Month: May 2018

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Indieterria meets FAITH

Dear readers!

Thank you so much for your kind reaction to our interview with The Racket! We are truly grateful for all the shares, likes and positive comments, it means a world to us! We hope that you are enjoying the interviews as much as we do preparing them and hopefully, we will see you all at the Sunflower Lounge in Birmingham for a real rock and roll banger on 9th of June!

If you’d like to learn more about the event organized by the wonderful crew at Modern Age Music or read the previous interviews we published, please click on the links below:

Poster for gig at the legendary Sunflower Lounge on 9th June 2018

Event page on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/events/216304582300587/
Organizer: Modern Age Music: www.ModernAgeManagement.com
Interview with As Mamas: https://cocamidemea.wordpress.com/2018/05/09/indiaterria-meets-as-mamas/
Interview with The Racket: https://cocamidemea.wordpress.com/2018/05/20/indieterria-meets-the-racket/

This interview was done as Birmingham native band FAITH was supposed to support The Racket – however after we did the interview band had to cancel. Still so, Indieterria got hold of McCabe, Jason, Tom and Matty to chat about their second EP (which will be simply called “Two”), the joys of working with long-time friends and returning to stage in their home town. As one of our musical heroes keeps saying, it’s great to be alive and it’s a pleasure to be able to discover new exciting bands.

Let us introduce you to:

FAITH

Jason Payne – Vocals & Lead Guitar
McCabe James – Rhythm/Lead Guitar
Tom Jones – Bass Guitar
Matty Neale – Drums/Percussion

Band`s logo

Official bio: Faith is a Birmingham based quartet consisting of Jason Payne (vocals and lead guitar), McCabe James (rhythm guitar), Tom Jones (bass guitar) and Matty Neale (drums and percussion). Founded in 2015 they draw their influences from The 1975, The Cult and Joy Division.

Within the walls of debut EP “One”, FAITH’s true musical introduction to the world is conjured, with a compelling combination of dark pop layers amongst an attack of strings and a rebellious pulse. Hook-filled melodies sit within hard and heavy beats as songs are laced with intelligent yet angst-filled lyrics which speak to a generation. The synth infused, deep funk underlay adds salt to the wound building up to a unique dirty, metallic dance eruption. Their recent single “Honey” received an extensive airplay on BBC Introducing in West Midland.

Local press sees you as one of the outstanding bands in town on par with The Assist, Karkosa and The Clause. Please introduce the band to the readers of Indieterria.

McCabe James: It will be my pleasure. FAITH is Jason Payne, our lead singer and guitarist. He also plays synth. Well in reality, he just pushes one button on it before each song, that’s all (laughing). Next, we have Matt Neale who plays drums. Tom Jones is on bass and backing vocals. And then there’s me, McCabe. I’m the newest member of the band on guitar and some backing vocals but I’ve known Jason and Matt for years and being in other bands.

Jason Payne: We are a four piece indie pop soon bringing to you an explosive new EP, full of silly guitar riffs and mint combination of drums/bass with an average vocal but great lyrics. That’s how I would describe us (laughs).

Matty Neale: So we’re a bit of everything, you have me Matt Neale on drums always up for a laugh and don’t take life too seriously. Jason Payne vocals can be shy but once you get to know him he is possibly the funniest person I have ever met but he’s an absolute legend and knows how to make your cheeks hurt through laughter and he also writes some banging tunes along the way. Tom Jones plays bass like a boss but also originally came up with sex bomb, it’s not unusual etc. McCabe is cockney what more is there to say apart from he’s mad as a box of frogs but is completely devoted to shredding the guitar and living life to the full. Altogether we are FAITH an original indie pop/rock band from the West Midlands.

Tom Jones: We’re just four lads that enjoy making music and having a laugh while doing it to be fair. Jase is the funniest bastard I’ve ever met and a perfectionist in every sense. McCabe knows his way round a guitar better than I know my way round the pubs in Shrewsbury (that’s well). Matt is a quality drummer and we gel well as the ‘rhythm section’ of the band. And well I just turn up half hour late to everything still pissed and get an alright sound out of a bass I suppose.

Faith ready to unleash new music

You have been praised for your eclectic song writing and compared to The 1975, Joy Division and even to The Cure. But we want to hear what new elements you bring to popular music. What makes you unique?

McCabe James: Thank you. We add a nice mix of different influences that shine through on each song but with a big guitar sound when needed. The new music has definitely progressed from our first EP  – “One”.

Jason Payne: Our old management compared us to all those bands and they don’t really have a clue about music so I wouldn’t listen to that. We`re pretty unique I can’t say we sound like anybody to be fair.

Matty Neale: Our EP Two is unique, it is the best piece of music I’ve ever heard from an unsigned band if I do say so myself. Energetic drum beats with powerful guitar riffs shredding through and catchy lyrics that have meaning. We’re a mix of old and new in one.

Tom Jones: I think we’re unique just because I can’t put my finger on our sound, even more so in the new EP but when I got asked to join I listened to some of the tracks from EP One and couldn’t get where the influences had come from but took an instant liking to the band.

FAITH knows how to have good time. Your interests on social media mentions “parties, females and sunshine”. Imagine you are in charge to plan a weekend away for Robert Smith. Where do you take him and what do you do for two days?

McCabe James: (laughing) This is a good question. We would probably take him to Amsterdam and get on it!

Jayson Payne: Who’s Robert Smith?

Matty Neale: McDonald’s drive through would defo be on the cards and maybe my nan`s.

Tom Jones: I’d take him to The Nag`s Head in Shrewsbury cause it’s the best pub in the world and show him how to down a Guinness.

Despite your young age, you are not debutantes. You have been making a mark on Birmingham scene for about six years now. In 2013, Express and Star called you “an indie band on the road to success”. The same year you played your first show at the O2 Academy. Your songs appeared on Amazing Radio, Black Country radio, BBC Hereford and Worcester, BBC West Midlands and BBC Introducing. You crossed the country on tour, filling out important venues such as Sunflower Longue in Birmingham, Slade Rooms in Wolverhampton and Nambucca in London. This is a very impressive CV indeed.

McCabe James: Thank you. Well, we are trying our best! Right now, we’ve been off the scene for a while. We have been rehearsing, writing and recording for the past year and a half since I’ve been in the band so it was a long break for us. After this, we feel like we have to start from scratch in a way but we’ve had a pretty good response to our new single “Honey” even if the Facebook likes don’t prove it (laughing). We just love what we make and we hope the audience will like it as well.

Faith in monochrome

The band’s first EP “One” came out in October 2015. It was immediately promoted by BBC Introducing and received positive reviews in local press and zines. How do you recall the recording session?

McCabe James: I have to admit the recording process for our first EP was a lot easier than the recording for our second one. All our songs were written before we got into the studio to record “One”. This time it’s different. We are in the studio now, writing the material and recording it at the same time.

Matty Neale: I’d been out the night before and went straight to the recording session. Took me about 500 times to get the beats right because I was still wrecked but managed to smash it then fell asleep listening to “Your Love Is Wasted On Me” feeling sorry for myself.

Tom Jones: I don’t because I wasn’t there but if it’s anything like the ones I’ve been at, Jase would just have everyone in tears for ten hours straight.

Over the years, you have had several line-up changes. The core of the band seems to be centred around Jason Payne (vocalist and lead guitar) and Matty Neale (drums and percussion). Can you tell us about your composing process? Do Jason and Matty compose all the songs or does the band work together?

McCabe James: Jason, Matt and myself go a long way together. We were in a band called “The State Of Things” about five or six years ago. After TSOT parted ways, we eventually reunited and went on to form FAITH. Everyone is involved in composing and writing music. We all have our own styles and preferences but what really counts is everyone is engaged in our creative process. We all contribute equally towards writing.

Jason Payne: The songs are usually a quick group process instrumentally but a long, painful process lyrically. I don’t like to put my lyrics out there if something doesn’t sound right or doesn’t have a meaning.

Matty Neale: It’s weird but we work as a band so well that one of the lads could hit a chord and I’ll put a beat to it or vice versa. Then Jase will put some lyrics on it and before you know it we have a new tune. We all add bits or parts we want to as long as it sounds sick!

Tom Jones: A lot of the time Jase will come to us with an idea and then we’ll all have an input into what we put into the song but a few times we’ve just played some random stuff in practice and accidentally wrote a song in half an hour. I think we all gel really well as a band to be fair and that helps when writing new material.

Cover of “One” EP

FAITH has been crafting the second EP entitled simply “Two” since last year. What can we expect and do you have the release date yet?

McCabe James: We do not have a release date so far, no. What can you expect? Well, we’ve progressed a lot as a band. Since I joined in, we have changed the style a bit. Our music got bit more groovier and funkier. Our personal music tastes also developed and I’m sure you will be able to hear it on our new EP when it is released.

Jason Payne: No release date as of yet but it is pretty fucking decent I’ll give us that.

Matty Neale: You can expect it to be 10 times better than Arctic Monkeys new album to put it that way. Hoping to release it in the summer.

Tom Jones: We have got a proposed date but it’s our secret for the minute! As for the EP it’s the best thing I’ve ever been involved in and we all think it’s the dog bollocks to be honest. I think we all enjoyed writing these tunes and getting them down and I think that shows in the music.

First single to promote your upcoming EP, “Honey” is already hitting radio stations.  It is regarded as the indie anthem of summer. Can you tell us more about the song?

McCabe James: What can I say? “Honey” is basically a song Jase wrote about his misses! (laughing)

Jason Payne: Song is about my misses, always moaned at me for years for not having a song written about her and now she does and she’s happy, and what a tune it is.

Matty Neale: It`s catchy and upbeat with story telling lyrics.

Tom Jones: It’s an upbeat catchy tune and it’s one of my favorites to play. Great for summer.

Jayson Payne

On June 9th, you will be returning to Sunflower Longue to support The Racket. Will you play any of your new material?

McCabe James: We are very excited to perform alongside The Racket, The Jack Fletcher Band and As Mamas.  Definitely, we will be playing our new songs at the gig as well as the older ones. We can’t wait to see you all there.

Jason Payne: (in a very enthusiastic voice) Yeah!

Matty Neale: (in the same time as Jason) Yes!

Tom Jones: (agreeing) Yes.

One last question. You can make your one wish come true. What would that be, except for the world peace of course!

McCabe James: (laughing) I wish we could do this full time so we can finally quit our shit day jobs!

Jason Payne: To play to more than 5 people obviously!

Matty Neale: I would absolutely love for our tunes to be heard around the UK and the world. One of my main wishes is to play our set on The Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury. That would be a dream come true!

Tom Jones: Play massive gigs and have as many people as possible listening to our music. Sounds cliche but it’s what we love.

If you’d like to follow FAITH on social media, please use the links below:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weareFAITHx/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/wearefaithx
Twitter: https://twitter.com/weareFAITHx
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wearefaithx/

We absolutely love FAITH. They are funny, full of enthusiasm and they work/play hard in equal measure. We are heartbroken that they will not support The Racket on this tour but we will do our utmost to catch them live in the near future.

For now, that`s all from us dear readers and keep your eyes open for upcoming editions of Indieterria.

Mal+Rita

by

Indieterria meets The Racket

Hello, hello!

Band`s logo

We always say that the time goes really fast when you are having fun and it is true. So many gigs, so many outings, open air mic nights and  it is almost the end of May! But the most exciting months are still head of us.

The next big date in our rock and roll diary is the 9th of June when we will be going back to the beautiful Sunflower Lounge to see the newest indie rock sensation, The Racket. The quartet is now on their headlining national tour and they decided to pop into the legendary Brum venue to show the West Midland folk how to play, fast, powerful songs and how to thoroughly enjoy the experience. The gig is brought on by the amazing crew at Modern Age Music and we cannot wait to step into the mosh pit.

If you are interested in purchasing tickets for the Birmingham show, please click on the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/events/216304582300587/

Poster for The Racket gig on 9th July 2018 at the Sunflower Lounge

To prepare well for this musical feast, we sat down with the band to ask them several questions, from their early days in their hometown of Widnes, to musical inspirations, their newest single and some of the rock and roll antics that will definitely go down well into the  history of  modern music. The interview is one of the longest we did and we had a real blast. Thank you The Racket and hope you had as much fun answering these question as we had asking them and putting them on here!

The Racket – social media profile picture

Callum Codd
Mike White
Dom Eaton
Colby O’Sullivan

Official bio: The Racket is an alternative rock four-piece from Widnes that receives more and more attention on an independent music scene. The band have played their own headline sold out shows at Liverpools Zanzibar Club and Manchester’s Night and Day. They completed their first UK tour in 2017 supporting Louis Berry on numerous dates up and down the country then topped off with a hometown gig with Trampolene. Such creativity, melded with high energy enthusiasm, has been rewarded by them being listed by This Feeling as one of the big in 2018 bands. Their trajectory is steep and they are building momentum with every lager stained, sweat drenched show – and that’s just the front row. Having recently finished recording with Al Groves in the Motor Museum, the second release is finished and will be coming out later this year to coincide with their first music video. The band is currently on headline national tour with several summer festivals booked in including Great Escape, Confessional and On The Hill Festival as the main support to CAST. The Racket will play The Sunflower Lounge in Birmingham on 9th of June 2018 with support from The Jack Fletcher Band, FAITH and As Mamas.

You describe yourself simply as a “four-piece from Widnes”. Please introduce the band members to the readers of Indieterria.

Callum: I’m Callum. I’m guitarist and singer.
Michael: Hi, I’m Michael and I play the guitar.
Dom: I’m Dom, the drummer.
Colby: And I’m Colby. I play the bass.

Your home town boasts of strong musical heritage. Widnes lies closely to Spike Island where The Stone Roses held their legendary festival, it inspired “Homeward Bound” by Paul Simon (a song written at a local train station) and is referred in works of Belle and Sebastian (“Stars of Tracks and Fields”) and Elvis Costello (“Watch Your Step”). Jane Weaver and Mel C call Widnes home. The town also has a famous music venue – The Studio. Have your city and its history had any effect on your band?

The Racket. Picture by Culture City management https://www.culturecity.co.uk/the-racket/

Callum: To be honest the history of Widnes hasn’t influenced me at all and probably never will! It’s the present, the way people go about their daily routines today and their lifestyles. It interests me to write and sing about the people around me. Mostly just normal things, born mainly out of frustration but also out of enjoyment. I think all the best comedians, actors, songwriters are the ones who are down to earth and talk about normal things.

Michael: Widnes is just where we have grown up and lived. As for an effect on the band, well it’s the special people from Widnes that have carried us through since day 1 to where we are today. Without their backing, we’d be playing The Hammer and Pincers on a Friday night doing shit covers!

Dom: I don’t think it’s something we think about often. The town itself hasn’t had an impact too much, it’s more the people around us that have influenced us. Widnes is just like any other town in the UK and our songs are relatable because they’re about issues and problems that happen to people our age up and down the country.

Colby: I wasn’t very interested by music while growing up. I was way more into football, up until around 2005 and 2006 when there was a lot of new bands coming through like The Arctic Monkeys. I would say, from that time on, I was influenced by music more than anything else.

The Racket is being compared to The Sex Pistols, Libertines and The Cribs. We can think of a dozen indie bands who would be mortified by the pressure to deliver. Comparisons to the greats seems to invigorate you. Do you have a way to handle music related stress?

Callum: We don’t often get stressed. We’re all good mates and we’re doing it because we love it. If people want to compare us to others, then so be it.

Michael: Every band gets comparisons as soon as they start. It gets boring when people ask, what sort of music are you? Get off your arse and go see a band live and it might just blow your mind! I think it’s in our nature to compare music to what’s gone before, but there’s no stress or pressure. We’re just doing what we’re doing and still would be whether people think we sound like The Sex Pistols or Danny Dyer’s Chocolate Homunculus.

Dom: It’s great being compared to The Sex Pistols and The Libertines because we’re fans of these bands but we’ve heard it that often now, that for me, it has become a bit meaningless. This is our band, we want to do our own thing, create our own sound and make our own impact. What invigorates me most is playing live and knowing that you’re playing to a crowd of people that want to hear your music and are going for it just as much as you are. Of course, we’re serious about the music and where we want to take it but we’re still four really good mates having a laugh and doing it cause we enjoy it. For me there’s no pressure on us.

Colby: It’s always nice to be compared to good bands from the past but I don’t think it affects us in anyway. We just want what they’ve got or had and it’s our music out there for everyone to hear an enjoy.

On the set of their first music video by Sitcome Soldiers Ltd https://www.facebook.com/sitcomsoldiers

In one interview you mentioned that your songs are born out of “boredom, teen angst and social commentary”. Which song you have penned so far makes you truly proud of and what it is about? 

Callum: Going back to what I said earlier about normal, mundane things. There’s a song I’ve wrote called “Two Minutes Hate” which is exactly 2 minutes long and goes through the routine of someone who gets up, goes to work, comes home, has their tea, goes to bed, repeat. Frankly, it’s most people I know! This is why, I think I’ve managed to capture it quite well. Quite proud of that one, but I also love the song called “Why Are You Watching Me” mainly cause of the riff!

Talking about teen angst, the photo promoting your single “Faded Days” shows your bare bottoms lined up along a wall. The picture is accompanied by a quote taken from the lyrics that states you are fed up being “bend over backwards for a man who’s in a suit”. Very risqué yet incredibly brave for a young band. Did it get you in any trouble?

Callum: (laughing) Not yet, no! Hopefully it does sometime otherwise we would have just stuck on normal picture there! And it’s funny you pointed out that lyric because we genuinely had it on there! We love playing footy and that’s how you end a football match where I’m from!

Michael: (laughing as well) The only trouble I had was having to look at Dom’s hairy arsehole all day!

Dom: We haven’t got into any trouble for it yet, still time though (laughing). I don’t know why anyone would complain though. I’ve been told on at least two occasions, I have a great arse.

Colby: Let’s just say, for the cover of “Faded Days” we wanted to do something everyone can relate to the lyrics in the song so…(laughing)

You will be playing important indie festival this summer – Liverpool Calling with all the hottest acts on the circuit: Sheafs, Soeur, False Heads, Himalayas, Strange Bones or Emily Capell. What do you prefer: large stages or intimate venues?

 

The Racket performing live in Liverpool on 19th of April (supporting Trampolene). Picture by Tom Adam https://www.instagram.com/tomadampics

Callum: Definitely the small ones. Getting loads of energy in front of us in a small room is something special. Honestly one of the best feeling you’ll ever have. At the same time though, we’ve not played many “big” stages yet. From what we’ve done so far, I’d definitely choose the little scenes any day.

Michael: There’s no feeling like playing to a packed tiny room. People falling on stage and knocking mic stands over. I think when we’ve played the bigger venues, I don’t like being more than a step away from the rest of the band.

Dom: Playing intimate venues is great. Being so close to the audience allows you to feed off their energy and excitement, it’s a great feeling being in that moment. Playing bigger venues is something I’m looking forward to doing more because I think it becomes more of a challenge then A test to see if we can get what we want to say across to a bigger audience.

Colby: It’s always nice playing in front of new people at festivals and getting out there with your music but there’s nothing like a small gig with the fans that follow you to every gig. They always put on a good show for us to watch while we’re playing. We never mind them watching us!

The new single “Know It For A Fact” has received rave reviews and is promoted on BBC Introducing Merseyside. We have to admit it is incredibly powerful track, which surely will start mosh pits. You are one of few bands that manage to bring the fury and dynamics from the live performance onto the record without losing an edge. Any secrets to your recordings?

Callum: The last single was recorded live with hardly any takes and minimal over dubs. I think that makes it sound exciting. This time, we have done it differently. We worked with Al Groves at The Motor Museum and he has done an amazing job. I think just the amount of time we spent getting the best, most exciting, angry drum take possible made everything else a lot easier. Full day for the drums for one song!

Dom: I think it’s just a case of spending enough time on getting great takes and getting the sound right. I was definitely conscious of putting the same amount of energy into the recording as I do when playing live and hopefully that’s something that come across. Al Groves, who we worked with on “Know It For A Fact”, has done a great job and it’s his input and ideas that have made it what it is.

Colby: There’s no real secrets to how we record our records. We just go into the studio knowing what we want the song to sound like. For “Know It For A Fact”, we knew we had to do a powerful recording, because that’s how the song comes across live. It is important for us that it should come across exactly the same when you are listening to the track at home.

The band performing live at the Magnet Liverpool on 4th of February. Picture by John Hollingsworth https://www.johnhollingsworth.biz/

On 9th of June 2018 you will be playing at the legendary Sunflower Lounge. Is it your first time performing in Birmingham? What can we expect during the show?

Callum: I never been to Birmingham before but expect a set of fast, loud rock and roll tunes. It’s also a Saturday night so expect a lot of drinking to get done! (laughing)

Michael: We’ve only ever been to Birmingham New Street station on our first trip to London as the band, so to us it’s a new experience. You’ll have to show us some good pubs for before the show! As for the gig, expect some poor attempts at Brum accents in between songs. (laughing)

Dom: It is our first time in Birmingham and I’m really looking forward to it. I think what people can expect is just a lot of energy and a lot more sweat. We’re going to put everything into it and show people why they should be paying attention to us.

Colby: As others said, we have never played Birmingham before. I’m expecting a good night, plenty of drinking. We play every gig loud and fast so the crowd should love it

This tour is your first as a headliner. You will be playing dates all over the country across the month of June, ending with a gig in Liverpool. Is there anything you want to do, any places you want to visit?

Callum: It’ll be good to go back to our favourite pubs in different cities like The Harley in Sheffield, Good Mixer in London, just as long as Sunday morning, we’re in The Bradley in Widnes!

Michael: I’m looking forward to London. We know there has been demand for a gig down there for a while, so that’s set to be a good one. Sheffield is always fun. Finishing the tour in Liverpool to our crowd will be the perfect end!

Dom: I’m just looking forward to visiting new cities, new venues and playing for new people. We’ll be out of our comfort zone. It’s our first headline tour so I’m just buzzing off that.

Colby: Really looking forward to headlining each night. The one I’m looking forward to the most is probably Sheffield. We had a really good time last time we played there and hopefully we will have the same great atmosphere again.

The band performing live at the Magnet Liverpool on 4th of February. Picture by John Hollingsworth https://www.johnhollingsworth.biz/

Last obligatory question: where do you see yourselves in five years’ time. We predict Pyramid Stage at Glasto. Your picks?

Callum: Well, The Pyramid Stage is the big one for me, always has been! I think as long as we’re still together playing music we love, whatever that be at that time is the most important. Right now, who we are, and what we’re doing is perfect and the future is looking bright for us.

Dom: As long as we’re still together, playing the music we want to play and enjoying it, then I think I’ll be sound, I’m also ambitious and the thought of playing bigger venues and bigger and better gigs and doing all the major festivals definitely motivates me. I want us to be successful and to not only be around in five years but for people to know who we are.

Colby: (laughing) Probably jail for strangling Mike at some point!

You can learn more about The Racket by visiting their social media pages:

Management: https://www.culturecity.co.uk/the-racket/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRacketMusicUK/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/theracketuk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theracketmusic/

More articles about the band:
http://liverpoolnoise.com/band-feature-the-racket-widnes-music/
https://hotvox.co.uk/artists/racket

Please come back soon as we will have interesting interviews and reviews coming up shortly!
Have a good week and don’t forget to drop us a message or leave a comment.

xoxox
Rita and Malicia

 

by

Indiaterria meets As Mamas

Ahoy!

Welcome back to Indieterria, dear readers. We hope you had a fantastic bank holiday weekend. The weather was great and we finally caught some sunshine after being constantly hidden away in the office (during the day) or lurking in the dark venues and dive bars (at nights) looking for the next big thing on the English music scene. Trying not to become vampires, on Saturday we went to Cardiff to see Manic Street Preachers at the MotoArena and it was a dream come true! After 25 years we finally had a chance to see Manics perform live in their home town! The gig was sold out, over 7 000 people sang their hearts out and we met a dear friend Rebecca (aka Crossfire) whom we’ve known for more than 20 years. It was the first time we have seen each other in person. In short – it was a beautiful day and you can expect a large report later on.

Now, we are back to business and we are more than ecstatic to introduce you to a trio that had been on our rock and roll radar for over a year now. They started as a duo, recorder their first EP at the back of a classic caravan and blew our minds with perfect mixture of psychedelia, classic rock and huge dosage of blues. They are growing better and better and the release of their second EP only prove that they are already outgrowing the small West Midland scene.

The golden era of rock and roll is coming back and with bands such as The Lizards, The Americas, Raptor and Insomnichord, we might be looking at the second revival of the British psychedelic rock! We have sat down with our today’s guests, As Mamas to discuss their very unusual name (we HAVE NOT seen that coming!), musical influences from both sides of the pond and the changes to their sound brought by a new band member.

Ladies and gents…We give you:

.

As Mamas still as duo

As Mamas
Harrison Baird-Whitman (guitar, vocals and harmonica)
Joe Devine (drums and percussion)
Jacob Coley (bass) 

As Mamas is the grooviest name we have on Worcester scene. It brings the swinging 60’s to mind and all the classic, ground-breaking bands like the Mamas and the Papas. Where does your name come from?

As Mamas: (laughing) It is a funny story. When we first started, we wanted to be called “The Tits”. There was just the two of us and we thought the line “Who doesn’t love a pair of tits” would get us far. We then realised, we probably wouldn’t get too far with a name or line like that so we threw “The Tits” into a translator and randomly chose Portuguese. Now we’re “The Breasts”.

You recently incorporated Jacob Coley on bass. What abilities does he bring to the table?

As Mamas: The guy is a little fucking genius! When we first practiced with him, we thought maybe we’d have to go through some chords or long practice with him but Jacob just picked up all our songs like that! It’s also a completely different feel for the band and for Joe (Mr. Drums) who’d never played with a bassist before. Having that lo sound to ride with! Jacob is not only a bassist but is also producing the new tracks we’ve recorded. He is showing us things we have never seen or heard of before. We love him!

Psychodelic picture of the band as a trio

You have been compared to early Black Keys but there is so much more happening in your music. Syd Barrett, Caravan, 13th Floor Elevators, Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, Funkadelic, Jefferson Airplane, and even Grateful Dead could be named as possible influences. Do you agree?

As Mamas: Thank you! We get compared to the Black Keys frequently which is understandable but we take inspiration from all those bands mentioned. We’ve been listening to the 13th Floor Elevators a lot over the past few months so some of our new material has pinches of them in. We all have different tastes but those bands and artists have certainly influenced Harrison. He digs the Grateful Dead and the entire psychedelic movement they were a part of along with bands such as The Acid Tests and The Merry Pranksters. Their music is what dreams are made of!

To date you have recorded two EP’s (“As Mamas” from 2016 and “Parte Dois” released in March 2018). We know it is like asking to compare your children but what are the strong and the weak points of both releases?

As Mamas: Harrison would say that say the first EP doesn’t hold much in terms of strong points but we’re always critical of what we’ve done. Although, we will always dig the tracks and what kind of music we were doing then! The recordings and production on the first EP is sort of shabby but that was when we did everything out of the caravan in Harrison’s back garden. Saying that though, we still play the first track and still get the same joy out of playing it but it could be simply down to Jacob joining us (laughing). It’s hard to compare the two releases. “Parte Dois” is more mature. We had grown musically and gotten better at our instruments and song writing. The sound of it is definitely “bigger”. It just came with learning more about production. We now know more of what to add, and what not to add. Putting a bit of organ here and a bit of percussion there, you know.

And more traditional picture of the band performing at Paradiddles in Worcester, March 2018

Second EP “Parte Dois” is heavily inspired by American delta blues (Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddly) and garage rock of 60’s and 70’s (The Standells, The Kinks, the Sonics) but it has a modern twist to it. Reviewers hear a lot of traditional psychodelia mixed with a bit of Arctic Monkeys, The Peace and Night Beats.  Who else was thrown into your own inspirational melting pot?

As Mamas: We think the first EP was more inspired by the blues! Harrison was listening to a lot of reggae and rocksteady when he was writing the songs for “Parte Dois”. It comes through particularly well on “Idle Eyes” for sure. “Foolish Vibrations” was meant to be a real slow reggae track but thankfully Joe made it what it was. Night Beats were a big influence and still are. Other bands that inspired that were The Doors, always The Doors. Then the Growlers, Modern Lovers and several others. Again, we are all different but we’re usually on the same page and listening to the same stuff!

We absolutely love the single “The Lights Are On but Everyone’s Wasted”. It is one of your fan favourites and recently was chosen as a song of the week by BOAC Internet radio. Surely it is not about falling asleep on the floor after a party with the corridor lights on (or is it)?

As Mamas: (laughing loud) “The Lights Are On but Everyone’s Wasted” is always rad to play live. Good one to get in the groove to. It can be about whatever people want but Harrison is pretty sure he wrote it about letting your mind run away with drugs and going a bit insane. We got quite a few songs about going mad!

Elegantly psychodelic

As Mamas are constantly on the go performing in Worcester (Paradiddles, The FireFly, The Marr’s Bar), Bristol, Birmingham (selling out Sunflower Longue) and London (Amersham Arms, Reverberation Psych Fest) among others. You have played as a part of This Feeling circuit. Tell us about your favourite show? Where was it and with whom you have shared the stage?

As Mamas:  We gotta say our favourite show was one we played recently with Rhino and the Ranters at the Night Owl in Birmingham. The venue is just perfect, real cool atmosphere and a sort of 60s feel to it. Plus everyone who works there seems to really dig what they’re doing. Then Rhino and the Ranters are one of the best live bands we’ve had the pleasure of seeing, always fun with them. And in the future, we will play Bristol for the first time on the 12th of May at Mr Wolf’s along with Arno and DJ Hiphoppapotamus.

Last year (April 21st 2017) you were invited to play at the Booth Hall in Hereford along with Raptor and New Revival. How do you remember the performance? 

As Mamas: We are honest, we were probably a few drinks in! Our memories are pretty terrible but we remember we played this groovy little blues jam. And it’s always sweet to play with Raptor. They’ve been with us since the beginning really.

Imagine you can put your song on a soundtrack to any movie. Which film do you choose and what scene it illustrates?

As Mamas playing live

As Mamas: Shit, that’s a hard one! We have always pictured our song “Midnight Floor” being over a bar fight or some real gory Tarantino scene. So either a bar fight scene in “Roadhouse” or that scene in “Django Unchained” where Django’s getting all geared up to take on Monsieur Candy’s house.

As Mamas have been incredibly hard this year and we see no signs of you stopping. Where can we see you playing live next? What are your plans for the next few months?

As Mamas: Yeah we don’t plan on stopping anytime soon! Gigs, gigs, gigs – this is what it’s all about. We play live next at the Firefly in Worcester with Elephant Peel supporting Thee MVPs which is sick! That’s gonna be a crazy good show. Plans for the next few months are probably gig more and finish off recording what we think will be our album. We’ve also got some plans to collaborate with another band and release a split single but we haven’t asked them yet and it’s still very much just blue prints but you watch this space!

You can follow As Mamas online by clicking on their plethora of social media sites:

Probably our favourite picture!

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/asmamas
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/asmamasband
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/asmamasband
Bandcamp: https://asmamas.bandcamp.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asmamasband/

As usually, if you’d like to be featured on Indieterria, please send us a message and we will be listening to your music.
Any genre is welcomed – from rave to black metal, from A to Z – we are open minded and we are not afraid to discover new lands!

Email us at rdabrowicaz at yahoo dot com and see the magic happen 🙂

Till we meet again,
R+M