Hiya She’s Got Claws, thanks for joining us in the virtual RGM lounge today. Grab a brew and take a seat.
Thanks for joining us today… Tell us bit about where you are from and how you got into music?
(Micci) I got into music from a young age, writing lyrics and dancing around my bedroom as a child. I was brought up in Hull, UK and this is where I met Chris when I went for an audition to sing for his band at the time
(Chris) Music has always been in our family, my father was a drummer in various bands so I guess the bass for me was the obvious choice, we love the rhythm section in our family. It wasn’t until I met Micci that we can began to develop our sound in different bands and projects.
What’s the live music scene like in Hull right now? Anyone we should be looking out for (bar you, of course)?
(Chris) We think Hull has always been more or less quite indie rock. There is obviously different styles of music going on but nothing really as electronically song based like ourselves. We know a brilliant singer/songwriter called Sarah Shiels, she is a highly accomplished musician, also a fellow bass player and she writes her own songs and gigs.
Do you think its easy to become a victim of of our surrounds sometimes?
(Micci) Chris and I never allow anyone to make us feel like victims, we do not suffer fools and if anyone tries to make us feel this way is instantly dropped from our circle of friends. I think we should all play nice, we don’t listen to social media and the constraints of what you should or shouldn’t be wearing or doing with your life. Yes I guess some people can be a victim of their surroundings but it’s up to the individual on how they handle where they are.
What are your ambitions for the band?
(Chris) We would like someone from the music industry who is looking for original music to back She’s Got Claws and get his or her check book out and sign us, so they can take our music to a global audience because they have the power and muscle to do this.
Whats your favourite social media platform to use and why?
(Micci) I’m often on Instagram making reels and engaging with fans there, I’m also managing our Patreon Page where we have our loyal fan base supporting us and we love to entertain and keep them up to date with all things Claws. TikTok is also fun too and is quite addictive, I speak to a lot of people on there too.
We believe its essential to have a presence on Facebook, Instagram and X to introduce yourself to all the different types of audiences out there, what’s your thoughts on that?
(Micci) I agree, each platform has its own individual audience who wants different things from an artist, so it’s good to be on as many platforms as possible. We do have a Facebook Page which I opened a few weeks ago and a FB Private Group too which gets a lot of engagement from fans. It is very important to keep as many avenues open online.
What’s your view on the Music industry today?
(Chris) There are some outstanding bands such as Nova Twins, Royal Blood and Wet Leg who write incredible songs and performers and deserve every accolade they win. Sadly, the industry (I can only speak for the UK) is made up over manufactures, over produced vacuous ‘music’ with loads of auto tune on a vocal, the songs are just like a 5 year old has written them and if they didn’t have major labels ploughing millions into this dirge they would achieve nothing.
Record companies today only seem interested in either plucking malleable and gullible kids from stage schools or the Brit Academy, chewing them up and spitting them out. Gone are the days where labels didn’t concern themselves with how many hits or likes a musician has online (not that any of this is genuine/realistic) and they used to see potential and would nurture and grow the artists career. We need to get back to this so we have more longevity within the music industry.
Whats your thoughts on AI generated music?
(Micci) It should be banned. It’s insulting to artists and their hard work and natural creativity, AI is the ultimate insult to music as an art form.
Whats the biggest thing you have learned recently as you progress with your music?
(Chris) That you cannot be just a musician anymore, you have to be all encompassing octopus and do everybody else’s jobs. Micci designs, is on socials every day and I shoot the music videos and photos and Micci edits these. All artwork you see for She’s Got Claws is designed by Micci and the photography is from me.
(Micci) Sometimes it feels like I’m a musician for 10% of the time and the other 90 is on socials or marketing and designing our next album cover. It can become tiring and I feel like I am losing myself, which is totally unfair on me.
What’s currently in your ears and on rotation at the moment?
(Chris) Wet Leg’s album, Moisturiser is on daily rotation and I absolutely adore their song ‘Catch The Fists’ and ‘You And Me at Home’ which I hope will be a single. Also listening to Nova Twins new album because these girls rock and this is what music is all about! Royal Blood are often on my playlist too.
(Micci) Soulwax, All Systems Are Lying Album, talk about synth heaven! I love Beck’s album called Colors, I’ve had this for a few years now and it’s definitely a go to release.
What was your worst experience on stage? Any funny stories to share?
(Micci) We played 02 Festival in our previous band and we were performing in one of the large tents, which was going great, until a crazy person got so excited that he decided to grab a beanbag, swing it around his head. A voice in my head said to me “that’s coming your way” and as soon as I said that this guy let go of the bean bag and it flew straight towards me, it was like in slow motion, I knew when to duck and it banged onto the stage behind me. Security leapt on him and he was marched out, but I thought it was funny.
(Chris) We were once playing a gig for a TV show we’d landed for BBC3. All was good, we were performing away on stage when all of a sudden three girls jumped on stage, stripped naked and started to dance next to Micci. I jumped off the stage so I could watch their performances 😉 but our guitarist didn’t even see this happen and was puzzled when we were chatting about it later. These three girls were professional models from the fashion industry who got wind of the TV show and thought it would be a giggle.
Got any fun, funny stories from life on the road?
(Micci) There are many stories we could tell you but most are X-rated, so we are not sure you could publish these. However, I was with my girlfriend and we were stood outside a very well known nightclub in London (Prince Harry was often seen here) and the Paparazzi saw us both so we began to walk away, only for these photographers to begin following us down the street, we thought they had gone as we turned a corner but they appeared and cornered us and wouldn’t let us leave until we gave them a few photos. These photos were on the front page of tabloids in the UK and if you caught the underground the next day you’d have seen us both on the front page of The Metro paper. We laugh about it now because they could have photographed Prince Harry but they decided to make a beeline towards us both instead.
I hear you have new music. What can you tell us about it?
(Chris) It’s an album we’ve spent 18 months in the studio with called Stronger The Faith. We are very proud of this release and we believe that there are songs on there for everybody’s experiences. It’s mainly synth driven with my bass guitar giving it an organic edge, although I have made my bass to not sound like a standard bass, it has many synth bass effects which gives the songs a dance feel. For many years I have always strived to push my bass sound with overdrives, synth pedals and in many of our earlier interviews people would say “but you can’t have your bass sounding like a guitar or a synth”. Well yes you can and it is now so good to see bands using these methods with their bass guitars.
What was the recording process like?
(Micci)Chris gives me bass riffs and I work through them and record the ones we both believe will make a song. Then I add a basic drum pattern and Chris then leaves me in the studio to work on my synths, vocals and embellishing the drums. Arrangement using happens quite naturally when I have my vocals laid down. Engineering and mixing is down to me and we both produce the songs.
Would you change anything now it’s finished?
(Chris) No, you have to know when to let go, or what has started as an idea can turn into a nightmare and the original feel and everything you had gets lost in translation. So it’s finished, we are very happy with this album. BBC Radio is playing tracks, magazine features and getting onto playlists with fans loving this, this is the most important thing about creating music, because we never write music to please others to fit in with current trends. We write music that we like, we love and if anyone likes and loves these songs then it’s a great bonus.
(Micci) Nope I wouldn’t change anything. It’s taken 18 months to complete and we knew that it was time to let go and release this album. As Chris says, you write what you love to write and we hope that our songs will resonate with our fans, so far all is good with the feedback and the positive reaction received.
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
(Chris) Firstly, I would like to see the world to become a more loving place, instead of all the misery that is being caused by the rich elite, making everyone else suffer through their own greed and narcissism. Musically, I’d like to see labels get back to how they used to be. Stop manufacturing vacuous garbage masquerading as music and sign true talent and build careers. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few great labels who do this, but if you don’t know anyone who will recommend you to them there is no way getting through their doors.
(Micci) Yes, we are online daily and if you spend time online then please check us out and listen to our music on Spotify or Apple Music and add us to your playlists.
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