"I want to make this really clear, I did not beat up Amy Macdonald"

Interview subject: Stina Tweeddale, Boycotts
Location: Beanscene, Glasgow
Time: 12.30
Background info: Boycotts are a punk-pop band based in Glasgow and all the members have nicknames. There's singer and lyricist Stina Tweeddale (Stina Twee), guitarist Joe Gillies (Josef K), bassist Graham Young (Dragon) and drummer David Dunsmore (Hardcore Dave). Stina and Joe are high school friends from Edinburgh, while Graham and David are Hamilton boys.

Stina Tweeddale, 20, used to play solo acoustic sets at open-mic nights in Edinburgh, but she headed west to study economic and social history at Glasgow University, where she is just about to complete her third year, and did what all proud parents hope their child will do... she started a band.

BOYCOTTS may only have been around for a year but they already stand out from the pack thanks to some absorbing three-minute alternative pop tunes like Beat On The Dancefloor (the Music Alliance Pact choice for May) and Luella And Lies, not to mention a glamorous frontwoman which, let's face it, is a bit of a rarity these days.

THE POP COP: Is image important to you?
Stina: “I know people pay attention to us because I’m a girl in a band but it doesn’t bother me. I suppose there are a lot of groups of four boys with side-fringes. I’ve always thought of myself as one of the lads anyway. I don’t need straighteners, unlike the rest of the band. Joe has more cleansing products than me.”

What inspires your lyrics?
“I used to write a lot of ‘nobody understands me’ stuff but it gets really tedious. Most of the songs are about relationships with people, not just love interests, except Scarper which is about Virginia Woolf. It’s the only one that’s fictitious.”

What is Luella And Lies about?
“It’s about when someone you know, say in a past relationship, has not been a nice person. They’ve broken up with you and they’ve started seeing this other person. It might be going really well just now but they can’t hide the fact that they're a dick. Luella is the designer Luella Bartley. It’s about buying nice things for someone and then treating them badly. People seem to like that one.”
Stina's idols are Morrissey, PJ Harvey, Tom Waits and Jenny Lewis, but her father has been the biggest influence on her music path. Sandy Tweeddale has made a living as a full-time musician since he was a teenager and plays in Blues'n'Trouble, a well-respected band on the blues circuit, as well as Blue Hyenas.

Is it safe to assume your dad taught you how to play guitar?
“No. My mum forbade him! She would say, ‘Music ruins lives’. She was so scared I was going to take up music and not go to uni. But when I was in first year at school, we were offered free music tuition and I chose guitar. All I wanted to do was be able to walk into the room when my dad was there, pick up his guitar and play a G chord then an A chord and say, ‘Look what I can do.’ I kept it a secret for about a year. Then one day I went home and played a wee song for him. And he said, ‘I knew you were doing this’. My mum had told him months ago but he didn’t let on. It totally ruined my surprise. I had worked so hard as well.”

Is your mum OK with you being in a band now?
"It’s fine now, she’s got over the fear. My mum always cries when I sing. The first Boycotts gig my parents came to was in January at Limbo in Edinburgh. As soon as mum saw me, she was like [exaggerated shriek] ‘Oh, you’re going to be famous’."

Why did you not stay in Edinburgh?
“It’s so boring. It’s beautiful but it’s not a good place to grow up and everything’s really expensive. When I came to Glasgow I couldn’t believe that anywhere you go is as cheap as chips. You can buy a vodka for 70p. For me, that was a total revelation! I do love Edinburgh but Glasgow is definitely where I call home. I was always coming through here to see gigs and that was one of the reasons I decided to go to Glasgow Uni.”

How do you juggle your studies and your band?
“It’s hard work. I do enjoy my degree - if I didn’t, I would have given up by now. But if anything was to happen to the band it would be dropped at a hat. I know that’s really bad and I should be grateful that I’m at uni but the band comes first. Don’t tell my mum that, she’d go mental! I never pay attention in class - all I do is daydream about my band even though it’s the most unstable thing I’ve ever done. I also work part-time at Firewater."

Someone told me that Amy Macdonald got beaten up by some girls in Firewater a couple of years ago? Did you heard that one?
“Really? That’s hilarious. It might have been me. No, really, it wasn’t. I want to make this really clear, I did not beat up Amy Macdonald. I might have paid someone to do it but I didn’t lay a finger on her. I think she’s alright, actually. I’m just jealous. Honestly, pure jealousy. [laughs] Why didn’t I get it instead of her? I could play the main stage of T in the Park.”

4 Boycotts - Luella And Lies
4 Boycotts - Locked Out (live)

b May 23, Nice 'n' Sleazy, Glasgow (Stag & Dagger) (tickets)
b May 30, Busby's, Montrose (Montrose Music Festival) (free)
b June 25, Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh
b June 26, Hootenanny’s, Inverness,
b June 27, The Waterfront, Wick
b June 28, The Greenside Hotel, Glenrothes
b June 29, The Captain’s Rest, Glasgow
b July 3, The Doghouse, Dundee,
b July 18, Harley’s Bar, Bathgate
b August 7, Harley’s Bar, Bathgate
b August 8, QMU, Glasgow (supporting Carl Barat)
b August 14, The GRV, Edinburgh
b August 15, ABC 2, Glasgow (EP launch) (tickets)
b August 20, Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh (The Mill) (free)
b August 21, The Doghouse, Dundee
b August 22, The Greenside Hotel, Glenrothes
b August 24, Snafu, Aberdeen
b September 19, The Captain’s Rest, Glasgow

p.s. The winner of the Stag & Dagger competition was Catherine Lamont from Glasgow