Q&A - House On Fire

Obvious one first, really. Why did you enter BOTB – what did you hope to get out of the contest, and have you enjoyed your heats?
Yeah, the heats have been wicked. We entered because we needed to play some more gigs as we only became a gigging band as of April this year!

For those in the audience who may not know you that well, how would you describe your band and the music?
The loudest three piece you'll probably (maybe) ever hear. Rocking tunes, sing along choruses and catchy hooks.

How do you tend to practice and write songs – every waking hour or as-and-when?We write and practice when we're together. twice a week usually.

So you’re stuck in a lift for an hour. How do spend the time before help arrives?Russian roulette.

Do you tend to keep your influences close or separate from the music you’re writing at the moment? How have your influences shaped your current set?
Fairly close to some of the songs - Foo Fighters play a big influence in this band, as does Clutch, but we definately try to inject a hint of originality in our tunes.

This contest is one of the many gigs going on in Preston – what are your opinions of the scene we have here? Would you spend more or less time gigging here after your experiences at the BOTB?
The scene at the moment is great - Ed at Hedmag does a top job booking cool out of town bands and I just think it needs a little kick up the arse to get back in gear again. Due to circumstances we won't be gigging as much but we will still be around with an album coming out at the end of the year... hopefully.

Where’s the best place to get a drink round here, anyway?
Rob Clarke's house.

If you had the chance to put on a gig with a local band and one of your favourite all-time groups, who you would choose, and why?
I would get every decent guitar player to pal up and do an acoustic set supporting the Dave Matthews Band. No reason other than that it would be awesome.

Win or lose the BOTB final, where you going to be this time next year?
Outer space.

Q&A - You Will Fail

Obvious one first, really. Why did you enter BOTB – what did you hope to get out of the contest, and have you enjoyed your heats?
At first we saw the competition as a great opportunity to get our music out to a wider audience within our home city, but it soon dawned on us that we were really just doing it as an excuse to get rendered, like all the other gigs we play! We had a great time and forged some great friendships and we’re sure the final will be no different! We’ve nailed the drummer to his kit, so he’s going nowhere this time…

For those in the audience who may not know you that well, how would you describe your band and the music?
We are four hairy friends who play hard metal, and play it loud! Featuring Welly Grosvenor on vocals and rhythm, Sam Frank on lead, backing vocals and keys, Jonny RAW on bass, and Jay Ward on drums we’re generally up for a laugh, and as long as we try our best to make the audience shake their heads and behinds along to our tunes we’re a happy bunch of 'Failers'!

How you tend to practice and write songs – every waking hour or as-and-when?
Most of the time one of us will have an idea for a song, riff, melody, or theme while going about our lives, and we'll get together at a jam and work on it, all with equal say in every aspect of the song. If one of us doesn't like something, we take it out of our set and work on it until we're all fully behind it. This way we tend to end up gigging material we're all proud of, and often for very different reasons. Saying that, there are other times when we just get on one and busk it!

So you’re stuck in a lift for an hour. How do spend the time before help arrives?
We'd amuse ourselves by making jokes at each others expense, which is what we always do if we get together in the same space for more than five minutes! Then we’d probably re-enact a donkey show, or wrestle naked.

Do you tend to keep your influences close or separate from the music you’re writing at the moment? How have your influences shaped your current set?
Half of our number were dragged up in Scotland on a diet of folk, Irn Bru, and Whiskey, so there are strong Celtic undercurrents running through some of our songs, but we obviously take our main influences from all the varied and tasty flavours of metal we each consume.

This contest is one of the many gigs going on in Preston – what are your opinions of the scene we have here? Would you spend more or less time gigging here after your experiences at the BOTB?
The Preston live music scene (especially for metal bands) has had to ride the waves of some massive shake-ups within some of the main venues this year. Our roots were planted in Preston, so we'll always play here whenever we're wanted, and times when we’re not!

Where’s the best place to get a drink round here, anyway?
Apart from strangers’ tables when they nip to the bogs, the nearest bar tends to be the best place, there's The Old Dog on Church Street that's open after The Venue closes, so that’s probably where we’ll be heading at the end of the night to keep the party going, come what may!

If you had the chance to put on a gig with a local band and one of your favourite all-time groups, who you would choose, and why?
Locally it would have to be the mighty Freakjesus (last year's deserved BOTB winners), and I'm sure both our bands could be tempted to gig with the legends that are Metallica, you know, if the opportunity arose.

Win or lose the BOTB final, where you going to be this time next year?
As soon as we have a professional studio demo under our belts, we’re looking to gig all over, spreading the Fail everywhere, and doing our best to attract more attention to the awesome bands, fans and venues that exist here in Preston! We will make this occur whatever happens on the fifth, one path will just take us longer!

Q&A - Population Four

In the run up to the final of Battle of the Bands, here's a few Q&A from Population Four


Obvious one first, really. Why did you enter BOTB – what did you hope to get out of the contest, and have you enjoyed your heats?

We entered BOTB because we’re a really new band and it’s a great way to get regular shows and exposure in Preston. We've all been playing in bands for years and have all got to know one another through playing shows together. We’re really pleased to have got through to the final, after all, and we have only been playing together for about 7 or 8 months.

For those in the audience who may not know you that well, how would you describe your band and the music?

Our band sounds like we’re having a great time. That’s the most important thing to us, we write songs that we love and that we can rock out to. We have a pretty contemporary alternative sound, crossing elements of punk with metal, and some catchy riffs and choruses that people can sing along to.

How you tend to practice and write songs – every waking hour or as-and-when?Song writing is a pretty collaborative process for us, we write new songs at practice or when we’re hanging out at someone’s house. Its great to have the facilities to write and record ideas on a day to day basis in one of the members own homes, having a Studio set up has allowed us to experiment with new ideas much more easily.

So you’re stuck in a lift for an hour. How do spend the time before help arrives?

We would play I Spy, Either that or work on some harmonies maybe so that we could form a vocal acapella band.

Do you tend to keep your influences close or separate from the music you’re writing at the moment? How have your influences shaped your current set?

We all have a lot of different influences and favourite styles of music; it’s pretty eclectic, we listen to a lot of different kinds of music; a band favourite is the Jurassic park theme tune by John Williams. We figure any band or group of musicians should have a wide interesting in music in general that extends beyond the style or genres of music they write of perform. We bring all our own influences together in a weird kind of controlled chaos, obviously we know what we want to play and write, but that doesn’t have to be the only kind of music we enjoy.

This contest is one of the many gigs going on in Preston – what are your opinions of the scene we have here? Would you spend more or less time gigging here after your experiences at the BOTB?

Like any band with aspirations we want to break out of Preston, and have already started to do that. But it’s great to have a home town to come back to. We have cut our teeth here in Preston with our other bands, and the experience we have gained playing shows here has obviously contributed to the band we are today when we perform. The scene in Preston waxes and wanes like any scene in any City.

Despite the problems with the Preston scene there are people here who really care about music in this city, people like Des who puts the BOTB together every year. People that have a real passion for live music in this city. Even people like Joe Ivers who are spending there own money putting out independent complication CDS of bands around Preston its great that people have that kind of passion, even though a few people defiantly lack it.

Where’s the best place to get a drink round here, anyway?

Ha-ha, who knows man, we tend to hang out at the guild and have a pint if it’s sunny and we have time to kill before band. We used to go to The Mercury Flux pretty frequently before it shut, we had one or two kick ass nights there. Any night out can be a great one if you are with your friends. Who cares where you go really?

If you had the chance to put on a gig with a local band and one of your favourite all-time groups, who you would choose, and why?

We would love to play with Alexisonfire. Pretty sure that would make for a great time its probably difficult to find any band that rocks out as much as they do. I guess our local band would be Exit State, we had a great time playing with them in our second heat and it would be cool to play with them again.

Win or lose the BOTB final, where you going to be this time next year?

The pub? Come hang out with us! Maybe we will enter again, maybe we won’t, I guess we will decide in about as year’s time. Hopefully we will still be playing some shows to a bunch of people that have taken the time to listen to us.

SF

For the first semi-final in the LEP supported Battle of the Bands at Preston’s The Venue, it seemed necessary for the judges to agree on how many rounds of paper-scissors-stone would be implemented in case the four excellent bands dared to try that little bit harder.

Without Motive were late-minute replacements without warning, whose set really impressed with a devil-may-care attitude from the start. Gloriously outrageous rock in the best British style, the guitar skills were the very best example from the local brotherhood of metal. Population Four fired up the attitude for a really promising set from a young band whose energy brings a fresh approach to the skater-punk style. They were given the prized ticket for the final with House On Fire, the three piece who sound like the result of a dozen. Although some of their songs go for a wander without ever coming back, the ability is unquestionable, making their place in the final unquestionable.

Like so many post-rock bands, Red Winter Kapital can allow their compositions to flow and weave with no consequence to time signatures or conventional understanding of melody. Their stage presence was somewhat minimal which took a lot from otherwise strong songs.

Quarter Final 3

The third Quarter Final in the LEP supported Battle of the Bands had just about every ingredient for a top class gig in the hunt for the best local talent.

Three-piece Boy Genius run amok with wicked short-shrift choruses and considered melodies, heavy riffs shining out throughout the set in a highly strong aim for the final. Without any unnecessary gimmicks, their songs remain swirling around the head for some time after they’ve done putting the best of pop back into cut-glass rock. Their closest rivals in the confidence stakes must be House On Fire, whose set may not have the stand-out song needed to tie the set together but there’s enough technical talent to command concentration. Heavy rock guitars and thunderous drums make for some seriously smart choices, with the judges considering these two bands had done enough to make it to the semi finals.

With hints of the grunge amongst the melodic rock, Makers Of Venice belted out a set much heavier in character than their successful first heat. This collection of sharp rock songs reflected back the lights of cynicism and free will, broken up verses buttressing crashing solos in a style at odds with the initially melodic mood. Indie lads Innocents Abroad have a collection of interesting, well-phrased songs, in the wordsmith tradition, but the order of the set list knocks the emotion around a bit, leaving a slight sense of underwhelming confusion. Their obvious confidence suggests better things could well arrive.

Quarter Final 1

The first of the LEP supported Battle of the Bands Quarter Finals at Preston’s The Venue was a hard rock affair, with angst and attitude turned up to its fullest.

Kicking off by throwing all their weight towards the bright lights of the Semi Finals, Blunt Force Trauma lived up to their name, launching into brutal trash metal with all the subtlety of a thunderstorm. At their best when complex guitar riffs are rolled across the stage in a fest of gruesome vocals and windmill moshing, coming across all the more genuine for it.

Guitar heroes Without Motive improved on their first round show by turning out a highly enjoyable set. A markedly different and rounded number of songs kicked the proverbial ball into touch, their set balancing an archivist’s ear for classic riffs with a youthful vigour for melodies.

Little about nu-rave phenomenon Myth Of Unity surprises, firing up the neon lights and urban groove. A little clumsy at times, they are usually more balanced than tonight, they still create a lasting and exciting impression.

There has not been such a large group of Lancastrians at a Gallows Gate since the Pendle Witch Trails, but the crowd watching the indie rockers got a lot back, the neat little set really firing up an impressive mix of songs with an undercurrent of menace.

They and the rocking rabble from Myth Of Unity got the tickets to the next round.

Hello Bastards // Mad Ferret

The unassuming would see the Mad Ferret bar in Preston as a mere student haunt given its position nestled amongst the University’s campus. When the Hello Bastards night rolls in to the space, anyone, be they revision dodgers or not, cram in to check the promised radar botherers.

The night begins unassuming enough, with the ambient guitarist Niamh Starky, whose array of peddles and accompanying drummer spoke little but communicated much through a charming and interesting collection of instrumental numbers helped by sparks of samples and looped melodies. Nerves dug in a little too deep, but the quiet girl with big ideas strode nevertheless, check out her “Early Gentle” song for a good indication of her abilities.

Keeping things quiet and simple was not an option for long, given how little breathing space was left now the place was filling up. Caught between the bar and an unfamiliar face was the viewing position for the ultimately compelling and ear-splitting The Sefton Delmer, a colossal force of guitars turned up for the effect of all six Marshall amps stacked behind them. In common with their World War namesake, the message was prominent and encoded, in their modern way behind a flux of feedback and looped vocals. Their lead’s concerted effort to always look perplexed worked in his favour, the downbeat collection of songs pushed back the boundaries of just about every measurement, by virtue of their sheer force and velocity.

Sure, it was impossible to hear quite anything else properly beyond the echo of melodic creation, and their soundcheck alone would have knocked the glasses off someone walking past the next street, but in the spirit of the wartime icon who inspired their name, this was as brave and effective an assault as possible.

Crazy808 are the local lads doing their best for cross-genre harmony, employing rock types and a laptop DJ to work their merry way through excellent BSS-type punk-punches to the deeper soul, whispers of deeper flowing waters in extended instrumentals suggestive of more than the oft-repeated and many times failed groupings of the guitar and computer.

The long night was topped off by the expansive shoegaze heroics of Telekinetic Fortunato, whose ambitious post-rock builds on the obvious influences with a heap of characteristic ingredients – their manic melodies seem constantly changing, animated almost, their beats fluid under the growing guitars. For a night in what could be seen from the outside as a fringe bar on the outskirts of town, the immensely interesting and varied sets promise a mad sackfull yet to come.