Brighton band Brakes (or Brakes Brakes Brakes if you live in America – more on that later) are a busy bunch of boys… A long time ago, TMM sent them some questions – and then, like an anxious mother, we waited with bated breath by the phone/letterbox/computer for word. Brakes were being cool and aloof – and it made us want them even more! We needn’t have worried: frontman Eamon Hamilton eventually reared his genius head to give us a few insights on life. We hope you’ll agree they are well worth the wait.

Tell us about the new AA side single – what was the inspiration for the songs?
I came back from a short tour and noticed that I was overdrawn at the bank by about £2.45, so I went down to sort it out. I found out that I’d been overdrawn for four days, and that they were charging me £25 a day as a punishment, so I now owed them £100 for a two quid breach. The branch wouldn’t help me; eventually I had to ring up their ‘customer service’ number, who reduced it to £75. I was fucking livid and came home and wrote Why Tell The Truth (When It’s Easier To Lie). Worry About It Later is about the loss of control that you get when you fall in love.

What does the title of your new live album, Rock Is Dodelijk, mean?’
Dodelijk is Dutch for deadly, and our title is a pun on their cigarette health warning rocken is dodelik (“smoking is deadly”). We like the Netherlands.

Why should people have Touchdown in their record collection?
Because it is good.

Complete these sentences:
A perfect weekend is… rare
If we weren’t doing music we’d be… depressed
My ideal festival line-up would be… Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, Terry Reid and the Ex

You have a young family now: would you encourage your daughter to be a rock star or steer her away from that fate?
She’s going to be President of the USA.

Do you often get confused with the American band the Brakes?
We changed our name in the US to Brakes Brakes Brakes because the Brakes threatened to sue us if we didn’t. We didn’t have the money to fight them.

Politics have influenced your songwriting in the past (the well-known “Ch-, Ch-, Cheney / stop being such a dick!” line springs to mind) – what are your thoughts on the political situation in Britain right now?
Anyone who votes for Labour in the next election is a brainwashed fucking idiot. Lies, Iraq, Where’s the gold? If you vote for them you are a moron. I’d prefer it if everyone voted for their local independent instead, but they won’t, they’ll vote Tory, so I’m going to put £20 on them winning at Ladbrokes.

You’ve played with several supergroups over the years and received bountiful praise from critics – one might expect you to have a big head… are you modest or overtly proud of your achievements?
We are fucking awesome.

Would you like more commercial success?
That would be nice. We are trying to be the biggest band in the world, to have U2 support us, but these things take time and money. We have the time…

New AA side single Why Tell The Truth?/Worry About It Later is out today (November 9) and was reviewed in today’s singles club. They’re also nominated for TMM’s Album of 2009, and need your votes! Visit www.myspace.com/brakesband for more information on the band.