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Snazzy, retro, trash pop with a metal edge -- that best describes the music of Ireland's pre-pubescent power trio Ash -- whose full-length debut, "1977," is a cross-genre trip through the annals of the last three decades of pop music. At one moment, Ash's melodic buzz pop seems influenced by early eighties cock rock, while the next minute Tim Wheeler's surreal vocals takes us back to the ABBA-esque glam rock of the late seventies. Then behind it all is the dominating forces of Britpop. The music is rambunctious, the hooks are unforgettable and the chords are thrashy. The combination has elevated Ash to superstardom in Europe, Australia, Japan and Thailand -- and now the U.S. braces for its Ash kicking.
The group's cruise up the charts has not come without a price, however, as Wheeler and drummer Rick McMurray almost crash landed in nervous-breakdownland while bassist Mark Hamilton actually found himself in the intensive care unit from his excesses. The pressure of having Top 10 singles before even finishing their A-levels (Ireland's high school exit exam) almost killed the band and its stream of success before it ever was. Ash is currently touring the U.S. with Stabbing Westward and will head out with Weezer later this month. During a stop in New York City, the band spent an early afternoon and a very long night speaking with Rollingstone.com's Kevin Raub about the ups and downs of life as Ash.
Rollingstone.com: You shaved your head. How come?
Rick McMurray: I let Mark get to it. He did a decent job once before so I let him have another go at it and he completely fucked it up! So, I had to shave it all off.
RS.COM: You guys have all had low moments in the past two years, and apparently, Mark felt the worst of it. What brought you guys to the breaking point?
RM: I did.
Tim Wheeler: Yeah, Rick did. Rick's bad breath and hygiene problems of the feet. No, it was just all the pressures to make records, and tour and shit. We came right out of school so we were pretty stressed out anyway.
RM: We toured for six months and then had two weeks off to write the album.
RS.COM: So Mark, you actually hit rock bottom?
Mark Hamilton: Yeah, it was bad. I actually believed I was dead at one point. I was in intensive care back home [in Downpatrick, Ireland]. I went mad after a big binge. And you know when your tripping on acid and you just freak out, but the next day you come around? Well, I was stuck there, it didn't go away.
RS.COM: And what happened?
MH: I totally blacked out in school, and I realized I was halfway down the street. I fucking crawled to the hospital. It was the scariest thing. Then I just left myself. I could have been dreaming or whatever but fucking weird things happened. I don't remember much about it.
RS.COM: What did you in?
MH: Everything -- acid, ecstasy -- everything.
RS.COM: How did the sci-fi fascination come about ["1977" is named for the year " Star Wars" came out and Mark is obsessed with Princess Leia.]
TW: I think it was from childhood, "Star Wars" and all that. We weren't born [when the film was first released], but we used to play with the toys and watch the movies. We watched lots of B-movies and "Invaders From Mars" -- stuff like that.
RS.COM: Have you met Carrie Fisher?
MH: Yeah, I got her autograph. It was the first time we were in America on a flight from L.A. to New York, and she was on our flight. She had all her kids with her, and it took me a half hour just to go up to her. I had some comics on me so I just went up. . . [Mark gestures as if holding a comic book with a look of awe.]
RM: He was shaking. We just chilled out and watched him -- it was pretty funny, he was so nervous.
RS.COM: What was Thailand like?
RM: The whole country is so bizarre. You can look out the window and see all these houses with huge fucking swimming pools in the back, and then right next to it are all these shacks and stuff.
MH: Rick and I didn't know what to expect. We came out of the airport and we thought we were just going to jump in the van and take off, but there were 300 people screaming as we came off the plane. And TV crews watched us come in, fucking videoing! We weren't even warned.
RS.COM: What do you want from America?
RM: Money and to be as successful here as we are in Britain.
RS.COM: Do you draw from personal experience in your lyrics?
TW: Yeah, quite a lot but it takes me ages.
RM: We were waiting for him to write the lyrics for two days right before we recorded the album. He said, "Hold on, just another 10 minutes!" And then