Hiya Kikey, thanks for joining us in the virtual RGM lounge today. Grab a brew and take a seat.
What was life like for you before you got into music?
I can’t really think of a time where I wasn’t into music. Aged 10 I was deep into playing Rock Band. Then when I was in comprehensive school I picked up drumming for a little bit, but then friends and partying took over and I didn’t end up getting back into it until I got into it in my twenties. After a long time playing in jams and blues style bands, a friend of mine recommended me to Jez and Noisemakers’ Guild. The rest just came together naturally and I got the bug for creating original music, and before I knew it I was on a UK tour with NG!
What’s the live music scene like in the East Midlands right now? Anyone we should be looking out for (bar you, of course)?
On our recent gigs in both Derby and Nottingham we’ve played alongside the likes of Lace Thief, Outposts, Zadkiel and our pals in Horthworld. There’s also some good solo talent like Jimi Strange, Jude Forsey, and Karen MacLeod who we consider good friends.
And then by a quick drive just over the Derbyshire / South Yorkshire border, we’ve had the pleasure of playing alongside the likes of Osprey and Buffalo Ghost in Sheffield who we’ve been very impressed by. In fact we’re playing with Osprey again on the 21st of this month at The Green Room and then in Leeds with them at Northern Guitars at the end of January. Lee gets to Sheffield more than I do, and he came back raving about how good Harriet Rose and Cruz were at Network the other night, which is a good venue in Sheffield that we played back in June.
It seems like being a social media curator has become added to the many jobs of a musician, how do you feel about this, and how do you manage engagement on your socials?
It’s just a necessity really, I think the more fun you have with it the better, I like chipping in with some ideas for video trailers for upcoming gigs, etc, and we have a good laugh doing it and not taking it at all seriously. Some of Jez’s videos have been hilariously deadpan.
What’s your view on the Music industry today, and where do you sit with it?
I’m a novice to it all, so I just listen and learn as I go along. You just have to change with the times, no matter what music you make. We just keep making good music and content, and hopefully Noisemakers’ Guild will continue to grow, whatever happens.
What’s the biggest thing you have learned recently as you progress with your music?
Just to keep working hard, and make sure you’re always prepared as when you’re gigging from town to town, things can often go wrong, and you have to roll with it sometimes! The tighter rehearsed and better honed you are live helps things like where you can’t hear yourself play, which is something that happened on one of our last tour dates in Glasgow, the band could hear me but I couldn’t hear anything at all due to a technical issue, I just watched the band to keep in time, that’s all I could do!
What was your best experience on stage?
I think our first headline event at Angel Microbrewery in Nottingham this year, where we had a great crowd for our 45 minute set and an encore. It was a really good night and hopefully there will be plenty more to come!
What was your worst experience on stage?
Technical issues at a recent professional filming of our set at Dubrek Studios in Derby. Jez and Lee were getting electric shocks off their guitars and mics, and I couldn’t hear a thing. One of our tracks on the YouTube footage ended up being Take 2 as we had to stop playing and start again!
Tell us something about you / each member that you think people would be surprised about…
Jez has a self-published novel available in print and kindle called Martin Martin and The Death Express, that has had some good reviews and a fair bit of industry interest.
Kevin is a very mysterious bassist who has stalkers!
Lee supported Electric Six at the O2 Sheffield with his last band Prime (UK), which was a night of none-stop wild indie rock!
Kikey currently is a 31-year-old with the back of a 91 year old, as I recuperate from a recent injury!
I hear you have new music. What can you tell us about it?
The Story is our brand new single out on 13th November, which has a mysterious, sinister vibe to the lyrics, and it’s heavy and fast paced, with a big post-punk and alternative rock influence. I kept things nice and simple, going for a grungey feel – influenced a little bit by Nirvana – on the drums which I think just brings out Jez’s guitar and Lee’s vocal well. Jez is playing both electric and acoustic on it and does a great job with the overdubs.
What was the recording process like?
Well for me it was my first time in the studio, full stop, so it was a big learning curve! Kevin, Lee and Jez had lots of previous experience having been in original bands all their lives, but I had to quickly get used to seeing all the kit mics, and having all that in front of me mic’d up on my drum kit felt a bit strange, but I very quickly got used to it! The sound we went for was a “live in the studio” vibe with us all playing at the same time, and Jay from Dubrek Studios in Derby really did a fanstastic job and put us all at ease. I think for anyone passionate about making music, go to a good studio and experience it.
What was the biggest learning curve in writing the new tunes?
No real learning curve, just keep collaborating and improving the songs until we a comfortable playing them live. And if it doesn’t work right, we let them stew for a bit before going out there and trying them again. And then obviously our favourites were chosen for the studio.
Would you change anything now it’s finished?
No, I’m really happy now that The Story is out, and to have the song mastered at Abbey Road by Sean Magee who has previously worked on The Beatles and Rolling Stones back catalogue, really gave the sound of the track the extra bite that it needed.
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
We are in Sheffield at The Green Room on Friday 21st (my back injury is hopefully recovered by then) and are planning a February tour, so keep a look out on our Noisemakers’ Guild social media for details. We will definitely be in Sheffield and Leeds again for more shows.
Noisemakers’ Guild – ‘The Story’ / ‘Say Goodbye’ stream everywhere Thursday 13th November
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