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Band Of Skulls (Marsden, Richardson, Hayward) are buzzin'

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"Or maybe desperate. [laughs] A little bit of both. You have to be prepared. And by hook and crook we recorded our own album - little bits of it must've gotten heard as we were making it because right as we were finishing it we were offered a chance to be the iTunes Single Of The Week."

That must've opened doors. But how did the iTunes people actually find you?

"I think one of our early releases made it onto various websites, you know, where they go 'If you like this band, try this band' - that kind of thing. It was a bit random, but still, it never would have happened if we didn't record our own stuff and get it on the web.

"Funnily enough, the song the iTunes people asked for was I Know What I Am, which we hand't even finished, so that put a bit of a deadline on us. Still, it turned out great.

"So many bands break up before they have their shot. It's like a marriage: if you think you have a chance, stay together."

"Something I want to say, however, if I can give anybody anything to take away from all of this is, yes, you have to hone your skills and be a good, interesting band - of course. But you have to take chances and put yourself out there. Nobody's going to come find you in your basement. You can be the most amazing band in the world, but if you don't get your music in front of people, it's not going to happen.

"And another bit of advice: Don't break up. So many bands break up before they have their shot. It's like a marriage: if you think you have a chance, stay together. People get so impatient."

Let's talk about the sound of the band. I detect quite a bit of American influence in what you guys do. There's a bit of The White Stripes, stripped-down approach, but your vocal style and guitar sound is very reminiscent of early Smashing Pumpkins.

"Pretty true, I would say. I think I get a bit of my guitar style from a lot of American acts. I like guitarists who are daring, who take chances and play 'outside the box,' as it were. When you listen to people like Jimi Hendrix - he's a big influence influence - or those early Smashing Pumpkins records, you can't not be affected."

Like Hendrix and Billy Corgan, you seem to mix up the blues with a crazed, heavily distorted psychedelic approach.

"Yeah. I think that's because I played in a blues band for a short while. Kind of got my blues chops together. Very important, that was. Made me well-rounded. But I do like out-of-control sounds. I love guitar sounds that just take your head off."

And vocally, there's the balance of vocal styles. You and Emma work well together.

"Oh, absolutely. I wouldn't want to listen to me for an entire record. [laughs] Talk about boring! No, what Emma brings to the band as a bass player is fantastic, but as a vocalist, she's crucial to our sound.

"A lot of bands can carry on quite well with one singer and you don't get sick of them. I like bands that offer more variety, so that's what we try to do. If you get tired of me, don't worry, something else is coming." [laughs]

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