FEVER
How does music make you feel and has it ever been your therapy?
Hmmm, I don't think I'm necessarily the sort of person to consider it 'therapy' by any means, but I guess what I listen to generally reflects my mood or surroundings. For example, we have 'party' tunes on in the dressing room before a gig, but there's no way that's happening the morning after when we've got to travel in the van all day! I'm finding that in 'lockdown' I'm either seeking out completely new music and albums I've never listened to before, or I'm listening to loads of what you'd consider 'classic' albums. Tim Burgess' twitter listening parties are definitely the reason for the latter!
What are your emotions surrounding supporting Blossoms later in the year?
Just excitement I guess! We'd only played around 10 shows as a band before going out to do them shows with Blossoms in March, so to then play venues like Nottingham Rock City & Sheffield O2 Academy that early on is still a bit nuts. Can't speak highly enough of the Blossoms boys, The Magic Gang and all the crew involved in that tour. Looking forward to getting back out with them, as soon as it's safe to do so!
What are you most looking forward to musically after lockdown and how has it effected you so far ?
I think the big one for us is to be able to get straight back in the studio and work on some new music. We were hoping to get straight to work on an EP off the back of the Blossoms tour, so obviously all of that has had to be halted for the time being. We've just released a single called 'Electric' a couple of weeks ago, but that'll be our last one until we can get back in the studio. All being well, we're hoping we can start recording early July and hopefully have something out around mid-to-late August, but that could all change, so who knows? Nobody saw this coming and everyone's in the same boat, so it's just a case of sucking it up, learning to adapt as a band in the current climate and making the most of it!
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What was the inspiration behind ‘Electric’?
I wouldn't want to put words in James' mouth when it comes to the lyrics, but musically we had 'Electric' from very early on. The first track we worked on as a band was 'Jungle Man', but this probably wasn't far behind. In comparison to either of our previous two singles 'Jungle Man' or 'Money Love', we felt like 'Electric' was our most 'complete' sounding track to date. I think we we're aiming for that classic 'pop' song writing that we grew up on, whether it be The La's 'There She Goes', The Coral's 'Dreaming Of You' etc. That's not to say we think it's at that level by any means, but it's what we were aiming for. Although this was around from the very beginning, we purposely decided to hold off on releasing it until now, so that it could reach a bigger audience post the tour with Blossoms!
What makes music so important to you and why?
It's all I know how to do ha! In all seriousness though, I can't really remember a time when I wasn't into music and drumming in bands. I think most lads in bands probably have that moment of realisation around 13 or 14, when it becomes clear that they're nowhere near good enough to be a professional footballer, so they chuck themselves into music instead! Obviously being in bands can be incredibly frustrating at times, particularly when the chips are down and you're maybe not getting that bit of luck that you need. I've found my own enthusiasm for it has definitely wavered over the years throughout different bands. At the level we're at the moment, we're all still working normal jobs (a mix of bar work, office jobs, warehouse work etc), but running the band has essentially become like having a full-time admin job, but it's unpaid of course! I think what I'm essentially trying to say is... I've got absolutely no idea why I do it most of the time, but then you'll play an amazing gig or a tour like we've just done, reminding you exactly why it's so important and why you continue to do so!
What has been your all time high experience as a band?
I think collectively as a band, we'd definitely all say the Blossoms tour, without a doubt. It was as good a ten days as we could of wished for. We'd be lying if we said we weren't nervous going out, just purely because none of us had ever done a tour of that size and due to the lack of shows we'd played prior to it. We can't thank the Blossoms boys enough for taking the chance on us, when they really didn't have to. They gave us that tour before we'd even played a gig, madness! Only a couple of weeks before that tour we we're playing to less than 20/30 people at some out of town shows, so to then be put in front of nearly 2,000 people some nights was a bit of a leap! I think we were most pleased with the fact that once the opening night nerves were out the way, we felt like we really held our own at each show. Obviously we're a million miles away from Blossoms or The Magic Gang's level at the minute, but we were really heartened with the response we got each night from the crowd!
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