THE PALE WHITE
What was the highlight of supporting Sam Fender and how do you decide on who supports you when you go on tour ?
We’ve played with Sam a few times over the years and it’s absolutely mind blowing to see the way its built in size for him over the last two years. We’ve done shows with him to a half full room in Guildford, right through to sold out shows in theatres in Europe, and a huge Newcastle O2 Academy show recently. I think the highlight was probably when we went over to Europe and supported him out there. Playing sold out shows out there was incredible. Amsterdam was a particularly good show. The gig was rowdy and it was the final night so everyone was giving it their all. We went and did karaoke in a bar afterwards and it ended up being a pretty rowdy and memorable night. When it comes to bands supporting us on tour, we have to be fans of the music and the people. I think getting on with people is the biggest thing cause it’s a lot of time to spend around each other... but you also want to be away with bands where you actively want to hear their songs every night, or take inspiration from the way they’re interacting with the crowd. We’re big supporters of all the bands we take out and they usually have a connection to home (Newcastle) in some way. We’ve had some class supports come away with us in the last year... Feva, Drool, On Video, Fever Days. Some brilliant stories that will definitely have to remain untold.
How does music make you feel and has it ever been your therapy?
We’ve all always been obsessed with music. Our whole lives revolve around it essentially. If you didn’t absolutely live and breathe being in a band and love what you do, how can you expect other people to care? Going into the studio and having a breakthrough with a new tune is one of the best feelings there is. It is like therapy I suppose. For the few hours you’re locked away working on that new song, the outside world and any problems can be put on hold for a bit. It’s escapism for us.
What was your highlight of your southern tour 2019’?
There was quite a few highlights on the southern tour. It was amazing showing up to places all over the UK that we’ve never set foot in and have people there who had been dying to see us. Cardiff Clb Ifwr Bach is an amazing independent venue. The people who work there are so accommodating and quite clearly just love new music. It makes a massive impact when you get to a venue on a long run of dates, where the days are beginning to blur into one a little bit, and to have a venue make you feel welcome really doesn’t go unnoticed. The London show was a big moment for us as well. To have a room full of people singing our songs back to us was pretty life affirming. A lot of those people have followed us from the beginning and you can really feel how much they love the music and how much it means to some people. It’s a pretty humbling feeling.
Photo credit: Daniel Stark
You perform with such high energy, who would you compare your performance to and who inspires your performance style?
In different ways, across everything from songwriting, playing style and their presence, Nirvana have been a big influence on us. They managed to carry that sweaty DIY club show feel right through to the big stages. I think at the end of the day, people are paying good money to come and see you perform and you owe it to them to try and help them escape for an hour and have a good time. It’s pretty flattering that people have payed to come and watch you play. We try to give everything we can at every show. We will never be that band that stares at their feet throughout the set. We like to put on a performance.
What makes music so important to you and why?
Music brings people together. It stirs emotions you didn’t even know could be stirred. It’s one of the most important forces in the world. It’s subjective depending on different tastes and therefore there are so many varied styles and new things to constantly discover. It forms memories. It’s incredibly important. A world without it would be pretty dull.
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What are your plans for 2020 ?
We have a few festivals that have been announced such as The Great Escape in Brighton and Dublin, 110 above festival, Truck Festival and This is Tommorow, and also a few still to announce. We’re going to be releasing more new music very soon (very soon) and are hard at work recording something very special. Towards the back end of the year we want to be out touring as much as we can. It’s going to be a big year.