Mo - Ho - Ho Yippie Yo Yippie Yay

They're named after an extinct species of Hawaiian birds, they have a habit of sporting all sorts of dodgy gear and they're ready for takeoff. We're talking Mohobishopi. If the world's got the poison, they got the golf visors. Talking about which, why on earth would anyone pick flashing golf visors as an ongoing theme in the first place? Singer/drummer Martin's expplanation for the Moho's heights of fashion is this: "You know when you walk into a gig and you got these sort of...when we first started there was all these grumpy, shoegazing, Manchester wannabe bands who all take themselves too seriously. And all this nonsense, we really didn't want to take part in it. So we just went really over the top to dislocate ourselves from that. So that's how it started, and then people just got stuck into it. Even to a point where we did shows and we've just gone on straight and people were disappointed. So we kind of have to play a game now which is fun". No need to worry, Mohobishopi are in fact very different from your average guitarband, and that has to be a good thing. So what do they think they're doing? "We have no idea what we're doing. We're hoping the fans can interprete it", speculates a confused Martin. Fair enough. That brings us neatly round to Mohobishopi's fans. What sort of people do they attract? Your average indiekid or what exactly? "We haven't met all of them, but independent, free thinking, intelligent, invigorate, inspired, different characters. That's what we want in a Moho-fan", says Martin.

What else do they want then, in terms of the band rather than its following? "We just wanna do as much as possible. We wanna be one of those bands that people can look at and just wanna stick to us. We started out, we put out a seven inch, we didn't sign. A single came out two years ago...we just wanna go as far as possible. Money is just like...it just gets stupid, you can just spend ridiculous amounts of money on nothing at all", states a rather modest Rich. So what's the best thing about being in Mohobishopi? Rich and Mike reckon the best thing about the band has to be Martin. And speaking in non-Martin terms? "Play guitar and do all the things that bands do. Nothing specific really, it's just like, you get money, you go out, you play shows, you go onstage, you have a great time, you go out, you stay in hotels. And you work with all these bands and they've obviously been picked up on, like, day one and really spoilt. And we have, like, worked at petrol stations, so everything is a complete luxury to us, even just getting a raider or getting some us to drive us. Or even someone setting our gear up, it's the first time that happened. It's just great. Just everything about it". Words of decency by, yet again, Martin.

And Mohobishopi have indeed done quite a bit of touring since they first started out, supporting both My Vitriol and King Adora. So what are the downsides of being on the road? "It's just continuous, isn't it? Like, dealing with the whole concept. You're just on a train, you're just on something and you can't get off. You get into it. It's like when you go out all summer and you're into it and then you're like 'Oh, I just wanna go home'. But then, later on, you just get a second inspiration. But it's really great being on tour", Martin reckons.

Everything seems perfectly alright on planet Moho then. Or is there any thing they'd like to disappear off the face of the earth? Mike suggests, that getting rid off foot and mouth would be a good plan and would also like to introduce more, er, cod, whilst Rich would like to ban screens in rooms that are there to hide things. Martin takes "things" a bit further and plans on getting rid off entire situations: "I tell you what I really hate. I hate it when you say goodbye to someone and then you see them again. I'd get rid off that situation. Is that possible? Say, we do this interview and then I say 'see you later or whatever' and then in two minutes I see you again. Or when you're on a flight and you're sat next to someone and you don't wanna start talking to them. Cos once you start there's gonna be that awkward tension. I'd either get rid off the person or off double seats". And as if that wasn't enough, he'd also like to make fake punk ethos to disappear. I'd get rid off all that stuff that's trying to be...like punk. You know when it first came round, it was really cool and all that, and now people are still making references to punk and are, like, buying into cool. You got all these bands like Linkin Park, who're all trying to buy into this punk ethic. And then people who're really making a difference are getting ignored. Like The Fall, that's really quite outstanding". Mike jumps on the bandwagon and declares he'd like to dispose of Hear'Say altogether. He later admits that Hear'Say do have their place in the industry though.

Another thing, what could be more annyoing than bad TV ads? Mike recalls "the new Mc Donalds advert. You know the old man complaining about the price of things. 'How much are you paying a month?'...'180 pounds a week sort of thing' and then he ends up eating at Mc Donalds". Rich on the other hand turns out to be some sort of fastfood ad expert: "Or the singing one. 'I've done wrongwrong' or something. It came out for mother's day, about a month ago, 'we do wrongwrongwrong' (starts singing), and it's for McDonalds". Oh dear. It is probably time for the final thought. Rich and Mike obviously can't think of anything decent, so Martin saves the day: "Slurping should be banned, that's my final thought".