Hiya folks thanks for joining us in the virtual RGM lounge today, grab a brew and take a seat.
What made you decide to start a band / become an artist?
Lucie: I started playing drums with my dad when I was 9 and have loved it ever since. I’ve been in bands for ever and will never stop ????
Introduce us all to the members?
Lucie: Holly is the guitarist/main vocalist and is the people person. She knows everyone and when we’re out at gigs you will always find her chatting and meeting a tonne of new people.
Lauren is the bassist/baking vocalist and is the cheeky one. She cracks jokes all day long and comes up with incredible ideas.
I am the Frenchy drummer. I always have food in my bag and the first thing I ask when we get to a venue is “are there beers on the rider!?”
So tell me a little bit about you and what you like doing for fun?
Lucie: as per above I love food and will not skip a meal for any reason so a lot of my budget goes on trying new restaurants, nothing too fancy though. I got a bike recently and love exploring new places around London. I opened an online shop that sells handmade things like bags and coasters!
How do you think the government have looked after the the night time economy / live gig circuit?
Holly: This year has been incredibly hard for musicians, venues and anyone who works in the music industry. The government have done and said some really stupid things like ‘musicians and people who work in the live music industry need to re-train’. They finally came through with some vital funding but it’s still a very rocky road ahead and a lot of venues are still on the red list.
What’s one question you’re sick of being asked when interviewed?
Lauren: It’s less in interviews but more from just general conversation with people who don’t know the band – “What kind of music do you guys play?” I find that a really hard question to answer and I never know what to say.
Which one is the biggest pain in the arse? (Lateness, forgets stuff etc.)
Holly: I am going to say me. Ha!
What is the unsigned scene in London like at the minute?
Holly: Everyone is having quite a rough time at the moment because we can’t gig or tour but it still remains an amazing scene with amazing bands and a pandemic won’t change that. Everyone is so supportive, from supporting online shows to sharing each other’s new releases and doing podcasts and making playlists promoting each other’s music. We are in a whatsapp group with about 50 other bands all sharing links and advice and experiences and that pretty much sums up the scene. Everyone is so amazing, so many bands that we have played with we now consider really close friends and everyone is helping each other get through this time.
What good bands are coming out of London at the minute?
Holly: Lots and lots of great bands Scrounge are one of my favourites at the moment, Asylums, Deux Furieuses, Pearl Harts, Forfeits, Bugeye, Tiger Mimic, The Franklys, Nova Twins, False Heads.
What’s your favourite song right now from another band?
Lucie: Is Everybody Going Crazy? by Nothing But Thieves
Who is inspiring you at the minute?
Holly: I read recently about Dolly Parton funding Corona Virus vaccine research and donating over 100 million books to children as well as her other charity work, she is absolutely incredible! Our fantastic NHS. And all of the musicians, artists, entertainers who are doing live streams for good causes and trying to bring everyone some light at this time.
What was the most fun you have had on stage?
Lauren: Well we love playing the big stages as it’s always fun to have so much room to roam around! But we have also played so many tiny cramped stages where Lucie has been eaten by a plant trellis, Holly has thrusted me into a corner, i’ve tangled myself in a cable and distortion pedals have been kicked so the ‘fuzz’ goes up to 11! It’s always fun because we’re so physically close we can really crack each other up!
What was the worst experience on stage?
Holly: We were playing a headline show at The Grace and we had planned to do this big introduction track, after about 10 seconds into it my guitar cut out and then we spent a few minutes trying to work out what had happened. It suddenly came back so we started the intro again and then it cut out again and another few minutes later it came back and we finally got to the end of this intro and went to start the next track and Lauren’s bass had cut out! Haaa…
Tell us something about each member that you think people would be surprised about?
Holly: I started off playing guitar left handed and switched to right handed when the one music shop in my home town didn’t have the guitar I wanted in left handed. Lauren and Lucie are crafting geniuses. Lauren makes amazing Origami and Lucie makes really incredible cushions and loads of other really impressive things.
What advice would you give someone going into the music industry?
Lauren: Do it with people you love and have fun with ????
What advise would you give your younger self
Lucie: Everything you do is for a reason, don’t regret anything. You learn everyday so just stop overthinking everything, chill out man! lol
What makes you stand out as a band?
Lauren: Whenever we turn up to a soundcheck the sound person always asks what our setup is and they are always pleasantly surprised when we say “oh it’s the three of us no secret extras!” We just like distortion pedals, plugging in and making as much noise as the three of us can! I think it is a bit of a “novelty” nowadays to not add a load of extra tech like synths and backing tracks. I love it when I go and see a band and they are literally just playing and you can hear and see exactly what they are doing.
Right now, whats pissing you of the most? (Cant say the virus 🙂
Lauren: I mean it’s kind of to do with the virus, but it’s hard to look past that right now…. Working from home and being at home all of the time means that there is a CONSTANT STREAM OF WASHING UP! I’m asking Santa for a dishwasher.
Tell us about a time when you had a proper reyt laugh while you were all together?
Lauren: We played a set at The Black Lion in Brighton for The Alternative Escape Festival and we were giving it some for the end of the last song, I looked over and Holly nearly fell backwards over her amp like full throttle! She did manage to make a very stealthy recovery though (hat’s off!)! I was cracking up and Lucie was plain confused and it was a wonderful wonderful ending to the set!
What’s your favourite song to play live and why?
Lucie: I freaking love Wild Vow. It’s an older track of ours but I’m not tired of playing it. It has a tonne of crescendos and I just want to smash it every time the chorus comes!
I hear you have a new single brewing, what can you tell us about it?
Lauren: Yeah! Well we recorded it with Ant Smith at Bigsmith Studios and he was awesome. He was throwing loads of ideas at us to take it to the next level which we loved and we all just got on really well. It’s heavy and riffy and Holly rocks a Wah pedal at one point! Basically we’re really proud of it and we can’t wait for people to hear it.
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
Lucie: Well, as you asked here are the links to mine and Lauren’s online shops if anyone fancies checking them out 🙂
Thank you!
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SwissCheeseLeaf
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/LaurigamiByLauren
Thanks for doing us today folks, all the best and keep in touch.