Hiya folks thanks for joining us in the virtual RGM lounge today, grab a brew and take a seat.
Introduce us to all to the members and your musical history?
Hi, I’m Ricki from The Sunset Radio. We first started the band around 5 years ago. Originally it was me and Adam M and one of our friends on the bass.
We struggled for what seemed like months to find a drummer going through 3 or 4 different people at various practice sessions until we came across current drummer Rob. In those early days of the band, we were mainly guitar driven and had quite a raw sound.
\Covid came along and did change things for us. We took a ste back during this period, some of us started families and priorities all changed. When we made the decision to really start things back up again we couldn’t all commit to the time, which led us to find new bassist Adam W and our current line-up.
This latest version of the band has evolved into something much more ambitious, I think the time away really made us think more about strategy, where we want to go, how to get there, and the type of music that we wanted to push ourselves to make.
Adam Maw – Guitar/Vocals
Ricki Hutton – Guitar
Adam Wilson – Bass
Rob Scarr – Drums
What made you decide that music is a thing for you?
I don’t ever remember music being a conscious choice, it was always something that I gravitated towards from as far back as I can remember.
What was life like for you before music?
I can’t even remember that being a thing!
What was the first song you heard that steered you into a music path?
There are so many to choose from, but I think one that stands out would be Reptilia by The Strokes, I can remember being blown away by that lead riff that sits underneath the chorus and was some of the earliest inspiration I had to pick up a guitar.
Where do you feel you currently sit within the music industry?
We’ve played some really good sold out shows in the Leeds and York area, and we have another one coming up for This Feeling at the Lending Room on the 4th November, it’s sure to be another sell out so grab your tickets quick! Beyond that though next year we are definitely ready to branch out further into the UK and play in some new towns and cities to expand our profile
Whats the biggest thing you have learned from someone else in the industry?
In our most recent recording session, I think it’s the first time we have worked with someone who produced our track rather than just record what we already had. Talking to Dave at 6DBStudios in York he really worked with us to make the single the best it could be, it was actually around a minute longer than what it ended up being, he really challenged us to strip out some parts that weren’t necessary, especially to make it more radio friendly. So, it was a great experience and he’s a great guy to work with if there’s anyone out there looking for somewhere to record!
Tell us Two truths and a lie about you?
I drove from York to Budapest for Sziget Festival
I got caught in a lightening storm at Rock AM ring
I successfully completed Edward Winehands at Leeds Festival 2015
If you could wish for one thing to aid your career what would it be?
Definitely some more gig opportunities in some new cities, I’ve got 100% faith in the tracks we have written and our live show. If we can expand the audience we play in front of I’m confident that we’ll gain more fans
Do you ever worry about people taking things the wrong way or cancel culture? Discuss….
I wouldn’t say I worry about it to be honest, if you spend too much time worrying about that then life can quickly become pretty boring, especially when you like a laugh and a joke like us. You can’t be all things to all people and having different opinions is fine. If people can’t accept that and what to waste their energy falling out and arguing over things that are ultimately irrelevant that’s their problem.
Do you sign up to any conspiracy theories? If no why not?
I find them interesting without ever going full Tom DeLonge on aliens! On that topic I wouldn’t rule it out to be fair. But we landed on the moon and flat earth theory and the royal family being lizards is fucking ridiculous.
What was the worst experience on stage?
One time we played at this car festival, we were not the right type of band to say the least. It was all covers bands and no one there was really interested in hearing any original music. We got an early heckle of “Play something we know”. One of the lads replies of “How the fuck do we know what you know” didn’t exactly endear us to the rest of the locals!
Tell us something about you / each member that you think people would be surprised about?
We’re all big into our football as well as music but we all support different teams which can make things interesting at practice sometimes. I’m a Leeds fan, Adam M is Liverpool, Rob is Norwich and Adam W is York, so we’re quite a mix.
What makes you stand out as a band/artist?
We don’t write boring music. I honestly believe that. We really can put hooks and catchy choruses into songs. When I hear a lot of music at the minute that is beginning to feel like it’s some kind of lost art
I hear you have a new music, what can you tell us about it.
Our new single came out at the end of September and it is called The Hardest Time. We worked to mix melancholic lyrics but contrast that with an upbeat and catchy rhythm. We really wanted to make the song sound and feel big not only on record but also when we played it live. It is the first time we have really experimented with using synth backing tracks and also some other production flairs. We wanted to give it that big 80’s feel and some of the fine points in the production, particularly in the verse, help hammer that home
What was the recording process like?
As I mentioned earlier we really spent time having this single produced rather than just turn up and record something. Normally we have crammed recording a single into one day, whereas with this we booked a full week in the studio to do two. Dave was amazing and we couldn’t recommend him highly enough
What was the biggest learning curve in writing the new tunes?
How to translate a bigger sounding recording to our live show. We were always guitar driven, but now I feel that we can bring that big record sound to our performance on stage. We’ve developed that side and hit the next level in terms of sound and consistency.
Would you change anything now its finished?
The only thing I wish we could have done different in book two weeks and recorded more than two songs! But we have another one in the bank ready to go and will be booking ourselves back into the studio early next year to record another two, so there will be plenty more to come from us over the next 12 months
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
Make sure you check out new single The Hardest Time! It’s available now on all the streaming platforms, we’re going to be recording and releasing a music video for it soon and we also have a follow up single already recorded and ready to release. Make sure you follow us on socials to keep up with the news of when all that will be happening. And come check us out playing live. We love to hear from people either at gigs or over socials. So come along on 4th November and Lending Room, Leeds and have a chat with us.
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