Photo credit: Richard Stow
Tell us about your tour vehicle.
That would be The Demobile Mk III – the first one was my mam’s old car, then we bought a shitty van in 2013, then this fancy Mercedes sprinter in lockdown. We’re in the process of revamping it and doing it up. The Mk II was a thing of beauty, fully customised and decked out. It was an LDV convoy we bought off the mi5. We put in hammocks, a bed, carpet throughout, lots of mod cons. But I’m afraid to say we haven’t done anything like that in the new one and it makes me sad. It’s not that comfortable, it needs some tlc.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
Don’t eat fast food. Avoid it at all costs. Just try and eat at least one green thing a day. And order food before the show finishes to be delivered while you’re on stage so you don’t have to eat whatever shit is still open late.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
On the bass, pretty much zero. On guitar player Adam changes strings every other show, otherwise things go bad.
Where do you rehearse?
We used to own a rehearsal space below my brother’s cafe, which was so good when we had it. We decorated it with great care for maximum vibe and it was a sad day when we had to let it go!
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
‘No Place to Go’ and it was basically a rip off of The Kinks. I can’t remember the lyrics at all, but, then again I can’t remember lyrics that I wrote last week so I’m not the best to answer this!
Describe your first gig.
It was at a now demolished bar in Newcastle called Egypt Cottage. I have no idea how my band at the time got the show, we were about 15, but i remember taking my clothing inspiration from Dave Grohl and wearing a lot of layers, I think a hoodie with a long sleeve shirt over the top and a t-shirt over that. I was fucking boiling. Not pleasant.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
The band takes all my time, but I was on the dole for years pretending to find work so I could concentrate on the band. The benefits system is a joke in the UK, but at least it supported me through that time.
How has your music-related income changed over the past 5-10 years? What do you expect it to look like 5-10 years from now?
The music industry is full of middle men taking a cut at every angle and basically none of it reaches the artist. The ONLY way we can make any money is selling merch on tour, so we put a lot of care into that, i design it all myself. Shows don’t pay really until you start consistently selling out big rooms. I’d like to think that’s on the horizon.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
What ‘life of copyright’ means. Don’t sign anything that says that. And also to just relax, man. The amount of stress I put myself through, being the very driven person that I am, didn’t help anything and didn’t make anything happen any quicker. You can’t rush fate, so sit the fuck back and enjoy yourself instead of missing it all in a haze of anxiety.