Gig Islands ZineJack Winncolour of SpringnarcScold Summerfur BlendroamlyerrThe pyneS

#2

ediTor’S leTTer

Welcome to the second issue of Gig Islands Zine dedicated to celebration of Leeds and surroundings as a land of great music and great festivals. We summed up a list of festivals we enjoyed the most in previous years - large and small, sold out and making their first steps to people’s hearts, in a city centre and in a field. Some of them have already took place this year, and others are coming up and we are extremely excited about them.

Then we took a look at their lineups and chose local and national acts shining at this year’s events. We asked them a bunch of ordinary questions about their latest releases, inspiration behind music and lyrics, bands’ origins and aspirations, touring in the UK, 40 years of punk, consequences of Christmas floods, modern state of British society, local music communities and William Shakespeare, of course!

We also discovered a couple of fresh and exciting bands from Manchester and Liverpool and talked to them about their music and their native cities.

We hope you are going to enjoy reading this issue as much as we enjoyed doing it.

Anna Alpatova, Editor-in-Chief

Gig Islands Zine

Land of Festivals

our Blog: gigiSlandS.com

ediTor & WriTer: anna alpaTova

deSign: anna alexandrovich

cover image: aSh ScoTT

geT in Touch: info@gigiSlandS.com

© 2016

4

Gig Islands Zine

gold SoundS feSTival

When? May 21, 2016

Where To go? Brudenell Social Club in Leeds

Why To go? To catch the best of the freshest shoegaze, psych, noise and grunge music in one place over one night! Impressive selection of acts from both sides of the pond will play at the legendary venue with Yuck headlining the event, such bands as Allusondrugs and Colour Of Spring representing Leeds and exciting Californians SWMRS responsible for international representation.

Get familiar with Colour Of Spring in our interview for this issue.

Slam dunk

When? May 28, 2016

Where To go? Leeds city centre

Why To go? Panic At The Disco, New Found Glory, The Starting Line, Four Year Strong, Of Mice & Men, - and those are just a top of an iceberg. For 10 years Slam Dunk Festival offers fans of metal, punk and hardcore music a music event which is both grand and cozy with both legendary and aspiring bands playing shoulder to shoulder. And the best thing is that Slam Dunk also runs in Birmingham on May 29th and Hartfield on May 30th so music lovers may follow their favourite bands across the country for the whole weekend. And there are official afterparties in every city!

Read our interview with ROAM to find out why they are excited for Slam Dunk 2016.

leedS iS home To incrediBle live muSic evenTS and Some of Them are among The BeST feSTivalS greaT BriTain haS To offer. We choSe our favouriTeS Which Take place in The ciTy and Beyond.

Land of Festivals

5

Land of Festivals

leedS feSTival

When? August 26-28, 2016

Where To go? Bramham Park near Leeds

live aT leedS

When? Spring, 2017

Where To go? various venues (read: almost every venue) in Leeds city centre

Why To go? In 2016 Live At Leeds celebrated its 10th anniversary traditionally bringing national and local music acts of various genres and calibers together along a range of stages at wonderful Leeds venues. Accompanied with a brand new digital conference, LAL is definitely one of the most influential events in the region. There is really no excuse for a music lover to miss it in 2017.

long diviSion

When? June 10-12, 2016

Where To go? Wakefield city centre with Unity Works at the heart of the event

Why To go? It may be hard for some to differentiate Wakefield from Leeds but once you are here you know it’s a completely different story. Wakefield is a great place to spend a cultural weekend and Long Division is a great occasion to get to a heart of a local music community. It’s a proud celebration of everything DIY and every year Long Division’s founder and organizer Dean Freeman and the team take the festival to a new level. In edition 2016 Gang of Four are headlining Unity Works for the opening night of the event on Friday June 10th, Field Music and Los Campesinos! are on the top of the Saturday bill and Post War Glamour Girls promise an incredible evening on Sunday during a traditional live album recording session limited to 100 pairs of ears.

Сheck out our interviews with Jack Winn, NARCS, Cold Summer and Fur Blend to get familiar with Wakefield and surroundings

Why To go? Leeds Festival is huge! Huge as an event, huge as a music festival and it’s hugely, massively cozier, louder and less crowded than its big southern brother in Reading. Are we biased? Yes, we are! Because if you went to Leeds Festival once you’ll hardly ever want to try another festival. In 2016 Bramham Park welcomes Biffy Clyro, Fall Out Boy, Foals, Disclosure and Red Hot Chili Peppers as headliners over 3 nights of the festival. Traditionally, Leeds Festival offers a mad fusion of genres and shows over the weekend so everyone will find at least one of their favourite bands to play, one band to finally see live and one new band to discover.

6

Gig Islands Zine

deBuT ep ‘Send me To The STarS’ By a young Wakefield Singer-SongWriTer Jack Winn releaSed Back in 2014 capTured our aTTenTion immediaTely and STill STay among our favouriTe ThingS in The World So far. So When We had To chooSe an arTiST To repreSenT Wakefield in our feSTival iSSue We didn’T Think TWice and aSked Jack To anSWer our queSTionS

When did you become interested in music? Who or what influenced your wish to play music?

Probably watching music telly as a teenager, and wandering round HMV in town, that sort of thing. The first record I remember really getting into was ‘Hail To The Thief’ by Radiohead, and ‘In Rainbows’coming out might have been the most excited I’d been about anything. Playing came more out of just wanting something to do.

are there any particular music influences which formed your sound?

I wasn’t a fan of the idea of being a typical singer-songwriter, so I try and draw from people who do something a bit different with it. People like Sufjan Stevens, Fionn Regan, Paleo, Chad VanGaalen, Elliott

Smith, that kind of thing. Recently I’ve been listening to Guided By Voices, Lou Reed, Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West and Ghostface Killah.

What topics do you usually explore in your lyrics?

Whatever comes to mind really - recently there’s been a lot about growing up and getting older. I guess generally speaking, I try to write about stuff I find hard to articulate otherwise. A lot of the time, it takes me a while to work out what they’re about.

do you think your hometown as a place where you live and create influences your sound or lyrics? 

Occasionally there’s a lyric about a specific place or something. The majority of the gigs I see are bands

Jack WinnCredit: Ash Scott

7

Land of Festivals

or people from Wakefield, so musically I’m sure that has an influence. There used to be a ‘Wakefield sound’ a few years ago, where every review would compare every band to the same kind of 90s slacker bands, but I’m not sure that’s true any more.

do you feel that you belong to some scene or creative community in your city?

I suppose the nature of doing things on your own means that the writing side of it is a bit isolated, but there’s a load of people in Wakefield doing cool stuff, music and otherwise. People like WE ARE and The Art House have done a lot for bringing together the art and music sides. Some of my favourite music comes from Wakefield too - it gets a bit embarrassing when you’re fans of your friends. The last record by The Spills and the new Mi Mye stuff is amazing. 

you’ve released your ep ‘Send me To The Stars’ quite a while ago. however, could you tell us about inspiration behind the tracks on the record?

Yeah, it’s going back a while now! I remember wanting it to be distinct from other stuff I’d done before in bands, which was always fast, loud, punky kind of stuff. So I wanted to do some quieter stuff, some slower stuff, and take a bit of time over the recordings. Some songs were just exercises in songwriting to an extent, challenging myself to do things I hadn’t before. I think it worked out though, I’m still happy with it. My main memory of the day we did all the initial tracking was how hungover everyone was and how late I was, it’s a wonder we managed to record anything.

Should we expect new music from you in near future?

Maybe not the near future. Before too long though. I’m working on it.

do you feel more comfortable playing live or working on new music and recording?

Both are really fun - getting time to demo and work out songs properly is nice, because it’s the first time I get to really listen to them. But the gigging side

is a totally different beast, there’s whole different arrangements of the songs, working out what to do with loops, what to do if it goes wrong... And it’s a chance to make sure all the work I’m doing sat in my bedroom is actually half-decent.

you played quite a few shows recently in different cities. What was the most exciting gigging memory so far?

I’m still pretty new to doing these gigs, I’m only just starting to feel like I’m finding my feet with it... There’s something inherently a bit exciting about just jumping on a train on my own to go play to some strangers. I did an EP launch at Players in Wakefield around Christmas time, with everyone else involved in recording ‘Send Me To The Stars’ supporting, that was really fun. Though honestly, I’m really enjoying all of them.

you are playing long division this year. is it the first time you are playing it solo and what are you particularly excited about this year festival?

Yeah, I’ve played at Long Division a few times with a few different bands, but this is the first time solo. The line-up is exceptional this year. I’m excited to be playing at Westgate Сhapel, I’ve seen some great stuff at LD there before. It’ll be the biggest gig I’ve done too. And I mean, it’s so important to the music scene here to have a festival like Long Division that puts us, and what we do, in the spotlight a bit. It’s hard to underestimate the good it’s done locally.

What is your biggest ambition at the moment?

I decided before I started doing these gigs that all I really wanted was to enjoy it, and I’m already doing that. I don’t have a grand plan or ambitions to be commercially successful or anything like that, I just want it to be good. Then I’ll be happy.

Jack Winn’s debut EP ‘Send Me To The Stars’ is available for listening and purchase in digital and physical formats at jackwinnmusic.bandcamp.com and in digital format on iTunes. Jack plays Long Division in Wakefield on June 11th.

8

Gig Islands Zine

ThiS may gold SoundS feSTival BringS an amazing Bill of young muSicianS from BoTh SideS of The pond To The greaTeST venue of leedS. local 4-piece colour of Spring Will hiT The STage of Brudenell Social cluB WiTh Their dreamy, Shoegaze-fuelled muSic. We Talked To Shane hunTer and roBin chamBerlain of The Band aBouT Their laTeST releaSe, Touring The uk, The Band’S originS and aSpiraTionS.

gig islands: in february you released a new single ‘pillow’. Tell us about inspiration behind this track.

Shane: ‘Pillow’ was made up of a few song ideas I had in my first year of University, where I was dealing with a lot of problems with anxiety. I wanted the music and lyrics to have a sort of symbiotic relationship, in that they both promote each other in feeling and atmosphere. So the dreamy chords and textures in the song really inspired the way the lyrics were written.

Would you say that alex greaves as a producer had his influence on the record?

Shane: Absolutely! We love Alex and he really does bring a lot to the plate as a producer. We all believe

that the role of the producer is to be involved in as much of the record as the band is.

robin: Definitely. Alex is good at keeping the vibe and momentum going. He always has good ideas and pushes us to experiment with our sound. ‘Pillow’ sound way different on record than I ever imagined it in my head. Alex added a lot of texture to it that wasn’t there previously.

Who came up with the idea for the ‘pillow’ video?

robin: I run my own photography company 83Photography and I’ve always liked the idea of making promo music videos. When the band needed videos for its singles it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try this new aspect of my

Colour Of Spring

9

Land of Festivals

work. I’ve shot all three videos for the band but this is my favourite so far. I initially imagined the idea of lots of flashing lights and colours for the video, I wanted it to be vibrant yet slightly abstract. I had the idea of using the fireworks to create this explosive feeling at the end and worked backwards from there. I needed a narrative to run through the video, a point where we reached the pinnacle of the fireworks being set off. I came up with the idea of the two girls seemingly having a quiet night in with some records and some wine and that turning into an evening of mischief.

Tell us about the band’s history. how did it start?

Shane: I was living in Ye Olde York and working on a lot of solo ‘bedroom pop’ records but I really wanted to start collaborating and making songs with a full band. I met Robin online and we knew after the first time we jammed that it was meant to be! I knew Tom [Gregory - bass] from University and Robin knew Bryce [Gibson  - drums] from previous bands.

you went on your first uk tour in february. how did it go? any memorable moments?

Shane: It was incredible! Every show was super fun and we met some really cool people. There was plenty of highlights but I don’t think I’ll ever forget Robin sacrificing Tom’s bass to the Gods in Middlesbrough. That’s a story for another day!

What advice would you give to any band touring the uk for the first time?

Shane: Take a sleeping bag, floors are mighty cold.

robin: Haha. That’s so true. Bring earplugs too. Nothing worse than being on that cold floor with six other snoring dudes!

What would be the first place to go or thing to do for you in leeds after the tour?

robin: To bed! I think we were all pretty exhausted. I didn’t do anything at all. It was just nice to have some home cooked meals and rest.

Shane: Yeah, I was the same, I just did nothing for a week!

What are your plans for upcoming months? gigs, festival sets, releases?

robin: Well, we went from tour to a few days off and then straight back into the studio. We’ve just recorded an EP which we’re hoping to release at the end of the year, and we’re going back to the studio again next month to do another single. Hopefully to release just before summer. We’ve also got a few cool live sessions coming up for an online TV series and a national radio station [Check out episode 4 of Black Square Sessions on YouTube], but I don’t know if I can say any more on that front just yet! On the gig front we’ve got a few festivals lined up, but again not too many I can announce. Although we can say we’re confirmed for Gold Sounds Festival in Leeds at the end of May.

What is your biggest ambition at the moment?

robin: I think we all just fell in love with touring. It was so much fun and incredibly humbling to go to the other side of the country, to somewhere like Canterbury and to have 70-80 kids turn up just having a great time. On the day of the Canterbury gig we did an in-store at Hot Salvation Records in Folkstone. We honestly expected no-one to be there on a Wednesday lunchtime so when 15-20 showed up we were in shock. So really our ambition is just to get out more, travelling across the UK and to play loads of new places. Touring is so satisfying because it’s where all the hard work pays off.

Colour of Spring play Gold Sounds Festival at Brudenell Social Club in Leeds on May 21st. The latest single ‘Pillow’ is out now and available via all good digital music stores. Bands interested in promo and music videos, get in touch with Robin via www.83photography.co.uk.

10

Gig Islands Zine

SomeTimeS you have To aSk Wrong queSTionS To geT really good anSWerS. ThiS iS The caSe in our inTervieW WiTh narcS. They are TalenTed, They are angry and They BrillianTly repreSenT leedS aS a modern capiTal of BriTiSh heavy muSic. and They have So much To Say ThaT We had To highlighT Their replieS raTher Than our poor queSTionS.

You’ve released a new single ‘Pig’ this year. Could you tell us about inspiration behind this track?

The inspiration was just an anecdote we heard about a meeting between a man and his childhood idol. To cut a long one short, the guy turned out to be a shadow of his former self. The whole song came from that really, and trying to mould someone into the way you wanted or perceived them to be.

How does the work on a new album go? When should we expect it and how different from the first LP it’s going to be?

it’s almost done. We have all the tracks and they’re off to the mysterious, magical world of mastering. in terms of difference to the first

album, it’s vastly angrier. We’re predicting that it’ll put some people off us forever. But this is the album that means something to us, these are the themes that we think are vitally important and if it’s too political for some, we absolutely do not apologise.

Has Leeds music scene recovered from Christmas floods? It was devastating to hear about damage it brought to so many bands and studios.

i think ‘survived’ is more accurate than ‘recovered’. That amount of damage to property and equipment just isn’t something that people recover quickly from. even the businesses that survived have done so by a thread. it was nice to see the response and all but let’s not treat this as a blessing-in-

NARCS

11

Land of Festivals

disguise in any way. it was, and continues to be, a totally sh!t thing to happen.

London celebrates 40 years of punk this year. Do you think England today is very alike to England at the end of 70s in political and social ways?

firstly, we’ve got to point out that london didn’t invent punk! They just gave it a ‘British’ aesthetic to go alongside the american punk that was coming out. Bands like Slf, Buzzcocks, angelic upstarts, undertones, magazine, The fall and others managed plenty of punk without being from london. i’d say england is very different, thank god, to how it was in the 70s. none of these issues are remotely solved but we’ve seen huge strides in terms of (publicly acceptable) attitudes to sexuality, race, gender, religion, art. Sadly, we’ve still got Tory reptiles in charge, they seem determined to be even colder, less empathetic and more evil than their dead mother, so socially things feel like they’re going backwards. have you ever known doctors to strike in your lifetime? We hadn’t until now...

You are one of not many music voices in the UK to discuss real problems of the British society in your songs. Do you believe addressing such issues through music in 2016 can make influence or bring change at a bigger scale?

Whether it changes anything or not, if it gives people any motivation to try or find some sort of commonality with us then that would be a victory. even if someone’s being shouted down by people round them, but they connect with our politics in a silent way that helps them stick to their guns, that’s a huge victory. realistically, the only people in the arts with the societal influence are celebrities. We’re not them.

You went on the UK tour in February. How did it go? Any memorable moments?

it was brilliant, we loved getting around and seeing a few places we’ve never been before. memorable moments were many, but staying

at a bloke from airBnB’s house where the only rule stipulated was ‘you bring the second bottle’ was a night to remember.

What advice would you give to any band touring the UK for the first time?

don’t be racist, sexist, misogynist, ableist, homophobic or transphobic. make sure you give a sh!t about your music and the people who’re coming to see it. The rest will fall into place, as long as you’re not sh!t. and if you are sh!t, well at least you’re not a pr!ck.

What would be the first place to go or thing to do for you in Leeds after the tour?

Sleep. lots of sleep, marmite on toast, cups of tea and never, ever leaving the house ever again.

What are your plans for upcoming months? Gigs, festival sets, releases?

We’ve got an album to release so we’re hoping to have an amazing launch for that, we’ve already started discussing other bands for the bill and they’re as excited as we are. We’re also looking at the possibility of making our first foray into europe, so hopefully when the flaccid, wobbling white mass of middle england vote us out of the eu, we can still be friends with all the nice people there.

What is your biggest ambition at the moment?

create a human centipede out of all Tory mps.

NARCS release their 2nd LP ‘A Thinking Animal’ on July 8th. Pre-order is available at www.cluerecords.com. The latest single ‘Pig’ is out now. NARCS play Long Division on June 11th.

12

Gig Islands Zine

leedS-BaSed poST-hardcore 4-piece cold Summer have JuST releaSed Their neW ep ‘fighT To Survive’. vocaliST dan feaST, drummer JuSTin eaSTWood and guiTariST chriS harriSon anSWered our queSTionS and gave a differenT perSpecTive on modern england, punk rock and oTher iSSueS We explore in ThiS iSSue.

you’ve released a new single ‘a Time imagination forgot To inspire’ this year. could you tell us about inspiration behind this track?

dan: Well, for me the inspiration comes from the dissatisfaction towards a lot of today’s music, especially the mainstream stuff I guess you hear on the radio. I felt I’d grown up listening to bands and even in particular bands I’d hear on the radio, I felt inspired by these artists as it certainly to me involved a lot more integrity and honesty. For us it’s certainly a look to the underground to find our inspiration.

does the first single reflect the sound of ‘fight To Survive’ ep?

Justin: In honesty at face value it is the most melodic track I think out of the six on the EP. The heavy parts really come from Dan’s vocals but across the board it’s quite dynamic but certainly leans to being the most accessible track I guess, but certainly still shows what we are about.

chris: One thing we are proud of as a band is how our tracks have different characteristics about them but you can still tell it’s the same band.

london celebrates 40 years of punk this year. do you think england today is very alike to england at the end of 70s in political and social ways?

Justin: I think so in having what I can imagine in the same dissatisfaction of the current government. I don’t think the majority of people in this country, working class can relate to the conservative government. The new leadership certainly is taking things in the right direction for the country as a whole I’ve always been brought up with the belief that they are there to speak up for the working people of this country and finally feels that is happening in my lifetime at least.

you say that your new record ‘‘holds to right a world of consumption, greed and corruption... a call to arms for an apathetic generation’’. do you believe addressing such issues through

Cold Summer

13

Land of Festivals

music in 2016 can make influence or bring change at a bigger scale?

Justin: Yeah, certainly I feel it can encourage and inspire people to look at the world around them and stand up for what they believe in and question inequality.

Were you somehow affected as a band with christmas floods in leeds? What do you feel seeing how the local music scene came together in the face of the troubles?

Justin: Our practice rooms are based in Wakefield so we avoided this, we have a second floor room so we are out of the way! Yeah, we have a friend’s band who rehearse at one of the studios affected by the floods. They had quite a bit of gear damaged but thankfully a lot of it was cased up [or] on higher ground, etc. I’ve been back to the Blueberry Hill Studio (one of [the studios] affected by the flood) and you can see that money donated by everyone has really gone to good use and got it back and beyond how it was before, just shows how strong the music community is in Leeds.

do you have your favourite or most memorable touring moment so far?

Justin: I think the He Is Legend tour as a whole was really great experience and I love saying the phrase ‘total riot’ to describe it! Although some stupidly late night drives we encountered due to the fact a couple of the band were still working were quite interesting! We manage to get to all the shows without any hitches despite risking rush hour traffic, Lee [driver/tour manager] really stepped up and well deserved that he is now operating his own business [Company Name Touring] after him running the tour with me for the band so well. The Manchester show towards the end we got stuck in a traffic jam half a mile from the venue so we unloaded our gear while stuck in the traffic straight onto stage, straight onto soundcheck!

how important is it for you to communicate with your fans online and offline?

Justin: We really manage our online social media really well, we also do it all ourselves. We’re always

up for chatting and keeping in touch with people who connect with us online and after shows, etc. I feel it’s important as we appreciate people checking out our music. We also like sharing bands we play with, friends’ bands and generally just any bands we like so we feel we have a positive online presence in terms of sharing great music. We certainly hang out after shows and we are happy to make friends and meet new people, for me personally and also I’m sure I can speak for the rest of the band, it’s certainly our social outlet.

What advice would you give to any band touring the uk for the first time?

Justin: Make loads of friends so you have somewhere warm to sleep! A few of us in during a cold February spent a few nights sleeping in the van which was interesting, trying to keep warm but because we kitted out our van well we managed it. With that in mind I’d also say don’t cheapskate on renting a van, as you always have a backup somewhere to sleep and something secure and safe to transport you and your gear.

What are your plans for upcoming months?

Justin: At the moment to say we’re just releasing a new EP we aren’t as busy as we would like to be, so we are in the process of booking shows and hopefully a tour later in the year. We hopefully should have a few festival dates to add, we’ve just confirmed for Long Division Festival in Wakefield in early June. We’re writing at the moment, we’re also looking into recording some live sessions, we’ve always to do an acoustic live session as well just as Dan really spends a lot of time working on stuff like this and in the past it’s featured on some of our releases, it’s not so much been out of place but it feels like it deserves to stand alone on a release so hopefully at some point in the near future we will see this project come to light.

Cold Summer play Long D iv is ion Fes t i va l in Wakefield on June 11th. Their new EP ‘Fight To Survive’ is out now and available via all good digital music stores.

14

Gig Islands Zine

ThiS may iT’S going To Be 3 yearS Since gig iSlandS diScovered philophoBia muSic and Their BeauTiful acTS. fur Blend iS one of Them and aS They are releaSing a marvelouS Single ‘SeroTonin’ JuST in Time for our liTTle anniverSary WiTh one of our favouriTe indie laBelS We couldn’T reSiST To Talk To Them aBouT everyThing Their Band iS aBouT. leT uS inTroduce you – fur Blend!

hey guys! Thanks for talking to gig islands. first of all, could you please introduce yourselves?

Hi we are Paul Flesher on guitar and vocals, Laura Thompson on bass and vocals, Danny Thompson on drums.

you’ve just released a new single ‘Serotonin’. could you tell us about inspiration behind the track?

paul: ‘Serotonin’ came about through reflecting on problems friends, band members and family have gone through regarding mental health.

laura: Yeah, Paul came up with this initial song and I added to the lyrics inspired by my own struggles with depression and anxiety. Although it sounds dark, I think making a song about such things can be a positive outlet and we always try to add an element of humour and irony to our music, because that reflects our true personalities!

could you tell us about the band’s history? how did it start?

paul: The band met through a Furries’ Convention - people who dress up as animals and preen each other.

Fur BlendCredit: © Mike Gregory 2016

15

Land of Festivals

laura: Yeah, I thought Danny looked particularly fetching in his tiger suit. And I found Paul’s originality in his neon pink penguin suit very endearing. It was meant to be.

are there any particular music influences which formed your sound?

paul: Riot grrrl, 80s skate punk, Sleater-Kinney, Pavement, Dinosaur Jr - I wanted to make music that sounded like a soundtrack to an 80s skate video.

laura: We have quite an eclectic influence between us, Danny is more into electronic music and we occasionally let him loose on his synths... But we generally drift between a lo-fi/slacker/shoe-gazy and a poppier/faster/punkier sound - you could say we have short attention spans!

What topics do you usually explore in your lyrics?

paul: We have no agenda but self-gratification / gratification of others / oral gratification.

laura: Paul writes the majority of the lyrics - he is a genius in a very twisted, sordid kind of way - it tends to focus around romantic rejection, falling in love with your stalker, nights out in Wakefield, monkeys who can’t type?

do you think your hometown as a place where you live and create influences your sound or lyrics? do you think you would make a different music in a different city?

paul: Laura has lived in Sweden and I have lived in London - my guitar playing changed while living in London, but I think your record collection is generally what influences sound.

laura: I am originally from Wakefield (the home of Philophobia!) and that has crept into our influence occasionally, as well as Paul growing up in a suburban area of Leeds/Bradford. However, I think we just try to make music that is us and not influenced by the bands around us. If I had stayed in Sweden though - we might have started an

electronic band more like Fever Ray/The Knife (in fact this is still a possible side project!).

do you feel that you belong to some scene or creative community in your city?

paul: Yes, Philophobia (the label who puts most of our music out) has a large collection of artists that feel like a community. 

laura: Yeah, the Philophobia bands are a lovely lot with some great music. This has really helped us get established, put out records and make friends. 

do you feel more comfortable as a band playing live or working in the studio?

paul: We never feel comfortable anywhere.

laura: Ha, yes, just come to one of our live shows - we are shambolic - but in a very charming way I hope? I think we feel a little too comfortable in practises sometimes... I actually love performing even though I can get incredibly nervous, I find the buzz quite addictive. I am more comfortable making a fool of myself on stage than having to get my bass lines spot on for a recording, but I also really enjoy recording as I always learn so much. We have had great experiences at both Greenmount Recordings and Suburban Home Studios in Leeds.

What are your plans for upcoming months? gigs, festival sets, releases?

paul: Our single ‘Serotonin’ is out on the 20th May, single launch gig on 21st May at Santiago’s Leeds, Philophobia gig at the Bull and Fairhouse Wakefield on the 28th May and playing the Long Division festival on the 11th June at The Orangery Wakefield. 

What is your biggest ambition at the moment?

paul: Ambition mmm...to survive?

laura: We have loose plans to create a self-recorded album over the next year full of all our messings around in the studio. Our ambition is mainly to keep enjoying playing together and being creative.

16

Gig Islands Zine

Slam dunk 2016 offerS a huge range of The BeST nameS in modern rock, punk and hardcore Scene BuT We choSe one parTicular Band To repreSenT The feSTival in our feSTival iSSue. They came, They SaW, They Won The croWd – eaSTBourne neWcomerS roam are reSponSiBle for one of The BeST deBuT alBumS ThiS year and Will appear aT many STageS during The upcoming monThS. We Talked To The Band’S BaSS player maTT roSkilly aBouT roam’S paST, preSenT and fuTure aS Well aS Some TipS on eaSTBourne’S aTTracTionS.

Thank you, matt, for taking time to talk to gig islands.

No problem! Thanks for talking to us.

Who or what influenced your wish to be in a band and make music?

It’s hard to really pinpoint a certain thing that made us want to be in a band. I guess for me it was growing up listening to all different types of music and developing a love for it, kinda like everyone else in a band. I’d say the main artists that had an impact and influence on the music we make today would be Green Day, Sum 41 and Blink-182 of course, but we all have had different influences growing up. Costello for example grew up listening to a lot of Nu metal, like Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit, but collectively Pop punk was our favoured genre. 

i know Sum 41 influenced your music a lot. how was it to play the same stage with them at kerrang! Tour?

It was awesome! Pretty surreal for us because obviously we are big fans of the band, but yeah it was really cool, we ended up hanging out a fair bit and they’re really approachable guys so we ended up getting on well. 

you played Slam dunk before and play it this year again. is there anything that makes you look forward to this year’s event?

Everything. Last year was so much fun for us, we’d been as visitors for the previous two years so getting to play it last year was awesome, and we didn’t expect the reaction that we got which was incredible. So this year we are hoping for more of

ROAM

17

Land of Festivals

the same. We also have a lot of friends playing this year so it’s always fun catching up with everyone.

you toured the uS before. Would you say it is completely different experience to touring the uk? is a crowd there different?

Touring the States is a whole different monster to touring the UK, it’s so far out of our comfort zone because it’s mostly unexplored territory for us. We never knew what to expect reaction wise from place to place. Even though you have people saying they’re big fans of the band out there, they’re spread out over such a wide space that it’s harder to pull bigger crowds in lots of places. That being said, it is a lot of fun, the people are really nice, the food is insane wherever you go. 

do you have your favourite or most memorable touring moment so far?

I’d say the whole of the Kerrang! Tour was pretty memorable for us. Playing shows with one of my favourite bands every day, and also one of the greatest frontmen [Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes] every day was a great experience, learnt a lot from watching those guys perform. 

how comfortable do you feel playing acoustic shows?

We are always happy to do acoustic shows. I mean, I don’t really take part as the bassist, I sort of just let the other guys deal with that side of things, so it’s easy work for me!

how important is it for you to communicate with your fans online and offline?

It’s so important. I think a lot of bands forget that their fans are what allow them to carry out their dreams. I think maintaining a good relationship with your fans is the best thing you can do as a band and it’s now easier than ever with social media the way it is now so there’s no excuse really!

could you give us an insight into a modern eastbourne music scene? What bands should we pay attention to?

It’s not the strongest music scene in the world. There aren’t really any venues for small to mid sized bands that are actually worth playing in our hometown, but that’s not to say there aren’t bands to pay attention to. Let’s Talk Daggers are a band to keep an eye out for, if you’re into stuff like Dillinger Escape Plan but weirder, you’ll love them. Also we have friends in a band called Water Canvas who are an Emo band, they are definitely worth checking out, and also our best friend Rich is in an upcoming band called The Holiday who no doubt everybody will know about over the next couple years. They’re killer, I’m so excited for their EP to drop.

how do you spend leisure time in your hometown?

During our down time we just try to see all of our friends and girlfriends as much as we can. We also work jobs while we are home to make a bit of personal money that we can spend while we are away, that takes up a lot of time but without work I think I’d be bored 24/7 at home. We also practice a lot and find ways to improve on ourselves for the next tour.

What’s next for roam?

Next up we are off to Japan with The Wonder Years, we then do a few weeks in Europe with Simple Plan which we are very excited about. After that we have Slam Dunk, then Warped Tour, so we have a lot lined up right now, we are itching to get back on the road so having so much great stuff lined up is the dream. 

Thank you for talking to us. have a great time!

Thank you!

ROAM’s debut album ‘Backbone’ is out now and available at all good digital stores. ROAM play Slam Dunk on May 28-30th and Reading & Leeds Festival on August 26-28th.

hoW We diScovered Them: via Soundcloud - We immediaTely goT relaTed To Their Sound.

Who are They? Lyerr are Ryan Johnson on vocals and guitar, Sam Greene on guitar, Rory Magner on bass and backing vocals and James Kershaw on drums. Sam and Ryan attended high school together and formed a band. They met bass player Rory at college and “developed a musical friendship from this based on the bands [they] would like to go see”. James was a friend of Rory’s who “came along to a practice and quickly settled in becoming a good mate of the band”. 

WhaT do They Sound like? Lyerr admit varying musical influences such as Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, The Strokes, The Libertines and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. “The lyrics currently describe our experiences with nightlife in Manchester and sometimes about how we perceive the behavior of people to be. Our unreleased song ‘Queen of fake press’ looks at how people are crazy for social media fame.”

do They prefer Working in STudio or playing live? “I believe we’re inspired by both. The studio can be very satisfying as it allows us to get creative writing songs and get excited knowing we’ve written something good, whereas performing them allows us to showcase these songs to people and receive their feedback which can be motivational for us to keep writing more songs.”

WhaT’S The fuTure holdS for Them? “We’d just love to keep playing music and to sustain it as a career for ourselves. We’re not quite ready to work full time for the rest of our lives just yet.” The band plays Vinyl Tap Huddersfield in-store on June, 4th. “We’re looking to hopefully have more dates set up for June and make it into our first tour. But in between this we’d like to be recording more songs we think people are gonna like.”

WhaT To liSTen To? Single ‘N.Y.С.’ which is “lyrically about people from your local town who have an arrogance believing they should be in the bright NY lights”. As the band describes it “musically we wanted a riff that we could imagine people dancing to in the places we go out in Manchester - mainly in a place we love called 42’s”.

Gig Islands Zine

Lyerr

18

19

Land of Festivals

lyerr on Their homeToWn of mancheSTer

do you think manchester as a place where you live and create influences your sound or lyrics? do you think you would make a different music in a different city?

Definitely, it’s so hard not to be inspired by the success and heritage of music in Manchester. With lots of varied great sounds coming from the city it’s a great environment to be surrounded in. If we were from somewhere different I definitely think we’d have a different sound.

do you feel manchester’s music heritage in the city now?

There’s always a lot of pride in Manchester due to its musical heritage. It’s hard to go on a night out without seeing people go crazy to bands from the area such as Oasis, The Smiths or The Stone Roses. The popularity of local bands such as The Courteeners or Blossoms shows that the city is always willing to let its home grown talent shine through. The Stone Roses announcing a Manchester comeback has created a buzz round the city again

with their big homecoming shows being a huge event for the city in the summer.

do you think manchester has more or less opportunities for aspiring musicians than other places?

There are definitely a lot of opportunities for unsigned musicians in Manchester. Venues such as the Night & Day cafe often host unsigned musician nights so people can showcase their talent in the area. So being from a city definitely offers more opportunities to the band than if we were located in a small town in the middle of nowhere which may have fewer music venues.

What is your favourite venue to play in manchester?

We’re only just starting up so we’ve yet to play the whole city! But our headline show at Manchester Academy 3 was a really proud moment as we’ve all been there to see bands we love ourselves.

recommendaTion from The Band: guiTariST Sam iS in a Band called yeSTerday To forever Who recenTly releaSed Their deBuT Single ‘Turn Back Time’.

hoW We diScovered Them: Bumped inTo a freSh video for ‘fool for you’ on youTuBe.

Who are They? The Pynes are a 5-piece from Liverpool with Adam on drums, Jon on bass guitar, Jak and Dan on guitars and Tom as a singer. ‘‘It all started in The Pitchpine pub in Bootle. We regularly met up in there to jam but realised later that we’d be good as a band and started as a 4-piece. Jon’s brother Dan returned from travelling in Australia and we became a [quintet].’’

WhaT iS Their muSic aBouT? The band likes to “draw on past experiences and things that we all go through in everyday life. It could range from falling in love to the death of a love one.”

do They prefer Working in STudio or playing live? “Playing live always trumps studio recording. A full day in the studio can be tiring especially when you have to do lots of takes because you keep messing up!”

WhaT The fuTure holdS for The pyneS? The biggest ambition for the Pynes is “to get [their] music heard by as many people as possible and to get on stage at as many festivals as possible”. And obviously Glastonbury is a dream festival for them. “But any big one will do!”

WhaT To liSTen To? ‘Fool For You’. “The basis of ‘Fool For You’ was around appreciating the power that women have over men and how you can become entrapped by them.” ‘Fool For You’ is available on Spotify and iTunes now but you can also enjoy the music video on YouTube and check out the soundcloud account (soundcloud.com/thepynes) with two other tracks ‘It’s not that Easy’ and ‘Nightsky’.

The Pynes

20

Gig Islands Zine

21

Land of Festivals

The pyneS on Their homeToWn of liverpool

does it put an additional responsibility on your band – to be from liverpool, one of the music capitals of the world?

There is a certain level of pressure for any Liverpool band because, from the beginning, you are compared with some of the greats in the industry. But, realistically, it doesn’t add any responsibility, it just makes us want to strive to be better.

do you think liverpool as a city influences your sound and lyrical themes? do you think you would make a different music in a different city?

If we were from Manchester then we wouldn’t sound as good! Only messing! Our main influences are actually outside of Liverpool so no, our music would be the same, probably. If you look at other great Liverpool bands such as the Beatles, The Real Thing, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, The Zutons, Cast, they are all completely different. That’s what’s great about Liverpool bands, there are lots of diverse sounds and we aren’t obsessed with one particular genre.

do you think liverpool has more or less opportunities for aspiring musicians than other places?

We’d be lying if we said it’s bursting with opportunities but there are a few things we can recommend. A good place to start is The Zanzibar on Seel Street. Once you get some gigs under your belt and get some recordings, you can then get in touch with local promoters and hope for some supporting slots in the small venues around the city. There are also various competitions to enter such as Battle of the Bands, LIMF Academy and one that we won last year Best of Liverpool. Hopefully there will be more opportunities for bands in the near future!

What is your favourite venue to play in liverpool?

We have a few in mind. Two great venues are East Village Arts Club and Parr Street studio 2. Brilliant for bands as well as music fanatics.

22

Gig Islands Zine

Much Ado About Shakespeareon april 23rd The World celeBraTed The 400Th anniverSary of William ShakeSpeare’S deaTh and We SupporTed The cauSe By aSking Some heroeS of our Second iSSue Their opinion aBouT The geniuS poeT and playWrighT.

Does Shakespeare mean anything personally to you?

Colour Of Spring “I definitely enjoy his work, it’s amazing how timeless it really is. I love written word and it’s kind of like magic how language has such a delicate ecosystem, in that you can alter words and phrases and create entirely different moods, scenarios and the like. You can see this in Shakespeare’s work and vocabulary.”

NARCS “The guy invented half the common phrases in the language and nobody’s come close to his influence on theatre since he died. He’s a huge impact whether we like it or not! (We do)”

Laura of Fur Blend “I quite like a bit of Shakespeare, there is certainly a lot of tragedy/comedy going on in our music!”

Why do you think he is such a big phenomenon in British and world literature?

Colour Of Spring “Plenty of reasons I guess! I think I touched on one in my previous answer – he’s timeless. The themes he explores are so universal.”

NARCS “He was a genius, there’s little more to it than that. With his plays, you can enjoy the surface, you can scratch below it or you can dive in and swim around. It’s effortless, he’s just playing around with a language, satire, innuendo, poetry like they’re toys and it’s stunning.”

Paul of Fur Blend “He is the basis for modern story telling.”

Laura of Fur Blend “His plays were entertaining, they made people laugh and cry and still do. He created fantastic characters you either loved or hated.”

Do you have your favourite play or sonnet by Shakespeare?

Colour Of Spring “I think ‘The Tempest’ is my favourite. I love how magical it is. The themes of love and forgiveness are really interesting as well.”

NARCS “‘Titus Andronicus’ and ‘Macbeth’. The gory ones! SPOILER: Rich, white, middle-aged men and women making others suffer for their own political capital and cause huge amounts of bloodshed in the process. Good job so much has changed since...”

Laura of Fur Blend “I like the comedies best - ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and ‘As You Like It’.”

gigiSlandS.com