You may not hear Royal Blood frontman Mike Kerr talk much during the band’s upcoming U.S. tour.
Speaking with NME, Kerr shares that he’s “100 percent” reconsidered how he approaches bantering with the audience following Royal Blood’s viral comments during their BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend performance in May.
As you may recall, Kerr sarcastically asked the crowd if they liked rock music and called their tepid response to Royal Blood’s performance “pathetic” before giving them the middle finger as he left the stage. He later clarified that he “meant no offense,” comparing it to an act of a pro wrestler.
“One thing I’ve taken from it is that it’s not worth it,” Kerr now tells NME. “As an experiment a few shows later I thought, ‘What happens if I just walk out and don’t say anything?’ That’s not something I’d ever done, but I did it and the show was great.”
“It made me think, ‘These songs and the connection between [drummer] Ben [Thatcher] and I is the thing,'” he continues. “In a similar way with drinking on stage and partying, I’d convinced myself that these were important parts of the show.”
Kerr adds that he’s also been watching how Matt Bellamy of Muse, for whom Royal Blood just finished opening, interacts with the crowd.
“At the Muse shows, [Bellamy] didn’t say anything,” Kerr shares. “I didn’t realize until I actively thought about it.”
Royal Blood will launch a U.S. tour in September in support of their upcoming album, Back to the Water Below. Before that, though, they’re playing a hometown show at England’s Brighton Beach on Saturday, July 29, during which Kerr will be making an exception to his new stage banter rules.
“Absolutely not!” Kerr replies when asked if he’ll “keep his mouth shut.” “Not for Brighton.”
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