I arrive for my interview with Peace to the sound of ‘Higher Than The Sun’. The tour manager confirms that the soundcheck has run over, so I have a beer with support act Jaws as they are interviewed by another journo. My OxStu counterpart turns up during this and immediately makes the unfortunate error of mistaking us all for Peace. They don’t seem to mind (I certainly don’t!), and the interview turns into a conversation between the seven of us.
I meet Sam Koisser and Dom Boyce on the roof of the O2. After a few jibes about Oxford we get going. “We’re gonna be quizzed now”, mutters Sam, and neither of them manage to produce an answer when I ask them what year the Peloponnesian War was. With that crucial question out of the way, we can get onto talking about the band. Speaking about the early media attention which Peace received, Dom remembers when the band were NME.com’s Radar Tip of the Day, recalling that “I think we went out and got mussels”. Sam confirms mournfully that they couldn’t afford lobster and that they really only went because “Doug had 20% off at Café Rouge”. I suggest that they can get lobster after their first Wembley gig, and Sam laughs, remarking “We’re climbing the shellfish ladder”. With regard to all that early attention, Sam says he thinks that for “some people it goes to their head a bit too quickly. They act like they’ve made it. We still feel that we’re at the very beginning.”
As we talk musical influences, Dom reveals a passion for Hit, Miss or Maybe, while Sam claims most of his early music taste came from “anything used on the Tony Hawk soundtrack” and goes on to joke that he’d love to work with Slade (“they could teach us how to write a Christmas number 1”). It is then revealed that Dom the drummer didn’t have to play for Peace. He had options. “I’ve always wanted to be a carpenter” he remarks, also saying he’d probably be working in a pub if he wasn’t in a band. Sam reveals business acumen as he points out “you could build your own bench seating”. If only this ‘band’ wasn’t in the way! “I know,” he says. “It’s annoying. I’m trying to get it over and done with” (“Burn bright and fast” remarks Sam).
Peace are heading back to Birmingham right after the gig, Sam tells me mournfully. “We usually like to go out after playing.” He tells me the band were keen to visit Hi Lo on Cowley Road. During the gig itself, Peace are their usual energetic and charming selves. Lead singer Harry Koisser, Sam’s brother, seems overwhelmed at times, blowing a kiss to the audience during ‘Float Forever’. As they begin ‘California Daze’ at the start of the encore, he announces “if you’re gonna make out with someone, now’s the time to do it”. Sadly, the bouncer hasn’t let in my plus one, the charming Oliver Davies, so I’m unable to do so. Despite this major disappointment, it was a fantastic night.
