Hiya Beth (The Dazed Minded), 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?
We are based in Reading.
Music has been a part of my life, pretty much forever. I owe a lot of my musical influence to my parents. They are very big fans of Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene, Blur and then in the early 2000’s were big followers of the indie music scene with the emergence of Arctic Monkeys, The Kooks and Kasabian. I picked up the guitar when I was around 10. I think it was an Em chord and an A 5th that my Dad first taught me and then from there I was playing Wonderwall before I knew it. The moment I could put 2 chords together, I started writing.
I followed that indie kid path into my teenage years. I remember going to my first gig at the age of 14 (RIP XFM Winter Wonderland gigs) and I just knew instantly that this is what I wanted to do. At 19 I joined my first band and properly entered the rollercoaster ride that is the music industry and I haven’t stopped since.
3 bands and 8 years later, The Dazed Minded formed!
What’s the live music scene like in Reading right now? Anyone we should be looking out for (bar you, of course)?
The Reading scene is buzzing at the moment! Honestly, we’re so grateful to be a part of a scene that was the foundation for bands like The Amazons, Sundara Karma and Only the Poets. Theres such a great community at the moment, and I can see it getting stronger and stronger as we seem to finally be getting out of the weird stagnant period of avoiding live music that covid created. Just pop down to the Purple Turtle and you’ll find your next new fav band. Are You Listening? Festival is another one to look out for. The lineup is always insane and features some great up and coming Reading bands!
What are your ambitions for the band?
We are all about aiming to do what we love, for as long as we love doing it. We just want to share our music with like-minded people and have fun! Whatever happens along the way is a bonus.
Whats your favourite social media platform to use and why?
Ah man! Social media is the bane of my life. Insta is the go-to, it’s the one we are most active on and seems to have the most engagement. If I could get away with not using it, I would but it’s one of those things that annoyingly seems to be important now.
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?
As much as I would love to say that a social media presence is not important, in the world we now live in I definitely think it is. As a musician, I’ve had to take on many roles and content creator/social media manager is one of them. We try to use socials as much as possible so that our fans can keep up to date with everything Dazed minded.
What’s your view on the Music industry today?
It’s a tricky industry to be a part of. You’ve got to be tough and you’ve got to love what you do, otherwise it’s just not worth the rollercoaster ride. It’s difficult to get gigs and get any form of recognition particularly within the indie music scene because we are constantly overshadowed by big industry plants and pop artists. I hate how much of a reliance the industry has on money. It seems that if you have money and big social media stats, you can push your way forward, and it leaves bands like us, working full time jobs just to fund being able to play music, scrapping to get any form of recognition.
The industry looks for the profit it can make out of bands, rather than whether the music is any good and it sucks. This is why supporting independent bands and venues is so important.
Whats your thoughts on AI generated music?
Let’s not even go there. Music is a creative outlet and requires real human emotion. Music is all about creating connections and community and if AI has been used to create music it just removes that relatability and starts to shatter the relationship between the songwriter and listener. Yes, it may be helpful to help someone with elements of songwriting or the inspiration behind writing a song, but it’s not going to be authentic. If you need inspiration, go out and see real life live music – actually go watch someone perform music on a stage. That’s been the root of my music inspiration since I started, and you won’t find anything more powerful if you ask me.
Whats the biggest thing you have learned recently as you progress with your music?
Don’t compare yourself to other people. Just do what you love and the rest will come. Authenticity is important, and you only achieve that by sticking to your values and what’s important to you. Create your own path and don’t let anyone get in your way.
What’s currently in your ears and on rotation at the moment?
Demob Happy’s new album is absolute fire! The Pale White has been on repeat since their last album The Big Sad came out last year. I’m looking forward to their new album. It should be a good’n! Really enjoying CQ Wrestling at the moment as well.
What was your worst experience on stage? Any funny stories to share?
We haven’t experienced anything too major yet. We’ve had the classic ‘don’t care about their job/clearly doesn’t want to be there’ sound engineers at gigs, meaning that we just can’t hear ourselves or get a wave of feedback out of nowhere mid-song. We’ve definitely played some gigs with interestingly put together line ups that make you question whether the promotor actually cares as well. But you only learn and get tougher from these.
I hear you have new music. What can you tell us about it?
Our latest single Going Home was released on 11 Feb! This track is one of my favorites. It has a vibe that is relatable, and people just seem to love which is great!
What was the recording process like?
We recorded the track at Farm Road Studios in Brighton with Jake Smallwood last year. It has been in our live set from day 1 and we have been asked many times when it’s being released. It’s a slight contrast to our first 2 singles and has a rougher more raw garage rock sound without compromising the elements that make us The Dazed Minded. Alex, our guitarist, mixed the track and used a lot of White Stripes tracks as references when working on this track. I think this worked really well, particularly with the lyrics nodding to football culture.
Would you change anything now it’s finished?
In terms of the actual track, not at all! We made sure that we didn’t rush to get this out and I really made a point of making sure it was exactly how we wanted it to sound. I think sometimes there’s an expectation to rush to get releases out, and that can cause you to look back at the track and hear things you would do differently after it’s released.
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
We just hope you enjoy the new single! And don’t be shy if you do. You can support bands like us in so many ways – sharing the track and your playlists, interacting with us on socials, coming to a gig, buying merch or just by simply saying hi to us (virtually or irl)! Honestly the small actions mean so much to us and your support is everything!
Thank you so much for reading! ❤️🔥
FOLLOW THE BAND HERE
CHECK OUT THE LATEST RGM TRENDING MUSIC INDUSTRY NEWS HERE
