Hiya folks thanks for joining us in the virtual RGM lounge today, grab a brew and take a seat.
What made you decide that music is a thing for you?
Chris: Myself and Kieran have played in bands together non-stop since the age of 15 (The Hems, The Minx, Heavy on the Magic & Spin Klass) as each band ended, we started up another, it’s just summat we’ve done since school and never stopped. I can’t actually ever remember a time I’ve not played in a band and made music”.
Kieran: I used to perform in front of family, miming to Robbie Williams songs.
Introduce us to all of the members and your musical history.
Chris: Chris (lead singer & guitar), Kieran (synths & things), Josh (bass), Gerry Malloy (drum machine).
Josh was a mate we used to drink tinnies in the park with from a school round the corner. He then used to help roadie for us in The Minx and we got him in Heavy on the Magic with us, been with us ever since. Gerry Malloy is an inanimate object that plays drum beats and samples for us.
What was life like for you before music?
Chris: Never really has been one, to be honest! I left school at 16, and studied music at college whilst working at Blueprint Studios recording studio in Manchester. Met and worked with some amazing bands that have deffo shaped my outlook on the music industry and given me a good idea of how to go about things. We’ve never really bothered with management etc. and just done it ourselves.
What was the first song you heard that steered you into a music path?
Chris: Jimi Hendrix, ‘Crosstown Traffic’
Kieran: ‘Rock DJ’, Robbie Williams and probably Summat by The Beatles for Josh.
Where do you feel you currently sit within the music industry?
Kieran: Like a packet of Palmer Violets found on the pavement the day after Halloween. Some might not give us a chance but if you’ve got your head screwed on, you’d know that the Palmer Violet is a top tier Halloween treat.
What’s the biggest thing you have learned from someone else in the industry?
Kieran: Write what you know and for yourself.
Chris: Don’t take yourselves too seriously and don’t be a dick.
Tell us two truths and a lie about you.
Chris: In any order?
Josh our bass player is a Spin Class instructor. The first cd I ever bought was DJ Otzi, ‘Hey Baby’. I once sat on Ed Sheeran backstage at a show as he was asleep on a settee under a big coat.
If you could wish for one thing to aid your career what would it be?
Kieran: £300 a month.
Chris: A band stylist.
Do you ever worry about people taking things the wrong way or cancel culture? Discuss….
Chris: Funny you should say as we have a tune called ‘Cancelled’ that’s a bit of a live favourite and one of our earliest tunes. I personally wouldn’t worry cos we’re good lads with good hearts, if we ever said anything out of order we’d hold our hands up straight away. If someone wants to cancel us for slaggin’ the Tory party off though then please be my guest, they’re a bunch of c**ts.
Kieran: We are always conscious of how our messages come across but at the same time try to remain true to ourselves. People will read into things however they want and we can also make mistakes.
Do you sign up to any conspiracy theories? If not why not?
Kieran: Not really. I like to think there’s an island of dead celebrities but ultimately you can conjure up any conspiracy you like and see patterns to fit your ideal narrative. I think our brains are designed that way.
Chris: Yeah, I’m with Kieran, some of them are interesting aint they? I mean I’d love to know what goes on in the Bermuda Triangle, maybe that’s where all the dead celebs are but I deffo don’t think the earth is flat, sorry to disappoint.
What was the worst experience on stage?
Chris: You know when you have those dreams where you’re on stage playing, but the band are all playing wrong things and it’s in front of a massive crowd – that. I thought it nearly happened at our headline sold-out Castle show last year when Kieran had a few too many Guinness pre-show and was playing all sorts. We winged it though, all good in the end. Laugh about it now.
Kieran: I fell off stage once.
Chris: You see what I’m talking about?
Tell us something about each member that you think people would be surprised about.
Chris: Josh is a substation controller, Kieran once ran to Liverpool and I haven’t consumed a drop of alcohol in over 8 years.
What makes you stand out as a band?
Chris: We don’t take ourselves seriously, we just write tunes, record tunes, put them out and play shows. No bravado or egos, what’s the point?
Kieran: We’re quirky characters and play music that conveys that.
I hear you have a new music, what can you tell us about it?
Chris: We’ve just dropped a new single ‘This Is Love’. It’s big and beautiful, and it seems to resonate with people, which is mint.
Kieran: It’s a song about love in many forms. Loving yourself, someone else and someone you disagree with.
What was the recording process like?
Chris: Like most of our tunes, starts in Kieran’s bedroom, takes shape in our studio then is made what it is by Producer Gareth Nuttall. We love working with Gaz, we’d quite happily spend every day with him in the studio, it’s magic.
Kieran: Loads of coffee and snacks.
Chris: Yeah Kieran eats about 10 cheese strings in a row in the studio, I reckon that’s the key to a hit record.
What was the biggest learning curve in writing the new tune?
Chris: Every new single we do with Gaz we learn a lot about how he works in the studio, how he edits things, his approach. We take that in to our next demos so this is probably why each single we seem to do with him sounds bigger than the last, ‘cos we put more prep in first. It’s great just being a 3 piece with drum machine and samples as we always turn up to the studio with the majority of the tune already self-recorded, Gaz just tidies it up, adds his special things and we re-record some bits and vocals. Saves us a fortune having a bit of a background in sound recording and doing a lot on our own first.
Would you change anything now it’s finished?
Chris: A song’s never perfect but, to be honest, we’re quite laid back, can’t be arsed spending forever on a tune we tend to get in and record a song a day and just move on, I reckon if you spend too long on it and start going back changing things it’ll lose that initial something it had.
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
Kieran: We’d be well up for recording a version of the theme tune for ‘The Wire’ if they were to ever make a new series
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