VMP Interview with CHILDCARE

Ed Cares is CHILDCARE. A band with a sound so good, you’re going to wonder why you haven’t heard of them already.

I was able to borrow some of his time, in between his writing of hit songs, and taking over the world, to chat about verbs, nouns, his appearance on ‘Take Me Out,’ and his forthcoming EP, to be released on Best Laid Plans Records, come September.

VMP: I’m sure a lot of folks who are reading this aren’t familiar with CHILDCARE, yet. Can you describe CHILDCARE in five adjectives?

Ed: I’ll use verbs. To guitar. To sex. To snigger. To use a lot of energy. To loud.

VMP: Can you describe describe yourself in five adjectives?

Ed: I’ll use nouns. Ego. Small moustache. Hayfever. Above average height. Above average length.

Vinyl Me, Please is a subscription-based vinyl website. Each month, one album is carefully chosen for the growing subscriber base of music lovers of all tastes, and ranges. A few recent choices have been Courtney Barnett, Diarrhea Planet, etc. If you could choose the next three months of records for our subscribers, what would they be?

Ed: Diarrhea Planet!? Not sure I can top that. Let’s say the new Bombay Bicycle Club album because it’s got some super sweet tunes on it.

VMP: Your video for “Gotta Wait” has to be up there in my favourite videos of the last few years, easy. It’s visually stunning, with a tense climax, and eventual ending (I won’t give it away here). What was the story behind that madness?

Ed: The song is about a guy in prison who is asking his girlfriend to wait until he’s out so they can be together, he’s sorry for being there and hates that it keeps them apart. So we can see the going mad as an extension of that. I wanted to show the band to my tens of adoring fans so had to see it as a developed performance video. And going on Take Me Out allowed me to use the footage to add to the surreal nightmare that is a Saturday night dating show.

VMP: What’s your dream tour, and why did you choose those artists/bands?

Ed: I’d probably head out with one one of the big bands from the real heyday of being in a band. So Led Zeppelin or AC/DC. They really had a lot of money, didn’t they. So I’d go out and take drugs with them and share cold sores like in Spinal Tap.

VMP: What are your five current favourite songs? Other than “Gotta Wait,” I’m intensely invested in the new Kwabs EP personally, as well as Olivver’s single “Attica '71.” I may also be found listening to “Turn Down For What,” if no one’s looking.

Ed: “Turn Down For What” is a good choice. I like Tune-Yards - “Water Fountain.” I like Kyla La Grange - “Cut Your Teeth.” I like Damon Albarn - “Heavy Seas of Love.” I like “Lazaretto” by Jack White. I love anything by Katy Perry.

VMP: Do you have any “guilty pleasure” songs/artists? Spice Girls have got some great tunes.

Ed: I suppose we’d have to count Katy Perry as a guilty pleasure but I don’t feel guilty about it, I think she’s great. Her video for Birthdays is so incredibly good, you seen it? I guess I’ll never know because this isn’t a conversation, it’s an interview. (VMP: I have. I have a huge girlcrush on Katy Perry. How can one not love her, and her brand of pop.)

VMP: What’s the record store you grew up frequenting? Do you remember what the first album was that you purchased with your own money?

Ed: I grew up in a lovely little town called Saffron Walden but I can’t remember the name of the shop. It was just off the High Street. I had the most vile, disgusting awful taste when I first started buying music because my parents didn’t listen to much pop or rock. So one of the first albums I bought was Celine Dion, or this boy band called 911. Shortly after that I redeemed myself with something by Fatboy Slim.

VMP: CHILDCARE covers EP. What songs would be on it?

Ed: Maybe a HAIM song. Then CHILDCARE covers. I bet everyone makes that joke. Only the second part was a joke though.

VMP: So, what can we expect from Ed Cares/CHILDCARE in the next few months?

Ed: Putting an EP out with a new label called Best Laid Plans in the next few months. Apart from that just the usual; nannying, cycling, cooking, cleaning, dreaming.

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