How do you find inspiration for your songs?
L: We copy other great musicians
T: No…It starts out one of us has a great idea
L: Me or Tyler
T: Usually one of us has a great idea and we take it into rehearsal and then all these guys make it a song. In terms of lyrics, I’ll pick a topic and then either moan, complain, slag of…
L: Or cry
T: Or cry about that topic and then we have a song
Tell us a bit more about the writing process behind Callout
T: The lyrics were about a girl that wasn’t interested in me and so that’s basically the lyrics behind Callout
L: I just wrote a banging guitar line and then here it is
Your name’s starting to get out there a bit more, where do you see it all going in six months?
L: Hopefully in six month we’ll have played/be playing festivals, like small slots obviously. We’re not headliners, yet. Playing The Great Escape would be good, Blissfields, Victorious etc.
T: Blissfields is going to be sick
L: The Great Escape will be good, like I say
T: Any festival would be good. Just any excuse to get drunk in a field
Do you have any pre-gig rituals?
L: We don’t really, do we?
T: We write set-lists
L: Yeah we write set-lists, we have a beer and we tell Tim not to be shit
*Is he going to be shit tonight?*
T: No
L: No we’ve told him not to be
How would you say you’ve changed from when you first formed?
T: We’ve got better songs
L: Tyler’s become a better singer. We’re just constantly developing
T: Through hard work and effort
L: I suppose you can hear it in our songs, well hopefully. They’re just getting better as we’re going, as we’re writing more we’ve got a lot more songs now and we’re having to pick and choose what to put in our set, which is good.
Would you say that your former drummer Ben leaving changed the dynamic of the band?
L: When Ben quit finding Jake was an absolute blessing in disguise and I think that’s the best thing to ever happen to us so far.
T: At the time we all thought Ben was too good to be able to replace but Jake is such a versatile drummer
L: He’s just spot on really
T: He’s always reliable and always makes a sick beat
L: So yeah I think Jake was probably the best thing to happen to us so far
T: And 789
L: Yeah and 789. It’s a banger
What goes through your head when you’re on stage?
T: Who’s that 10 at the back?
*Everyone laughs*
T: It’s true. That’s my answer ended.
L: Why does everyone look like they’re having a shit time?
T: Obviously that’s a joke
L: I also think to myself ‘am I playing this right?’
What else do you have in the pipeline?
T: Recording 789, festivals and the tour for the single
L: Yeah, hopefully another release. Not an EP yet, just keep blasting out singles
T: EP’s are a bit dead for our genre
*Imbium are doing well*
L: Imbium are doing well in Brighton
T: Imbium are more focused on creating a story that’s personal to them, thus releasing ‘The Radioactive Club: Part 1’ and Part 2. They don’t care how many tickets they sell or how many shows they play. They just want to sing the music that means something to them and you can’t knock that. Whereas we just want to gig as much as possible and sell as many tickets as we can.
L: And resonate with people somewhat
T: Obviously we both want to write good songs and enjoy the music that we make, but Imbium are a bit more selfless than us.
L: They don’t care that they could be playing to an empty room and they’d still be happy with what they’re doing, which I respect but that’s not at all what we’re aiming for.
How do you feel about your upcoming headline gig at The Green Door Store?
L: Absolutely buzzing. It’s going to be mad
T: We’re going to give out lots of Haribo
L: We’re just going to have a mad time, make it a little party. It’ll be sweet
Will it be different to your other gigs?
L: Yes, we’ve got loads of things planned
T: Don’t want to reveal any
L: We’re not going to say, you’ll have to come if you want to see
T: I will disclose one piece of information – they’ll be more Starmix than Tangfastics
(Lee cackles in the background)
How are you feeling about your gig in Camden at The Barfly?
T: I’m buzzing
L: That’s going to be absolutely amazing because it’s The Barfly and it’s quite iconic in some respect. It’s going to be sick, I don’t care how many people are there. There’s a backstage too, we’re famous.
How do you feel about the local music scene in Brighton at the moment?
T: Better than anything else I’ve experienced. From what I’ve heard as well, it’s beaten only by London, in terms of diversity. You can go anywhere and there’s a different kind of gig on.
L: You go to any gig and there’s always going to be someone there
T: If you live in Brighton and you go to a gig, you will always see someone you know and that’s not really replicated anywhere else. Southampton a little bit…
L: But there’s not as many venues there. Only here you can name ten, twelve different venues straight off the cuff. It’s pretty solid. There’s also The Great Escape, which is amazing for the music scene.
Are there any new bands you’ve got your eye on?
L: Roswell 47
T: Yeah they’re sick
L: They’re a very talented band and they’re going to be supporting us at The Green Door Store.
T: Fur, The Island Club who aren’t really new but they’re so good.
L: Yeah they’re established but they’re amazing
T: Atlas Wind, Rocking Horse Club, The Magic Gang, Fickle Friends, Animal House who have moved back to Australia now and which makes me cry.
L: Royal Blood
T: They’re from Worthing
L: But Ben’s not. He lives in Mouslecoomb
T: That’s not his fault
L: It’s good, I like Brighton. It’s fun and that’s about it for me.
Lauren Wade
