What made you decide to start the band?
Tommi: I’ve always wanted to make the music I wanna hear – I’d been hanging out and jamming with Milo for a while and when his last band split it just seemed natural to start making music together.
Milo: I had just come out of a band and still had a massive passion and drive to do it. I kept hearing bands like Girl Band (gilla band), Idles, bands like Surfbort and so many artists just made me feel like I couldn’t be finished with making music. I was already surrounded by amazing musician’s so it just felt like a no-brainer to pool the guys together and see what we could make.
Sam: I heard that Milo needed a bassist and thought it sounded interesting, so we ended up jamming together and then next thing you know, we were in a band.
Introduce us all to the members and your musical history?
Cian: Hey I’m Corn I originally had saxophone lessons in primary school but wasn’t really feeling it so started playing on a school drum kit cus it looked like the coolest instrument to play. My main inspiration like many others when I started was John Bonham, I remember sitting for hours trying to work out every track from Zeps greatest hits. I feel like an element of his drumming has always stuck with me and I still strive for that distinctive sound and feel for groove.
Tommi: I’m Tommi. I remember seeing guitar heroes on T.V in my early childhood, the likes of Jimmy Page, Hendrix, even Slash. I just thought that’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen (and heard) so I started asking for a guitar – I got a little classic for Christmas and instantly held it the “wrong” way – My dad was saying try it the other way, but he had to change the strings round in the end (Cheers Dad).
Milo: I’m Milo. I had singing lessons from when I was about 16 and had been in loads of bands, my old band was a 3 piece so I kind of had to pick up a guitar when I was 18 just to fill out the sound. From then I was just self taught in everything and whatever sounded good probably worked.
Sam: I’m Sam, I started playing the saxophone in Year 5 because someone came round to my school and offered music classes, and my granddad played saxophone already, so I used one of his. I picked up guitar first and then moved onto bass at college. I wanted to be in a band but for some reason nobody else played bass, so I started to learn and then ended up loving it.
What’s the best piece of advice you have received?
Tommi: Wear black – If you want to get anything done, you’re gonna get dirty. So you might as well wear black.
Milo: Do what you love because you’ll probably hate everything else.
Sam: Appreciate the moment.
Did you buy anything you don’t need in the pandemic? If so, what?
Tommi: Fucking Bitcoin ;(
Tell us something about each member that you think people would be surprised about?
Cian: Sam is a vegetable enthusiast and has his own allotment.
Tommi: Cian will only vape in the company of others.
Milo: Tommi used to be a bodybuilder.
Sam: Milo can identify almost any species of bird, with the naked eye, up to fifty meters away.
Do you sign up to any conspiracy theories?
Cian: 911 was an inside job and Lionel Ritchie built the pyramids.
Sam: Mattress stores are usually a front for money laundering schemes.
What was the most fun you have had on stage?
Cian: Probs whenever we get a mosh pit, it’s a pretty sick feeling.
Tommi: Yeah I’d have to say the same – We played one of our biggest gigs at a place called the Bateau Ivre and the floor just opened up. People pushing, falling and then helping each other up. I’m glad people can lose themselves in the moment to our music. That’s one of the coolest things about being at a live show.
Milo: Whenever I can just slip into the feeling, the crowd always makes the shows and we’re pretty lucky in that people tend to feel it so it helps us really lose ourselves in it too.
Sam: Seconding the Bateau Ivre gig. It was amazing.
What was the worst experience on stage?
Cian: I broke through a kick drum head during the last track on one of our sets and I had to play the track with no kick drum 🙁
Tommi: We once played an art exhibition with no sound tech. Surprise, surprise the P.A fucked up when it came time for us to play. No one there, us included, knew how to fix it, so we were awkwardly half-jamming as others scrambled to figure out what was happening. The crowd were so hyped after the one song we got out but we couldn’t continue. It can only get better from that gig!
Sam: Definitely. After twenty minutes of messing about with it all, it was over, so I guess it just kind of…fell apart.
Milo: One time I pulled the whole bridge out of my guitar by the whammy bar. I still have the guitar but it’s all held together by toothpicks and wood glue.
If you could choose, would you prefer to time travel to the past or go forward in time? And why?
Cian: Definitely go to the past, I’m too scared to see what the future is like.
Milo: I’m hitting up the wild west!
Which one of the band is the most unpredictable and why?
Milo: Sam because he’s always coming out with some craziness.
Which one of the band is the biggest nightmare? (Just a bit of fun)
Cian: Probs me haha as I do nag the others a lot.
Milo: Feel like we’ll all just say ourselves on this one, I’m pretty strict when it comes to practice and writing and I can get pretty arsey if it’s not sounding right
Sam: Myself because I tend to forget everything and also lose everything.
You have one phone call and you have been locked up for a crime you didn’t commit? Which member would you call first?
Milo: Cian’s dad knows Sting, so I’d get him to write a freedom song to get me released.
Sam: Cian. Not sure why, but Cian feels right.
What makes you stand out as a band?
Tommi: You have to see us live to truly get what we’re about. The intensity we bring and the passion we have is something you just don’t see elsewhere – We’re putting everything on the line. I see bands come into the scene, blow up because they’re new and then give up because they didn’t realise what it’s gonna take. We’re Bleach Boy. We’re here. We have been in the Manchester scene for years, bringing out quality music and videos(thanks to Sam O’Leary). With no manager and no label – this is DIY art and we do it because we fucking love it!
Milo: Everyone keeps saying guitar music is dead, but it definitely isn’t. I feel like we’re a testament to that, while still retaining our honesty as a band it’s a really important piece of us.
Right now, what’s pissing you off the most?
Cian: The war in Ukraine, it seems certain people will never learn from history.
Tommi: On top of that we’re led by a charlatan – His office: A place to party. The treasury: A means to pay friends and pay off enemies. His Party donors: Home renovations on demand. Our Prime Minister is a guy who smiles to your face and shafts you behind your back. But he’ll never admit it. This is our representation to the world, a crook and a phony. TORIES OUT!
Milo: There’s a lot to be pissed off about right now. A lot of people are angry all over the world. The rich keep getting richer while everything keeps getting worse. There’s an awful lot of inequality it’s tough to think about sometimes.
I hear you have a new EP brewing, what can you tell us about it?
Cian: It sounds fat, it’s full of variety and I think there is a track for everyone to enjoy if not all of them.
Tommi: There’s one to get a march on to, one to mosh to, one to sway to and one to sing along to.
Milo: It’s our best cohesive piece of work yet and it’s just a taste of what we have to offer which I really like about it.
Sam: It’s got it all.
Talk me through the thought process of the EP?
Tommi: Our live shows have always included noisy intros at the start of the gig and nice jams in between songs. Some of these have gone onto live full lives in their own right – This E.P contains a couple of those – ‘Else’ specifically flows really nicely into the title track ‘Walk’.
What was the recording process like?
Cian: A lot easier than our first bunch of recordings. We went back to Sam Bloor (who has always understood our vision) and gave ourselves a lot more time to be meticulous with the tracks.
Tommi: I know we’ve said it before but Sam has been making us sound sick for years! We’ve developed a relationship over time and it feels like he knows just what we need, so it’s always a relaxed and constructive atmosphere.10/10 recommendation for LowerLane Studios!
Sam: Yeah, you really can’t fault him.
What was the biggest learning curve in writing the EP?
Tommi: Maybe don’t put a time limit on things – it’s easy to get trapped thinking, right we need to make 3 minute, formulaic (pop) tunes. But that’s not us, so if something needs time and space to breathe, then give it.
Would you change anything now that it’s finished?
Cian: On past recordings I would have said yes but on this EP I’ve never been so proud of something we have created and I don’t think there is anything I would change.
Tommi: More cowbell.
Sam: Less cowbell.
What are your plans for the year ahead?
Cian: To play as many shows as possible and we currently have some more shows abroad in the works.
Tommi: Yeah we’ll keep getting out there. We have gigs to play and other vids to release. We’re gonna graft this summer and after that get back on tour! We’ve had a taste and I think that’s it for us now.
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
We’re playing a headline show at Gullivers in Manchester on the 23rd. And There’s a lot more to look forward to after that so keep your eyes peeled! Peace X