[dropcap style=”font-size:100px;color:#992211;”]T[/dropcap]HERE is no doubting Three Kings High are one of the best and most promising new bands coming out of Bristol. That is no small compliment considering the wealth of talent in the city. I have been talking to the guys about their new material and what we can expect from them; their reaction and recollections of their previous L.P., They Think They’re People; how the guys all came together and started playing – whether there are any gigs coming up.
But first..
The past few weeks have seen me look at bands and the value they hold in the modern scene. When reviewing solo artists – and the great ones coming through – I have looked at bands and how inferior some are. It seems like solo artists are grabbing more attention and much more diverse, consistent and original – the group hegemony starting to wane. That said, bands like my featured artists are making huge efforts to reverse that trend.
Right from that track;
everything else makes sense: you
have an idea of Three Kings High
and fall under their spell. Take a
look at some sample reviews:
“A band at the peak of their powers!”
– TOM ROBINSON, RADIO 6
Before I come to them, I want to look (again) at bands and the importance of originality; groups that take things back-to-basics whilst remaining populist – having a peak back at Bristol-based musicians and their merits. If I have been a bit dismissive of modern bands it is because of a certain type: those thin-hipped Indie boys that seem to be bash off vague Arctic Monkeys-esque songs without any originality and meaning. You also get a lot of Electronic-based groups that are incapable of enticing or appealing – just trying to fit into a mould straining heavy with like-minded beigeness.
Those bands that provide something fist-pumping, dirty and captivating are a rare stock – we should be proffering them and making sure they get the respect deserved. What is quite galling is the so-called ‘next best thing’ label the media attributes to any young group with a modicum of energy and noise. It is not good enough simply throwing some random, chart-seeking sounds together and thinking that is sufficient.
“They are A Band: pure and simple
without fancy baubles
and needless sheen”
The most enduring and long-lasting examples go deeper and create something a lot more startling and memorable. I know it is hard coming into music and making an impression; doing something instant and unexpected. The instinct of most bands is to portray a little bit of their heroes’ sound whilst putting themselves into the gaps. The trouble remains this: there is a real issue with originality and a lack of distinction. In terms of the mainstream artists; I cannot remember the last time I got excited about a band. Hooton Tennis Club and Warpaint are exciting and inventive, but to my mind, they are in the minority.
Delving into the Underground
There seems to be a general fear – among new bands coming into the big leagues – of being overlooked or not standing out. If you want to discover the freshest bands around, you need to delve into the underground – looking at those acts unsigned and free from commercial/label pressures. Undeterred by market trends and tight schedules: they are free and relaxed to create music at their own pace; the sound they want to produce.
Image (c) James Wilkinson
Three Kings High have a booking and press manager but have no record deal at the moment. The Bristol-based boys play Indie-Rock but do not cause me to shiver and balk – as do a lot of groups that play in that genre. I have grown weary of many Indie-Rock groups and how tired they seem. Three Kings High have plenty of Funk and sleaziness; thrown into the music – guaranteed to slosh alcohol around the place and kick over a few chairs. The guys have built a reputation around legendary live sets and music that pulls down the trousers and kicks you square in the cheeks.
Thinking about them – and the acclaim they have gathered – is in no small part due to their dynamics and basic outlay. They are A Band: pure and simple without fancy baubles and needless sheen. Raw, stripped and completely engrossing: the personification of what a modern band should be about. There is no pretence or desire for mainstream appeal; they do not need to the nod of talent show judges or the beard-stroking nods of the stuffiest music critics – a group that has a rebellious streak and an enormous amount of honesty.
Three Kings High build their songs
from strong guitar riffs and memorable
choruses, their indie attitude wilfully
refuses to let them follow any of the
signposts pointing to the obvious route
– CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE
A real and relatable band that make music for the feet and body. Too many bands seem to go for the soul: music that soothes and comforts but rarely gets the listener active and engaged. There is a risk turning things around and going straight for the gut – a lack of sophistication, depth and appealing. I still hear so many bands that turn the volume up and forget to write a tune. Such is the lack of musicality and quality it comes off jarring and jagged.
Three Kings High have been described as writing black Funk: the sort of music that recalls the Soul/Funk kings of old but has that modern skin. It is no surprise they have caught the attention of the likes of Craig Charles – someone who knows a damn good funky tune when he hears it! Not only that: the band have been hailed by some of the biggest stations and reviewers around. I would think (Three Kings High’s) uncomplicated and blistering sound is the reason behind it.
“It is hard to ignore Bristol’s strengths
and variations: so many different
artists all making an impression”
The guys have been working hard and touring a lot – honing their sound and growing strong with time. It is a disservice to call the band ‘Indie-Rock’ but it best explains their role I guess. There is ample Soulful and Alternative threads within the music of Three Kings High to stands them above their contemporaries. So many bands of the minute are desperate to either fit into holes or be needlessly complicated. It is not easy taking all the clothing and layers away and presenting something basic but incredibly alluring.
Three Kings High are masterful at getting into the head but registering nuance and memories long after the music has stopped. Both explosive and slowing-releasing music – that is a very difficult thing to achieve.
PHOTO CREDIT: Aaron Thompson
Bristol & The Scene
Before Speaking to Three Kings High: I wanted to talk about Bristol and how the city has shaped and redefined music. Back in the 1990s, it was impossible to ignore the relevance and influence of Bristol. Bands like Portishead and Massive Attack put the city firmly on the map and were the leaders of British Trip/Hip-Hop. More obscure and lesser-celebrated bands such as Kosheen and The Pop Scene have helped put Bristol into the forefront.
If the sound and genres being proffered have changed (since the 1990s) then the quality and variation has not. We often celebrate London and Manchester as the cities to watch – continuing to produce world-class music and incredible acts. Over the past few decades, the cities have been unrivalled in terms of consistency and excellence. Bristol enjoyed exposure and attention during the reign of Massive Attack and Portishead but we assume that is all there is to the city.
“It is a creation which shimmers with
excitement and temptation. If one were
to close one’s eyes when one has this disc on,
one is in a sweaty little basement club,
surrounded by beer and fag fumes”
– IS THIS MUSIC
If you look closer, you will find so many wonderful musicians and a wealth of creative genius. It is hard to ignore Bristol’s strengths and variations: so many different artists all making an impression. I have ensconced myself in London and often focus too heavily on the musicians there – ignoring treasures like Bristol, for instance. It is a little remiss because, since the heydey and golden period for the city, there are so many wonderful musicians emerging. It is hard to say just how many of them will ascend to the mainstream but Three Kings High seem almost certain. They take wealth and knowledge from Bristol’s past and fuse it with the immediacy of the present.
PHOTO CREDIT: reaper bar
Layers of History
Look back at previous Three Kings High releases and you get a sense of where they have come from. Hail is an album flowing with funky grooves and uplifting harmonies. Crow and the Dove boats male-female vocals and races and jives it way through the gears. A rousing and blistering song that gets you up and moving – a typical track from that. It’s stop-start; fast-slow dynamic keeps things unexpected and unpredictable while Nothing Left to Lose is more straightforward but no less affecting. It is a song that has a funky/Rock core but spends more time fleshing out ball-busting solos and the band’s interplay.
You get caught in the notes and flow with the song. Blending Rap and Hip-Hop into the song it is another addictive jam. What once notices, and differentiates their current material from older, is the sense of development and confidence. Hail is a record full of great moments and plenty of wonderful takeaways. They Think They’re People picks up from that without having to add too much to the palette. You get all the reliable groundwork and senses but, on their latest album, there is more depth and variation.
“Three Kings High are just white boys
doing dirty, black men funk rawk and
they’re making it fun and they’re
making it impossible to take
the piss out of them”
– UNPEELED
The production sound is more solid and polished without losing its grittiness and natural freshness – it still sounds like you are listening to a live performance. They Think’ and its harder moments really resonates but so too do the funky cuts and soulful investigations. I have mentioned how unleashed and unchained the band is – a sentient unit that has a huge feel for subject matter and knows how to evoke reactions.
Nowhere Fast is the perfect tributary of their multiple talents and ideas. You have all the fantastic vocals (of their early days) with some new-found inspiration and strength. The songwriting – on the song and album – seems at its peak and more original and startling than before. Maybe it is the touring and abilities they have picked up on the road; the press and push from the media have given them new impetus – all of this comes out resolutely and burning bright.
Credit: Three Kings High.
Nowhere Fast
I wanted to focus on opener Nowhere Fast as not only is it the album introduction but the most immediate and nuanced song from They Think They’re People. The song rips from the gates and has that instant, catchy vibe. It is a track that spares no prisoners and contains that infectious glee and racing heartbeat. The composition is fairly simple but it is something few other bands have come up with this year.
2016 has been defined by some very serious music and a lot of artists trying to do something fun and frivolous – many fall short of the mark. Nowhere Fast has an ironic title given that accelerated start and ties together the ragged and loose sensation of a classic Rock band and something quirkier like The B-52’s. The hero comes to the microphone but he seems to be in rather gruff and unhappy mood.
Life has been spiralling out of control and perhaps not reaping the rewards it should. You sense unfairness and injustice are ruling the creative mind. With many casting the net of blame over love and its tremulous daggers – Three Kings High’s lead is looking at the wider world and its lack of humility, humanity and jurisprudence. No matter what he does he cannot catch a break; there is that salt in the wound and a real degree of disenfranchisement and jadedness.
“It’s an addictive track, it’s just
finished and I’ve got to have another
blast of it. Like it a lot”
– BAUER MEDIA
No doubt there are some brutal truths to explain this cosmic bullying but you are too enveloped in the sheer sense of abandonment and ease in which the song unravels. I was caught by the percussive and strings melting; the way they wrap around one another and kick each other on. The entire band propels their fellow members and has that intuitive bond. The composition perfectly documents and illustrates the song and all it stands for – adding colour and imagination in addition to myriad emotions and possibilities.
Our man is wiping his nose on the back of his sleeve and getting “nothing done”. It is interesting to see whether – this lack of productivity – is the result of ill fortune or people hindering the lead. One feels dispensation and remuneration are in order: the fact the hero is being hindered if causing a lot of anxiety. Most bands – who would assess the same kind of thing – would bury the song in cloying sentimentality and morbid introversion. What you find with Three Kings High, as with their other releases, is an implacable verve and dynamic drive.
PHOTO CREDIT: Adam Baily
The song swaggers and dances its way around the room as you take in words of fatigue and dissatisfaction. When listening to the song, if the band would not take offence, you get a bit of The Specials, Sex Pistols and The Stranglers – maybe a little bit of Joy Division in the mix too. While other names do fly to the mind, you never think of anyone else. Nowhere Fast is that classic track of ambition against reality: fighting realness and natural expectations against inner-desires and widescreen hopes.
Whether our lead just wants to progress in life and find his way; desires something rather spectacular and precious – nothing seems to be going his way. The song’s germination, because of that, need not have stemmed from one event or an extensive creative retreat – it is a sentiment and topic everyone can relate to. The hero is too “busy being busy” and seems wrapped up in a whirlwind or routine, work and rigmarole – never getting chance to cut loose and experience something pure. No matter how many pains and negatives are being thrown the way of the lead: nothing is changing and there is never an opportunity for relaxation and realisation.
Nowhere Fast is an intriguing song whose language is direct and simple yet its truth is far from it. You wonder just how/what has compelled this discourse and (whether a figure) has sparked this musical fire. The language and lyrics are clear which means every line can be heard, appreciated and understood. Many bands bury their lines and lack that necessary decipher-ability.
“Three Kings High have something different
about them. You hear their album
They Think They’re People and get
an octet of tracks brimming with
live-sounding jams and
a wealth of stories”
Three Kings High make their songs resonate with clarity and get straight into the head. Our man has his pockets rattling and being cemented in quicksand. How can he make his way and achieve his goals, one asks. “I’m getting nothing done” seems to be the central mantra of the song: the nub of the track. Many of us go through life not doing what we need to do and finding little time for ourselves. Maybe rising and new domesticity and demands have rendered personal time irrelevant; perhaps there are fewer moments to catch a breath. Whatever has unfolded is causing its fair share of heartache and pain.
Whatever lies beneath the skin is up to you – you are always caught by the infectiousness of the composition and the strong vocals. The band are completely in-step and provide one of their most astonishing and together performances. Having listened to most of their material – enough to gain a sense of evolution and chronological improvement – I can see just how bonded and together they are.
Bright New Things (with a few characterful dents)
Few bands have that spirit and gel – you get that in spades with Three Kings High. Like fellow Funk-Rock-Soul band Saints Patience – who created a similar song in Break of Dawn – there is that swaying and mobile vocal (full of dance and movement) with an insanely catchy and instant chorus. The band rides the song into the final stages with as much commitment and energy as they opened.
Joe Eden and Samuel Otis provide the vocal allure (Otis on guitar) whilst some production and keys skills from Tom Lingham are firm and proud. Luke Wookash is the percussion master and provides that effusive and racing beat; Rowan Ensoll gives those liquid bass notes and unifying embers whereas Elo Colliou backs up the vocals with some sturdy and atmospheric rhythm guitar sounds. Nowhere Fast is, to my mind, the finest and truest song from Three Kings High. It is They Think They’re People’s highlight and a song that is sure to go down a storm in the live setting – impossible not to dance to and sing along with. Let’s hope the Bristol band is unsigned and undiscovered no longer. They have already caught the ear of some big names so it cannot be too long until they get the full credit deserved.
It is never wise proclaiming a band/artist as ‘ones to watch’. It can be a risky venture that seems exaggerated or a little pressuring. Bands feel they have to live up to that hype and it can be galling and intimidating. With regards Three Kings High, I will not laden them with any expectations or hyperbole. They have already gained applause from a range of magazines, sites and radio stations. I mentioned how Craig Charles has lauded them: ‘6 Music have featured their music and noted just how fresh and alive the band are.
Too many bands either go
in heavy-handed
(lacking sophistication)
or too vague and weak
Other media sources have tried to describe their sound: like being in a bar and seeing a young, hungry band bring the funk. You might have your own interpretations but everyone will take something aware from the listening experience. I always search for groups that have that endurance and can keep on making music years down the track. So many current groups – in the mainstream at least – have that temporary feel and you wonder how long they will remain.
Originality & Frustrations, getting out there
Perhaps it is a matter of originality and sound or maybe it is a sign of the times – not to affront Three Kings High. There is a lot of talent in the upper reaches of music but our minds either turn to established, historic musicians or those making their first moves. It is quite hard arriving in the mainstream and trying to forge a successful career.
In past reviews, I have lambasted bands that copy others and come into music with rather timid sounds. The way to get listeners hooked and remaining is something unique: that special touch that no other artist possesses. In terms of the band market of today: energy and nuance are more in-demand than anything else. Too many bands either go in heavy-handed (lacking sophistication) or too vague and weak.
Three Kings High have something different about them. You hear their album They Think They’re People and get an octet of tracks brimming with live-sounding jams and a wealth of stories, emotions and standouts. It is hard for me to fully explain the album – which is why I rarely do album reviews – but Nowhere Fast is a perfect opening salvo.
PHOTO CREDIT: Aaron Thompson
I opened by looking at Bristol and how vital it is; the importance of originality in music and how the band market is taking a bit of a kicking. With the likes of Three Kings High ruling large: one will always find an act capable of revitalising flagging corners of the band industry. The sort of predictable Indie acts have had their day and are being superseded by a superior, more intriguing replacement. Three Kings High have touches of Soul and Punk; they have some Rock edges and Indie middles.
Never unfocused or far-reaching – a band that can tread into various genres and make everything sound completely natural and sensational. It is left for me to highlight the importance of cities like Bristol – an area that has lost a bit of attention since its regency in the ‘90s. With such an original, fresh and exciting band like Three Kings High coming through: can we overlook such a place any longer? As I have shown (at the top of this review), Bristol has a lot of great solo artists and bands staking their claim.
You can toss Three Kings High into the hat. They Think They’re People is a perfect example of a group vibing from backing and media appreciation. That confidence and faith go into incredible material that is gathering universal acclaim. If you want to discover a band that not only separates themselves from the crowds but has the impetus and potential to last for years – you should head the way of Three Kings High. Where they go from here is anyone’s guess, but if you ask me, they WILL not be slowing down soon.
PHOTO CREDIT: Nitelife
The band talk to me about their favourite artists/albums and how they feel they’ve developed since their 2016-released album; what the mood in camp is like right now; what advice they would give to new artists of the moment – and a cherished memory they have from their time in music.
_________________________
Hi guys. How are you? How has your week been?
Joe: We’re good, thanks. It’s been a busy week: been recording and had a gig in London where we brought a fun-bus of Bristolians over to the big smoke with us – so, still a bit fragile, but truckin’ on.
For those new to your music; can you introduce yourselves, please?
I’m the singer/ranter/lyricists/gobs*ite in the band, Three Kings High: a six-piece Rock and Roll crew based in Bristol city. We make honest, working-class drinking anthems and, at times, sexy songs to knock boots to and regret the morning after.
Sam: I’m the lead guitarist and funky bouncer for the band.
Hawk: I’m the bassist and guitar-string-changer; silent assassin, drinker; driver (not together) and morale officer of the band.
Tell me how Three Kings High got together – and what those first jams were like?
Joe: I guess it started ten years ago when I moved down South from the North East and met up with Sam Otis (Lead Guitar). We knew of each other from our Hip-Hop days: I had some records of Sam’s and he had mine. We were both M.C.s and worked with Veekay (the band’s producer) for a while making Hip-Hop – until we decided to switch it up. I had this idea that I wanted to be in a Rock and Roll band; I always did, to be honest.
I guess I had a way with words and got into rapping as it was easier for me not being able to play any instruments. Sam, on the other hand, tends to be able to play anything he picks up – so, he was a good starting point for experimenting in the beginning. I’d like to say we just had it in the pocket straight away when we got into rehearsals but it literally took years to find our sound. I definitely didn’t ever want to be an M.C.-fronted festival band: that stuff’s just not my bag. But, because of who we were and our history; we got booked for those sort of nights a lot.
I suppose it was our safety-zone knowing we could do that Hip-Hop crossover easily if we wanted – but, really, it’s only the last few years we found our sound and, although it’s still rooted in that Hip-Hop sensibility; it’s only the trained ear that will notice these days.
Bristol is where the band resides. What is the like there for new artists? Do you think it is an upcoming spot for ambitious musicians?
Sam: It’s a great place for new artists. Getting gigs in town is easy and promoters are approachable – so; a good start to get a name for yourself.
Joe: It was easy to get started in Bristol, to be fair. When we first played out, we were all over the shop. The gigs were more like public jams but it was exciting – and good to get the opportunity to acid test our early tracks with a different audience each time. There are some long-serving music venues that, if you put the work in, support you fully. Also, being an out-of-towner and from up Newcastle-way; I always felt pretty accepted here: maybe it’s the transient student crowds that Bristol’s used to that makes it quite open. But…it’s not always this friendly when you find yourself in another city trying to make moves…
I know you are in (Bristol’s) Foxhole Studio working on new material. Is that a new album? What can you reveal about the songs and ideas you are laying down?
Joe: The new stuff is just better. Not that I don’t stand beside our earlier work but we really found our groove with the last L.P., They Think They’re People, and have built and warped that sound to something new. However; we are all absolute arrogant megalomaniacs. So; even if its dogsh*t, we still think it’s the absolute bollox!
Hawk: The new tracks in the pipeline are a lot more cohesive. Like Joe said; we seem to have found our groove on this one. They’re more explorative, instrumentally, and are generally just better-crafted songs. We’re really excited to get them out.
Is the mood good and excitable in the band’s camp right now? Is 2018 a year where you have big ambitions and developments in the pipeline?
Joe: Yeah. We’re all pretty hyped about 2018. We’re at the point,, now, where our expectations are based in reality: it’s quite nice to come out of those inexperienced teen years where you think you’re gonna be the next number-one band within a month because your so fuck*ng amazing; get your arse kicked and humbled and come back better and more grounded. We had a year of great gigs and busy recording sessions – which is what we’ve always measured our success on.
A crowd’s response is, as you know, the gauge. You can think you’re great but, if your reception is flat when you perform that new track, there’s nothing worse…and we haven’t had that for a long time.
We’ve grown a good team around us – after years of being with small labels and various booking agencies etc. We have some strong relationships, now, with publishers and P.R. companies – and it’s freed up some time for us to curate our own nights and even start up a small indie label of our own (Donut Records).
Your latest release is They Think They’re People. What has the reaction been like performing the album on the road?
JOE: It’s been great to perform. After our first L.P. Hail VeeKay, the producer, really cracked how to capture that live energy in our tracks. When we play, people’s reactions are always that we’re tight. I’m sure that might be the case, but, as well; I think it’s because we record our songs as though they’re live – which is a credit to the guys, as I said earlier: I’m just the gobs*ite taking all the glory: those lot are the ones that make our sound big on stage. I do my best not to ruin it!
That record was released in 2016. How do you think you’ve developed as a band since then? Were you at the point (now) where you needed to get back in the studio and capitalise on the success coming your way?
Sam: Yeah. We knew we wanted to keep running with the momentum we had when recording that L.P. Sometimes we get so caught up doing gigs – and writing becomes the in-between stages. We decided, at the end of 2016, we’d take a new tact and do a few months on and a few months off of the road. For me, writing and recording is the real creative part: performing is showing off, but I like the nerdy conversations about sounds and lyrics and giving that aspect the focus it deserves. All of us have our own ideas for tracks. In that room, nothing’s off the table.
Members of the band hail from different areas of the U.K. Is the eclectic and broad membership a reason why the band is so layered? Is diversity the key to your success?
Joe: The short answer is: ‘I have no idea’. It just worked for us. I think it’s more, perhaps, that we met as adults in our twenties, rather than kids from college – apart from Sam and Wookash, who knew of each other and worked a little on some Hip-Hop releases. But; even then, I think it comes down to everyone being individual with their own backgrounds. Some are classically trained musicians, some Hip-Hop aficionados.
Some Funk and Jazz-schooled and some just talk shi*e and hope no one notices there blagging it…But, in a small way; I think maybe the regional U.K. differences do inform our background. For instance, up home, there’s a thriving Hardcore scene and, even if it’s not your bag; it’s hard to avoid knowing and hearing and learning about your city’s sounds and musical heritage – being exposed to Punk and heavy Rock, perhaps, morphs your ear to it more. Same regarding the South West’s Trip-Hop legacy and Electronica past – they eek in through osmosis, no doubt.
Hawk: I’d say it was more because of our diverse musical tastes than our whereabouts. We all come from such different backgrounds in that sense – but we all love most of the same stuff, too. It’s great to hear Sam and Joe go into wormholes about specific offshoots of Hip-Hop and Grime, or hear the crazy Math-Rock Wookash is zoning out to. We definitely have experts in different musical genres but without the single mindedness that can sometimes blinker you into just one scene.
What sort of music did you all grow up on? Give me a sense of your childhood tastes…
Joe: Probably, like most people, my tastes were mainly informed by my parents – mainly my dad’s, with people like The Band, The Kinks, Bob Dylan etc. 1960s and 1970s Rock, really. Then, I discovered bands like Ocean Colour Scene, The Verve; was a bit of a mod until Hip-Hop got me – then it was all I listened to for about five years!
Hawk: I went through a short stage of being well into Hard House and trance. Glad that’s over. The Blues has always been a part of what I’m into. As I mentioned earlier; it’s the reason I even started playing seriously. Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana; Led Zeppelin, Sublime, Rancid; NOFX – loads of different stuff. Me and my brother used to stuff loads of towels up our jumpers and pretend we were The Fat Boys. Good times.
Who are the new artists you recommend we check out?
Joe: Locally; I’d give Los Savages and Wasuremono a spin and, obviously, IDLES. If you’ve been living in a cupboard since 2015 and don’t know: IDLES had the best live show I saw last year…definitely worth a peep. Khruangbin are amazing. Caught them the other night in Bristol. Check out there first album, The Universe Smiles Upon You, as an introduction. You won’t regret it.
Hawk: The Chats are killing it right now. There’s also a brand-new band coming out of Bristol called Alexander Sun which I’m really excited about. You probably won’t find much on them just yet – but watch this space on that one.
If you each had to choose the one album that means the most to you; which would they be and why?
HAWK: An album that means a lot to me would have to be Unplugged by Eric Clapton. I haven’t listened to it in years but when I was a kid I nicked it of my old man and bought the music book; learnt to read guitar tab and taught myself to play it from start to finish. That’s how I learned to play.
Joe: The Last Waltz by The Band It’s a live album of The Band’s farewell concert in 1976. Apart from them being at there absolute best, it seems as though it was the end of an era in 1976 – where a certain type of American Rockstar bowed out to make room for the late1970s Punk. They were joined by a heavyweight list of their peers such as Muddy Waters, Van Morrison; Neil Young etc. I was brought up on that L.P. and. every Sunday when I was a kid; my dad would play the Scorsese documentary of the same name. So, I guess it’s nostalgic, too.
Can we see you tour soon? What gigs do you have coming up?
Hawk: We’re organising some tour dates with our new agents that will kick off in May. It’s something that will run along some releases over the year – and we’ll be adding dates amongst them to flesh it out…but its early stages.
I’m also trying to start up a live night in Bristol and make that semi-regular: it’s important to us to stay relevant in our H.Q. We also want to get back out to Europe again and are looking at autumn dates for that. But, right now this month, we’re recording for a release and making a video.
Have you each got a favourite memory from your time in music – the one that sticks in the mind?
Hawk: Favourite memory would be playing a bar and looking out seeing The Animals, The Troggs and The Yardbirds all in one room watching us. Pretty exciting!
Joe: Hanging out with The Troggs on tour was a big one for me – if only for the fact they were the soundtrack to my childhood. Something else that sticks in my head was when we were on one of our early U.K. tours and it was when Elouise first joined us as the backing singer. It was about four years ago, the final gig was in London at Finsbury Park, and we smashed it! Crowd went mental. When we finished the last track, this big American bloke came up to the stage and shouted “Who are you guys?”.
The music had stopped momentarily while we packing away and the D.J. was getting set up – but we answered in unison: “THREE KINGS HIGH”. Then, as though choreographed; Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr. came over the house system full-blast. The crowd went crackers; we played along and got people on stage with us – “Du du durr du, durrr du du du, du dud du/who you gonna call?/GHOSTBUSTERS!”. Ha.
It was cheesy as f*ck and maybe we were drunk at the end of a laborious set of dates but that was unadulterated fun – and it set the tone for us as a group. We just want people to have a laugh and get loose with us. I think if we can keep that element of fun and silliness il be happy for a long time. Later that night, we set fire to my shoes and watched them burn because they were possessed.
What advice would you give to new artists coming through?
Hawk: Don’t be too try hard and don’t take yourself too seriously.
Joe: QUIT AND DO SOMETHING ELSE. THERE’S TOO MANY OF YOU NAVEL-GAZING ASSHOLES. Na. I’d say, do everything yourself until it’s too busy to handle; rely on nobody apart from those who’ve shown there dedication. Never wait for things to come to you…
Finally, and for being good sports; you can each choose a song and I’ll play it here (not any of your music – I will do that).
Joe: Has to be done…
The Band – The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jREUrbGGrgM
Sam: Check your bum for grubs and then this…
Cosmic Psychos – Fuckwit City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q954LxEzyY8&feature=youtu.be
Hawk: This never fails to get me hyped!
Rio – Low Cut Connie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbzNaWOMus4
_______
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Hello. My name is…well you know what it is. (Just to let you know I exist).
I have been doing this old ‘writing lark’ for nearly six years and used to be over on WordPress: https://musicmusingsandsuch.wordpress.com/ I have been on Radio 5 Live (discussing Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’s fiftieth anniversary with Howard Goodall, no less) and co-hosted a couple of music nights with the London label, Lost in the Manor.
