens is,” Kerr says conspiratorially, “every three or four years we have a kind of Battle Royale. Whoever survives get to stay in the band.
“So we’re down to three, and probably by the end of next year we’ll be down to two. It’ll probably be me and Jamie, let’s be honest,” Kerr winks. “Daz is a wet blanket.”
Guitarist Daz (Darren McCaughey) isn’t on the call to defend himself, but it’s obvious the three original members of The LaFontaines have bond which is built to last.
“I’ve never spent as much time with anyone as I have with Daz and Jamie,” Kerr says. “We just happen to be the three people left who still like each other.”
“We can still stand to share a room,” pipes up Jamie.
“Aye, I could share a bed with… well, Daz, more than Jamie,” Kerr replies. “Jamie wakes up at half three in the morning and drinks, like, a full bottle of fizzy juice.”
“Two litres of Fanta every morning,” Jamie confirms with pride. “Tell ye what, the Fanta over here slaps. It’s like the American one, a bit darker orange.”
Tale of Dundee’s ‘gull whisperer’
Jamie reveals he’s calling in from Zadar, which he explains to me in Tayside terms as “the Broughty Ferry of Croatia”.
And the lads are looking forward to their upcoming gig in Dundee, for the show as well as the chance to look for the man they call “the gull whisperer”.
“We came to Dundee 12 years ago, according to Jamie’s WhatsApp memories,” Kerr says.
“We had this old tour bus we used to kick about it, it was falling to bits, and when we pulled up in Dundee that day, there was this guy coming to the show who was from a label or something.
“He came on the bus, and as soon as he did, about 30 or 40 seagulls swarmed the bus. So we just started to call him ‘the gull whisperer’.
“Now when I come to Dundee, I just think of him. And very good nights out – which always end up in the casino. Hardly the best places, but it’s always a great time!”
‘Undeniable tune’ saved the band
This tour, and this album, are especially important to the band, as they almost never happened.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, Kerr reveals he “was done with music completely”.
“At that point, we’d put about 13 years into the band, we were touring Asia and Europe, had an album in the Top 40 – it felt like we were properly, finally on an ascent.
“Then the world went to pot and it all went away from us, and I was just done with how we’d been left high and dry.”
But just as he was ready to pack it in, Kerr received a song idea from Jamie which turned everything around – and become the title track of their new album, Business As Usual.
“He sent me this thing and it was just an undeniable tune,” smiles Kerr. “He saved the band.”
“I always knew I would,” nods Jamie.
Balancing tour and fatherhood ‘with difficulty’
But in the meantime, life had changed significantly for Kerr. He became a husband to Channel 5 TV presenter Storm Huntley and a first-time dad to baby Otis – so how is he balancing life on the road with looking after a newborn?
“With great difficulty,” he admits. “It’s shattering, man. The only reason I can do it is that I have a wife who’ll chip in, but she also works so it’s a constant struggle.
“It used to be that I’d put this band in front of absolutely everything. I’d ditch a job for it, I’d ditch a holiday abroad if a gig came up, I’d ditch my pals for it – but I can’t ditch this wee guy, he’s mine!
“And he doesn’t give a f*** about the band at all!”
Otis may not care about the band, but the band certainly cares about him. One song on the new album, July 11th, is all about him – something dad Kerr can’t quite believe.
“If you’d asked me three years ago, would I ever write a tune like that, I’d have been like: ‘That is the naffest thing I’ve ever heard, never!’
“But it’s just one of those things – you need to write about what you know, and he was the only thing on my mind.
“So I wrote a wee tune for him.”
The LaFontaines ‘still the benchmark’ of a live show
Known for their powerhouse live shows, The LaFontaines have a big reputation to live up to as they head north-east this weekend. Do they think they can hit the heights of their pre-pandemic energy on stage?
“I’m not just saying this,” says Kerr, “but 100% yes. In my head, we’re still the benchmark of a live show.
“Of course, you get that with footballers who are getting a bit older – the mind still works the same but the body can’t do it. That might well happen!”
The LaFontaines play Church, Dundee, on Sunday June 16 2024. Their new album, Business As Usual, is out Friday June 14 2024.Â
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