Swim Deep Interview

I caught up with my favourite brummies, Swim Deep, back in November in a pub in Digbeth just before their gig supporting Mystery Jets. Lucky me also got to have a phone interview with Austin (lead singer) recently to catch up with what they'd been up do. The interview has been published in this month's edition of Brum Notes magazine which can picked up all around Birmingham - have a read of it at the bottom of this post!

It's incredibly exciting that I had the opportunity to meet them and speak to them. I can't wait to see them live again next week! They are such a great band and have so much success ahead of them. Big up Swim Deep

Interview  at a pub in Digbeth. I have a ten minute video of
Higgy eating pizza ... is that weird?

I am now known as the cookie girl

Austin is an absolute babe 

If that doesn't work, feast your eyes upon the normal online version here

Interview: The Traps

Counteract were fortunate enough to catch up with Jamie Berry, front man of the relatively local indie band, The Traps, after their show at Birmingham’s trusty ‘ole favourite pub, The Flapper. The Flapper has been a local to this indie four piece for a while and Jamie went as far as calling the venue a “stalwart of the Birmingham music scene.”

I quizzed Jamie about the band. “We’ve been together for about ten years actually but in different guises. We’re all from Shropshire originally. We met at school and we’ve just gone from there and have been together ever since.” It was clear to see from their incredibly tight performance that this band has been together for a while. This gig was the official launch for their latest track, ‘Moving Pictures.’ With an undeniably catchy guitar riff along with Jamie’s oxymoronically soft yet edgy vocals, it’s no wonder why it had such a great reaction from the crowd. “We’ve released stuff in different bands before but as The Traps, this is our first official release. About a year and a half ago we just decided we were going to make a record. Moving Pictures was the second track that we wrote for it. We wrote it together just in the rehearsal room; I wrote the melody and the lyrics.”

I asked Jamie about specific influences behind the track. “At the time we were really into Phoenix. We were listening to their ‘Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix’ record a lot and we just liked how they seemed like an indie band making a pop album with big songs on it. It didn’t seem like there were many bands around at the time doing the same thing. The production of it is really great. We felt that this fitted with what we were trying to do so that was a big influence.” The Traps can definitely be seen as a band making big songs. Their music can be described as ‘grown-up’ indie as their tracks seem to have a carefully thought out structure as well as being performed professionally. I felt as though as I was watching a fully fledged rock band in the midst of their world domination tour rather than an up and coming band in the basement of a local pub.

It’s inevitable that four musically aware guys are going to have different tastes. “We like all sorts of different. I think that’s important because it makes everyone think differently. We don’t get stuck in one way of doing things necessarily. I think that’s important for any creative process really. You should take influences from all kinds of creative projects.”

Not only have these guys got a great set of music, but they’ve also got their own record label where they’re humbly helping up and coming bands make it. “It’s called Speech Fewapy records. We’ve got a couple of bands singed to it at the moment and we’re releasing our own stuff via the label as well. Tom Peel’s on the label.” Tom peel was The Traps’ first support act of the night. We laughed together as we reminisced about his set, however not in a mocking way, but with a general sense of awe. The only words we could muster were “unique” and “cool.” Tom Peel; singer songwriter/musician/comedian. He’s pretty much indescribable; you most certainly need to check him out. “His second EP will be out soon,” Jamie informed me. “We’ve also got a guy called Greg Bird and Flamingo Flame who has an album out now off the label which is really exciting. A band from Birmingham called The Bombergs is also on the label and we’ve worked with a band called Black Heart Generator from Birmingham too. We just wanted to help make stuff happen for artists we really liked; artists that we feel want to do something out of the ordinary.”

I righty assumed that releasing their own stuff from their own record label would have an impact on how things happened. Jamie told me the pros and cons. “It gives you a lot more independence I suppose. I mean, obviously money is always a problem when you‘re releasing stuff yourself but in terms of creative freedom it’s superb. I don’t have any experience of being in a band that’s been signed to another label so I don’t know what the flipside of it is.” February will see the release of their debut album, produced by Rob Jones; the man behind The Voluntary Butler Scheme who were coincidentally The Traps’ second support act. “We’ve done a lot of jamming together; we’re like Kindred spirits. He’s superb.” The Voluntary Butler Scheme, complete with saxophones and trumpets really caught the attention of the crowd with the jazzy yet indie-pop sounds. Rob and his trumpet even made an appearance during The Traps’ set.

Seeing as though they’re a pretty local band, I chatted to Jamie about the current indisputable B-Town hype. “I really like Peace and Swim Deep; they’re really good bands. I think it’s nice that there’s a focus on Birmingham if that’s the case. From my time of playing in this city, there’s always been a really rich vein of great bands. I’m quite surprised that it’s taken so long for the focus to come on to this city. A lot of bands who I know and thought would really do something kind of slipped away and haven’t really done much. In particular those two bands are great; I don’t know a great many others, although I did hear a band called Jaws and thought they were really good.” Although astonishingly different from Swim Deep, Peace and the like, in the sense that they are so much mature in style, sound and lyrics, perhaps The Traps can jump on the B-Town bandwagon and finally get the recognition they deserve.

Is this truly The Traps’ time to shine after being together for so long? “It’s hard to say really. It’s always hard to tell if it’s your moment to shine. The thing for the four of us is just that we really love playing the music that we’ve created. We’re immensely proud of the album and we’ve had a great experience making it. We just want to do it justice as much as possible.”

This is such an exciting time for The Traps as they’ve got a lot lined up! “They’ll be a new single called Calypso, which is the title track of the album, which comes out in January and will get national radio coverage and that sort of thing which is exciting. We’ve actually started making the second album which has about 13 or 14 tracks already written. The plan is to just get in and record it as soon as possible.”

With a new single, a debut album and another album in the pipeline, we’ve got a lot to look forward to from this promising band. I wish them all the very best!

Check out the published article in Counteract Magazine

Interview: The Ghosts

Counteract were lucky enough to catch up with The Ghosts, minus Ian Palmer (drums), after their show at one of Birmingham’s more intimate venues, The End. They concluded their first UK tour in style as infectious synth pop riffs flew from the keys and driving dance beats were dropped left right and centre. Birmingham definitely enjoyed the show. The Ghosts enjoyed themselves too, “apart from the fact I had smoke in my eyes; I couldn’t see a thing,” explained Alex Starling; front man of The Ghosts. Don’t worry Alex, we didn’t notice.

“We’re like ABBA” was the response I got from Alex Starling when I asked the band how they’d come together. He jokily implied the coupled relationship between himself and Dan Whiffin (guitar), and between Alex Sharman and Rayna Ferner (both on keys). Dan however would definitely be victorious in a battle of the facial hair against Benny Anderson with his magnificent horseshoe! On a serious note, Alex Starling explained how the band formed; “Ian was recommended to me by Charlatan’s drummer, Jon Brookes… Me and Dan have been friends for a while and we’ve been in bands together in the past.” It’s obvious that the talented musicians that make up The Ghosts have all had past experiences in the industry as their performance was exceptionally professional.

So how did this superb five piece spend their last day of their tour? “We spent the day at Q studios and did an acoustic session for them, and then we went to Kerrang! studios where we met Duff McKagan (Guns and Roses)” Alex starling told me.  He dedicated a song to Duff on request during their set as he liked their “rockier stuff.” If legendary icons such as The Charlatans’ drummer and now Guns and Roses’ bassist like their stuff, then The Ghosts have got to be doing something right!

It turns out it’s not the band’s first time in Birmingham as this gig was somewhat of a homecoming. Starling informed me that Ian is a local Birmingham guy! It just so happens that it’s not the first time for Alex Starling either; “I spent some time in the Midlands when I was younger.” He joked that he’d “moved around a lot through school life because [he] was naughty.” He told me how his Irish family travelled around a lot (although not actually Irish travellers) and he ended up at a school in Wolverhampton.

Throughout the summer, The Ghosts have played gigs and festivals all over the place, including the infamous Chazzstock, or as Reyna misquoted, “Chavstock.” “I’d love to go to a festival called Chavstock” she laughed. Chazzstock was held in Wolverhampton in homage of the late Charlie Haddon of Ou Est Le Swimming Pool who tragically committed suicide back in 2010. Ou Est Le Swimming Pool was in fact Alex Starling’s old band! Among Alex Starling and The Ghosts, other bands including Tribes, The Horrors and The Vaccines played tribute to their late friend at what turned out to be a really special event.

Prior to the interview, Jack Bissel, the organiser of Chazzstock, told me to ask Alex Starling how he had “got done by [Jack] with a super-soaker and a Krispy Kreme doughnut.” I was extremely intrigued – I had to get to the bottom of this! It’s clear that Jack Bissel and Alex Starling have got an ongoing love hate relationship, full of friendly banter. Alex told me his side of the story; “I pelted Jack with 12 Krispy Kreme doughnuts while he was fast asleep.” “So an assorted dozen then” Alex Sharman interrupted. “He’s so stupid that he didn’t even realise.”  This donut war happened between the two whilst on tour with Ou Est Le Swimming pool. Jack tried to get revenge, but according to Alex his doughnut throwing skills weren’t up to scratch. I was even treated to an impression of Jack as Alex did a limp throwing action. “He’s a lovely guy, but as some people might say, he throws like a girl.” When you thought this conversation couldn’t get any weirder, Jack also tried to get Alex with a “supersoaker” or as Alex called it, “a tiny water pistol.” “I tipped one glass of water over him and he was more soaked than I was.”

I wanted to know if there had been any similarly crazy antics on The Ghosts’ tour. “I had a bath last night that was pretty wild” Reyna told me. “Well it was in Vodka” joked Alex Starling. Dan then showed me a video of Alex riding around the Kerrang! studios earlier that day on a miniature bicycle. Erm, rock on Alex?!

What can we expect from the Ghosts next?  Alex Starling informed me that “the next album is ready and written and we’ll hopefully be releasing something in the New Year. We’ll be having some time off too because Alex (Sharman) is having a baby!” After the success of their debut album, ‘The End’ I can’t wait to see what the next album brings.

The Ghosts are such an exciting new band. Their album showcases heartfelt lyrics about love and loss with a surprisingly upbeat backing track complete with new and electrifying sounds. These talented musicians make for a superb live band. I wish them all the very best in the release of their next album and the best of luck to soon-to-be dad, Alex Sharman.

Take a look at the published version in Counteract Magazine

Update

With applications to Universities on the go along with an obscene amount of gigging, things have been pretty crazy recently; hence the lack of activity on here.

I’ve had a pretty amazing month or two though! At the last update I did, I’d just interviewed the Ghosts. Since then I’ve seen:

• Dry the River
• The Killers
• The Traps

 I also got to interview The Traps which was beyond cool (another famous-ish contact to add the list haha). After their gig downstairs, I interviewed the lead singer outside in the beer garden (although it wasn't much of a garden). It was such an amazing interview and I’m unbelievably happy with how it went. I recorded it on my phone so it would be easier to transcribe but oh my god it’s SO embarrassing listening back to myself. I sound annoyingly obnoxious and I’m like ‘ha yar totally cool’ every few minutes. The venue was so cool, I loved the Flapper. After the interview, I celebrated with copious amounts of vodka and a good dance to Nirvana and System of a Down – what a great fucking pub.

• Spector (best gig ever)
• Mystery Jets

 I’ve saved the best news till last. Last week, I interviewed Swim effing Deep OMG. Before their gig supporting Mystery Jets at the HMV I got to meet Austin and Higgy. I left sixth form early to go to Town because I had a plan of getting them all individual presents. Luckily I changed my mind because I realised that was kind of weird. Instead, I got them one of those cute iced hearts from the German Market with ‘Birmingham’ written on it. It’s funny because while I was at the German Market, I walked past Austin and Higgy who of course had no idea who I was (yet) but nevertheless I smiled at them like some crazed fan girl. I don’t think they recognised me later on … or maybe they did and were like why is that weird Cheshire cat interviewing us.

After a bit of an issue with phone malfunctions, I finally met Max the tour manager, who was interestingly French and looked a bit like Hagrid, and he led me and Nicola (the blonde girl in all the photos aka my best friend and assistant) to the Old Crown pub in Digbeth. By that point I was at the brink of fainting with nerves/excitement. There was no need to be nervous at all; it was all so amazing. Austin, Higgy and their friend were eating pizza just being cool. Nicola videoed it all so I technically have a video of Higgy eating haha … creepy but kinda cool. The whole situation was really surreal because I love their music so much. They've clearly got personalities worth loving too. I can't believe how genuine, funny and intelligent they were. Incredible band, incredible interview. I love what I do so much - I get to meet amazing people without coming across as a crazed stalker - fucking brilliant. 

My first interview!

I had such a great night last night. If you remember, a couple of posts ago, I said that I was going to see The Ghosts? Well I did, and they were fantastic. It was in a teeny tiny room which made it even more special.

Remember Chazzstock? Well, the organiser of Chazzstock contacted me to say that I could interview Alex (lead singer of The Ghosts) after the gig and gave me his phone number! I have a famous person's name in my phone book ... (okay so he's not an A list celebrity but still). 

Jack (organiser of Chazzstock) ended with this comment: "make sure you ask Alex how he got done by me with a supersoaker and a Krispy Kreme donut x" This made for a very amusing conversation with Alex and a hilarious conversation via twitter after the gig ... look here.

I didn't need to be as nervous as I was! I ended up in the band's dressing room with almost the whole band! I'm really happy with how it went. Alex was so so friendly which really helped. I can't wait to get it published and hopefully I won't ruin Alex's career in the meantime.