Frank Carter Has Nothing But Pure Love...For Cats Not Yoga

Frank Carter and Jim Carroll of Pure Love.

When I found out that I was going to interview Pure Love, I thought of Pure Love's very first gig back in February. It was there that I trod on Frank's mic lead, and he shouted in my face "GET OUT THE WAY YOU FAT FUCK!". I didn't get to speak to him after the show, but I could sense we'd bonded. The flecks of spit on his F's and T's, were enough to convince me.

So, as certified best buddies, I didn't waste time talking to Frank and Jim about trivial shit like their new band, or Frank's old band (Gallows) or Jim's old band (Hope Conspiracy). Instead we talked about yoga and polydactyl cats.

Noisey: Hey guys, how was last night's gig?

Frank: Great fun, we both feel like we took it to the natural next step and felt really comfortable. I'm a lot happier now with the sound, now.

Jim: I was working out some kinks. I think it was a good warm up for the next few shows.

Are you guys booked up for the summer, I know you have Reading and Leeds right?

Jim: Yeah, we have a handful of stuff. Just the record doesn't come out till October.

The album's confirmed for October?

Jim: As of right now, yeah.

As of right now, like, in this interview?

Frank: As soon as you put it in print, then the record label has a deadline.

At the first show in February you looked pretty happy. Actually I was there, trying to grab some pictures and I trod on the mic lead. You called me a "fat fuck" and told me to get out the way.

Jim: Hahahaha.

Frank: Really? Sorry, I really can't remember that.

I only remembered that on the way down here. I was like, "Oh yeah. Frank called me a fat fuck; I should probably bring that up."

Jim: Hahahahahhahahahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahah.

Frank: I don't remember that. I don't remember that at all. It probably wasn't directed at you.

It definitely was. No, it's fine, I can take it. I just made it up to you by getting all up in your face with a camera.

Jim: [wiping tears from his eyes] Oh man…

Frank: I honestly can't remember that, that's really mean. That's not the kind of shit I do!

I wouldn't have made it up.

Frank: Nah, nah, nah, I believe you, trust me.

Jim: [now making a strange groaning noise]

Frank: I was quite stressed out that night.

Jim: Hahaha.

Pure Love's new single, "Handsome Devils Club".

So, moving on, are people picking up on the songs yet?

Jim: There was like this group of kids that all had Pure Love shirts on. There was just a line and they were arm-in-arm, jumping up and down and singing along to a song that hadn't been released, but they were singing all the words.

Frank: I think kids are really getting into "Anthem," people seem to love that song.

Which one is "Anthem"?

Jim: Its kind of slow, kinda bluesy.

Frank: Its lyrics are like "Down, down, down, down we go." So everyone's like: Play "Down"!

Jim: "Down down down!"

I got it.

Frank: Play "Down"!

Jim: "Doooown!"

That-

Frank: Play it! Play "Down! Down! Down!"

That must-

Frank: "Down!"

That must be frustrating.

Frank: Last night I was clear to say, "This one's called "Anthem", so now you know."

Cheers.

Frank: Stop asking me for "Down down down down"!

OK.

Jim: Frank writes lyrics and melodies that you can easily sing along to. Whenever he would sing something I'd be like, "Yeah, that's it" and he'd put it down.

Frank: Not to sit here and suck each other's dicks all day, but the music he writes allows me to do that. We've got a good partnership.

You are kinda sucking each other's dicks, right now. Verbally, anyway.

Frank: Basically the band is Jimmy and I, so the decision making process is super simple. If there is stress it maybe lasts fifteen minutes.

Do you have any methods to try and cool down if you do have a little stress?

Frank: We beat the shit out of each other, twenty-two rounds.

Jim: We had this little 10 x 10 room where we would go blood sport on each other.

Frank: Pull up the drum mat, pin that to the wall and just bare concrete. No shoes, no biting.

Jim: We had some chains in there. We dipped our hands in glass. It was good.

The band's first single, Bury My Bones.

Sounds fun. Where did the name of the band come from, by the way?

Jim: It came from a band called the Mahavishnu Orchestra. They're like a '70s prog band. I was just listening to them at work one day and we had been going back-and-forth. We had a list of names. I don't know if we both actually liked it or were just sick of picking names.

Frank: Nah, I loved it.

Jim: I saw and it and was like, "Yes." I G-chatted Frank about it, and he made stickers that night.

You made your own stickers that night?

Jim: He printed them out and broke his printer. Then we went around Brooklyn sticking them everywhere.

Cute.

Frank: I spent like $60 on printer paper, $100 on cartridges…

That totally sounds like when you're fifteen and you start a band and it's like "Right, we gotta make all this stuff in my bedroom right now!" Sticking stickers to CDs and folding black-and-white sleeves you just printed into see-through wallets and everything is amazing.

Jim: It totally was like that! I didn't start a band like that when I was younger. This was a total 15-year-old thing. We didn't have a drummer, we were just like, "Yeah, we have a band. Well, we don't actually have a band but we have these songs, and they're pretty good!"

Frank, my editor has requested that I ask you what is up with all the cat pictures on Instagram? And why have they stopped? I don't really care, I just had to ask you.

Frank: Well, I had a kitten, who I fell in love with, called Bronson. I was enamoured with him, it was like having a kid. When I have a kid I'm sure my Instagram feed will just be blocked up with my kid covered in chocolate or shitting himself, or something.

Is this the cat on your head, like what Morrissey loves to do, in your Twitter profile pic, right?

Frank: Yeah, on my head.

Frank with Bronson, thinking about hardcore or something.

What happened, where's Bronson gone?

Frank: I don't see him much anymore coz my ex and I broke up and she took the cat. I miss him terribly. I wasn't intending to get a cat at all. There's like a pound round the corner from my old house in Brooklyn and I had a dream…

Jimmy: This is… oh, geez.

Frank: Fucking hell, it's bringing it up now. I never really cared for animals that much, but I had a pet parrot when I was younger that I loved. Anyway, I had this dream about this little kitten that walked up my hands and sat on my head and I fell in love with him, you know? And when I woke up that morning I said to my girlfriend at the time, "Fuck, I, I, I think I like cats. I had this weird dream, I think I might just wanna go and meet a kitten." She was like, "Weird, coz the pound round the corner's having a kitten adoption today."

So I went round there and the cats there that day were all polydactyls, which means they've got an extra thumb, so they're fucking mental. They're just hanging off the cages and climbing round and I was thinking, "I can't really get down with this," cos at the time I was painting the apartment and there's just shit everywhere and it's just gonna kill itself. It's gonna climb on a pot of turps and I'll come home and it'll be all stoned, or something. But there was just one chill cat that was the spit of the cat in my dream, with grey, beautiful eyes. I said, "Can I hold him?" and I picked him up and it was the exact same feeling I had in my dream. He fell asleep in my arms and that was it.

Jim: [sniggering]

Frank: [to Jim] Fuck off, you do yoga everyday! So that was it, I was smitten, fucking kitten fell asleep in my arms, I was in love. Totally, fucking in love. We got him and that was it… at my side everyday.

Cool story. So, Jim, you do yoga?

Frank: Hahahahaha.

Jim: I do do yoga, yeah. I do.

Frank: You should see him, he's doing headstand press-ups before the show, I was impressed.

Jim! How did this start?

Jim: I've had back pain for like the last year of my life. It's been plaguing me.

From playing?

Jim: Playing and whipping my head around when I play.

Frank: Whipping his head around when he's not playing, just walking down the street.

Jim: Yeah, just like [shaking head around] "euuu-eugh-eugh-euuuugh-ah-eugh!"

Frank: It's like a L'Oreal advert.

Jim: I dunno, yoga's the only thing that's helped me in the least, it's very soothing.

Can you give me your top three yoga positions?

Jim: Top three? Wow. Yeah, why not?

JIM'S TOP 3 ROCK N' ROLL YOGA POSITIONS

No. 1 - The Headstand

Jim: I love doing headstands. I'm just getting good at it.

Can you do them without additional support?

Jim: I usually have to go against the wall, just to make sure I don't fall over. I definitely fell over in my hotel room the other day, but I'm getting better at it.

Cool. Number two?

Jim: I like doing "Side Crow".

No. 2 – "Side Crow"

What's "Side Crow"?

You're basically on your arms and your whole body is to the side.

That's sound pretty athletic, could you…?

Jim: I'm not going to do it for you.

Fine. Number three?

Frank: Did you drop the "Downward Dog" yet?

Jim: "Downward Dog" is always good.

Frank: It's a classic, like the Katsu curry of yoga positions.

Jim: That's number three.

No.3 – "Downward Dog"

OK Jim, can you explain "Downward Dog".

Jim: That's the one that helps my back the most. On all fours and your head kind of hangs so your spine can just stretch out. Yesterday I did and it just went "Crrrrrriiiiiiiick!"

You're quite a tall guy, too.

Jim: Yeah, I used to run all the time and that fucked me up. Tall people can't run.

I'm glad it's working out for you, Jim. I think that's the end of 'Jim's Top 3 Rock n' Roll Yoga Positions'.

Jim: Phew.

Frank. Oh my God.

Before I go, I need to ask you one more super lame question. Could you sum up Pure Love for me, I'm looking for something for the main quote for the article or something?

Frank: It's just a fucking fun band.

Great.

Pure Love's new single "Handsome Devils Club" is out 23rd of July. Their debut album will be out in October.

Follow Josh on Twitter @joshuahaddow