Suburban Haze Q&A

Your name: 
I’m Paul.

Where are you from? 
We are from Newcastle, Australia.

Name of band:

Suburban Haze.

Who else is in your band?
Dylan Martin plays the guitars, Alex Longmire plays the drums and Joe Andersons
plays the bass.

How would you describe yourselves and your music?
Our music is pretty sombre and melancholic but we aren’t too much like that in real life. I think our music allows us to be get out a lot of those emotions without having them bleed into our everyday lives.

Who are your main influences musically?
Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, Burzum and a host of others.

What do you hope to achieve in music?
Just to put out the best music possible.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?
It’s hard to say, but recording a full length and shooting some videos for it was a blast.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?
We played a few pretty horrible shows when we started out, some of which we would definitely like to forget haha but probably nothing, they’ve all been good experiences

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?
Well I feel the stuff we are working on the moment is the best representation of us and we are hoping to release that by the end of the year. Otherwise I would say our song “A Boy. A Bank” probably best sums up our older style.

Where can we listen to it? 
https://suburbanhaze.bandcamp.com/track/a-boy-a-bank-pt-2



Where can we find out more about your music?
www.suburbanhaze.com
www.facebook.com/suburbanhaze
We have links through to our other pages from our bandcamp

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?
Not really, just hopefully other people can enjoy it and find something in it

North Seasons give us video for Never Forget This

MELODIC hardcore band North Seasons have unveiled the video for latest single Never Forget This.

It is the second single taken from the Newcastle outfit's debut EP Eyes For The Blind, out now on Kill/Hurt Records.

You can watch the video for yourself below and for more on the band visit facebook.com/northseasonsuk

Hunting Game Q&A

Your names: 

Josh Callon, Jake Callon, Marc Burn, Ryan Barnes.

Where are you from?

Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Name of band:

Hunting Game.

How would you describe yourselves?

We are a group of ambitious musicians refusing to settle for the ordinary. Most music scenes don't explore outside of their comfort zone. Our aim is to write an array of songs that will appeal to a more wider audience but can also excite specific music genres. Each one of us have prefered bands and genres to listen too that have influenced the broadening sound of our music. I would describe our sound as ambient, melodic, progressive and alternative. We are heavily influenced by genres such as jazz, math rock, post hardcore punk and alternative rock music.

Who are your main influences musically?

We all agree that certain bands have influenced our music but not intentionally. The music we enjoy to listen to has obviously rubbed off on the sounds we enjoy to create through music. Without specifying a certain selection of bands we try to sound like, we believe that bands such as Deftones, This Town Needs Guns, Balance and Composure, Wot Gorilla and Biffy Clyro. 

What do you hope to achieve in music?

International recognition. We all feel that without setting goals this big, we won't be able to achieve anything worthwhile as we are committing a lot of time, money and effort into this bands success.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

Hearing our two-track demo back for the first time after it had been fully mixed and mastered. It was a good feeling when we all agreed that the tracks sounded better than we had even expected. This was also good motivation for getting album artwork and working towards releasing the demo for everyone to hear.

And what's the moment you want to forget?

I'd like to forget a period of time for three to four months in which we didn't make much progress with our set. At the time we were looking for a new bass player meaning progress was slow and frustrating. Once we found a bass player, things picked up and we sped up the process.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

Sunskin... this song represents most of the aspects of our playing sound and style. It contains quiet, melodic, moody parts and is then followed by a heavy post punk influenced chorus. The middle 8 shows the technical abilities of our musicians with a mathy, fast paced break.

Where can we listen to it?

www.soundcloud.com/huntinggame

Where can we find out more about your music?

www.facebook.com/Hunting-Game

www.twitter.com/huntinggameband

www.huntinggame.moonfruit.com soon to be www.huntinggameband.com

Anything else you'd like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?

We are releasing a two track demo entitled "La Caza" in the next week or so which have the tracks you can listen to on soundlcoud. This will be available as a free download on Bandcamp, Facebook and various other websites.

New video from Road To Horizon

POST-hardcore quarter Road To Horizon have released the video for Faultlines.

The track is taken from the EP of the same name due for release on October 20th.

The Yorkshire, UK, band are heading out on tour to support the release with Newcastle rockers EnterTheLexicon.

It kicks off on October 16th in Newcastle, before taking in Birmingham, Leeds, London, Cardiff, Manchester and Edinburgh.

Have a listen to Faultlines below and for more on the band visit facebook.com/roadtohorizon

North Seasons aim for big things with Silhouettes

MELODIC hardcore five-piece North Seasons will release their debut single Silhouettes on Monday through Kill/Hurt Records.

The Newcastle band are aiming to breathe new life into the scene with their ultimate aim being to take heavy music into the mainstream.

Silhouettes - recorded along with their rest of their debut EP in their bedrooms - has already won praise from Kerrang! Radio's Alex Baker, who said: "If you like your riffs, if you like your guttural roars, there’s no doubt in my mind that this is going to blow your brain to bits!"

Watch the video below and for more information visit facebook.com/northseasonsuk

My Extraordinary Q&A

Your name: 
Joe.

Where are you from? 
Newcastle aka The Toon/Shearer land/Where Geordie Shore happens.

Name of band: 
My Extraordinary.

Who else is in your band? 
We’ve got Ant who is our vocalist, myself and Roy play guitar, Dewey is our bassist and Martin our drummer. Least cool names ever we know.

How would you describe yourselves? 
It’s hard not to give the generic five daft lads answer here. When it comes to our music we are difficult to please and take an almost perfectionist approach to making our music. That makes going out on tour a nice change of pace so we really enjoy getting out and playing shows.

Who are your main influences musically? 
I wouldn’t say any one artist or band influence our music. Martin and Ant who take care of songwriting listen to everything under the sun and when it comes to writing our songs it just a case of whatever we feel like making. It may sound slightly selfish but we really make music for us to enjoy and hope other people feel the same, I don’t personally think you can get anywhere copying someone’s style.

What do you hope to achieve in music? 
We hope to do this for as long as possible and to get out of it whatever we are capable of, whether that be playing bigger and better shows or just getting to play with bands we like. Getting to the point where day jobs and other commitments can be quit is also a big thing for a band like us.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why? 
We’ve had the chance to play some really great shows with bands like Young Guns but the highlight was playing Groezrock this year. That was our first big festival experience and we loved it. We ended up somehow managing to get camping tickets and stayed there with it being our last show. Stories from that weekend are for another time.

And what’s the moment you want to forget? 
There hasn’t been a lot luckily; mainly just those shows where you play to the barman. Fortunately it’s been a few years since that happened last. We do regularly discuss who will be the guy that makes that huge fall off stage that ends up all over YouTube, you can’t go on like us on stage without that happening at some point. My money is on Ant, he’s had a couple close calls.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why? 
I honestly believe the song that best gets across what were all about is our next single but until that is released we have a taster from the new mini album, The World We Live In.

Where can we listen to it? 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wraYWPg7l7M


Where can we find out more about your music? 
https://www.facebook.com/MyExtraordinary
https://twitter.com/MyExtraordinary
http://myextraordinary.bigcartel.com

Boy Jumps Ship debut video

BOY Jumps Ship have launched the video for their single Call To Arms.

The clip was shot in the band's home town of Newcastle, UK, and frontman Si Todd said: "This was the most fun we've had shooting a video and really gets across how supportive our friends and family are and the brotherhood around our band.

"It also conveys how integral our city and location is in the music we make and the attitudes we have to being in a band. There are snippets of landmarks where we played as kids right through to where we hand out today."

Call To Arms is the second single from the band's Lovers & Fighters EP, which was released earlier this month on Rude Records. It is available for purchase physical and digital and streamable here.

Boy Jumps Ship are playing a number of UK festivals this summer and to find out more about them, visit boyjumpsship.co.uk

 

King Bee Q&A

Your name:  

Jason Holcomb.

Where are you from?  

I’m from The United States, but I reside in Newcastle and the band is based here as well.

Name of band:

King Bee.

Who is in your band? 

We are an 8 piece outfit: 

Dave Wilde: Saxophone, Flute, vocals

Chris Jelly: Vibraphone, vocals

Dan Brady: Bass, vocals

Stephen Glendinning: Guitar, vocals

Jason Holcomb: Trombone, vocals

Mark Hand: Rhodes, Moog, vocals

Martin Douglas: Drums

Richard Burns: Trumpet, vocals

How would you describe yourselves?  

It’s difficult with a group as eclectic as King Bee to describe, but I think we have to say that funk with a nod to jazz is a good place to start. Additionally we pull elements from many other genres; soul, Motown, rock, R&B, hip hop, blues, and others. 

Who are your main influences musically?  

Again, because there are so many members in the band and we all contribute to the songwriting, it’s hard to pick out specific influences. Generally speaking, all of the iconic funk players, musicians and bands like Herbie Hancock, Roy Ayers, Corduroy. But each of us individually has many important influences specific to our instruments.   

What do you hope to achieve in music?  

I really think our goal as a band is to just produce and perform the best music we can, and if we can help spread the word to an audience that has yet to discover funk then that’s even better.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why? 

We had the very cool privilege of performing for a crowd between 10,000 and 15,000 strong on New Year’s Eve in our home town of Newcastle, it was a pretty poignant moment for us.   

And what’s the moment you want to forget?  

In all honesty, I’d rather remember it all…like any group we’ve had our ups and downs but I feel like that’s what gives us our identity. Having said that I think we all would agree that there have been a few post-show late night mishaps that should probably be left forgotten. 

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why? 

Off of our new album, I’d say that Three Bee is, for me, one of our more quintessential tunes. It features quite a few members of the band and none more than Chris on vibes which is something that really gives us a distinctive sound. It also relies on a very funky groove foundation which is something that is at the core of King Bee. 

Where can we listen to it? 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/king-bee/id871811166?ign-mpt=uo%3D4 on itunes and also on our website: www.kingbeefunk.com

Where can we find out more about your music?

www.facebook.com/kingbeefunk

www.youtube.com/kingbeefunk

www.kingbeefunk.com

www.soundcloud.com/kingbeefunk

Face The Ocean Q&A

Band name: 

Face The Ocean.

Where are you from?

Newcastle, England.

Who is in your band?

The six-man team consists of Andrew Stickley performing lead vocals, Daniel Rickman on lead guitar/backing vocals, Paul Holmes is our bassist/backing vocalist, James Dugdale on rhythm guitar, Lee Girdlestone on drums and Jamie Lowes as our keyboard/effects player.

How would you describe yourselves?

We are just a group of people who are in love with music, film, art and other media types, we care deeply about how our project is presented to our audience and strive to give people a musical experience that is not only unique but that they can relate and connect to visually as well as musically.

Who are your main influences musically?

We draw inspiration from a lot of different bands for different reasons. Musically we draw on the likes of Angels & Airwaves and 30 Seconds to Mars but lyrically we are inspired by bands such as The Dangerous Summer and Go Radio. We strive to bring emotional story like lyrics and combine them with what could be described as a movie like soundtrack.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

The easiest way to say this would be that we want to make a difference, a difference to the people who still hold music true to their heart and a difference to others who have a love for any type of media whatever shape or form. We want to feel like we have inspired people to also want to make a difference in their own way…….Ambition can be very contagious!

What has been the highlight of your career and why? 

A huge highlight of ours so far would be our very first full length UK tour with two amazing bands, the relationships on the road just became so compatible that even after just 12 days we felt the best of friends and through all of the people we met throughout the UK on the tour dates proves to us that what we want to achieve is in fact achievable.

And what's the moment you want to forget? 

Again part of our first tour, the first show we played went down really well, we were heading back to the hotel on the motorway when the whole gearbox decided to literally fall out of the van. Somehow there was no recovery available between the hours of 11pm to 6am so we were stuck at the side of the motorway freezing our asses off, almost getting robbed, questioned by road police and all we could smell was horse crap from the nearby farm for the seven straight hours of pure hell…..

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why? 

We would say Breathe Again would be that song, It captures the most of our combined efforts and influences into a song that doesn't feel overdone.

Where can we listen to it? 

www.soundcloud.com/FaceTheOcean/Breathe-Again

Where can we find out more about your music? 

We are fully active on a number of social media sites:

www.Facebook.com/FaceTheOcean

www.Twitter.com/FaceTheOcean

www.Soundcloud.com/FaceTheOcean

www.Instagram.com/FaceTheOcean

www.Youtube.com/FaceTheOcean

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask? 

We have very recently announced that we are heading on our first headline UK tour, one year on from our first tour as well as releasing the Deluxe Edition of our EP “Deliverance” you can get more information about the tour and new EP at any of our social media pages as well as our online store which you can find right here: www.FaceTheOceanShop.BigCartel.com

M3t4rt Q&A

Your name:

M3t4rt (alter ego).

Where are you from?

Originally from Germany but currently residing in Newcastle, UK.

Name of band:

M3t4rt

Who else is in your band?

Currently just me.

How would you describe yourself?

Music. Politics. Art. All combined in an experimental manner. Don't expect, just experience.

Who are your main influences musically?

There are tons of influences. I have my main ones like System of a Down or Dream Theater but there are also other, strong influences from record to record, song to song. My latest record was heavily influenced by Igorrr, Niveau Zero, Ólafur Arnalds, James Joys & Mozart. Yeah, Mozart is very important on so many levels.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

This is a difficult question. As a musician, my main goal is to make music that plays with expectation, challenges, pleases (I think that's the good & evil of having such a wide taste in music). Playing some major electronic festivals would be great. But I also want to reach out politically and use music as a tool to speak to people. If people would use my music to actually think about issues that are going right now (political, economical etc) then I'd be very happy.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

I had a great one off gig as part of a free improvisation trio in Newcastle University earlier this year, I have been #1 on Squarepig electronic charts and so on. But the best highlight so far is the people I met in the process of making music.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

None really.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

I would choose #Amenity. This resembles a lot I stand for musically but also conceptually. It plays with expectations, has a good enough chorus etc but it also combines samples, real playing & electro acoustic sounds to one big pile of music.

Where can we listen to it?

https://soundcloud.com/m3t4rt/revolution-amenity

There is no video yet (but in planning phase) but you can download my whole EP for free here:

https://m3t4rt.bandcamp.com/

Where can we find out more about your music?

My facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/M3t4rt

My Twitter: https://twitter.com/M3t4rt

My Bandcamp: https://m3t4rt.bandcamp.com/ 

My YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/M3t4rt

My last.fm page: http://www.lastfm.de/music/M3t4rt

My Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/m3t4rt

My tumblr (although this is inactive at the moment): http://m3t4rt.tumblr.com/

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?

There is a lot happening in 2014. At least 1 EP at the beginning of the year, perhaps one in March/April and a full blown album in the middle (around May/June time).

Also, even if I don't get share my true identity, you can send me an email to m3t4rt@gmail.com. I usually reply and look forward to a chat (if I'm not too busy).

We Are Knuckle Dragger's The Drone coming soon

WE Are Knuckle Dragger will release their album The Drone on October 21st and you can check out the trailer for it above.

The alt-rockers emerged from the UK underground scene in 2010 and have gone on to play at Reading & Leeds Festival and tour with Meshuggah and Dillinger Escape Plan.

The new album, which follows their 2012 debut Tit For Tat was produced by Ross Robinson (Slipknot, Deftones, Glassjaw).

For more on the band visit www.faceboook.com/weareknuckledragger or check out the Q&A they did with RealSoundsOK back in January.

Paloma Faith and The Vaccines for Evolution Festival

EVOLUTION Festival returns to the North East of England this May bank holiday with another outstanding line-up featuring the most influential and exciting names in popular music right now.  

Paloma Faith and The Vaccines headline the event at the Quayside, Newcastle/Gateshead, on Sunday and Monday, May 26 and 27.

Other acts on the bill include Jake Bugg, Ellie Goulding, Bastille, Rudimental, Aluna George, The Strypes, Sub Focus and Modestep.

 

Tickets for the festival are just £29.50 for the day and £39.50 for the weekend.

Promoter Jim Mawdsley said: "We have been working damned hard over the last few months to put together the strongest, most varied line up yet! As usual we are proud to have such a strong mix of today's heavy weights and future stars. 

"The dance stage at Ballast Hills will be an even bigger draw this year and again we are producing all of this for the best value ticket in the UK Festival market. I for one can't wait!"

For more details on the festival visit http://www.evolutionfestival.co.uk or you can check out the full line up below...

 

Sunday 26th May

 

Spillers Wharf Stage

The Vaccines

Ellie Goulding

Rudimental Live

The Strypes

Arlissa

The Lake Poets

Rossi Noise

 

Ballast Hills Stage

Modestep Live

Lethal Bizzle

Loadstar

Delta Heavy

Dismantle

Decibel

Gentleman Jonny

 

Monday 27th May

 

Spillers Wharf Stage

Paloma Faith

Jake Bugg

Bastille

AlunaGeorge

Lulu James

Drenge

Eliza & The Bear

 

Ballast Hills Stage

Sub Focus Live

Mista Jam

Zinc

Bondax

Gorgon City

P Money

Chroma

Death Of A Hero Q&A

Your name:

Michael Carling.

Where are you from?

Newcastle Tyne and Wear.

Name of band:

Death of a Hero.

Who is in your band?

Michael Carling - Vocals/Song Writing/Tambourine

Craig Hannant - Guitar/Song Writing

Naf Baddams - Bass Guitar/Song Writing

Kieran Ferguson - Drums

How would you describe yourselves?

A gritty British sounding punk unit with a dancey feel, basically a dancier sex pistols, lad music.

Who are your main influences musically?

The Sex Pistols, Black Rebel Motorcycle club, Oasis, The Rolling Stones, The Stone Roses.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

Grow a good enough fan base and get our tunes heard by as many people as possible, id say we want it all but one step at a time has to be the key.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

Getting a chance to support The View acoustically in London, because they’re such a popular act and was nice playing to a fair few people, not all the band got to play it, just me (Michael) and guitarist Craig, but they supported us throughout and wished they could of played themselves.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

When we ballsed up a new tune, basically it weren’t tight enough, but we saw its potential so we thought ah go on we'll just play it live. It was only our second gig in front of about 10 people, but still, was comical but we've gotta stay professional if we wanna be taken seriously, shit travels fast.

If you could choose just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

Just Dreamin Man, it’s got the dance feel mentioned earlier, but a raw sound, feels fresh, but more importantly it has a massive chorus and that’s what we're about, big choruses where the vocal takes a step up.

Where can we listen to it?

https://soundcloud.com/death-of-a-hero/just-dreamin-man

Where can we find out more about your music?

http://www.facebook.com/DeathOfAHero.uk

https://twitter.com/DeathOfAHerouk

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPrhTRJ44-GXwtiEMRH7-2A?feature=mhee

Anything else you’d like to say about your band that I forgot to ask?

We just wanna be heard really, we believe people will like us, big headed, confident, not too fussed how we come across, if we were shit we'd have problems but we're not so it’s ok if you can back it up.

The Friday Night Lights Q&A

Your name:

Jack Walters.

Where are you from?:

Newcastle, England

Name of band:

The Friday Night Lights.

Who else is in your band?

David Nagaj, Finlay Gerrand and Darius Lee.

How would you describe yourselves?:

Indie rock.

Who are your main influences musically?:

Arctic monkeys, Green Day.

What do you hope to achieve in music?:

Make a good living from just this band.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

Playing a gig in front of 1,000 people, it was a fantastic experience.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?:

None.

If you could choose one of your songs as an advert for your music, what would it be and why?:

Dirty Little Saint, we've been told its very catchy and good quality.

Where can we listen to it?

http://youtu.be/n6VLzuAtsg4

 

Where can we find out more about your music?

www.Twitter.com/TFNLights or Facebook.

Anything else you’d like to say about your band that I forgot to ask?

We are aged 15, currently working on our first album with a hopeful release in March 2013.

We Are Knuckle Dragger Q&A

Your name: 
Aran Glover.

Where are you from? 
I'm from Belfast, but currently living in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England.

Name of band: 
We Are Knuckle Dragger.

Who else is in your band? 
My excellent buddies Pete Currie and Shaun Abbott.

How would you describe yourselves? 
Trio of friends on a mission for good times!

What are your main influences musically? 
It's a difficult question because a lot of the time it feels like personality plays more of a part in this band, as opposed to musical influence and/or prowess. It would be easy to reel off a bunch of bands, or musical styles, but in fairness it's not really gonna get either of us anywhere, is it?

What do you hope to achieve in music? 
To show people that the real music exists beyond what is fucking fed to them on a convenient level, and that new shit shouldn't just be a slightly dressed up/down version of the past. Also, designer haircuts fucking suck, in music or otherwise! 

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why? 
Touring with Meshuggah and Animals As Leaders, the last date being the sold out HMV Forum in London! That would have to be up there, being the biggest crowd we have ever played to. The very first time we ever played Belfast was one of the best times too! Played a little venue called The Pavilion, and it was near sold out. We'd only just released our first EP, so it was most unexpected!

And what’s the moment you want to forget? 
Bits I want to forget are forgotten, and hence I can't remember any for you now. Plus some bad times are good to remember regardless. Makes you appreciate when the roads smooth out.

Where can we listen to your music? 
Just searching WeAre Knuckle Dragger in YouTube will find many music videos we've done, along with tour diaries featuring us on the road with The Dillinger Escape Plan, Meshuggah, as well as studio footage with Steve Albini in Chicago summer 2011 recording your debut album Tit For Tat.

Where can we find out more about your music?

www.weareknuckledragger.com should fulfill all link needs! 

Twitter fans - WAKDragger, Aran_Glover, Mr5haunAbb0tt, pswcurrie

Anything else you’d like to say about your band that forgot to ask? 
Next month we're recording our next album in LA with Ross Robinson, and our concentration is all on that at the minute. We'll be back on the road again soon though, and if we ain't playing a town near enough to where we wanna be heard, be sure to let us know!