by Emily Tartanella

The Go! Team is one of Britian's hotest exports and they're here to rock the microphone. With a genre-bending mashup of sounds, the Go! Team are set to be one of the "it" bands of 2006. If the "goddamn music industry" doesn't get to them first.

I conducted an interview with lead songwriter Ian Parton, who enlightened me as to their girl group roots, morbid sense of humor, and disapproval of Duran Duran.

Earvolution: Okay, let's start with some basic information. Who are the group members? How did the name "The Go! Team" develop?

Ian (The Go! Team):

Me – Ian – I write the music
Ninja – live vox
Sam Dook – guitar, banjo, drums
Kaori Tsuchida – guitar, recorder, piano
Chi Fukami Taylor – drums
Jamie Bell – bass

The name came from an article I read about plane crashes. The go team are the people who clear up the wreckage – so it's fucking morbid really.

Earvolution: Your group is really one of the most diverse and unique on the British scene. How did you all come together into one band?

Ian: Well the real answer is that I wrote the songs and then thought how the fuck am I gonna do this live? So I pulled in 5 other people – a mix of friends and adverts got us together within a few weeks.

Earvolution: Your music, especially in songs like "Ladyflash," comes from a variety of sources. You can hear theme songs, funk, even classic girl-group sounds in there. Where did that range come from?

Ian: Yeah "Ladyflash" is like a tour of girl groups thru the decades-- taking in Phil Spector-y type stuff and electro. Just stuff I've always loved. I started off with guitar stuff like Sonic Youth and wanted to weld that with sounds like car chase horns, Jackson-Five stuff, Bollywood, Public Enemy. All I knew was that didn't want to just be another guitar band.

Earvolution: It seems like the music of The Go! Team can appeal to many different kinds of people. Is there an "average fan" of your band?

Ian: I really don't know - it changes all the time. Sometimes we have school kids, sometimes middle aged women, sometimes hipsters -

Earvolution: How did it feel to have someone like Kevin Shields [My Bloody Valentine] working on a Go! Team remix?

Ian: Brill – if somebody told me when I was a kid that Kevin Shields would be a fan I wouldn't have believed them. He totally nailed a sound and was obsessive about production and not selling out.

Earvolution: Do your songs, which often seem quite positive and energetic, reflect your personalities?

Ian: Well I wrote the music so it has more to do with me than anyone – particularly on record. I am naturally attracted to action packed things but I'm not exactly super happy all the time. I'm a realist and have strong opinions about stuff particularly the goddamn music industry. But, we're all quite laid back and ego-less really.

Earvolution: Was it a surprise to be nominated for the Mercury Music Prize?

Ian: Yeah – I'd always thought it was cool when people didn't show up and always thought that's what I'd do but I bottled it. It felt like a victory cause the record was made for hardly any money and was released without any fuss and marketing budget.

Earvolution: The Go! Team are also renowned for being great live performers. Did you look to any other performers to emulate on stage, or try to establish your own style?

Ian: Well not everyone agrees we've nailed it live. No, I can honestly say that there was no other band we were trying to copy but the excitement of Sonic Youth, maybe Le Tigre and even the Rock Steady Crew.

Earvolution: How would you sum up this past year?

Ian: It's just gone further than I thought it would.

Earvolution: What are your plans for the future?

Ian: Desperately trying not to sell out despite label pressure is my main worry. We're playing the Big Day Out in oz, got a big UK tour in Feb, back to the US in march and then hopefully a new fucking album.

Earvolution: Lastly, what would you like all our readers to know about your band?

Ian: We recently turned down a support slot for Duran Duran.

Earvolution: Sweet! We can respect that.

[Ed. Note: Photographs are linked to owner's Flickr account. Some Rights Reserved.]