Interview with The Baron Von Marlon at Nambucca!

Last week we met The Baron Von Marlon at Nambucca in London before their gig. We really spent a good time with these really nice and talented guys who show us that music is also a great adventure that you can live and share with friends on stage! 

From the left to the right: Andrew, James, Shaun, Tom and Robert.

Sitting on benches with few drinks we get to know more about this cool band, through this interview:

Walk on the B-side: Could you introduce each one of you?

Shaun: Hi, I'm Shaun, I'm the singer and somewhat the guitarist of the Baron Von Marlon.

Tom: I'm Tom, I'm bass.

Andrew: Andrew, I play violin.

Robert: I'm Rob I play drums.

James: I'm James I play guitar.

How did you meet each other?

Shaun: Years ago, I met Tom since I was like 2 and then we all met at school through friends of friends really. So through school and primary school.

Why did you call the band the Baron Von Marlon?

Shaun: It's from the Streets do you know the Streets? It was an over joke and we thought it's sound cool, that's it, it's from a silly Street's lyrics.

How long have you been playing together?

Shaun: A year and a half? It's June last year is it?

James:  All the rest of the band has been playing for a year, I've been playing for like 6 months maybe.

Shaun: We were 4 peers... and then..

Robert: No we were 5 peers then a 4 then a 5 again, and then briefly a 4...

Shaun: Somewhere around a 4 or 5 so now we are 5 and we have been playing for about a year and a half.

 How would you qualify your style of music ?

Robert: We've got violin which probably makes it a little bit folk. I guess it's kind of rocky poppy alternative.

Shaun: Someone calls us folk core, how do we just go for pop folk?

James: Folk with electric guitars...

Andrew: Yeah and tight jeans and folk... (laughs)

James: We would do pretty well with the tight jeans. (laughs)

James to Shaun: Why don't you tell the story? What the story?

Shaun: I shrank my jeans twice in the wash they are now too small. I don't like skinny jeans these are normal jeans but they shrank now they are tight. Anyway! (laughs)

Could you tell us more about your album?

Shaun: The EP? It came out a while ago now, we recorded it at James', our guitarist's studio, in Leeds, just spent a week at the studio and got 5 songs that we are pretty happy with. We just released a video for one of them last week (end of November*) which is set in a local church and it's all like really gothic... It's a kind of bouncy, it's very depressing lyrics but with happy melodies.

Andrew: So now people will know that our music is depressing... (laughs)

Who compose the most in the band?

James: Shaun composes most of it..

Shaun: A part from the drum.. I suppose I write the songs and then everyone fills in the gaps and we just play out constantly about the same song over and over again.

Do you try to transmit something special in your music?

Shaun: I suppose so... I'm quite in to literature so I like to convey or have quite sort of points, lyrics to the point. I don't know...

James: What literature are you in to?

Shaun: Ernest Hemingway...

James: Ernest Hemingway, what's your favourite Ernest Hemingway?

Shaun: Fiesta but the American change the title by the Sun which also arises.Yeah Ernest Hemingway is a good author.

Is it difficult to be 5 on stage?

James: It's pretty difficult... I have too much stuff...

Shaun: Yeah Jame has way too much equipment.

James: But you have 2 guitars, you're just going worst...

Shaun: We play stages like we can't even move, I fit like Andy's violin with my guitar... but the stage here (Nambucca*) is very nice, quite spacious.

What is your best or worst memory as a band? 

Shaun: Just gigs that seem pointless when like no one really interested in... yeah, that's probably the worst time... when you're just feeling empty of playing music for people who just doesn't care.

Thomas: Good is being in the studio and buy the 12-pack of doughnuts for a pound.. (laughs)

James: Yeah that's pretty amazing... the 12-pack of doughnuts wa good.

Shaun: Yeah when we were recorded our CD we just bought a lot of food... (laughs) a big pack of doughnuts for one pound.

James: That's the north of England (laughs)

Shaun: That's on the same level as actually creating music, we quite enjoy that..

Have you ever performed in an other country than the UK?

All of them: No we haven't

Robert: First the UK then progress into the rest of Europe..

James: And France... it could be fun...

Shaun to James: You've played in Paris?

James: Couple of times...

Shaun: James have played in lot of bands.

What are your favourite songs, if we have to recommend it to our readers, which song would you recommend?

James and Thomas: Probably Conrad's Daily Rose or Bedbugs.

Shaun: Our main popular song is... (laughs) the pop, the one which is like really cheesy is one called Bedbugs.

Robert: If you listen on Conrad's Daily Rose song there is also a video for that, then you get both songs.

Andrew: Yeah the video and the audio which is lovely.

Robert: And there is a link to our website.

Shaun: We've got a new song we are playing tonight or 2 new songs I don't know... at least one new song which we really want to see where that goes and hopefully recorded it soon... Really excited!

Would you like to play music for a living and become famous?

James: It's pretty much fun right now...

Andrew: I think we're not chasing fame or fortune right now, just play for fun...

James: But if it happens that's cool...

Thank you guys for the interview and for this great gig!

Follow them and listen to their music on Facebook, Twitter, their website and their blog !

Interview Young Aviators

In " Movember ", we went at Young Aviator's gig at KOKO in Camden.

Just 30 seconds after the curtain-raiser, the gig starts very energetic and it goes on until the 

end. What a great feeling to go with the flow in the music and enjoy every seconds... I didn't shake my butt this way since Birdy Hunt's gig !

We couldn't miss it... Here is the interview with Decky, the singer:

Walk on the B-side: Could you introduce each of you ? 

Decky: John Markey plays drums and backing vocals,  I am Decky Mc Kay, I am the lead singer and I play guitar, and Kyle Haughey plays bass and backing vocals. 

from the left to the right: John, Decky and Kyle

 How did you meet each other?

We met back in our hometown in Ireland. Me and John met in primary school, we met Kyle in secondary school. There's quite literally nothing to do where we come from but drink and play music, we had no choice. It's the cross we bare.

Why did you call the band Young Aviators ?

Just find the idea of guys like us flying planes really funny, it would be so dangerous. None of us can even drive.

How long have you been playing together ?

As much as it pains us to say it, we've been playing music together now for most of our adult lives. We started jamming together when we were spotty teenagers in a church basement, roughly around the age of 13. Not much has changed for us really, though we have much better skin now.

How would you qualify your style of music?

[Short Answer] Alternative Pop. [Pretentious Answer] A fierce attack on the senses, a delicate blend of cosmic harmonies, neatly sat on a wide slabs of rocknroll. Beefy, simply beefy.

 What are your influences?

Alcohol mainly.

Could you tell us more about your next new album? How many songs ? Do you 

try to transmit something special in it ?

The album with have roughly 9 songs on it. Mostly new ones. Mainly dealing with the theme of being young, broke and desolate in the 21st century. All the songs are inspired by a life on minimum wage and fears of the future for yourself and the wider world. Hopefully they don't come across too heavy going, they're meant to embrace the humour and poetry in being fucked.

What are you inspirations when you are composing ?

Anything and everything. Its all up for grabs.

Who compose the most in the band ?

I write the songs to begin with, the lyrics and the original structure and melodies. Then John and Kyle put their parts to them and the song begins to take shape.

What is your best or worst memory as a band ?

The London NME show in November 2012 was a definite highlight. In terms of bad memories, I have too many to choose from. Being in a band is 15%  pats on the back and 85%  slaps in the face. That's an exact figure worked out over hours of research, you can quote me on that.

Have you ever performed in another country than the UK?

Not yet. It’s one of my big ambitions, particularly a European tour. The U.K is nice an all, but where would you rather wake up Bradford or Berlin?  No offence to Bradford.

 When will your next gig be?

Our next gig is Boxing Night in Ireland; we have an annual tradition of putting a show on in our hometown on Boxing Night. It's usually very drunken and a bit crazy; things can get out of hand, guys losing teeth, women roaming the dancefloor covered in sick with no shoes, it's like the last days of Rome. Well, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it is very drunken. And as any band will attest, hometown shows are usually the best.



Thanks to Decky Mc Kay and Young Aviators. 

You can find them on www.youngaviators.co.uk, twitter, youtube and tumblr

A night with Boxset!

Hey! A week ago we've met a great pop rock band called Boxset! They invite us in their studio, we spend a really good time with them! We had a nice "private gig" and had the chance to listen them rehearsing!

From the left to the right: Monica (Organ, keyboards and vocal), Harple (Drums), Bruce (Singer & bass), Sanjay (Banjo & guitar), Nicola (Keybords & vocal).

Now discover more about this band and their project :

Walk on the B-side : How did you meet each other? :

Bruce: I met Nicola and Monica through a friend of mine, also musician, I met Sanjay on a course we did and Harple because it was destiny! (laughs)

Harple: It was always meant to be!

Bruce: (speaking to Monica and Nicola) We used to play in a folk band together.

Monica: I used to play violin with Nicola, we kind of change the style!

Nicola: We still do!

Monica: Yeah, just not in the band.

Why did you call the band Boxset? :

Bruce: Because we actually grapple for a name for about 3 months. We had a gig and we didn't have a name. A friend of us, can we call him a friend? Okay yes we can, just hope he doesn't see this. (laughs) So a friend of us who's in a band called Gram suggested it and we thought yeah good, we'll go with that!

Sanjay: That's the shitiest story ever! You could have made something up! (laughs)

Bruce: That's what happened!

Sanjay: We found Bruce in a box...

Harple: There were initially a set of him but a lot them got away!

How long have you been playing together? :

Harple: Six months?

Bruce: First gig was May, wasn't it? We've been playing together, us 3 (with Monica and Nicola), for about 2 years in a different band and then we kind of all teamed up, in February?

Harple: Really?

Bruce: We had a different drummer but we just didn't tell him.

Harple: Alright ! (laughs)

How would you qualify your style of music?

Bruce: It's pop music isn't it?

Harple: We hope so!

Sanjay: Is it?

Bruce: It's pop, it is just like pop songs.

Sanjay: No, lo-fi dance.

Monica: Indie pop!

Bruce: What did I say?

Harple: Ok, it's post dub step!

(everyone laughs)

Bruce: We like stuff like LCD soundsystem, DFA, that kind of dancy pop music.

Harple: Yeah, Orange Juice, Miles Davis, Talking heads...

Sanjay: I think we're answering a different question!

Do they influence you when you're composing?

Harple: They mainly influence Bruce, and Bruce tells us what to play so…

Bruce: I'm like Prince, Prince from Preston. (laughs)

Harple: I think we've all got different influences.

Bruce: (to Sanjay) You love a lot of shit, don't you?

Sanjay: Yes, I like absolutely twat music!

Could you tell us more about your next EP ?

Bruce: The first thing we are releasing will be coming up in February or something? February seems realistic. We're releasing a single called Stop what you're doing. The old version is on Soundcloud but we're doing it and we're going to put it at on a 12 inch vinyl, that would be nice!

Harple: Is it gonna be a B-side?

Bruce: There is gonna be a B-side! That will be called Walking stick.

So how many song there will be exactly on the next EP ?

Bruce: Well, we're just going to do a single to start, but we've got an EP sort of taking shape for after it.

Harple: I think we've got a tone of songs...

Bruce: Have we?

Harple: Well there's so many ideas running around but…

Sanjay: …we're not ready yet!

Harple: I don't think we'll never be ready.

Sanjay: I don't think anybody is ever ready! I think it's a sort of lie.

Harple: I'm pushing Bruce to make an album.

Bruce: But I think it's too early for an album. If we did, it would just kind of sink into obscurity. It wouldn't be coherent and wouldn't lead to anything. That's a lot of work to do an album. So we need to maybe build ourselves a platform before we do something that big or ambitious.

Do you have the stage fright before performing?

Monica: No.

Bruce: I do!

Harple: He's afraid of himself.

Bruce: I always get that kind of anxious hate thing. I don't know why because people don't really pay attention when you play in London. But I get nervous.

Harple: You do get nervous.

Bruce: (speaking to Harple) You have to talk me down.

Harple: I have to do this (doing a hug to Bruce while saying it's ok)

So it's your trick to feel better?

(laughs)

Bruce: I don't think it would be fun without having little bit of anxiety.

Harple: Yes it's true, it keeps you on your toast.

Sanjay: If it wasn't a bit scary it will be a bit boring. That's what makes excitement.

When will be your next gig?

Bruce: Hopefully, I plan to organise a couple of thing on the built up to our release but we have not got anything yet. We will probably do something as a warm up, like something bigger with a lot of our other friends bands. And we'll do a launch party for  our record in February hopefully.

Sanjay: Just watch our Facebook.

It was really nice to meet them and be part of their world for one night!

Follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Soundcloud.

Check out one of their song they play during their rehearsing session :

                              

Enjoy!

Find us also on Facebook !

Find us now on Facebook you will find updates on our blog and the next band that we will meet soon !

Ready? Steady, rock! Share it! 

Tall Tales this Friday @ Workshop

Hey ! Here we go again ! Tall Tales is going to play at Workshop this Friday, November 23rd at 7.45 PM.Check their Facebook page if you want to be on the guest list !

They even have now a Twitter page on which you can check news on their upcoming gigs.

You can also follow them on Facebook, Myspace, Soundcloud and Youtube

Be ready to have fun and spend a good time with them !

Birdy Hunt interview

        One week ago, we told you about a French rock band, Birdy Hunt. We were lucky to go to their gig and we also had the huge privilege of getting in their truck to do an interview.

Firstly the gig, the band lived up to its reputation. Indeed, it was very dynamic and lively! The fans and the band jumped about and danced a lot, and we should give a special mention to Manu, who really got the crowd going! Birdy Hunt finished the gig with the traditional punchy rendition of Outkast “Hey Yah”, which actually sounds better than the original.

the famous truck

Walk on the B-side: Could you quickly introduce us to the band's members who are present here?

Marc: There are three of us; I'm Marc, the singer, Marius is the drummer and Manu plays Keyboard. The other musicians are Luc and Nicolas, the guitarists, and Thomas who plays bass.

Manu: The band was created in 2007. At the beginning there were only 5 members, and I wasn't one of them. They were together for two years and the style was more Garage rock. Then, two years later I joined the band, and it's only really been two and a half years that we've been doing tours and gigs. 

Why did you choose the name Birdy Hunt for the band? In english, it means that you are a kind of hunting girls...

Marc: It also means birds hunting [laughs].

Marius: In fact it's because of a friend of Nico the guitarist who is a painter, she signed her paintings by Blondie Birdy Hunt so we thought that Birdy Hunt sounds cool and we used to hunt “bird” at this time so it was funny to use that name… [laughs]

Marc: We have never been a band which attract groupies...

Who compose the most in the band?

Marc: We compose all together. We have a studio in Gennevilliers in France where we gather the six of us and try to come up with something then, most of the time I write the lyrics. Nico helps me too to see what we could keep or not in the lyrics. We work like this.

Marius: We do the arrangement together, none of us come up with a song, it's a collective work. We really work together.

Manu: We don't rehearse alone, we do it together during rehearsal, in circle we rehearse and we come up with something.

Marc: The trap when you're a group, is that become a sort of group made-up of other groups of which you are fans, so it is better to have several people around with different influences.

Why did you choose to come to London ?

Marc: It's not the first time that we come to London. When we started to form the band in 2007, Manu wasn't in the band yet, we came to London for a month in 2007. We had fifteen dates, we really did our first tour, then we also really formed the band at this time, because we didn't know each other really well. I only knew Luc and Marius, there were also Nico and Tom, who are not here, who already knew each other, then we started to form the real band. We love this city, it feels like home when we are in London, we often have opportunities to play. We try to come back at least once a year.

Manu: We come back even more in the future. We are also in London to meet people that we hope to work with in London.

As we say, very punchy band !

You launched an EP in 2011, are you going to launch a new album soon this year?

Manu: We do fewer gigs mow except these two gigs that we did in London. It has been four months now that we have been composing, we are going to do an album. We would like to record it in London. We probably are going to work with an English Producer who has worked with Robbie Williams.

Fingers crossed !

Your second EP seems quite different from the first one. Why this turn of direction ? 

Marc: When you make an EP you need to immerse yourself in some kind of ambiance, then you see what happens. For this one, we went in January to my place in French Brittany.

Manu: It is a peaceful place so…

Marius: That's why we made more calm tracks.

Marc: We worked on tracks with pop bases and classical guitars, then, when we got the outline of the EP we reworked it with electric guitars. But for the next EP we want to make something different.

Manu: We tried to stay consistent on each EP and even if there is different atmosphere they work together.

Yesterday (01/11) you played at the Bull and Gate, was the audience 
receptive ? Is there a difference between French and English music fans ?

Marius & Manu: Yesterday was cool !

Marc: It depends on which part of France you go to. There are places where French people are really receptive and some other where they are kind of uptight...

Manu: In Paris for instance !

Marc: In London, there are so many bands that it is always gratifying when people love what you do. Plus, this is great to play for people who actually understand the meaning of your songs. We sing in English so there is always some kind of barrier with French people while here we can joke, speak half english, half french between songs and take ourselves not so seriously !

Birdy Hunt during the gig.
Manu's hair stuck in the strings of Nicolas's guitar.

Yesterday, there was the Mercury Prize ceremony. Alt-J have been named winner of this year with their album An Awesome Wave. 
What do you think about that ?

Marc: What I really would like to know is what happens when you tape ALT plus J on your keyboard ? [laughs]

Marius: It's a delta ! That's why their logo is a triangle.

Manu: This is the Illuminati !

Marc: Actually, I listened to it, but I don't really fancy it.

Manu: I'm not so into that triangle trend.

Marius : Anyway, we're happy for them

Marc: Yes of course, we are ! But the thing is that when you compose you don't really listen to other bands.

Marius: We are not so aware of the last released, latest music news. I try not to listen so much music so I can keep making my own stuff.

Manu: It is always better to isolate yourself, to disconnect from the world.

Do you have other dates of concerts scheduled in London ?

All: Not for the moment.

Manu: You should ask Kevin, our manager. (To Kevin, also in the van) Kevin, any others concerts in London ?

Kevin: Yes of course ! At the O2 Academy. [Laughs]

Marius: We may play in Brighton in January.

Kevin: This is not 100% sure at the moment, it is in negotiation.

Manu: The thing is that we are currently composing. We had an opportunity to play here so we took it but we didn't try to find more gigs to play.

Marius: But in 2013, there will be for sure !

Marc: Actually, if we are in England it's because we are going two days in Oxford to make to do preproduction. It's the first step in studio to try to adapt ourselves in case we have to record in England in December, to see if it's cool or not.

Marius: If it's not cool, we dissolve the band ! [Laughs]

Thanks to Birdy Hunt and Kevin Lacroix.

http://www.birdyhunt.com/

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