Good time with Winterhours

   Friday the 11^th, we interviewed the talented alternative rock band, Winterhours. They were playing at The Old Blue Last in Shoreditch... such a great pleasure to see them performing on stage! They really differentiate themself from the other bands thanks to their own style of music.. they have a violonist, which is quite unusual!

From left to right : Andy (Guitar/Vocals), Alex (Vocals/Guitar), Krys (Bass/Vocals), Jon (Drums/Percussion)

Here is our interview of this promising rock band :

How did you met each other?

Andy (Guitarist) : A few years ago, Alex and I met when I was playing in different bands and he was solo artist and he was supported the band I was in, and I asked him if he wanted to make some music together and he said 'sure'.. So he did and it was beautiful! We've recruted one of the guys from my old band, and then found John somewhere.

Why did you call the band Winterhours?

Alex (Singer/Guitarist) : There is an amazing beautiful story behind this ! (laughs) We tried out about 300 different names I think, then we tried Winterhours and we liked two words together. We thought it was suited with the music.

Krys (Bassist) : I guess it comed up in winter! (laughs)

Who compose the most in the band?

Alex : Andy writes most of the music. Me and Andy work together, like lyrically, like melodies and stuff like that.. Then we do as a band, all together.

Can you tell us more about your new single « Ocean heart »? What is it about?

Alex : It's a love story, it's fictional, a little bit of violin...

Jon (Drummer) : The director of the video has obviously hit a certain thing that means to him and that's why you see a couple in the video. But you can make whaterver you like.

How do you find inspiration to write your music?

Alex : Most of different ways.. We listen to a lot of different music.

Andy : For me it always comes at these convinient moments : if I try to sit down with a guitar and write something, nothing would come, but if I'm walking around, working or shopping, it would come in... and after, get my phone out and try to sing it to the voice recorder.

Alex : Or like the other day, it was mignight or something, I was half way home and these lyrics and sounds coming into my head.. I was writing and writing! You never really know, there is no real format to write a song, it comes out of nowhere sometimes.... And sometimes you can be creating a song for months an months, years and years.

You are playing as a band for 3 years and this is your first album. Are you planning to record another one?

Alex : We've just kind of release small EPs, singles, stuff like that. We are starting to find album ideas.. So hopefully in the near futur.

Andy : They should be another EP this year. We're going to release a few singles and hopefully put them on an EP with some others new stuff.. And an album later.

It's not commun to have a violin in a band. How comes?

Alex : We always wanted to have a big band. We came with this idea at the beginning of last year. A friend of us played violin for us on the recordings.. and we thought maybe we could find someone who can play in the band full-time, and we've come across Alex. He's also playing in his own band as well, he's multi-instrumental and available. We like him and he likes to play with us. Hopefully, we can carry on to do that.

Do you try to convince something special in your songs?

Alex : For me, we try to give something to think about.. and we all try to bring as much passion into the songs as we can. It's very dreamy, we trying to create that sort of scene, create thoughts in people's mind.

What is your best or worst memory as a band?

Alex : The best one is when we played a beach break student festival. We played on that main stage, it was incredible! ...Worst memory? I don't remind one.. before years! (laughs). We played a gig in Brighton once, it was one of the only gigs we've played in Brighton. So we got there and there was hardly anyone there, but we didn't really want to play anyway.. I think we got on the stage, played one song, then a second one.. and a break string on my guitar! Likely I had a spare... So we had to stop that song almost immediately, and then we start to play another song, and another break string on that as well! (laughs) I got so frustrated, I just said we have to end the set. We've played like one and a half song.. That was pretty s***!

Have you ever played in another country than England?

Alex : In Wales, we've done there several times. We would like to do an America tour, maybe a German tour, and in France.

When will be your next gig?

Alex : Our next gig is on 2^nd of February at The Borderline.. It should be a good show!

Check their website and Facebook page... and download their songs on itunes.  

When Walk on the B-side meet Men's Adventures...

Last Tuesday we have met Men's Adventures at The Old Blue Last in Shoreditch for a lively gig! We really travel through Mens Adventure's music style, and as Alfie, the singer of the band said: "the kind of music that we play is quite different from the other bands, (...) we sometimes wonder what the other bands think of us!". And it is true! We were pretty amazed by the singer Alfie, who has a really unique voice! They really share their passion with the audience and that is exactly what you are looking for when you go to a gig!

 At their live at Old Blue Last, from left to the right: Pascal (Bass), Alfie (Vocals), 

Jimmy (Guitar / Vocals), Chris (Guitar)

More about them here in our interview:

Walk on the B-side: Usually you are more than two, why there is only two of you for the interview?

Alfie: There are 5 of us live, but me and Jimmy started the band and writing tunes together probably about a year ago now. We just recruited 3 more to play live with, they are probably getting drunk as we speak (laughs). But yeah Jimmy and I wrote the songs. Jimmy writes all the music and some of the words, but I mainly write the words.

Why did you call the band Men's Adventures?

Alfie: I guess because of the stories we are inspired by, I mean I don't know if you are familiar with Men's Adventure magazines but I have been collecting them for quite a while. It is a lot of short stories.

What is it about?

Alfie: It is about men having adventures (laughs) 

Jimmy: Men's Adventure magazines are a lot of short stories, kind of like men's entertainment magazines from the 50's/60's. They have pictures of pretty girls kind of pin up girls but with these really cool, interesting short stories.

Alfie: An older version of FHM (laughs) We just find it entertaining to write the songs.

How did you meet each other?

Jimmy: We used to play in different bands, we played together sometimes and thats how we met each other. When both our bands split up, we got together and started playing music together.
Alfie: Yeah thats pretty much it in a nutshell. It is all about 3 or 4 years ago so there has been quite a gap between those two and the sounds are very different.

Alfie: Yeah thats pretty much it in a nutshell. It is all about 3 or 4 years ago so there has been quite a gap between those two and the sounds are very different.

Jimmy: But we only started about a year and a half ago.

How would you qualify your style of music?

Alfie:  It is hard for us to say we prefer for everyone else to make up their own minds. We always had this strong country and western influence in it but it is mainly because a lot of the stories we are writing about are of that era you know... 

Jimmy: But I guess it is kind of pop music really in it's simpliest form but we like a lot of different kinds of music, but yeah it's pop music really if you have to define it...

What are your influences?

Jimmy: We listen to lot of world music, but also country music, rock'n'roll records but then a lot of contemporary stuff too... like dance music, hip hop music. But to be honest I think the biggest influence to both of us is each other, we kind of work on everything together. Our biggest influences will be like what Alfie and I discuss about films, books, music and stories, that is probably our biggest influence.

Alfie: The stories are the biggest influence and then the song comes naturally.

Where does the idea of the "Hawaiian style" song Deep freeze virgins come from?

Alfie: Yeah Deep freeze virgins it is a funny one because it is a whole mixture of sounds, a mixture of stories as well, I mean kind of sounds like a country and western song, it's like the first example of a song mixing it up. 
Jimmy:  We have got a song set in the Alpes, then another one about Hawaii set on a beach and then you'll have another set in the desert.

Alfie: We are also working on a song with an Italian but the song is delivered with a Spanish accent. (laughs)
Jimmy: But Again that is part of that Mens Adventure world, non descript places but just imagery really, I think we are a great band to close your eyes and listen to.

How long have you been playing together?

Jimmy: About a year and a half.

Alfie: Yeah like we first started meeting up then we got together like a year and half ago, we did our fist couple of shows together live, so just over year or so I guess.

 Where did you have your first gig?

Alfie:  I run a bar in Mile End called the Victoria and we did it in the basement there. So it is nicely intimate and create as much control as we possibly could. Our first proper show was upstairs in the Haggerston. We tried to keep the shows quite intimate because there was only two of us, we had guest drummers and things like that, it was much more acoustic. We have been 5 from 6 months or so.

Jimmy: All the recordings we do is just me and Alfie then when we play live we have James Christie on drums, Pascal Chea on bass and James Foreman on guitar, we all hang out together and stuff, we are friends now.

What is your best memory as a band?

Jimmy: That is a good question! I think one of my favourite ones ever was when we played birthdays in Dalston that was like one of my favourite things we ever did together, that was like a really good gig, really good fun...

Alfie: That was one of the first examples of a venue being fucking tired and empty then when we came on it became really busy so I guess that kind of like marked a decent point.

Jimmy:We have worked our way slowly. We took our time and feel ready and confident in what we are doing and where we are going...

Alfie: We have never left London yet so you know for us little venues that we previously play with other bands before, it is not that much new so... yeah I think there are plenty more best times to come.

Any plans for the future?

Alfie: Yeah we are hopefully getting someone to put a record out for us. We haven't released anything officially yet.

Jimmy: The ideal would be to just have someone to facilitate us make some proper records, singles...

Alfie: an EP or something... 

Jimmy:  That would be good. That's probably our only real objective at the moment apart fom playing live.

Will You make an Album?

Jimmy: Yeah we will do...

Alfie: make an album... 
Jimmy: We have been doing this for like about 12 months so I think me and Alfie we've got pretty fast minds, we don't really want to be doing what we are doing right now for like a lot longer so we record what we are doing. Put it out and kind of end there and then start the next wave, that would be the idea for this year, the plan.
Alfie: Yeah there is more things in life than cowboys to sing about, we want to start to talk about some other more manly adventures.

Next gig : 19th January at XOYO in Old street stay tuned! 

Follow them on Facebook  and listen to their music on Soundcloud there is a new demo up !

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!