The nickname frequently used by my friends - ‘Katie lazy bones’ was put to the test Friday morning. Alarm sounded at 8.45am, snoozed it for 10, and then woke with the startling realisation that The View’s lead guitarist, Pete Reilly was calling me from Scotland in 5 minutes! I leap out of bed, find my notes, clear my throat and scull a double shot coffee. Ready at last.

I sit by the phone and wait. And wait. And wait.

Finally it rings and I am connected. Being my first phone interview, I am rather nervous. But the voice answering my questions on the other end was friendly with a thick Scottish accent, so we hit it off and all nerves eased.

I kicked off with a question we all wanted to know – ‘What do you hope to get from your Australian Tour commencing this month?’ Pete answered with ‘I’d like to see a bit of sun actually.’ Well coming into summer, I informed him that us Aussies could certainly promise that! The band performed tours in Australia in 2007, with a live set of ‘Same Jeans’ on Rove and loved it so much they wanted to come back.

I wanted to know what artists have inspired their music, and the lead guitarist answered ‘All types of music, especially the Beatles and Oasis.’ This sparked a pretty interesting chat about Oasis, as I am a huge fan. I was finding this phone interview was going really well, although at some points due to the connection time, we were speaking over each other. But all good!

I wanted Pete to describe ‘The View’ in three words. For this he laughed in his sweet Scottish accent and replied ‘Pure, dead and brilliant!’ He then changed his mind to ‘Edgy, raw and energetic’ but decided he liked the first one.

Next question on my list for this indie rock band was ‘Explain the your latest album’s name ‘Which Bitch?’ Who’s the bitch?’ For this he laughed and said I would have to ask Kyle Falconer, the co-songwriter, rhythm guitarist and pianist for the band as he made it up. This wasn’t possible as he was at home asleep but I am still determined to find an answer.

The View’s much-anticipated second album ‘Which Bitch?’ was released early this year and has since proven to be a chaotic delight for all indie lovers. They combine pop with sweet melodies and tease listeners with tremendous twists. Featured on this album are the successful songs ‘5Rebeccas’ and ‘Gem Of A Bird’, so if you’re into western-inspired piano lines and acoustic guitar verses, this is the album for you.

I always wonder what successful artists are listening to, and so I asked who was rotating on Pete’s IPod. For this he replied ‘Rolling Stones. Nothing new is taking my fancy, but I really like Kasabian’s new album.’ The View toured alongside British indie-rock band Kasabian in 2006, a tour that successfully raised them up in the music world.

‘What is the biggest challenge as a band so far?’ Pete laughed and replied ‘getting out of bed everyday, nah just kidding, we take every day as it comes.’

As time was running out, I ended my interview with one last question ‘What’s your vision for ‘The View’ in 10 years time?’ Pete replied ‘Trying to get back in America and Japan and become the biggest band we can.’

We said our goodbyes and I wished them luck in their coming Australian tour. You can see this amazing band live at The Falls Festival in Lorne of Marion Bay or in any major city from January. Head to their MySpace - www.myspace.com/dryburgh to check out more!

- Kate Duncan