Keane in a Strangeland

The band that brought you the hits, "Somewhere Only We Know" and "Everybody's Changing," is here in Manila for their first show in the country. We had the chance to see Keane a night before their concert and were pleasantly surprised at how fun they were, even indulging a question about what makes them cry (Lots of things: onions!).

1. On what their music is about. Tim Rice-Oxley (piano) shares, "Our songs tend to be very melodic. They're really emotionally honest and so much about us. We're not very interested in being cool or in fashion or playing any kind of games to try and be popular.  We've always wrote about ourselves. It's difficult to be very honest in a song when you know that lots of people are going to hear it and judge it. It's not unique, but I think that's something that sets us apart from a lot of bands."
2. On their musical influences. Tom Chaplin (vocals), Richard Hughes (drums), and Tim all grew up in the same town and knew each other as kids and shared a lot of musical influences together. Tom shares some of them, "The Beatles, U2, Pet Shop Boys, REM, Queen." 
3. On doing covers. Jesse Quin (bass) says, "It's an opportunity to have fun doing music but not really worrying about the outcome whether people are going to like it." He also shares that every time they do a cover, such as Queen's "Under Pressure," it's sort of a weird musical fantasy that they are Queen.
4. On staying together. "We've known each other for years. I think that helps," Tom says. Tim adds, "We just love making music. As long as you love making music together, then you should try and preserve that."
5. On what fans should expect from their show. Tom says, "A mixture of old songs and new songs. We really enjoy playing the new record. It's our first time here so it's our first time playing any of our songs here in the Philippines. We'll mix it up."

Catch Keane tonight at the SM MOA Arena at 8pm. For tickets, log on to SM Tickets. Strangeland is available at all record bars nationwide.