The Sheffield Scenester

We caught up with the Rotherham four piece just before their headlining Soundclash gig at the 02 Academy for a little chat...unfortunately there were only three present at the interview... because Simon was still in the bath..! but they decided to go ahead with the interview and joked that the rest of them might actually get a few words in..!

SS: So what were the best and worst bits of 2009?

Paul (Bass and vocals): It’s been a good year and as the year progressed the fan base has grown and some have become a bit more obsessed with us...it’s good to plan gigs now where everybody is singing back your lyrics and it’s good to see people and faces you don’t know...locally our fan base has grown and in London as well, that’s our two main priorities at the minute – Sheffield and London, obviously our London crowd comes from playing KoKo...

Rich (Drums): Worst bit as a band...was a couple of weeks back at Leeds when we got our van broken into...sat nav got taken....

Paul: One of the worst things also...is the impatience...like the further you get along or the further ‘up the ladder’ you get...the more impatient you get....you really want to take that next step. It’s just about keeping our feet on the floor and keep doing what we’re doing...

SS: So how do you see yourself progressing in 2010?

Rich: Main stage at the Leeds festival...no....it would be nice to get a lot of festivals next year...we haven’t really pushed to do any though have we?

Paul: Here’s an exclusive for you...actually we’ve been asked to play South By South West...!

Rich: I didn’t even know this...and I’m in the band?!

Paul: It all depends on the kind of finance we get...because it’s a long trip to Texas. We’ve been asked to play it and fingers crossed the guy who’s working for us is going to get some funding for it...other than that we’ve definitely made a conscious decision...in the past during interviews we’ve always said ‘we are honing our craft’...and haven’t released anything...you know waiting for a certain point when we’re happy...well next year we’re definitely gonna release our first single.

Rich: We’ve had a few people come up to us offering single deals...

SS: Oh...was that the man you met in Rotherham that time...you know the last time I interviewed you..?

Paul: We’ve been working with him and to be honest things haven’t progressed as well...but he’s the guy who’s got us on the South By South West thing...but other than that...we haven’t been in contact with him really...

Will (guitar and vocals): No we’ve really been doing our own thing...

Paul: I think...really...at this stage we’re more worthwhile doing it for ourselves instead of getting someone else on board at the minute.

SS: So...what’s been your biggest challenge as a band?

Paul: That were a kick in the teeth when we went from a 5 piece to a 4 piece band...at the time we thought it was the right decision, but when we got together and started rehearsing as a 4 piece, a lot of people didn’t like it. A lot of record labels backed off completely and we haven’t heard from them since. There was a time when we thought we might not work as a four piece...but we stuck by it...rehearsed a lot and as you can see things are going really well.

Will: We’ve been struggling to write new songs recently...it’s taking longer than normal.

Rich: We decided at one point not to book any gigs and just concentrate on writing and it’s just not happened...we seem to write better when we’re gigging.

Paul: When we are gigging lately...’cos we do gig a lot...when we do get into rehearsal rooms we are under pressure to get new songs wrote and I think that’s where our best songs come from...we’ve wrote a couple of new songs for tonight at the Academy.

SS: What gets you in the right frame of mind to write a song?

Rich: It’s a case of...like rehearsing...either Paul or Simon will be playing guitar at home and they’ll come to rehearsal and they’re...like...”I’ve got this, that and other...” Sometimes Simon...like with the last song...he’d got 2 sections of it and a rough idea of melodies...he’d come into practice with it all and we just did the usual get together....

Paul: Another thing...when we used to write new songs it all used to come from a bass line...’You Me Them us’ it’s got a heavy bass line...but recently...it’s been more built around melody. I think that’s come across more in our new stuff.

SS: How’s the new material coming along?

Paul: The new stuff is a bit more poppier, it’s still got that...I wouldn’t say dancy edge...but it’s still makes you want to dance in a way. I think the melodies are a lot stronger as well which people seem to enjoy a lot.

SS: Anything else you’d like to add?

Paul: We’ve got the Christmas party on the 21st at the Harley with Driftrun.

Rich: We’ve got Balcony TV in London on 9th February...it’s like a really big TV internet station, they get bands from around the world...you know big up and coming bands...they come and do a song and an interview.

Well that was pretty much it...I thanked the lads for their time and went to review the first band on stage at the 02 Academy. I have to say I could have chatted to them all night because they are a lovely bunch of lads who deserve even more success in 2010.

Interviewer Gail Buckthorpe