Beth Jeans Houghton and the Hooves of Destiny are heading to Gateshead. ANDY WELCH caught up with them
LAST time I was in LA,” says Beth Jeans Houghton, breezily, “Neil Young drove me around Malibu in a Cadillac.”
It’s this kind of story, falling easily from the young singer-songwriter’s lips, that makes it clear Beth has got her feet firmly on the music ladder.
At first it seems incredible that a 21-year-old from Heaton in Newcastle might spend the day with someone of Young’s stature.
But factor in the rumours about a relationship with Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis and things become a little easier to understand.
Now laughing at the ridiculousness of it all, she says: “I don’t know him or anything. I was with a mate out there who said he was going to see ‘his friend Neil’ and that I should go with them.
“He collects Cadillacs, I think, and he turned up in this gorgeous white car and drove us around Malibu Beach all day. He’s a very slow driver, but a lovely man.”
Beth first caught the attention of the music press three years ago with her debut EP Hot Toast Volume 1 (a nod to her intolerance of wheat). It seemed to signal the arrival of a new star, one rooted in a folk tradition but, with her penchant for outlandish stage attire, possessing an eye for the flamboyant.
She’s now backed by the Hooves of Destiny, a collection of friends, and has been waiting to release her debut album, Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose, for the last two years. Beth is currently back in Newcastle to enjoy a bit of home cooking before heading out on tour.
“It’s just so exciting that all the things we thought would happen two years ago are finally happening,” she says.
“It’s kind of weird too. I’m worried my head might explode.”
During the wait they’ve busied themselves with performances and seeking out fun.
“Any musician that says they’re not having fun is either doing it wrong or lying to appear cool,” she says.
“Why would they be doing it if they didn’t enjoy it?”
“It’s certainly not for the cash any more. Everyone in this band has a lot of fun, we’re really good friends and we all live close together so we hang out.”
The years between 17, Beth’s age when she wrote most of the songs on the album, and 21, can be among the most formative. Not so with Beth, who maintains her personality hasn’t altered much in the years between the album’s conception and delivery.
“Of course I’m singing about things that happened a long time ago, but I still stand by the way I felt back then. There isn’t a song on the album that doesn’t suit me.
“We knew we had to keep the songs fresh, though. So where we could, we cut back on playing the songs from the album when we performed live. Now, when the tour starts, we can’t wait to start playing them again.”
Beth Jeans Houghton and the Hooves of Destiny play Gateshead Old Town Hall on February 25. Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose is out now.