Original interview here

Stereophonics is a Welsh rock band that comprises of lead vocalist and guitarist Kelly Jones, bassist and backing vocalist Richard Jones, drummer Javier Weyler, guitarist and backing vocalist Adam Zindani. They've churned out seven albums so far and played in huge stadiums, where they headlined some of the biggest concerts such as V Festival and Glastonbury. Before they played their debut concert in Kuala Lumpur, MSN Entertainment got the chance to rub shoulders with the rock stars and find out what's the craziest thing they've done when bored (which involved wolf masks!)

How did you find your experience in Malaysia so far?

Javier Weyler: We went out for drinks last night and we've tried some of your amazing food last night.

Kelly Jones: Rendang beef, and some strange food with lemongrass in it.

Adam Zindani: And your king of fruits...

Everybody: Durian!

Having been around for more than 10 years, do you have any advice for upcoming bands who regard you as Big Brother?

K: I think if you're a musician or a songwriter, you got to believe in what you chose to do. It's a difficult time to be in this industry and there's a lot of pressure in selling a lot of records. Then there's lots of TV reality shows like X-Factor and people downloading free music - record companies put a lot of pressure on artistes and they don't develop creatively as they could before - so, stay true to your song and direction. If you succeed, then you'll know that you've stayed true to yourself.

Some of us are pretty starstruck to be in the same room as you guys. So we're wondering if you guys have any starstruck moments of your own?

K: It would have to be in 1998, where we won 'Best Newcomer' award from the magazine called Kerrang - we were seated next to AC/DC who received the 'Best Lifetime of Achivement' award. I think I was pretty starstruck as they were my favourite band when I was a kid so I think I asked Angus Young how he was about four times before someone stopped me (laughs).

A lot of your songs were inspired by women, especially Kelly's solo albumOnly The Names Have Been Change. What would you say inspires you the most when it comes to your music?

K: I started writing proper songs when I was 17 and at that point, I've never been to anywhere much and I had a long-term girlfriend. So for the first album, Word Gets Around was very much about small town stories, characters, tragedies and funny stories. Second album was much more about our experiences of travelling around the world and our first impression of America. When we get to the third and fourth album, we started growing up as men and we started reflecting back on our first-hand experiences and the journey kind of grows, you know. Then by 27 years of age and onwards, life gets a bit more complicated, challenging and you have a lot more to lose and that comes true in the music that we've been writing.

Are you guys writing new material after Keep Calm and Carry On?

K: Yeah, we write as we travel. Sometimes there's more time than others, like in Europe, we travel by bus and that's a lot easier because we have a small studio where we can put on our tape recorder and we can record on the bus and do sound checks. But when we come to countries like this, where we have to fly, it's a bit more difficult.

R: We've done like 13 flights in three weeks so...

J: We enjoy travelling and coming to a place where we haven't been before. So it's quite exciting.

It must be fun because it's like a road trip with four of your best friends in the world, right?

K: It's the best job in the world! It really is because if you're a band that gets on, which thankfully we are, we've had tough troubled times in the past and everybody does but we speak to so many bands who travel around the world but stay in different hotels - it must be a nightmare! If you've read the stuff about Whitney Houston, I mean, who's allowing her to walk on stage every night? It can't be her family members! If one of us were in a situation where we were unfit and they needed help, the other person would back you up and look after you. In that sense, it is important...

What's the craziest thing a fan has done for you or to you?

K: Tattoos. They asked you to sign parts of their bodies and the next day they come back and show you their tattoos.

R: It'll be unfortunate if they asked someone like Richard to sign... (everybody laughs).

Speaking about travelling everywhere together, who's the prankster in the band?

K: That changes! I think pranks come from downers. When you're feeling down, then after a walk somewhere, you'll find something to do. Like a good example, we were bored and low in San Francisco when we bought that masks? (turns to Richard) We walked past this shop, went in to buy some big wolf masks and chainsaw-faced masks, and we put it on and wore blankets. So we got up on our tour bus and got our tour manager to bring us cigarettes and as soon as he opened the door, we (makes a growling voice) 'Arghh' and filmed it. It was our entertainment for the day!

Do you see yourselves retiring from the music business?

K: I don't think I would like to retire; if anybody retires, it kind of stops. I think we all active people and we've got families and stuff.

J: If we do get tired from travelling on the road, we still have a place to go to. We've got a good balance with our home life and work - as long as you're happy within yourself and what you do there's no reason why you just can't do.

K: I don't think you ever retire when you're a musician, really. Things change; you might be 75 and you might not want to go out and get bald...

J: Bald and grey...

K: I'd still be a musician so... must we talk about being bald and grey? (everybody laughs)