Introducing...Road To Horizon

YMC chats to Danny, Sie, Daz,and Mark from Wakefield's Road to Horizon

YMC: How would you describe your music? Who writes the songs?

Danny: We find this question pretty hard to answer to be honest lol, and we get asked it a lot, I think the reason people ask it is people find it hard to pigeon hole our music to a specific genre. We have some older songs that are really pop punk and our newer stuff is more what we call Alternative Rock with a heavy edge so we have a good mix.

Sie: I think thats just us finding our own sound as a band and also due to the line up change in January and just natural progression as a band.

Daz: We tend to write songs as a band not too much individually, we find we write better doing it this way as we can all have an input right from the begining.

Mark: People say we remind them of Young Guns which is awesome as far as were concerend cause there bands we love. Were not trying to be like them or write simalar music, we just write whatever comes natural.

Daz: Its a bit wierd somtimes, well be jammin and the next thing you know there's a new song pretty much writen in minutes. Its just a case of working out a structure for the song then Dan working his magic on the lyrics. Im not moaning tho weve spent days working on songs before which can get a little.......lets say annoying! 

YMC: Who are your main influences?

Danny: Not to sound too cheesy but life, a lot of shit happens and also a lot of good, so when I'm writing lyrics I try to use things that have affected me, it helps makes the songs more personal. Musically I LOVE Rise Against so there a massive influence on me too.

Martin (manager): Cough! Cough! poof Cough! lol

Daz: Blink 182, who isnt influenced by them in someway or form?

Mark:  Alcohol, Alcohol and erm.......Sorry What was the question!

Sie: I love listening to up and coming bands like Young Guns and Yashin, being a drummer obviously Travis Barker and.....Erm.....Phil Collins, Maybe not so much Phil Collins actually!

YMC: What venues do you like playing?

Sie: Everywhere, I love playing live. Its cool when we play the bigger venues with bigger band in front of a big crowds.

Mark: I like playing Bradford Gasworks its got a pretty good music scene so the crowds get a little crazy!

Daz: Leeds Cockpits always good to play.

Danny: Yeah I love playing Cockpit.

YMC: What can people expect from a live show?

Mark: Energy for sure, were very rarely stood in the same place for more than about three seconds lol.

Daz: Yeah we just like to have fun on stage and get the crowd involved as much as possible.

Sie: Probably a few penis jokes!

Daz: lol You cant beat a good penis joke to get the crowed involved.

Danny: We have something for everyone, So if you're not into the heavier side of our music we have some nice softer songs and some songs ya can have a little dance to!

Sie: People should definatly come check us out.

YMC: Do you have any recording plans?

Danny: Yeah were actually in the middle of recording our debut E.P now and are hoping to release it at the end of the year, We're two tracks in, weve only just finished the second and put it up on our player today so go have a listen if your reading this!...........Then you should probibly come back and finish reading this

interview! :  )

Sie: DO IT!

Mark: What!

Daz: You guys are wierd!

YMC: You recently played the Leeds Festival Fringe, do you think this sort of thing is good for the city?

Danny: Yeah definately, Thanks by the way for letting us play the first ever Leeds Festival Fringe! We had a blast. We know you were one of the promoters for the festival.

Daz: Its something Reading have been doing for a few years I believe so to be able to bring it to Leeds is awesome.

Sie: Yeah i think its a great idea and is good for the city, It may bring people to Leeds that have never been here to check out the awesome music scene we have.

Mark: Ditto!.....Im gunna throw it out there!......Can we play next year?

Find out more on www.myspace.com/roadtohorizon

My Forever Playing Leeds/Reading Festival - Interview

YMC chats to Dave from My Forever about been chosen to play Leeds and Reading Festivals this year.

YMC: You met at a party last summer, did you imagine then you might be playing Leeds/Reading Festival?

Dave: Not at the time no way haha! Me and Roy always had an aim and goal to play Leeds & Reading festival and that goal was for next year (2011) so when we got told we were playing at this year's festival we were blown away and so happy! We feel so lucky to be given this opportunity so early on in the life of our band.

YMC: Tell us when you were notified that you were playing the introducing stage, how did you react?

Dave: I was at home recording demo's for some 'new' My Forever material and Roy was in Scarborough at his graduation and I just randomly checked the 'My Forever' email account and the first one that popped up was the email asking us to play at Leeds & Reading and at first I couldn't quite believe it, I had to rub my eyes a few times haha! I was so excited I immediately rang Roy who was in the middle of is graduation ceremony and he whispered down the phone "whats up dave, im in the middle of graduation"... and i told him the good news and he immediately shouted at the top of his voice "YESSS, woohoooo" and all his friends apparently turned and looked at him and when he told everyone they all erupted in a big cheer for him. So it was a really nice moment for both of us! Me on the phone shouting "woohoooo" to him and then him and his friends at his graduation shouting "woohooo" back down the phone. It was a moment to remember!

YMC: Are you nervous about playing to a large audience?

Dave: I think its only natural that we will all have nerve's before the performance as it will be our biggest gig to date and also probably only our 3rd show as a 'Full band' because up until this point me and Roy have been gigging as an acoustic duo. So there's a lot of pressure but most of all we just can't wait to play for everyone, we are so excited and we're going to love every second of it.

YMC: Will you be adding extra members for the live set?

Dave: As hinted above we have recruited other musicians to back us live who are now part of the band. We have 'Glen Mancrief' on Bass, James Potter on Keys, and Ben Watson on drums. They are all great musicians and everythings sounding great in rehearsals. We were very lucky to find these guys so quickly and a bonus is we all get along amazingly well, so we are all happy. 

YMC: You have recently released your debut EP, where is it available?

Dave: Our EP featuring 7 tracks is called "Silhouettes & Paper Birds" and is available to download on iTunes (worldwide) and Amazon. You can here a preview of the EP on our website www.myforeverofficial.com

YMC: What are you plans for after the festival?

Dave: Our plans for after Leeds & Reading is to be gigging, gigging and more gigging. We have a show already planned on the 12th September at the "Acoustic Gathering" festival in Scarborough which will be a great event and we are currently planning other gigs around the UK for the rest of the year which will all be announced on our website and other networking sites very soon. We also will be working on new material this Autumn which again we are very excited about.

YMC: Who are you looking forward to seeing at this years festival?

Dave: Personally I'm very excited about seeing a band called "Kids In Glass Houses" who I first saw a few years ago when they supported the Goo Goo Dolls in Manchester and I'm also looking forward to seeing Blink 182 (as I think everyone of my age wants to see these guys at least once). I know Roy is looking forward to (or should I say hoping to meet) Marina (from Marina & the Diamonds).

Find our more:

Website: www.myforeverofficial.com

EP download from iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/silhouettes-paper
-birds/id378082170

www.myspace.com/myforeverofficial

Introducing...Horse Guards Parade

YMC chats to Archie from Horse Guards Parade

YMC: How did the name come about ?

James came up with it , horses seem to crop up in conversation a fair bit for no real reason.

YMC: How many are in the band, where did you all meet?

There are five of us, James Waudby [guitar and vox] and me {Archie ,guitar] have known each other for a while and both played together in a band from Hull called The Sorry Loves and when that finished we carried on working on tunes and recording them in my attic . In March 2009 we released a four track e.p and decided to get a full band together bringing in Carl Hogarth on keyboards who has played with James in Salako and Marble Valley and also Rob Marrs on drum and Chris Evans on bass who I had played in bands with before .  

YMC: How would you describe your music? Who are your main influences?

It’s hard to pin it down but there are elements of Folk, Psychedelia, Rock, and Country or so I’ve been told, mixed with a darkness that  only Hull could bring . As for influences too many to mention really  if you listen to us  I’m sure you can hear anything from Prince Fari  to Quo

YMC: Last year you played on the introducing stage at Leeds/Reading, was this a good experience?

Yeah we had a great time , plenty of capers and we got to play as well , this was down to Katy and Alan from BBC Raw Talent who put us forward for it and have supported us from day one . We were also lucky enough to support Pavement at Glasgow Barrowlands last month and we played at All Tomorrows Parties in Minehead which they curated which were both fantastic .

YMC: You are currently recording an album, how's it going?

We finished it at the beginning of May , the mp3’s are up on our Myspace site now and it should be out by August . We did it ourselves with lots of help from Vincent Van Huit who captured us well .

YMC: Do you have any plans to tour this year?

We are just sorting gigs out now for over the summer to promote the album, so they will be up on our Myspace very soon.

Find out more:

www.myspace.com/horseguardsparade
www.horseguardsparade.com
http://thenorthernline.com/2010/05/28/horse-guards-parade-ten-songs/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRfwmJB7vKc

Introducing...Electric Fan Death

YMC: You are currently living in South Korea, do you have plans to return to the UK?

EFD: We plan to return to the UK in early 2011 and gig/tour. We really want to play some good venues in Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield to name a few places. This should be about the time we release our second album.

YMC: Have you played any gigs in Korea, what's the reaction to the British indie sound?

EFD: We played some gigs in our local (Korean) expat bars and Korean clubs last year. We went down well with both the expats and Koreans. Ste played some acoustic versions of our tracks around London on a month trip to the UK, everyone loved the tracks especially ‘Landmine’ from the ‘Yeosu Dangerous’ EP and ‘A Sense of Things Less Fragile’ from our new unreleased recording.

I’m not too sure what Korean people make of British Indie but there are some cracking Korean indie bands who are really taking off. Korea should be proud of its own emerging indie scene which we hope to be a part of in the time we are here.

 YMC: Where did the name come from?

EFD: Well fan death is a Korean belief that if you sleep with an electric fan on in your bedroom and the windows closed you will die. Apparently the fan creates a vacuum or splits oxygen atoms or something crazy. Because we formed in Korea and the myth of fan death is so amusing we thought Electric Fan Death to be a fitting name.

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

EFD: As with most bands we have an abundance of influences. For Ollie he grew up listening to Sonic Youth, Idlewild, Fugazi and My bloody Valentine, I (Ste) grew up on Nirvana, Boards of Canada, Placebo, The Pixies, Joy Division, and Aphex Twin. I think our sound is nothing like these bands, being a duo and sharing 100% of writing, production and recording has given us a very unique sound.

As for what we are listening to now; Ollie’s listening to Catherine Wheel, Jawbox, Future of the Left, Blonde Redhead, Twin Atlantic and His Name is Alive and I (Ste) am listening to Idlewild, Shellac and Autechre.

YMC: Do you have any recorded material, if so where is it available?

EFD: Yes we do, our debut EP was released on the AMStunes label in late 2009, it’s called ‘Yeosu Dangerous’ and it’s available to buy from iTunes (http://bit.ly/dzywF9), Amazon and loads of other stores. We have free tracks up to listen to listen to at our myspace http://www.myspace.com/electricfandeath, and our website http://electricfandeath.co.uk  amongst other sites.
 

If you haven’t heard our stuff and you like alternative indie give us a listen.

YMC: What are you plans for the near future
 

EFD: We are currently writing and recording our second album and getting ready to start gigging around Seoul and Korea. This is all preparation so we can hit the UK in 2011 with the best possible live sound and a 2nd great sounding album. We can't wait. As well as this we DJ the AMStunes alternative podcast where we play some of the best tunes from Myspace and beyond the third installment should be out soon so keep your ears peeled.

Introducing...The 48Ks

YMC chats to the 48Ks from Doncaster

YMC: Tell us something about the band, how did you get together and how long have you been playing.

We are the 48ks, a 5 piece band from Doncaster. We've been in a band together for about a year but our mutual love of the Beatles, The La's, the Rolling Stones, The Who, The Specials made us get together. We love vocal harmonies and hooks so try our best to put them in our songs. The band are Ryan-vox, Kato-rhythm guitar and vox, Steve-lead guitar and vox, Ad-bass and vox, Tilly -drums and vox.

YMC: Who writes the songs?

We all contribute to the writing of songs but mainly its Ryan, Steve and Kato who bring the ideas to rehearsal but we all bounce of each other.

YMC: I notice that in addition to the lead vocalist, three of you provide backing vocals, are harmonies very important to you?

Harmonies are important to us. We like experimenting and adding different parts to keep it interesting for us and for the listener. We try to put our influences together and mix them around to create our own unique sound

YMC: You have an EP out, where can people get it? What is on it?

Our e/p "Flick em the v's" is available now and we are handing it out for free at gigs or you can mail us and we will forward a copy. It ,will soon be able to download. On the e/p is Gotta Get Out, Flick em the v's, Falling Down, and Cotton Wool.

YMC: Is there a lot of support for local bands in South Yorkshire?

Doncaster doesn't have much of a scene at the moment and we don't really get involved in a clique like most other bands do but the scene in Sheffield is good and there are plenty of places to play so we;ll keep gigging and plugging away.

Find out more on www.myspace.com/the48ksband

Introducing...Alice Nicholls

YMC chats to Huddersfield based singer-songwriter Alice Nicholls

YMC: How long have you been writing music?

AN: I've been writing lyrics, or attempting to, since I was about 9 years old. Needless to say all my songs back then were awful - I like to think they've improved since! I've always been musical but I didn't start putting the two together until a few years later - I wrote my first proper song, words and music, when I was 12.

YMC: What instruments do you play?

AN: Anything I can get my hands on. Violin's my main instrument, I played it at University during my music degree - but I also play piano, guitar, bass, drums, viola, Irish whistle, and descant and treble recorder. I really want to learn mandolin and saxophone as well, they're two of my favourite instruments. And, of course, I've been singing for as long as I can remember!

YMC: Did you find it hard to build up the confidence to play solo?

AN: Definitely. For the first few years of doing music I couldn't play my own songs to anyone, it was way too scary. But once I got past the nerves and realised that this was what I was good at, confidence came easily. I think that with performing, as with any artistic discipline, confidence comes from experience. You're always gonna be scared at first.

YMC: Do you always play solo?

AN: Mostly I play solo nowadays, though during my years at Uni one of my friends would usually play guitar for me at gigs. I would like to do more work with other people, but because most of my mates are musicians, they're always playing gigs when I am so it's impossible to get hold of them!

YMC: What music are you listening to at the moment?

AN: Right now, this second? Lighthouse Family - Ocean Drive. They're one of my musical guilty pleasures. Recently though I've discovered a bunch of new artists and bands, in particular Krezip, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Emiliana Torrini, and The Swell Season.

YMC: Have you recorded any material?

AN: I recorded my debut album 'Resonance' when I was 16, and followed it with a second one when I was 18 called 'the Coffee Songs'. I don't tend to count 'Resonance' as a proper album, more a demo nowadays, because I don't think it's very good compared with my newer stuff. 'The Coffee Songs' is much more my current style, and is now on sale at Wall Of Sound in Huddersfield. I'm currently in the process of recording a new EP as well - it's been ages since I was last in the studio so it's been good to get back into it.

YMC: Any plans for the near future?

AN: I'm moving back to my home county of Lincolnshire in the next couple of months, so I'll be looking for gigs there, and working on material for the next full-length album. I've got a few projects lined-up and I'm hopefully going to be working with some very talented musicians, but nothing's set in stone yet. It's all rather exciting!

Find out more on www.myspace.com/alicenichollsmusic

Introducing...South View Juniors

YMC chats to Ben from South View Juniors

YMC: Tell us something about the band, how did you meet, how long have you been playing together?

SVJ: We named the band after our former junior school which sadly has now been knocked down. We were all good school friends and decided to form a band in late 2007. We started out as a 3 piece playing acoustically in and around the local area, but soon became a full 5 piece.

YMC: How would you describe your music? Who writes the songs?

SVJ: Old school 60s & 70s Rock & Roll with a slightly modern sound, influenced by the Brit Pop Era. We put a modern twist on an old formula. We all write songs for the band, but Jon seems to write the most!

YMC: What are you listening to at the moment?

SVJ: Courteeners, Doves, Twisted Wheel, Paul Weller, Foo fighters, (Too much to list all on here - we are all music

mad!)

YMC: What can people expect from a live show?

SVJ: A very entertaining evening with great music and a great atmosphere/vibe

YMC: Do you have any recording plans?

SVJ: Currently recording our 2nd EP, which should be ready sometime in June, plus hoping to release a single in the summer.

YMC: What are your plans for the near future?

SVJ: To support well established acts and play at larger venues. We are headlining the large main room at The Cockpit on 20th Aug.

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