Kasabian rides its influences to stardom

By Aaron Richter, Senior Staff Writer

Published March 8, 2005

Stephen Wells is having his 15 minutes of fame. Clutching a crisp silver ticket, Wells turns to his band mates and says, "Looks like this one's our train."

Since their first single hit the club scene, Wells and his band, Quagmire Olympics, have been labeled as the United Kingdom's next big thing and honored with a ride on the Hype Train, a blisteringly fast British locomotive that helps bands either launch into greatness or fall into obscurity.

Approaching the entrance, Wells hears a deep rumble and notices the sides of the train shaking, as if the whole thing were one giant subwoofer. He leans toward the well-dressed man taking tickets and asks for the source of the raucous.

"Oh, you didn't hear? Kasabian's throwing a week-long party on the Hype Train to celebrate the release of its self-titled debut," says the man, who appears to be Bez from Happy Mondays, only in non-dancing mode.

Aboard the train, Wells searches for a spot to leave his bags, but all the cars are packed with sweaty bodies rhythmically slithering to Kasabian's grinding dance-floor hit "Club Foot." The sudden jerk of the train on its tracks causes Wells to fall into a bow-tie-clad Bobby Gillespie from Primal Scream, who is handing out copies of NME with a cover touting Kasabian as "The Best Band in Britain."

"No worries," Gillespie says. "Just wait for them to play ''''''''&sup1"&Aring"Â"Processed Beats.' That funky bass line and semi-rapped chorus are sure to calm the fans down. Care for a bit of ecstasy while you wait?"

Wanting to keep his wits about him, Wells declines the offer but follows the source of the music to a car that magically expands to unveil the band atop an enormous stage. Dressed in a tuxedo, Ian Brown sweeps by carrying a tray of cocktails. Brown angrily mutters, "I wish I had written this song," as the looped beat of "Test Transmission" opens up into a bright synthesizer celebration.

Kasabian vocalist Tom Meighan swings from the ceiling before falling into the sea of people for the stomping drums of "Cutt Off." When the song ends and the subdued Moon Safari-styled "Butcher Blues" slows the crowd, Meighan breaks to scream, "We're coming for you America. Prepare to be Kasabian'd."

Unsure of exactly what that means, Wells is bowled over by a tussling Liam and Noel Gallagher, who are fighting about whether to offer Kasabian the opening spot on the series of arena dates they have planned for Oasis.

"They'll upstage us every fucking show," Liam warns.

"You know my dream is to be a dancer, and I want to fucking dance," Noel says. "After all, we ripped off British bands before Kasabian did. They'll fucking make us look genuine."

Wells begins to wonder if anyone on the Hype Train cares about Quagmire Olympics. He wonders if a band that plays original music has any business being on the train in the first place. Not one groupie asked for his autograph, though he carries four new Sharpies in his pocket. Everyone is so entranced with Kasabian's pilfering of British musical history that Wells becomes sick with anger.

"Get me off this fucking train," he screams. "I'm going back to playing weddings and school dances."