Hiya, The Hearse, thanks for joining us in the virtual RGM lounge today. Grab a brew and take a seat
The Hearse – Thanks for having us. This is our first interview as a full band so really looking forward to it!
What made you decide that music is a thing for you?
Cal – Seeing Jimi Hendrix in a documentary as an 8 year old.
Jess – Not to sound like an egotist, but music (and film) have always been such important factors in my life, so it’s just always been a thing.
Henry – Similarly I didn’t really decide, it just happened from a combination of listening to music and learning instruments and slowly realising it’s what I wanted to do.
Wiz – Playing and jamming with different people made me realise I wanted to do it full time.
Introduce us to you all and your musical history.
Jess – I’ve been writing songs since I was very young and started playing keyboard in primary school, composing and writing ever since. I started the original incarnation of the band at university which included Henry, we rebranded as The Hearse with new members
Henry Wheater (bass + vocals)
Henry – I started learning trumpet from an early age, then picked up bass later in life and played with a few bands over the years and co-founded The Hearse.
Callum Bancroft (guitar)
Cal – I Began playing at 16, influenced heavily by new wave/ and prog, and through the years have enjoyed taking influences from different styles of music. I like the idea that there’s always going to be something new to learn or delve into despite how long I have been playing. I joined The Hearse through a facebook ad that Jess put up and I thought that sounded like me. I’m fortunate to be in a band that encompasses many influences and is open to experimentation to create something we all find fulfilling.
Wisdom Udensi (drums)
Wiz – I don’t really have much musical history. I never seriously studied the kit, I guess I just picked it up from doing jams and stuff. I starting teaching myself piano and trombone pretty soon after and I’ve now played in a few different bands with all of my instruments. I was in one band with Henry and that’s when he asked me to join The Hearse.
What’s the live music scene like in Manchester right now?
Henry – It’s very active to say the least. We frequently work with a lot of great people who we continue to collaborate with. Also some not great people, but you find those wherever you go. Best to focus on the positives.
I’ve seen a lot of people struggling for support recently online. What’s your view on the industry?
Henry – Sometimes you just have to keep doing what you’re doing, we felt like we weren’t getting a lot of support when we first started, but as we kept going we met more people and got more experience it changed massively.
Jess – You do sometimes have to shovel yourself out of the shit, to quote Twin Peaks. There’s a lot constantly going on and it can be disheartening at times but it is a truly rewarding experience overall. We did write a song about the industry mind you…
Where do you feel you currently sit within the music industry?
Wiz – On the drum stool.
Jess – The rest of us usually stand.
Tell us two truths and a lie about you
The Hearse –
3 out of 4 of us have met Bez (Happy Mondays) and one of which has kicked him out of a bar
We have played on the same stage as Joy Division (Not at the same time, obviously.)
Our first gig was in Edinburgh
Do you ever worry about people taking things the wrong way or cancel culture? Discuss….
Henry – We’ve spoken out about injustice in the industry, and we were very worried doing so at the time, as we were afraid it would be deemed unprofessional, but we just wanted to spread awareness about things going on that we didn’t like.
Jess – Just don’t be a dick and you won’t get cancelled. Just be civil and be respectful, it helps others feel good too.
Do you sign up to any conspiracy theories? If not, why not?
Cal – I couldn’t care less about conspiracy theories.
Wiz – I actually don’t exist
What was your best experience on stage?
Jess + Henry – Obviously there’s never a perfect performance, but there are many great performances and moments we’ve enjoyed. We had a great audience when we headlined at The Castle Hotel in Manchester despite a lot of technical issues. We got asked to encore twice which was an honour. Not to mention when we played at Band On The Wall – the sound was great and it felt so good playing there.
What was your worst experience on stage?
Henry – We once had to cut a gig short. We were moved to another venue and the equipment stopped working halfway through our set which was very disappointing.
Jess – Wiz, Henry and myself had pizza and beers after. It definitely helped.
Wiz – I had a burger actually. It was yum.
Tell us something about each member that you think people would be surprised about.
Cal- I eat two bananas and two eggs every day.
Henry – if you give any season and episode number of Red Dwarf, I can say the title and give you a plot synopsis.
Jess – I am ambidextrous, I also play a right handed guitar left handed and play bass normally.
Wiz – I still don’t exist!
What are the next steps you plan to take as a band to reach the next level?
Henry – Keep playing in iconic venues, support some big bands and push music to a wider audience!
I hear you have new music. What can you tell us about it?
Jess – It’s called One From One Hundred. It’s about the kinds of people you experience who are out to manipulate you and others, and you’re just not falling for it. It’s about a bit of everything in personal experiences of dealing with such issues, to political climaxes. I suppose it’s pretty relevant with absolutely everything going on at the minute.
It’s a bit Clash meets Damned meets Arctic Monkeys and a bit of all that.
What was the recording process like?
Henry – me and Jess started recording the song in May, before Cal or Wiz joined the band. Our perfectionism made this process very slow, but once we knew what we wanted to go for, and got to the point of adding the other two member’s contributions, it was all smooth sailing from there.
What was the biggest learning curve in writing the new tunes?
Henry – for me, it’s don’t overthink it! I’ve written some of my best songs, parts, etc. by taking my time and letting it all come naturally!
Jess – I have too many ideas all at once, so sometimes it gets kinda overwhelming when I have an idea, put something into it and realise it could go in a different direction, and so this process continues until I have so many ideas but I’m so burnt out I can’t continue on them. Then, in that mass of ideas I’ll get a brainstorm about one of them and it’ll finish from there. I try to remain as original as I can when writing and just do what I think sounds good. One From One Hundred was an easy one, it was best to keep it simple and just see what comes from the process.
Cal – I personally found it a challenge, coming into the band in December and within a few weeks recording. Rearranging elements of the guitar to compliment the rest of the track, it definitely took me
Out of my comfort zone. Jess has a really interesting approach to writing on guitar, modulating keys and creating tension between a lot of these changes, it felt important to maintain that both melodically and rhythmically, and it’ll be interesting to see what people think of it.
Would you change anything now it’s finished?
Jess – My parents say the vocals should be a bit louder so that’s about it
Wiz – I think we put so much time into it, there’s not much we could do to make it better. We did have a bit of trouble with the kit during recording when it came down to how it sounded, but besides that it was all good.
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
Yea, a couple things. One From One Hundred comes out February 28th, if you want to start a band fucking do it, don’t be a dickhead and be a good person, support local bands and have a good day x
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