YMC chats with JON GOMM

Yorkshire Music Collective caught up with Jon Gomm before he embarked on his Autumn tour.


YMC: I think you have a very busy schedule ahead


JG: That's right, I'm releasing some singles and have booked a lot of gigs right up to about the middle of December, we'll be finishing it in Germany and will be playing in England, Scotland, Italy and Germany, so we are going to be all over the place and I'm really looking forward to it because I love touring.


YMC: I think you've already been touring in Europe this year?


JG: Yes, that's right it was mostly in the spring, I did Italy, Germany, which I'm doing again, Austria and Holland and various things around the UK so I've been really busy this year.


YMC: How did the European tour go, what would you say were the highlights?


JG: For me its just the travelling and the adventues, I wouldn't want to pick out one specific gig. For me its getting to know different cultures and getting to know different people and what they expect from a gig, some of them are easy. Germany is so easy, its probably different for different artists but for me I find performing to German audiences really easy because there are two kinds of German audiences in my experience, in the North audiences are quite quiet and the first gig I did, everyone was really quiet and I said to the promoter I don't think they really liked it did they and he said oh yes they loved it believe me, they just didn't react much but we sold so many CD's at that gig and then in Bavaria its the opposite its like playing in a pub in England, so people tend to drink a lot and get quite rowdy but they're a lot more appreciative than your standard pub, there are some great pubs in England to play in, but in Germany people pay to get in which doesn't always happen in your standard pub in England, and they just really get involved with the music and they just love it, so yes, some countries take more getting used to but its all a learning experience.


YMC: When I've talked to bands in the past they say you get treat a lot better in Europe, do you think this is the case?


JG: Well if you play in big city venues its probably about the same anywhere, but in smaller venues definitely, they're just more likely to expect that they have to feed you or they might have to put you up somewhere but you have to remember if you're from England and you're playing overseas then its more exciting for them because Britain in general is known as a place for music and as a place where musicians come from so if you go overseas you get a little bit of respect that you might not actually deserve because you haven't played yet. It does work both ways too, venues expect you to play a certain way a lot of the bands I know that play around the UK tend to treat it as a rock and roll experience and get wasted and stuff, which I've never been into doing at gigs, its part of the gig experience for some bands and fans in the UK  but it doesn't 
really happen so much in other countries and the venues will just think you're idiots, so you should be really careful with that.


YMC: You are also releasing a series of singles?




JG: It starts on September the 28th with the release of Passionflower. The project is called the Domestic Science series because all the singles are recorded at home, there is a piece of artwork with each one which I did, you can see all my paints here in the studio. The singles are only going to be mp3, there are no CDs, and are only going to be available on my website. It's funny because bands always say you have to be on Itunes and Amazon, because then you're something. It's incredibly easy to get your music on Itunes but I see my sales on Itunes at the end of the month and if I sell an album for 8 pounds then I'll get about 4 pounds, which is OK but why do they get so much because nobody is going on Itunes and browsing around and going I'll try Jon Gomm, I've never heard of him, they are going to Itunes and to buy my music, so why not get them to come to my website I can sell it cheaper and keep all the money, so everybody wins. The are pay what you want, you can pay zero if you want and a percentage goes to a children's home in Kenya which my mother works for. If you still want something physical you can buy a postcard from the website or a gig, it has the painting I did on one side and the lyrics on the other and a download code for the mp3. Its just fun really its not trying to be unique or gimmicky about how you sell music. I just thought it would be fun for me to to something a bit different from just making a CD. I like doing singles, its less stressful doing one song at a time.


YMC: How many have you planned to do?


JG: We're doing four, we might do five and see how it goes, its not dependent on sales, it depends how it goes for us really because if we find its taking a huge amount of work to get the single launched and do the promotion work we might be a bit knackered and may leave it at four. Then at some point next year I will do another album which may have some of the songs on and new ones as well. For me its just a bit of an experiment and hopefully it will be an experiment for people who buy music too, it might be a different way for them to listen to and buy music. 


YMC: Are you releasing the tabs with it too?


JG: Yes that's right, with each song there is going to be the guitar transcription, again its harking back to the old ways of releasing music so nowadays everyone does albums but in the heyday of popular music it was all 
about singles, then you released an album with them all on. To me that's really fun because instead of getting an album and having to digest all of it you can just get a little bit of it and you can digest it easily and really get into that one song, and then before that even people had to buy the sheet music and learn to play it themselves and gather round the piano in the drawing room if you were rich or in the pub if you weren't and all sing it and that's how people consumed music. So, I'm going to put on my website the actual proper version that I play, which to be honest there will only be really serious guitarists who want to try that because its quite difficult .


YMC: I was just thinking I can imagine people sitting round the pub playing guitar but can't imagine many Jon Gomms!


JG: That's true so there will be a regular easy version, just the chords so hopefully anyone who knows chords will be able to play it.


YMC: You recently had a redesign of your website and asked your fans to choose the design.


JG: Yes, in addition to people voting we also had a lot of useful comments about things people wanted to see on the website and there are also a lot of clever people out there who gave suggestions about the design, so it was incredibly helpful, since then I've just been doing it all the time. I've just done it today in fact because we're sending out songs to radio stations so I just go on facebook and twitter and put please can you tell me what radio stations might be interested in playing my music and people just come on and give me great ideas for radio stations I've never heard of or DJs I've never heard of, so they'll all now be getting my music it would be insane of me not to use this resource.


YMC: I think its one of the best things about the music, you have a downside with people taking music for free but its a lot easier to communicate and get you music out to more people


JG: Definitely, to me its about communicating with people who are interested in music in the same way that I am or just interested in my music and the thing about taking music for free to me its not that big a deal, it used to be I used to think it was a bad thing but I'm not so sure it is any more, I don't really mind the idea of people downloading my music for free but I'd much rather they did it from my website instead of listening for free on spotify or an illegal download site because on my website you can choose to download it for free or pay for it. Its being given a choice of stealing something or getting it for free legitimately or paying but its your choice. A lot of times people who use file sharing are doing it in a positive way its not about stealing stuff, some people are sharing because they want people to see what's so good about it.


YMC: Well to a certain extent I think that's always existed, I used to do mix tapes when I was at school to give to my best friends to share what I was listening to.


JG: There are a couple of people who still do me mix tapes, or CDs nowadays, they just burn me a load of stuff they think I'll like or want me to listen to. Leeds poet Johnny Solstice does that, he burns me CDs and they get me through some dark times. Mixtapes are fun, I used to give them to girls when I was a kid as a romantic gesture.


YMC: You have a gig coming up in Leeds soon?


JG: Yes on the 29th October at The Wardrobe, a Leeds Guitar night, its me and a guy called Erik Mongrain who's from Quebec and he's pretty well known, he does this style where he puts the guitar on his lap and taps the strings, he invented that style thats now become quite popular and he's been on Jools Holland and hopefully lots of people will have heard of him and come along and a guy called Giuliano Modarelli from Italy and he's doing some Indian influenced stuff and some jazz influenced too. He's an extraordinar musician, he soaks up influences from around the world like a sponge and I do that but I just scratch the surface of them and I do it like a modern chef, where I'll say I'll give this one kind of an indian vibe or I'll add some thai spices whereas he really gets inside the different cultures and styles and when he plays indian classical music for example its the real thing. It's on guitar and its done by an Italian guy but its absolutely the real thing, it's amazing. That should be a really good night.


The recorded interview is available on the Yorkshire Music Collective show on BCB Radio and also contains an exclusive song by Jon Gomm, click here YMC Show.


Find out more about Jon Gomm on his website.


Michelle Dalgety, Yorkshire Music Collective

Yorkshire Music Collective/I 'Heart' Indie with Geek at Bingley Music Live

Geek
I Heart Indie Photography

Sunday morning and the first band on is Geek, a four piece rock band from Bradford. There's already quite a good crowd here, Bingley festival goers like to come early and set up their chairs and blankets. I recognise a few of the young people down the front from the day before and as yesterday they are showing their support for the unsigned talent too. I like Geek's set, the guitarrist and the bass player alternate vocals and harmonise well with the vocals of the keyboardist as well. I wasn't expecting such a rock sound from one guitar and keyboards but they really pound out a good tune.

Geek
I Heart Indie Photography

After their set we try to catch each other numerous times in the backstage area but they are very much in demand and we agree to meet again at their single launch the following week.


So a week later I am at Bradford Playhouse and joined by Sean, guitarrist and vocalist, Andrew, keyboards and vocals, Laycock the drummer and Dave who plays bass and sings.


Obviously the first question has to be if they enjoyed playing at Bingley Music Live and they all agree on "awesome", an amazing experience and without a doubt the best gig they've ever played, and of course the biggest. As it was only a 20 minute set they'd had to whittle down their set list to contain their strongest songs and then they'd practised intensely for a month.

Geek
I Heart Indie Photography

I asked if they'd felt a vibe from the audience as there were quite a lot of people there even though it was early and they said it was fantastic, they weren't used to being so far away from the audience so they were quite surprised at the atmosphere and feedback from the public. I wondered if they'd enjoyed all the attention backstage with numerous interviews and if it had taken long to come back down to earth. They'd all come back down to earth with a bang as they had to work on the Monday!


The conversation moves to the reason we are in the Playhouse tonight which is the release of their single "Something in the Water", the gig is also part of Bradford Science Week. The single is available from their website www.geektheband.com and they also have some gigs lined up in Leeds to further promote the release. They are currently working on an album due for release next Spring. 

Geek
I Heart Indie Photography

I ask if they think they picked up a few new fans at Bingley and they said this was definitely the case, they had enjoyed talking to people after the set and had been surprised to see people they didn't know wearing Geek t-shirts and it had definately been a boost for them.


Geek had got their slot at Bingley because they have been taking part in a mentoring programme at Factory Street Studios, I asked what this entailed and they said it was a 6 months programme which taught you the aspects of band you don't normally have time for when you are rehearsing, such as the business side of things, promoting your band, getting gigs and media interest and they thought it had put them on the right track. 


So for the second time in a couple of weeks, I see Geek playing a really good set - dressed in laboratory coats for the science festival!


Michelle Dalgety
Yorkshire Music Collective/I 'Heart' Indie


Yorkshire Music Collective
I Heart Indie
Geek

Yorkshire Music Collective/I 'Heart' Indie with Thirteen 16 at Bingley Music Live

I am around early on Saturday morning so I am in plenty of time to catch Thirteen 16, the first band of the day, this is a very young 3 piece metal band from Bradford. They play a really good set and most importantly look as if they are enjoying it. They have a powerful sound for a three piece with some great riffs. I manage to catch up with them just after for a quick chat.

Thirteen 16
Chris Larner Photography

The lads introduce themselves, we have Squish who plays bass, Joe the drummer and Liam is the guitarrist and vocalist. I ask them how they think their set went and in a chorus they say awesome, it was their best gig. I 
ask them if they have a lot of gigging experience and they say they've done a lot of gigs but obviously nothing of this size. I asked how they had prepared for the gig and they said they'd given a lot of thought to the  songs, they'd even thought about shortening some of their songs too in order to fit in the 20 mins.


I wonder what they think playing at BML might do for them as a band, they think it has helped them gain some new fans and are excited that a lot of people have asked for a photo taking with them or asked them to sign things.

Thirteen 16
Chris Larner Photography

They tell me that they have been together for nearly two years after meeting at Rock School at Factory Street Studios, I ask if they had played individually before meeting up and they tell me they were all beginners when they started the rock school, Squish and Liam knew each other from school but hadn't played together.


I ask them who they are looking forward to seeing and they say that first they are really enjoyed Skindred last night and were looking forward to Maximo Park and Feeder today and are overjoyed that they have been able to play on the same stage.


Michelle Dalgety
Yorkshire Music Collective/I 'heart' Indie
Yorkshire Music Collective Facebook
I 'Heart' Indie Facebook

Thirteen 16 Facebook

Yorkshire Music Collective/I 'Heart' Indie with State of Error at Bingley Music Live

State of Error @ BML
Chris Larner Photography

Casting my mind back a few months I can remember a worried looking State of Error bemoaning the fact that they were drawn first at the heats for the BD1 Live competition to win a slot at BML and really didn't want to play first. They went on and played a very good set to the many fans who had come to see them as they always do. It was a particularly tough night as there was strong competition from The 27 Club, Remember The Hurricanes, You Had Me At Hello and Tiny Giants. Tiny Giants won the heat on the day and State of Error won on of the 3 best runner up places to go in to the final.


The final was held at St. Georges Hall, a good evening's entertainment with Kath and The Mighty Menace, King Headlock, Remember The Hurricanes, Ti Amo, Tiny Giants and State of Error. I was really pleased for State of Error who are are hard working young band and truly deserve a shot at the big stage. I chatted to them afterwards and they were more state of shock than State of Error, they were overwhelmed to have won a place at Bingley.

Mikey Green @ BML
Chris Larner Photography

I asked State of Error if Yorkshire Music Collective could do a little stalking on their big day and they were most obliging. I arrived early on and they agreed to come out and chat between setting up and going on and playing. They were the second band on the Saturday, playing after Bradford youngsters Thirteen 16.


I'm soon joined in the press area by Richard Hadley (vocals, guitar), Mikey Green (bass, backing vocals), Danny Moore (drums, backing vocals), Tom Partyka (lead guitar) and obviously the first question is if they are feeling prepared, Richard thinks that mentally they are but not physically, the rest of the band seem to think its the other way round. I ask them if this will be the biggest stage they have played on and jokingly the say they think its a bit bigger than the Piece Hall stage, Mikey says it was a tremendous feeling stood on the stage and feeling the sound of the drums, he said the whole stage was moving. I am wondering if they have chosen different songs for this set for a bigger stage and Richard says they have practised hard to fit as many songs into their 20 minute slot as possible. Some good natured banter starts among the band members who seem to think that Richard is not letting them get a word in edgeways and they let out a tiny secret that as much as they have tried their set is actually 21 minutes long. I ask Mikey if he thinks lead singers talk too much and he says yes they are basically prima donna's and reminds Richard he recently went home from a gig to straighten his hair. Richard defends himself saying he can't go on stage feeling his hair isn't right and the band start to tease him saying his hair is getting out of place in the wind. 

Richard Hadley @ BML
Chris Larner Photography

I ask if they think image is important to a band as well and strangely they all look at Tom who wants to know why they are looking at him as if he is a tramp, the band agree that image is important to 3 of them and before an argument starts I change the subject and ask what they are hoping to get out of today's gig. They say they want to pick up a few new fans and after the gig they will be handing out some promo CD's, they wanted people to not go from the gig thinking that second band was good what were they called, but that they could take something with them to remind them of the band. Conscious that time is moving on I let the band go backstage and I head off frontstage so I don't miss any of their set.


There's already a good crowd here considering its still quite early, I think its a lot busier than this time last year and there are a lot of young people at the front ready to watch State of Error. And here they are, they bounce on stage and their customary energetic performance begins. This band are so fun to watch and you can't help but bounce along with them. The photographers certainly have a difficult task, these lads are running around stage the whole 20 minutes, the guitarist and bassist swapping places continually.They are engaging the fans from the first note, encouraging them to wave or clap along and their catchy choruses soon have the crowd singing with them. They pull out all the stops and pack a great deal in their 20 minutes, personal favorites for me were Forever Waiting, Caught in the Rip, and Sunset Boulevard. I'm watching the crowd as well as the band and they are really getting into this band. After an amazingly fast 20 mins, the band remind everyone they will be giving out CD's and coming to greet people at the VIP entrance in a short while.

Later I head up the VIP entrance where the street team have been giving out CD's, I asked them how they were going and they told me they only and 1 left from the 100 they had brought with them, they said the feedback about the band was positive and I can tell that from the large number of people waiting for the band to come out and sign their CD's. The team is made up of family and friends, including talented young singer Sarah Carey who has featured on their album. I ask what they had thought of the bands performance and they all coincided that the band had deserved to have a shot at the big stage and had made the best of it. Next I talk to a group of young girls who have heard State of Error for the first time today and are clutching their CD's waiting for the band to come out.


When they do come out, they are literally swarmed by fans and well wishers and take time to talk to everyone and sign all the CD's, Mikey tells me that he thought they'd done the set in 20 mins because the nerves had made everything a shade faster.

Danny Moore @ BML
Chris Larner Photography

I asked the band if they had enjoyed themselves and they said it was awesome, the best gig ever with an amazing on stage sound which made a pleasant change, they had a buzz off the crowd's reaction but Tom admitted his legs were shaking with nerves at one point. I asked if they thought there might be more big stages for them now and they said they wanted to do Leeds next year, the dream would be to get on Leeds Festival without going through a battle of the bands competition, by reputation. 


I tell them I have been chatting to new fans and ask if that had been one of their objectives today, they said that had always been the plan, to make use of the opportunity they had been given and promote themselves as much as possible and one of the triumphs of the day had been to have a street team to assist with giving out new CD's.

Tom Partyka @ BML
Chris Larner Photography

I ask the band what the plans for the day are and they most coincide that they will be chilling and drinking a few beers, Richard says he will be staying sober and trying to sell a few t-shirts. They are unanimous that the band they are most looking forward to is Feeder as they have done a couple of covers in the past. Richard said so far for him the best band had been Skindred and was looking forward to the rest of the weekend. And as more fans appear I leave them to enjoy their day, though I do keep bumping into them throughout the day.


It's great that local bands are given a chance to shine at Bingley Music Live, its fantastic when they recognise that opportunity and make the most of it as State of Error did.


The interviews recorded with the bands were played on Yorkshire Music Collective show on BCB Radio on 8th September and is available on the listen again feature on www.bcbradio.co.uk

Michelle Dalgety for Yorkshire Music Collective/I 'Heart' Indie
Yorkshire Music Collective
I `Heart`Indie
State of Error website

YMC Backstage Interviews - TALK TO ANGELS

Yorkshire Music Collective interviews Talk to Angels backstage at Milo before their charity gig

YMC: Can you introduce yourselves and say what you play?

Talk To Angels: I'm Craig and I'm the singer, I'm Jamie and I play drums, I'm Mickey and I play keyboards, I'm Chris and I play Bass

YMC: Your doing a really special concert tonight in aid of a charity, can you tell us a bit about it?

TTA: All the proceeds from tonight and from the Christmas single we have released all go to St. Georges Crypt which is a fantastic company who do a lot for the homeless around Leeds. We went up there and we played a show not too long ago and we helped out, did some dinner lady sort of things and they were very welcoming. Its really enlightening to go somewhere like that and learn about what they do, it really does take your breath away when you realise what they do.

They are very good at this time of year with the cold and the snow it just gives people a place to go, a place to get off the streets and have a warm bed for the night and hot food.

YMC: I've seen on your facebook profile that you have been there a few times, its not just that you're putting on a gig you have implicated yourselves in the project

TTA: Well we recorded our version of Fairy Tale of New York about 3 years ago and every year we've thought about releasing it and every single year we've left it too late and this year we remembered we needed to do something with it. We thought we can't just put it out and take the money for ourselves, we need to do something more worthy so a friend of ours told us about they Crypt. So we got in touch with the Crypt and told them we were thinking of doing it and wanted to give them the proceeds and they were just blown away. So since then we've been down there a few times and made a lot of friends. There were a lot of smiley faces when we were playing a gig in the cafeteria!

YMC: I've been watching you for a few years, one of the things that most impressed me was that so young you went to SXSW festival, it must have been a huge thing for you when you were about 17

TTA: I can't remember how old we were, 18/19 maybe. We just turned old enough to be able to do things legally in England then we jetted of to America where you can't do anything legally.

YMC: You have to be 21

TTA: Maybe you can marry your sister in some states but not Texas!

YMC: Was it a positive experience, SXSW?
TTA: Yes on the whole, we had an absolute ball but bands go out there full of hopes and dreams and expect that you're going to come back with a big record deal and its not like that, its basically just a huge record industry piss-up for want of a better word to describe it. Get together! Yes so we played some shows and had a great time, its costs an absolute fortune to do it as well, we had an amazing time. I think it helped to get the band's name out there. There are so many bands out there, big names, Metallica turned up as the secret band that year, we're glad we did it - all in all we had a good time, so to answer the question yes it is positive.

YMC: Well now you are of legal age a lot more venues are open to you, have you struggled growing up in music and finding places for your fanbase to come and see you.

TTA: More recently, we never really knew what our fanbase was and to be honest we still don't, we never intend to write songs for a direct target we never write for a certain genre, the audience changes every single night we play. We've recently struggled and people say we want to get there but tonight we've sold out and people are trying to get in the venue and we are struggling to get people tickets coz there's nowhere to go, but that's a good sign for us. I think it is hard when you are young but at that time for us there was a lot more venues open because bands were so much more the in thing, where as now its sad because you see a lot of venues shutting down because I don't know maybe people don't go out because X-factor is on.

YMC: Do you think there could be a trend in young people more towards dance music than watching live bands
TTA: Not sure really, the biggest enemy is crap on Saturday night TV. But next year we want to change the way we do gigs, not just in black painted square rooms with a PA in one end and a bar in the other. We want to try and find much more unusual places to play and hopefully that will make it a lot easier for people who are under drinking age to get there as well. So far we have secured a disused swimming pool that we have permission to use, a boxing ring, an art gallery, a multi-storey carpark, a ball pool, a launderette. So we just thought it would be much more fun than your regular kind of square room with lights and sound.

YMC: I suppose its enticing people away from drink too

TTA: Yes, all the big venues in London are called the Carling this. I think also because we've done some gigs and people have said I really want to bring my younger children or my children want to come and there's not a lot of venues out there where 14 and 16 year olds can come so doing gigs like that allows the fanbase to come.

They're the future of music really. We're hoping people will get in touch with us and say we've found a perfect venue will you come and play it because we spend quite a bit of time trying to find these places. Hopefully we'll get the ball rolling but then word of mouth will mean that people get in touch and say will you come and play in our local woods, quarry, cave, anything.

YMC: I think that music is most important when you're 13-14 and start listening to your own stuff, and there is a real void for these music fans.
TTA: We're planning to fill it.

YMC: Very best of luck with that!

TTA: Thank you.


The recorded version of this interview can be found in the downloadable podcast:
http://www.podcastfm.co.uk/files/32/mp3/yubs_16th_jan_2011.mp3

YMC Backstage Interviews - Above Them

YMC :I'm backstage at the Cockpit with one of the members of Above Them, would you like to introduce yourself


Above Them: I'm Mark, I play bass in Above Them, there's also Tom and Oli but they nipped off for a shifty pint, I'm driving.


YMC: Did you enjoy the gig?


AT: Yes, it was good, its wasn't like the normal gigs we play, the venue is really big - we're more used to the back room of a pub, just DIY shows really, so we are a little bit out of our comfort zone but it was really good, I enjoyed it, good sound and people came out


YMC: How did you manage to get this gig then?


AT: Inala records who put our music out know Frank, who is promoting from Higher Rhythmn, and he got in touch and of course we agreed to play, nowt better to do on a Friday night.


YMC: Are you from Leeds?


AT: We're from Pontefract which is about 15 miles away from Leeds, so we are fairly local, its a place where we've always played a lot so we feel pretty much at home


YMC: and Wakefield I would imagine too


AT: Yes, we used to play at Escobar when it was still open, quite a lot actually when we first started going but now there's a new venue called the Hop One good venue has closed down but there's another really good one opened up, so its not a loss really, we've just kind of switched places.


YMC: Do you think its hard for bands to find places to play, especially when you're starting out?


AT: Yes, when your starting out, it depends really we're quite lucky coz a lot of our friends do DIY gigs, so it kind of just snowballed from there. The longer you go the easier it is because you have more contacts really.


YMC: How long have you been playing together?


AT: Since the winter of 2004, we were only going to do one gig, a Christmas all-dayer, and here we are 6 years later still doing it, its good fun.


YMC: Who writes the songs?


AT: All 3 of us really, Oli our guitarrist comes with an idea, maybe a lyric or something and we just build it from there. its sort of all three of us it would be a bit weird I think if was just one person coming with an idea, saying play this play that, no matter how good the songs are because we think all 3 of us should be involved


YMC: What other gigs have you got coming up?


AT: This year now we're going down to Dorking, thats about it for this year its been pretty hectic, we've been out in Europe in October.


YMC: Which countries did you go to?


AT: We went down through France, into Switzerland, we did a week in Germany and then we went to Holland, Belgium and came back home.


YMC: Was that a good experience? How was crowd reaction in the different countries?


AT: It wasn't that well attended because we're not a well known band but the people that attended liked it, its just pub gigs whereever really, if your into that you're into anything, we got well accepted everywhere and we got really well looked after I was quite surprised about that, the hospitality was unbelievable.


YMC: I've heard bands that say that before, that once you get out of the UK you're really looked after


AT: I just thought that was something everyone was just saying but it was really the case, I suppose it's like when I've put gigs on in the past and bands have been travelling and that you always try and look after them because its not much fun when you've been travelling and you don't get fed and you don't get any drinks. I'm not saying that's what we want all the time but it is nice and makes the whole experience a lot easier.


YMC: Have you got any recorded material?


AT: Yes, we did an EP in 2007 on Inhala records which are friends of ours and then we brought an album out last year also on Inhala records and then a friend in Manchester who runs a DIY label did one with us which was pressed on 12" vinyl too and we've had a couple of split 7" out with a band from Sheffield called The Amistad and another band from the States who we also did a couple of split 7" with. We are just writing a new album now and hopefully recording June time. It just depends when we can fit it in because working full time we eat our holidays up doing this so its just doing it when we can get it in.


YMC: If people want to find out more about you have myspace, facebook, etc


AT: Yes, www.myspace.com/abovethem, or just search for Above Them on facebook.


YMC: Thanks for talking to us.


AT: Thank you.

YMC Backstage Interviews - Freyed Knot

YMC chatted to Freyed Knot at the Plugged in Yorkshire gig.


YMC: We're backstage at The Cockpit with Freyed Knot who just played an absolutely fantastic set, did you enjoy that?

Freyed Knot: Yes it was great, to say it was such an early gig

YMC: Can you just introduce yourselves and say what you do in the band?

FK: I'm XP and I rap. I'm Nick and I play bass, I'm Rach and I play bari sax, I'm Ben and I play guitar, I'm Jonathan, I play drums. I'm JD and I also rap. I'm Tom and I play alto sax

YMC: With seven people in a band is it difficult to co-ordinate, all get together for practice, is it a logistical nightmare.

FK: Well we've been together for about three years now, well some are newer than others, but we're all good mates, so its not so much of a problem because its not just a professional outfit its more a bunch of friends having a good time.

YMC: Who were the original members?

FK: It started with me (XP) and JD and then we decided we needed a band and we got in touch with a mutual friend who had friends which were Nick and Jonny who were at Bradford music college and some others joined, and that was the original band and then we've gone through a few metamorphosis until we've arrived at what we've got now.

YMC: Do some of you write the music and some do the rap parts?

FK: We generally just try and thrash it out in band practices really and see what we come up with, someone will present an idea musically and it becomes something that everyone's done.

YMC: Are you from Bradford, Leeds?

FK: We're from Bradford, Leeds and Manchester and Scotland and Aberdeen and somewhere down South

YMC: What do you think of the Bradford scene at the moment? Are there enough venues?

FK: JD was on a documentary for Bradford Music saying it was dying a bit and it kind of is. Bradford's dying a bit as a city coz the council haven't been very responsible especially in creative arts and they're not very respectful of the bands who are trying to push themselves so that can be a bit of a pain. People are there, they're just under the surface but its the same for everyone making independent music right now, if you don't have a bundle of money behind you its hard to get known.

People don't like booking rap bands, they think its knife crime and urban, we got booked for a gig by an undisclosed Leeds venue for Christmas and then they unbooked us because the manager found out we were hip-hop, never listened to us before - but said we were too urban for Christmas! But when we played there, we rocked it - everyone went crazy and it was rammed. But because we're hip-hop we're violent people!

YMC: So do you play mostly in Leeds then?

FK: Yes, quite a lot in Leeds, 3 of us are based in Leeds so its easier to get around, then its West Yorkshire and beyond! wherever really just to make our reputation grow.

YMC: Do you think some cities respond better to you music, do you pick that up from audiences?

FK: Festival are usually quite good, we did a festival in the summer called Rough Beats and it was epic. It was in North Yorkshire.

YMC: I can see you going down really well at a festival

FK: Yes we did.

YMC: Well the next band are just starting so we'll have to leave it there.
FK: Bye!

Find out more about Freyed Knot on www.myspace.com/freyedknot

YMC Backstage Interviews - Serious Sam Barrett

Yorkshire Music Collective went to the Higher Rhythm & Plugged In Yorkshire present Raw Talent live at The Cockpit on Friday. It was a brilliant night with 4 excellent acts and we managed to catch a few interviews too. The recorded interviews will be played on The Yorkshire Underground Band Show on Sunday 5th December.

Here's the one we did with Serious Sam Barrett:

YMC: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your musical background

Serious Sam Barrett: I started out playing mainly blues stuff and moved into country and lots of forms of traditional music and now I'm mainly trying to write my own stuff using those traditional styles as a starting point. That's where I'm at now, I've been playing properly for about 5 or 6 years.

YMC: When did you actually first start to play?

SSB: I've always played coz my Dad was a kind of folk singer and he got me into playing a lot so I've been playing guitar since I could get my arm round one.

YMC: I believe you've played in the States as well?

SSB: Yes, I've played in the States a few times but this year I went to do SXSW and did a few shows in Tenessee as well while I was out there. I played in Nashville which was cool

YMC: What was the audience reaction to your style of music over there?

SSB: It went great, I was kind of nervous about playing in Nashville obviously being like the home of country music its a real focal point for lots of different kinds of american traditional music so that was kind of nerve wracking but it went really really well

YMC: I suppose that it would be worrying playing the kind of music that's theirs?

SSB: I guess if they'd seen me play about 5 years ago it would have been more of a problem but nowadays I play a few traditional Yorkshire folk songs and stuff like that and I try to put into my music whats its about to be from here, so I guess I've got that different angle to them, so its a bit different to them, I'm not just going up there and singing American songs.

YMC: Where do you get your inspiration to write the songs, what do you mainly write about?

SSB: Heartbreak

YMC: As all good country songs!

SSB: Yeah, a recent one I wrote is a song about my Grandad, I've written songs about being from around here and what that means, but mainly heartbreak to be honest

YMC: Are you still playing quite a lot locally as well?

SSB: Yes, I try not to play Leeds too much but pretty much everywhere else. I play a lot in the north east, like Teeside and Tyneside and Liverpool as well

YMC: Do you find it easy to get gigs outside Yorkshire?

SSB: Yes I do nowadays but I guess I've been going a while now, its not like I'm a new band starting out, thats when its hardest, when nobody knows who you are obviously is kind of tough but nowadays its ticking over pretty nicely, its going pretty good.

YMC: Do you normally play in venues that specialise in acoustic music because sometimes its a bit difficult for acoustic players coz they get put on at the beginning of the night when people are still coming in, do you find that?

SSB: It varies a hell of a lot, I do lots and lots of different kinds of gigs, like I've always played

alongside punk bands in DIY shows where I'll play first and then there will be a metal band or a punk band or a hardcore band or whatever and I've always done that and I still do a lot of that and then I'll also play in folk clubs or country music clubs, or acoustic nights. I try and play for whoever and I get away with it as well luckily, they're all good for different reasons. Its nice to play to a really attentive acoustic audience and its nice to play for a bunch of rowdy punk dudes.

YMC: Thanks for talking to us.

SSB: Thanks

You can find out more about Sam on
http://www.myspace.com/sambarrett

Yorkshire Music Collective Interviews Feeder

Yorkshire Music Collective for Phoenix radio interviewed Grant and Taka from Feeder backstage at the Leeds Met. The podcast can be downloaded from http://www.podcastfm.co.uk/12877511914cc186170f82a.mp3

Here is the transcription of the interview:

YMC: I saw you play at a festival in Bilbao this year and you said it was the very first concert you'd done without a set-list

Feeder: yeah we didn't have a set list

YMC: Have you got one today?

Grant: Yes I haven't actually done it yet our printer is broken so lets see what happens, yeah it was nice, a bit chaotic, a lot of the crew looked at me in terror when I said we weren't going to have a set list, its obviously difficult for guitar changes and stuff like that but it was quite nice, sometimes you can really feel what the audience want to hear and throw in what's appropriate at that time I'm sure we'll do it again sometime but I'll have to warn the crew first.

YMC: It was nice from a public's point of view

Grant: was it?

YMC: Yes because sometimes festivals are so orchestrated and timelimited it felt like a more intimate concert that way

Grant: well it was first time we'd been back to Spain for a while it was a really good festival wasn't it?

YMC: Yes it was good

Grant: we saw the Manics after they were really good, it was a really good day actually we had a good time didn't we?

Taka: Yes

YMC: Its the first night of your tour today I'm just wondering coz you've been touring for nearly 20 years now

Grant: Is it really that long?

YMC: Do you still have first night nerves, or wondering what the reactions going to be to the new music and things

Feeder: Yes

YMC: Or is that all behind you now

Grant: I think I'll always feel like that really, I think its good to have a few nerves isn't it?

Taka: Oh Yes definately

Grant: otherwise you're going through the motions aren't you, We have been doing it a while but it really has flown by, I think that the nerves and the whole  buzz you get before a gig is part of the whole thing really, you know that's something that certainly hasn't gone away for me, of course you worry about if its the right set you know playing a lot of new songs even though some people might have not bought the album yet so hoepfully they'll hear the songs in the show and go out and buy it. But you know we've done the greatest hits tours and obviously we've done many tours in the past but its time to be doing some new stuff, of course we'll be doing some old stuff as well tonight but its obviously focusing on the new record as that's the whole point of the tour really.

YMC: Sometimes I've heard that musicians are quite superstitous, do you have any rituals before you go on stage?

Taka: We pray together (all laugh)

YMC: or something like a favourite shirt because you had a gig that was really good in that shirt?

Grant: I am a little bit superstitious, I don't have one particular shirt I like to wear or people would think he's only got one shirt, I did have, I'm quite into my checked shirts and I did have a lucky one I wore on the Renegades tour, when we did the smaller venues. I haven't brought it coz I thought people might think I've only got one shirt so I have quite a collection of checked shirts. You know its an important thing to always

get together before we go on stage, we always have a drink in here, to sort of catch up really but we don't do any sort of break dancing or anything like that. I'm more sort of superstitous about sitting in certain places on bunks, you get into that sort of thing, weird little habbits when you're on the road a lot.

YMC: This tour will be taking you across Europe as well, do you find differences between a European audience to a British Audience or differences between countries

Grant: Yeah definitely differences in countries isn't there?

Taka: Well obviously we have more core fans, core audience in the UK so its a bit different but when we did the festival like in Spain it was a good reaction, audience are good songs are good, so people were really enjoying it.

Grant: I think it also helps to see a band live, I've often listened to bands on the radio and not been into their stuff but then I've seen it live or at a festival and i've kind of warmed to it and kind of given them a second chance and that's the good thing about playing different countries or festivals you often win people over and make new fans. It does vary in Europe a lot - I mean German audiences are particularly tough but once

you win them over they are really good, loyal fans. I think the UK fans are like that in some ways coz they're spoiled for choice here, I mean there are so many good bands that come here you're gonna have to earn your place I think.

YMC: Can you remember your first gig in Yorkshire?

Grant: What was our first one, I'm sure you remember?

Taka: It was a pub

Grant: Not the Cockpit?

Taka: No a pub

Grant: Oh my god yes, it was a really legendary place, well to us anyway, it was an indie pub on the circuit, everyone played there, that was a good time because it was when we started off, we were first on then, then we started headlining and people came to see us, then we went to the Cockit pit after that and gradually moved our way up to here.

YMC: What was your favourite gig in Yorkshire?

I really enjoyed the one we did with a band called Everclear, we'd opened for them in America and we spent a long time there and they were quite a big band then in the States and it was the perfect kind of band for us to play with, we went down really well with them, and the deal was we'll open for you there and you open for us here because we were a bit bigger than them here. It was a really great tour wasn't it? I remember the gig here being like a really really good night, I think the Kerrang magazine were here and they were doing a feature on the 2 of us that was good and I also like the academy where we will be playing in February, its a really lovely venue, they've done it all up, we were actually going to play there but it wasn't available for this date, its quite nice to come back and do some university gigs again, its kind of where we started.

YMC: You'd been on the Echo label for many years and then it finished, did you find it hard to cope with a new found freedom

Grant: I'm free haha

YMC: Well to me it would seem like working in a factory for 20 years then getting made redundant

Grant: It didn't really feel like that because we knew they were going under and we tried to get out of the deal before Silent Cry because we felt Silent Cry wasn't going to get a fair chance as an album, it just didn't get a fair chance on the promotion side of things, we had a great time with Echo and they were a very small label and we had a lot of freedom. Its slightly different to working in a factory and being laid off because being in a band, although you have to work hard, is a completely different thing really its a job but its also a hobby, its a dream as well, so its slightly different, but it was a bit scary wasn't it, we were thinking what do we want do, are we going to try and do a deal or are we going to do it ourselves the whole renegades record back to being a three piece back to our roots we just thought it would be nicer to try and do

it on our wown label for a while, we may change and we may sign with a label on the next record but we're not sure yet, but we have done licensing deals with countries like Japan, and in Europe we're just about to sign a deal there so we have got some help but its been tough, its been a real learning experience, having our own label coz you don't realise, all the stuff you moan about the label not doing you just realise my God there's so much to do and our manager is having to do a lot more work than he ever did before, so its been great but its not as easy and as a perfect as it sounds, like you've got your own label you can do whatever you want, we realise we have to pay for absolutely everything ourselves now and that's quite scary when you are employing

about 10 people, a team around you to put a record out.

YMC: The new album "Renegades" has a lot more rock feel to it, than maybe some of the previous ones, were you pushed by the label into a more pop sound or had you just evolved that way

Grant: Well the first albums were very much like this Swim and Polythene are very much rock albums, and got championed by Hammer and Kerrang and we never thought we'd be heavy enough to be in those mags but they seemed to love our first few records, we've just sort of experimented on the way, we haven't really planned doing a mellow album, its just when you're recording an album there's usually quite a list of songs and if you put those on there it would make a much rockier record its just that songs off there often get picked whether its our favourite,  the A&R deparment at the label or our managers favourite that often sets what an album ends up being. There's quite a lot of compromise, there are certain singles that I know we probably wouldn't have picked. I think after the success of Buck Rogers which was such a big hit that the label did push us a little bit to that area with the 7 Days thing and that but we still wrote the songs we weren't told you have to write those songs. Its just that's only really one side of what we do, we've always been a rock band, thats where our core is really, so each album has been different and that's the band we are, we want each album to sound different in some way and not be a just one sounding, one dimensional sort of band, we like to experiment.

YMC: I really like the packaging on the album

Feeder: Cheers

YMC: Its like a book with glossy photos, is that something you've had a say in too?

Grant: We've always been involved with the artwork, even when we were on the label, we're old school so CDs and sleeves probably mean more to us than the new generation. I spend hours painfully making sure that everything is right, the credits are right, the thank yous, be sure the writing is right, the image and that we're all happy, we spend ages don't we?

Taka: There's always something missing!

Grant: They always get something wrong, either they spelt it wrong or left him off, oh dear - its a nightmare, so we decided not to list everybody because you get always miss somebody off but yeah the artwork, this album and the last one Silent Cry was done by the same guy and he's a friend of mine and he doesn't really do band stuff normally he's in advertising and has a very successful job in London and he used to be in a band himself years ago which is how I met him and he basically said oh I'll do a sleeve for you and it sort of went from there really. He's a really crazy guy and its quite nice to work with him. So we're very involved with it, we have to be happy with it because people always ask us questions about it and if we don't know whats going on

it gets a bit awkward.

YMC: With touring as Renegades and now starting this tour off in smaller venues, its like going back to your beginnings again, do you prefer smaller venues or do you like the buzz of a big festival?

Grant: both really isn't it?

Taka: they've both got a different vibe you know, when you're playing in front of 10-20,000 people its always great but at the same time when you play a smaller one, its so intense, the audience is so close, so I like both.

Grant: Yeah I'm the same really, I've really enjoyed doing the smaller things because I think when you're trying out new songs its good to do it in an intimate environment, so it has been great but when you do festivals they are always a little bit more hit and miss, you can always have a bad one and you think oh god why did that happen or you just didn't connect for some reason, I mean I've seen some really big bands just

not connect, but when you have a good one at a festival with so many people watching its great, you come off with a real buzz.

YMC: You've got another single coming out soon and an album I think?

Grant: Yes, we're sort of in the middle of sorting the next record, it would have been finsihed but basically we just did some more recording and we've just been too busy. It's down to our agent and our manager who keeps putting us on the road, which is fine but we're hoping to get it finished by the end of the year and release it early next year is the plan. We actually did record a load of songs for the Renegades album and we held back a few and the songs that we kept back are going to be on the next record. Its good because it means we can continue touring but also be putting out some new material, rather than  just be doing the same set all the time which is often what happens and we've got quite a back catalogue that we can go back to!

YMC: Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us tonight and have a brilliant gig.

Feeder: Thank you very much

Michelle Dalgety, Yorkshire Music Collective