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The Noisette's Dan Smith
We don’t think that the Noisettes are actually on the Hotel Utah’s payroll, but they might as well be. Not too often that we find outa towners with such strong opinions about the best bar in SF, but we appreciate it. The Noisettes definitely have one of the coolest names around. Besides their new album, and a tour with Bloc Party, they’ve made time for an SFist interview and a stop at Popscene on Thursday. Not bad for a very busy and very buzz worthy band. Oh, and because they clearly love SF so much (hey, they record here!)... a very special contest just for SFist readers. Click here for a chance to win tickets to their show AND a signed drumhead.
Best show you've ever played and what made it great?
Best show was the first at the Mother Bar in the east end of London- It was
the best because it was our first and we were gripped by the most focused
positive improvisational energy and the crowd there really reacted to it.
Loudest show ever?
I wouldn't know because I'm never at the business end of our backline though
we are very loud I am told.
Best venue in the world?
Hotel Utah - corner of Fourth and Bryant in your San Francisco
Best fans in the world?
Our home crowd
What's your favorite song to perform?
"Mind The Gap" when all of us really believe it and play it like it is. It can
sometimes be the worst song to perform if that isn't right.
Favorite collaborators?
Drew McConnell from Babyshambles.
Lamest Crowd Request ever...
"Get Off!!"
Name
Daniel John Montagu Smith
Introduce yourself in one sentence
I am (according to Time Out Chicago) a "perfect, pasty, lanky foil to
Shingai Shoniwa (our singer/bassist/guitarist) who lurks in the background
with a snarling guitar."
Age and Occupation
27 years old and a musician full-time
Home Town
Croydon
How long have you lived in London and Where?
I have lived in Croydon which is a unassuming suburb of greater London for my WHOLE life and the reason why is because I am an only child in a nuclear family and my family home is full (perhaps over-full) with stuff I LOVE-namely books, antiques, paintings, old musical instruments and memories not to mention, and the best mother and father you could possibly imagine – they're artists.
Favorite local business
Beanos second-hand record emporium- Nearly went out of business last year but still going strong after at least thirty odd years. Unless of course you mean a local bay-area business, which would have to be its SF counterpart: Amoeba
What I'm currently Reading
Restless by William Boyd
Best Deal you've found in San Francisco
Got a Bloc Party tour from a booking agent who is based out there- that was an amazing thing-
Favorite mode of transportation
The BART- I took a ride from San Leandro Downtown and the driver was
narrating the journey in the style of a detective thriller with a downbeat
Bogart type voice.
Best Band or Musician to come out of the Bay Area
Best band from the bay area would be Santana-
Favorite Bay Area Stereotype, and whether or not you buy into it
That everyone smokes acid and takes microdots of marijuana- The stoner tag on San Francisco is a 60's/70's thing- it's different now- I don't buy it-
Favorite local hangout
Hotel Utah. Corner of Fourth and Bryant in San Francisco.
SF has the BEST
Bar. It's called the Hotel Utah. Corner of Fourth and Bryant.
SF would be soooo much better if only
More people went to the Hotel Utah, which happens to be located on the corner of Fourth and Bryant.
Best Burrito
I would say the Hotel Utah but I don't think they do Burrito's there. There
is a great place in San Rafael under a bridge but I can't for the life of me
remember the name of it.
Best movie scene filmed in or about SF
The car chase in Bullitt.
Place you always tell visitors to check out
I can't believe that you have no idea what I'm about to say: The Hotel Utah
on the corner of Fourth and Bryant.
Favorite Bridge in the area
Golden Gate!!!
You have two hours and $15 bucks to kill in SF, what are you going to do?
Go to the Metreon Cinema and watch a movie. Of course, if there is nothing
decent to watch, I'll cruise down to the (wait for it...) Hotel Utah on the
Corner of Fourth and Bryant and grab a nutritious meal and some great ale.
Tell us a San Francisco Story
I'll have to be concise: we played a lousy show at the Cafe Du Nord a year
ago and it was made worse because our record label went to great expense to send a mobile studio truck to record it- We split up that very night; of course Shingai and Jamie disappeared. They were the ones having a massive dispute. They returned 45 minutes later and amazed me by telling me that they'd spent time with Damien Samuels (the proprietor of the ... HOTEL UTAH) and they had patched up their differences and in the end, we all went down to the Utah and got hammered. Happy days in Noisetteville!!