Who inspired you to make music?
We all come from different musical backgrounds so we all have different musical inspirations. For example, the moment I (Jack – guitar/vocals) knew that I wanted to play the guitar for the first time was when my Dad put on ‘Appetite for Destruction’ in the car when I was 9 years. It blew my mind and I was soon asking for an electric guitar and didn’t look back. Other sources of inspiration include the usual suspects of Blink 182, Stevie Wonder, and even the fictional character of Bleedin’ Gums Murphy of The Simpsons fame.
What is your creative process like? Do you start with lyrics? Instruments? Concept?
The band started as a solo project so most of the songs originate from myself, and then once they are brought to the band everyone brings their own musical influences together and that is what creates the final product. The collaborative process is something that I really enjoy and is really key to the sound of the band. We will typically start with a loose idea or a home demo and then everyone will bring in those different influences as we work on the song. Everyone thinks that the song needs more of their own instrument, and then we compromise until we are all happy.
The lyrics tend to take longer than the music, and are mostly based on things I have experienced or seen. For example, the inspiration for our latest single ‘Lions Should Hunt’ came after I saw an advert featuring a busty blonde model seductively selling something and I was annoyed that this was what people thought would be an effective advertising technique, and annoyed by the fact that it probably was effective! I took that further to think about how men are taught to think about sex, the effect that concepts of masculinity have on us etc. It all sounds very serious or preachy but we try to make sure it isn’t! I think that it is important to discuss these topics but that doesn’t mean that you can’t do it in a tongue-in-cheek way.
What do you feel is the best song you have released/written and why?
The best song we have written is our most recent single ‘Lions Should Hunt’ (plug-plug-plug)! I always think that your most recent song is the one that is closest to your heart at that time. Genuinely though it is a song we are really proud of, it is one that had been in the works for a while and is a subject matter we care about. It was also our first experience recording in a studio rather than us recording ourselves in my bedroom without knowing what we are doing, which means it is definitely our best sounding song yet!
What is the best advice you’ve been given?
Practice your scales. It is a boring one, but knowing your scales is like a musical cheat code.
If you could be any kind of cookie, what would it be and why? (Most important question)
Chocolate and orange, its like a Terry’s chocolate orange but in cookie form.
How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business?
We have grown up with the internet so for us it is intrinsically linked to music, for almost my entire life it is the way I have listened to music, bought music, learned about music etc. I think that for better or for worse online music is the only realistic way to consume music nowadays. This means that there is a huge amount of opportunities for people to put themselves out there, releasing their own music and finding their own fanbase. The flip side of that is that the internet has become a very saturated place. As with anything there are positives and negatives.
If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?
I think that there should definitely be a change in the streaming culture/system that we have in place at the moment. This could be a change back to the more traditional ‘downloads’ that we had in the past, or more likely, a changing of the current streaming system and the laws behind it. Streaming is too convenient and useful to truly disappear at this stage, so we need to make sure that it is actually a viable option for musicians of all levels.
Chats (bass) also has a hot take: “In countries that don’t have such a developed infrastructure (such as my home country of Malawi), pirating still exists as the only option to get a lot of music, so until a more convenient method arises (for example streaming), pirating will continue to happen”
What is the most useless talent you have?
No talent is useless. My ability to spin a pen around my fingers has kept me going throughout many classes and meetings.
When you’re done with music, what do you want people to think when they talk about you and your work?
I would like for people to see that we tried to create music that was unique and an eclectic mix of all of our many influences. I would like for people to say that we were good to work with and that we were nice to other musicians and other people in general.
What is your most recent project/upcoming project?
Our newest single is ‘Lions Should Hunt’ which you can listen to now on all streaming platforms! We will also have some more singles coming out this year so be sure to check out the usual social medias to keep up to date!
Find the Band at:
BTMusic Blog 