Introducing...Mike Quimby

YMC chats to Mike Quimby from Leeds

YMC: How long have you been writing and playing music?

Ive been playing guitar for a good 6 years now, and writing music for a good three of those. I always played around with lyrics, particularly at school when I couldnt concentrate or had something on my mind - It was nice to finally be able put music to them, and i like to think ive never looked back!

YMC: Who are your main influences and who are you listening to at the moment?

Its easy to name drop huge musicians like john lennon, paul mcartney, paul weller etc, but im just as influenced by the likes of Richard Ashcroft, Noel Gallagher, and Grant Nicholas of feeder. Im always listening to varied types of music, though at the moment, Renegades, Nickelback, and the new bon jovi record seem to come up alot!

YMC: Do you see yourself ever fronting a band, or do you prefer to be a solo artist?

Fronting a band is a huge deal to me. Ive got some very cool friends who are all into music, but the timing has never quite been right for us to make something of it. I also wrote a record with Joe Kerry, who moved on to do some great things with a great leeds based band called Book of Job. Around that time I decided to concentrate on solo stuff, and at least for the most part, thats where my future lies.

YMC: Have you played live?

Playing live as an acoustic act is daunting and difficult to sort. Theres not a lot of support for acoustic acts out there, but its building and growing. Admittedly we dont have the energy or complexity of a full blown band nailing a setlist down your local, but I think acoustic music has a certain intricacy that gets me through live shows and helps me connectto who im playing to. Add to that the odd well known cover and occasionally we can get a really good singalong going too! I hope that entrigues readers enough to get them down to my next live show and check out the expirience.

YMC: You have an Acoustic EP available, do you have any recording plans?

This year will hopefully be a really interesting one on the recording front. I have the four acoustic tracks, but im looking to get at least one EP done this year, each about four tracks in length and filled with more than just a guitar and vocals. Like i've said, it'll still be my name behind it all, as a solo artist, but its going to be lots of fun to stretch my creativity.

YMC: What are your plans for 2010?

Gigging, more gigging, and hopefully, if it all works out... more gigging. I need to be reaching out to as many people as possible, and gigging is the way forward with that. Add to it the EP I want released, and this year should be filled with some really good moments for my musical plans. If all goes super well, I want to do something that may make some money for a charity or two, so I'll just keep my fingers crossed that things continue to go aswell as they have been doing...

Find out more on http://www.myspace.com/mikequimby