Pete Allan Q&A

Your name: 

Pete Allan

Where are you from?

Noosa Heads, Queensland, Australia.

Who is in your backing band?

A lot of the people I play with are in multiple bands, so it really depends on who's available for a particular show. I'm just really lucky that in my area of the world there are so many great musicians who can help out!

How would you describe yourself musically?

I'm not a "genre" fan because everyone is unique, but I'd say it's a mix of surf rock, roots, blues, live looping, and beatbox rhythms delivered in a singer-songwriter style. Music that can make you dance, and at the same time have you thinking about the message within the song.

Who are your main influences musical or otherwise?

Bob Dylan, Lennon, Paul Kelly, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, John Butler, Dallas Green are just a few.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

Music is how I share my story, or issues I want to talk about, so I'm always grateful to be able to do this. I just want opportunities to continue to do this through live performance and music I release, for as long as I'm able.  

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

Big crowds always leave an impression, but it's when a lady came up to me while I played at a market one day, tears streaming down from behind her sunglasses, and told me that a song I had just played had really touched her, because it related to her life at that moment. It's those one on one moments that make it for me, as much as a big crowd would.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

I haven't had one yet thankfully.

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

I recently released Treading Water as a taste of the new EP coming soon. It's a funky tune, but still shares a message within, and that's what I'm all about with my music. 

Where can we listen to it? 

https://soundcloud.com/peteallanmusic/treading-water-mastered-final

Where can we find out more about your music?

www.peteallan.com

www.facebook.com/peteallanmusic

www.youtube.com/peteallanmusic

www.soundcloud.com/peteallanmusic

www.instagram.com/peteallanmusic

https://itunes.apple.com/au/artist/pete-allan/id572735969

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

I'd like to thank every person who supports original music, by coming to shows, purchasing music and mercy, and referring me to friends, it's you who make the all possible! Stay tuned for the new EP coming really soon!

Dazes Q&A

Your names:

Amy (Drums), Brandon (Bass), Hannie (Vocals) and Mat (Guitar & Vocals).

Where are you from?

Sprinkled across North London.

Name of band: 

Dazes

How would you describe yourselves and your music?

Somewhere between Californian surf psych and 60's rock, with some garage elements. We've been compared to The Raveonettes, The Kills, The Dead Weather and The Black Keys.

Who are your main influences musically?

We all come from different backgrounds, but The Velvet Underground, Nick Cave, Smith Westerns, Pixies, Patti Smith, and Jack White have had the strongest influence on our music.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

Well, we'd love to play alongside the likes of Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears at the MTV Awards...Naaa, only kidding. Our goals for this year are to release a video for ‘The Family’ (our next single), gig around more of the country and get on the festival circuit. I think in the long run we'd like to get signed (what musician doesn't?) and see the world whilst touring.

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

Liverpool Music Week closing party. It was a bender to remember. Chvrches and The Black Lips played, plus a DJ set from Foals. It's such a good festival and we got a really good reception.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

When we went to Manchester...We don't talk about that anymore.

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

We should really say ‘Neon Lover’ as it's our single, but ‘The Family’ is probably the best representation of our overall sound. It's very dark and moody, with a driving rhythm section, good dynamics and lyrics, combined with blistering guitar licks and hypnotising girl/boy vocals.

Where can we listen to it?

You can listen to all of our tracks at www.soundcloud.com/dazes

Where can we find out more about your music?

Check us out at www.facebook.com/dazesmusic, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @dazesmusic

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

We've just released our first single ‘Neon Lover’.

New video from The Holy Gasp

THE Holy Gasp have released a video for latest single A Daily Affirmation.

The Toronto band, who describe their sound as Afro-Cuban psychedelic surf punk, say the video is "a masterclass in hygiene and self-motivation, with a debaucherous interlude thrown in for good measure".

They say the video is loosely based on YouTube sensation Jessica's Daily Affirmation.

Their new album The Last Generation of Love will be released on February 24th with a limited cassette run is available on Arachnidiscs.

The Holy Gasp told RealSoundsOK: "The album re-contextualizes beatnik aesthetics for the modern listener, and makes a desperate cry for humanity, for change - for people to not only care, but to see that to give a shit is profound."

Have a watch/listen below and for more information visit facebook.com/TheHolyGasp

The Magic Room Band Q&A

Your name: 
Andrés (singer).

Where are you from?
I am from Barcelona (Spain) but I've been in Manchester for most of my adulthood.

Name of band: 
The Magic Room Band.

Who else is in your band?
Jesse (bass guitar), Dan (lead guitar) and Javi (drums).

How would you describe yourselves?
We are a blues-rock band with 60s surf vibes. Our music sounds like rock'n'roll played with modern beats and melodies; very dancy indeed. However, it was conceived to listen to it on long car or train journeys (that's my favourite time to listen to music!)

Who are your main influences musically?The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Animals, Chuck Berry, Led Zeppelin, The Strokes, White Stripes...

What do you hope to achieve in music?We'd love to be someone's favorite band, in the way that our music brings positive energy to the listener. Our lyrics try to express our views about the world in the purest way we can, but always with a positive outlook.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?Our highlight must have been our EP launch party at Big Hands (Manchester). It's a pretty narrow pub, so from stage we could only see a big crowd of people smiling and having a great time. The response from the crowd was amazing.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?Probably when we were dressing up as animals in a gig. We've never been so hot in our entire life!

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?Hurry Down. I wrote that song without even thinking. I don't think I blinked for the whole time I was writing it. It came out straight from the most hidden layers of my soul.

Where can we listen to it?You can listen to it in youtube. It also has a pretty good video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMEv9ZUB2JE

Where can we find out more about your music?We are pretty active on Facebook and Twitter, so you can give us a like/follow if you'd like to be updated with our latest thing
facebook.com/themagicroomband
Twitter: @magicroomband
But we keep all our things together in our website
www.themagicroomband.com

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

If you're about in Manchester, we'll be playing at Mono on the 19th of September. It will be a great party!

New EP from Invasions

TORONTO outfit Invasions have put out a new EP No Darkness.

The three tracks show off the beach party/surf/garage vibe the Canadian five-piece have been building their reputation on.

The EP is available from invasions.bandcamp.com and like the band on Facebook to find out their live dates.

Trash Q&A

Your name:

Tom Barton.

Where are you from? 

Chesterfield, UK – a place too commonly referred to as ‘near Sheffield’. 

Name of band: 

Trash.

Who else is in your band?

Daniel Longmore, Evan Martin and Brad Weston.

How would you describe yourselves? 

Kinda surfy music for people who have never been surfing. We try to experiment and add something new and colourful to the indie genre. 

Who are your main influences musically? 

One of us likes McBusted, one of us likes Psyopus. That should sum it up. 

What do you hope to achieve in music? 

If we had a cult following, we would be in a life of absolute beatitude. 

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

Actually having some recorded material we can say is our own. And Brad’s lyric attempt, of course (‘times are gonna change, high school is ending.’ Yes, he said this.) 

And what’s the moment you want to forget? 

None yet, but our debut gig is yet to come... 

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

Fountain Roulette – it’s the first properly recorded song we did, and marks where we began to find our style. We all created parts around Dan’s structure and ended up very pleased with it. The experience, both writing and practising, was very enjoyable. 

Where can we listen to it? 

https://soundcloud.com/trashband/fountain-roulette OR http://trashh.bandcamp.com/track/fountain-roulette 

Where can we find out more about your music?

https://www.facebook.com/trashhband 

http://trashh.bandcamp.com/ 

https://twitter.com/trash_band 

http://instagram.com/trash_band 

https://soundcloud.com/trashband 

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

We are still a small band hoping for as much experience as the world can give us, so if you anybody wants us for a show, interview, lap dance, anything, please do hit us up. We’re lonely people. Also Evan’s looking for a copy of Ratchet & Clank for PS3.

Young Adult EP from Billy Moon

CANADIAN garage rock act Billy Moon have released their EP Young Adult.

Graham Caldwell from the Hamilton, Ontario, band told RealSoundsOK: "Billy Moon started in my first year of university when I had a lot of time on my hands and I hated everybody. Our first show we ended up having to play for three straight hours. No one liked us.

"I've just graduated from University and now I have to be a grown-up.

"This new EP is so much better than any of my previous groups. They all seemed to fall apart because guys were more interested in being personal trainers than being in a band. Less squats, more rock."

You can check out the EP below and for more information visit facebook.com/IAmBillyMoon or twitter.com/iambillymoon

There's also a cool Q&A with Graham from last year over at Hamilton music blog Cut From Steel.

New video from Invasions

THE slightly loopy Invasions have premiered the video for latest song Rosy.

It is taken from the Toronto band's eponymous debut album released at the end of last month.

They describe themselves as "the musical epitome of spaghetti westerns, surf rock and Tarantino flicks" - what's not to like?

And if you want to find out more about the band, visit invasionsmusic.com or facebook.com/invasionsmusic.

Koiyote Q&A

Your names:

Moss, Char and Christian. 

Where are you from?

We hail from a quiet, nondescript beach town in Southern California. Now we live in Orange County, Los Angeles, and Manhattan. 

Name of band:

Koiyote.

How would you describe yourselves?

We have trouble defining our sound. Some people have called it psycho surf. Others have called it dark disco. We like to call it music to dance to alone in your underwear on a Saturday night, when all of your friends are off doing bigger and better things. 

Who are your main influences musically?

We love bands that aren't afraid to look ridiculous, to have fun, and to get freaky on the dance floor. Acts like Papa, Palma Violets, Los Porcos, and Father John Misty have really inspired us. Also, the rapper Milo. We sound nothing alike, but dammit, we love that dude. 

What do you hope to achieve in music?

The goal is to get people dancing. We love nothing more in life than getting sweaty with a good crowd. 

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

We opened up for Los Campesinos! about a year ago. That was a rollicking good time. Those guys can really get a crowd moving and Gareth (the singer) randomly gave me a handful of cash. What a sweet guy. 

We also opened for Listener at a massage parlor around the same time. That was a strange and harrowing experience.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

We played a Southern California festival a few years back that shall remain nameless. But to give you a sense of the horror, I will say that T Mills was on the bill. On second thought, maybe I should've named the festival and allowed T Mills to remain nameless.

By the way, if you haven’t heard T Mills, drop this interview immediately and YouTube that shit. Only then will you truly know our shame. 

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

We have a song called Watermelon Moon that serves as a pretty apt summation of our sound. It’s quite danceable. 

Where can we listen to it?

Unfortunately the double EP we're working on will not be ready until early next year. But don’t you fret! Here’s some shitty concert footage from the end of the song, during which we force the entire audience onto the ground. Sound/video quality is bad -- but dance quality is top notch!

http://youtu.be/uuuT_nBwhwk

Where can we find out more about your music?

When the double EP drops, it will be available here:

https://soundcloud.com/koiyote-the-band

Until that day, feel free to get with us on Twitter @koiyoteband. We love da Twitter. 

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

Double EP tentatively titled Mating Calls Vol. 1 and Mating Calls Vol. 2 will be released early next year. John Malkovich will be on the album art work. Expect to dance. 

On a side note, my roommate is obsessed with Malcom in the Middle. He probably watches six or seven episodes a day and thus, I've heard that intro song non-stop for the past few months. There’s a frightening chance it may deeply influence our sound. 

New single and album from Invasions

CANADIAN five-piece Invasions have released their new single Rosy from their eponymous album, out last week.

The Toronto band say their music is what "spaghetti western era Clint Eastwood would love" and that the new album is a "lost soundtrack for a Quentin Tarantino movie".

You can listen to Rosy below and for more information on the band and their album, visit invasionsmusic.com

New EP from Men's Adventures

LONDON duo Men's Adventures have released a new EP Solitary Trip on Dirty Bingo.

Recorded over an intensive two weeks, the EP contains the tracks BB Vulture, Friends, Welcome Home and Feeling Bad.

Long-time friends Alfie and Jimmy share songwriting and vocal duties, but their live show is backed up with a full rhythm section.

They will be supporting the EP with a number of shows including at Old Blue Last in London on May 31st, at The Mill Party in Cannes, France, on June 19th and at the EP launch show at Birthdays in London on June 25th.

For more details visit www.facebook.com/mensadventures, twitter.com/mensadventures or mensadventures1.bandcamp.com/ and you can listen to Feeling Bad from the EP below.