Interview with Some Skeletons

Updated on May 17th 2012

Adam Barnes, Aidan Blenkinsopp, James Housley and Simon J Curd make up Some Skeletons, a rock band from Nottingham. Since speaking to me, they've finished working on their new EP and have just been signed to Mountains of Records. With a really fresh and nice on the ears musical style, this four piece band are sure to have a bright future ahead of them. I spoke to Aidan and Simon about how the band formed, what inspires them, and their Italian fan base.

Can you tell me about the bands past?

Aidan:

We all know each other from Nottingham Uni and from the uni band scene. Me and Adam have been in the band for a long, long time and Simon and James kinda joined our old band when a couple of people left and we kinda just thought it was making everything sound different.

Simon:

Officially it was last January really, we started again as Some Skeletons, basically.

Where did the band’s name come from?

Aidan:

It doesn’t mean anything really, we were just trying for a long time to come up with a name.

Simon:

I like how many different ways you can think about the name if you like. We had loads of rubbish ideas and this was one that we thought was good and that we could all live with.

I think we’ve all been in bands in the past where we’ve regretted our band names and you feel a little bit embarrassed to tell people what your band name is.

With some skeletons it's better, just because it’s simple basically. Keeping it simple is definitely the key and I like it. It’s a simple description of what out band is if you want to think of it in that way. We are some skeletons! (laughs)

Aidan:

I really like vague things, so I like the some in there cause it’s really vague and unhelpful (laughs) I really like that! But yeah, it’s probably the first band name for a band I’ve been in that I’ve not hated within five minutes.

How would you describe your musical style for people that have never listened to you?

Aidan:

Melodic, loud, quiet and busy rock I suppose. I guess we’re basically alt rock, aren’t we really. The broad spectrum of old. So we’re all pretty into things like the smashing pumpkins, trail of dead, that kind of thing. Stuff that’s noisy, melodic, has lots of dynamic to it and is a bit dramatic. We like stuff that’s trying to sound epic. We try to be clever as well musically. None of us are experts, but we enjoy playing songs that take a long time to learn.

                                                                                                                   

Which band or singer would you dream of collaborating with?

Simon:

Probably someone quite different, I reckon. With collaborations, I think it’s always good when it’s a juxtaposition.

Aidan:

I’d love to work with some electronic type people, that’d be wicked. I don’t really have a name, but something quite different and quite stripped back would be cool cause it would sort of contrast with what we do. I’d love to work with people like Trent Reznor or Radio Head and just people who have an interesting spin on writing rock songs really.

Do you write your own lyrics?

Aidan :

Yeah. I suppose I’ve written the bulk of the lyrics but Adam wrote one of the songs on the last EP. Sometimes it’s quite collaborative as well, but the songs on the last EP weren’t that personal. We sort of picked a situation and wrote about it and there was quite a lot of collaboration on those.

The song [Author] was actually for a split EP that we did with another three bands from Nottingham which was designed to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin being the first man to go into space. The lyrics to that song had to be about something spacey.

But then, on the new EP,  I suppose I wrote most of it, Simon’s written one song, and one song, we nicked some lines from a couple of Wilfred Owen poems and just kind of bashed them into shape so they went with what we’d written music wise.

We do often find ourselves in studios or wherever we’re recording without lyrics so…

It’s always worked for us so far.

Are you working on any new music at the moment?

Aidan:

Yeah, we’re lucky because we’ve got a couple of friends who really enjoy recording and record us for free. But it’s very homemade so it relies on when they’re free and when we’re free. We’ve actually being recording, sporadically, a new EP since November. We’ve nearly finished, so today we’ve just being doing some backing vocals in my flat. We’ve got a couple more backing vocals to do and then it’s gotta be mixed. We’ve recorded six songs, five of which will probably end up on the EP.

Where would you like to be as a band in five years from now?

Aidan:

Still a band, I suppose (laughs) If we’re still together we must have done something right. We just wanna enjoy it really, to be honest.

Simon:

I think we’ve all been in bands long enough to not have the same idea of success as you do when you first start out. I’m not saying that we wouldn’t like to play big gigs and tour and things like that but I think we’ve all gone through the process enough to be quite realistic and know that what we really want to be doing with this is making music that we enjoy listening back to and enjoy letting out friends listen to. It’s a lot less about thinking that having a record contract is the biggest thing in the world. We’re a lot more clued up in that respect now.

Aidan:

With the last band that we were all in together, we got signed and it just turned everything into a massive chore. When you first get into new music and new bands, you do it because you enjoy it and it’s not like we’re employed to do this so we do it in our free time.  We want some skeletons to be fun. There’s a point where you spend more time in a band organising the band than actually doing things and we just don’t want it to get to that point again. We want it to be fun, that’s all I want. Obviously it’d be nice to be recognised, but as long as it’s fun that’s cool with me.

Has your music ever been played on the radio?

Aidan:

There’s a couple of local podcasts and radio stations that we’ve been on. With the last EP we just kind of put it out and people got in touch with us. So as far as I know, we haven’t been played on the radio.

Simon:

Not radio, but we do hear from our Italian fan base, which has come from nowhere. We’re on an Italian compilation that’s come out recently that’s loads of Italian bands and then us which is quite weird…

Have you got any gigs planned in the future?

Aidan

We will be, but we haven’t planned any yet. We wanna finish recording out EP. We’re based in Nottingham and we’ve all got jobs so we’ll certainly be hoping to play around Nottingham and the midlands and anywhere that’s reachable. 

Below is the official music video of their track, Pests.

For more info on the band, give them a like on Facebook. You can also view their official website, and watch their videos on their Youtube. They're a great and really talented band, and they're bound to do well, so give them a listen and tell me what you think!

Lower Lands- Growing Pains.

Alternative rock band Lower Lands is Benji Inkley (guitar/vocals), Paul Howells (Guitar/Vocals), Jacob Jarvis (Bass/Vocals) and Sam Girling (Drums/Vocals). They formed in 2010, and since then they've achieved some major things. They shared a stage with Deaf Havana, and recently got signed to I am Mighty records. Just last month, they released their new EP, Growing Pains.

Growing Pains is one hell of a debut EP for Lower Lands. It's really exciting to hear a local band with such an incredible and professional musical talent. They've only been around for just over a year, after all, yet if you didn't know that it might seem like they've been around years. It's a 6 track EP, and there's something about the uniqueness of every song on it that makes it quite special. The first track, Wide Eyes, is the perfect opening for the EP. It's upbeat, but not too full on, and it gives you a brilliant idea of what the band's about and what to expect from them. It also starts the EP off on quite an easy to listen to note, it's a friendly and welcoming track, it pulls you in, and hearing it definitely got me in the mood for more.

I think my favourite track from the EP is Reality in Routine (I've posted its official video below). The intro is really strong and full of energy, it catches your attention, and then the vocals start and they suit the heavy guitar sounds so well. They blend together to create a perfect tune that really shows off their talent and versatility as a band. I highly reccommend giving it a listen, as if this doesn't sell the band to you, I don't think anything will...

Except for maybe Why don't we just build a cathedral? If a song makes the hairs on your neck stand on end, it has to be an amazing tune, and that's definitely the case with this. The mixture of vocals along with the highly energetic and stand out instrumentals make for some proper listening heaven. The chorus is repeated enough to make the song memorable and catchy, but the uniqueness and variety in each of the other verses makes it really exciting and enjoyable to the ears.

This band is going places big time, and it's seeming more and more likely that 2012 will be a big year for them. They've got a lot to give, and now they're starting to be noticed. Give them a listen, and I reckon it won't be long before you're blasting them out on repeat. They fit so well into the music scene at the moment, and we can sure as hell expect to hear more from them. If it's alternative rock that you want, then it's definitely Lower Lands that you need!

You can get more info from the band by liking them on Facebook or following them on Twitter. You can also hear some of their music on their Bandcamp, as well as their YouTube. I will be interviewing the band in the near future, so stay tuned for regular updates!

Frazer Lowrie-City Of Lights

Since speaking to me a couple of months ago, Nottingham based singer Frazer Lowrie has been working on several new tracks. This includes his newest EP, City Of Lights, which he released today. I've posted the official video for it below.

City of Lights can be downloaded for free from Frazer's Official Website, and comes with the MadRhyno Productions Remix, and an extra track called One Day I Will Know. The rest of his music, as well as his covers, can be found on his YouTube Channel.  Check out his Facebook or Twitter for more info!

3hour week EP review

I came across this band almost accidentally when  browsing Facebook earlier, and I have to say, I'm impressed.

3hour Week are a four piece indie-pop band currently based in Lincoln consisting of David Gough, Daniel Richardson, Jack Simpson and Ross Simpson.

As soon as their latest song Our Summer began to play, I was completely hooked. It's the powerful mix of guitar and drum in the intro that initially grabbed my attention, and then the vocals started and I was amazed. The chorus isn't that different to something that you might expect to hear from bands like Kings of Leon, but there's also something really fresh and unique about their sound.

The second track from the EP, Steady Heartbeats, is potentially the happiest and brightest of the eight. The intro is really upbeat and has a sort of electronic edge to it that makes it quite soft to the ears and easy to listen to. The vocals on this track remind me slightly of the vaccines, and it's not long before the the chorus, involving the lyrics 'when your heart beats, when your heart beats, steady as your heart beats', will get drummed into your head.

I think Adventure Potential was my favourite track of the EP. It's proper sweet, with a  really catchy beat. Out of all the songs, this is the one that'll get stuck in your head. It's just such a happy, loud song and it works. Not to mention how well it's sang. The vocals are so strong and they really drew me in and made me want to hear more. My first thought about this song when the lead vocals started was Scouting For Girls, there's definitely a slight similarity, but 3hour Week are fresher and seem more passionate.

Most albums seem to have a song that grows on you, and that you'll put aside and then begin to love it after a while, wondering why you ignored it for so long. On this EP, I think End Scene fits that description. Not being quite as catchy or as upbeat as some of the others, I had to listen to it a fair few times before I began to like it. It really is a brilliant song and the heavy guitar sounds are amazing on the ears, and if you don't fall in love with it to start with, I can guarantee you will eventually.

3hour Week clearly know how to throw out some good pop/rock tunes, and each one packs a punch in its own way. I highly recommend giving them a listen because they're a highly talented group. The local music since is so strong and rich, and this band is definitely one of the best the Lincoln has to offer! They were kind enough to provide us with their full debut EP, which I've posted a sample of below. The full EP can be listened to on their Soundcloud page, and will be available soon. You can get more info on the band by liking their Facebook, or following them on Twitter.

Interview with Count the Days

Hundreds of bands fought for the chance, and after winning one of only 26 places, Count the Days have just gigged with one of the most famous British boy bands of the last decade. They've been working hard since forming in 2010, and now the three piece pop punk band from London are doing better than ever. They've just released their first ever music video, 'Feel', and are writing new songs as we speak.  I chatted to James Kinsey, lead singer and guitarist of the band, about fans, lyrics and the ‘Dougie image.’

                                                                                                                                                                                

Can you tell me a bit about the band’s past?

We formed a couple of years ago, just as friends from school. I’m a bit older than the other two and I just wanted to form another band because my old band split up. Then I met those two and we’ve been friends ever since and we gelled together pretty well.

How would you describe your musical style to people who've not listened to you before?

We started off playing pop punk, being influenced by like Blink182, Green Day, and also bands like Mcfly. Then we thought we’d do something a bit different and put some synth and piano and stuff like that in it. So sort of like rock and pop rock with a bit of an electronic edge.

So how was it supporting Mcfly?

Yeah, it was amazing! We were lucky enough to support Mcfly up in Lincoln and it was a really good night actually. The crowd were awesome. Mcfly were really nice guys, they came up to us backstage and we had a laugh and they asked us how we got on. I had a cigarette with Dougie and Harry and we wished them luck as well before they went on stage. They were really nice to us, yeah, it was good.

I saw some people when I was queuing up comparing Robert to Dougie.

 Yeah (laughs)

Is that similarity intentional?

Yeah, well he’s been a fan of Mcfly longer than I’ve known him for, and Dougie’s his hero really, he loves him. He’s not here to defend himself, but it’s very much intentional I think (laughs) He likes the whole “Dougie image” thing!

Do you think supporting Mcfly was good for the band? Has there been a lot of positive reception after it?

Definitely! It was like a huge explosion for us. I think as well, our music appeals to Mcfly’s audience, so they’re a good band to support. I think it was a good fit musically. Obviously we played for 1800 people so yeah it was good. The hype of the gig dies down pretty rapidly, so you’ve gotta keep busy and keep people interested, but it was definitely worth doing!

Which band or singer do you dream of collaborating with?

Ooh, probably Angels and Airwaves or Blink. I’ve been a Tom Delonge fan since I was like 12 years old. Like at least 12 years I’ve loved that band. Probably Coldplay as well, I’d like do it with Coldplay (laughs) or Mcfly. I’d love to collaborate with Mcfly!

Some bands and singers have names for their fans, like Gaga’s Monsters. What would you call your fans if you could give them a name?

That’s a very good question. I might have to get back to you on that one! (laughs)…Count the Daylings? (laughs) I dunno...

You said you write your own lyrics. How do you find that?

I write the lyrics myself, and I mostly base it on past experiences, what I’ve been through. I can’t make anything up. The latest EP is all about one girl specifically, my ex-girlfriend. It all came really easy to me, because it was exactly how I was feeling and I just wrote it down. If I doesn’t mean anything to me then I don’t really enjoy writing it.

Do you think it’s better if the lyrics are more personal to the singer?

Yeah, definitely. If you make it too personal, obviously people can’t really relate to it. But if you make it a bit personal, I think everyone goes through the same things in life. I try and make it relatable as well, so people can enjoy it.

Are you working on any new music at the moment?

Literally just yesterday, me and Rob sat down and wrote a new song and it was really cool actually. We haven’t written anything new in a while, so we just sort of sat down yesterday and just started working on new stuff. Hopefully we can get it out for the summer.

Have got any gigs planned in the future?

Yeah, we’re playing at the O2 Academy on 26^th April with two other bands.

Anything else you'd like to add?

Well, in regards to the Mcfly gig, I’d like to say thanks to everyone that took an interest afterwards.

It was much better than I could’ve hoped for to be honest, cos I know everyone was there to see Mcfly essentially, but we gained quite a few fans afterwards and everyone made us welcome so we’d really like to come back and play for Lincoln again.

For more info and updates on the band, like their Facebook, or follow them on Twitter. Below you can listen to their single 'Cave In', which can be downloaded for free from their Band page. Their other music, as well as covers, can be found on their YouTube. 

Mcfly: Keep Calm and Play Louder

As an 18 year old male, it's a pretty awkward experience being stuck in the middle of a crowd of screaming teenage girls who are significantly younger than you. Luckily, when there's a famous band playing like Mcfly playing, no-one seems to notice who's stood around them. 

And this was definitely the case last night at the Engine Shed. After queuing up for seven hours, it would have been awful to be anywhere but the front barriers, which is where me and my sister were.
A buzz washed through the audience as the lights turned down and the first support act, Count the Days, came onto the stage. One of the winners of Mcfly's Battle of the Bands competition, the 3 piece group from Hertfordshire were full of energy as they got the crowd going with their lively pop punk. 

These were swiftly followed by London based band IvyRise, who had several members of the audience in tears of excitement as soon as they came on. Their upbeat rock songs and passionate stage presence definitely went down well, and their final song, a unique rock cover of  Set Fire To The Rain by Adele, resulted in a fairly big cheer from the crowd. 

Then silence, until an air-raid style alarm began to go off and the fans started to woop and screech louder than ever. It was finally time for the main event, and from the build up, it was hard not to be excited. The lights dimmed and spotlights began circling the room, until lead vocals from Tom Fletcher kicked off the first song of the night, Nowhere left to run.

King Of The Jungle Dougie Poynter Gets Ready To Sing. Photo: Luke Botham

This was followed by quite a few of their most popular songs including Lies, Obviously, Star Girl and Shine A Light. They also sang a couple of songs from their upcoming sixth studio album, such as Red, which is released next week, and Touch the Rain. These two songs definitely went up a notch in rockyness compared to the pop songs seen in their first albums, and the reception from the audience was great. It was a bit different to what we're used to, but it worked well and Danny's voice seemed to suit the style more than I would've expected.

They then went into a rendition and one off medley of other well known pop songs by bands like Busted, and current chart toppers by One Direction, Gotye and Rihanna, which got potentially the loudest and best reaction of the night; even the slightly bored looking parents were joining in when Bon Jovi was added into the mix. 

Tom Fletcher Rocking Out For The Crowd.  Photo: Luke Botham

The happy, cheeky and down to earth characteristics of the band made it impossible not to get into the spirit, laugh, and sing along, and the frequent interaction with and talking to the audience made it feel as if the fans were the most important thing about the gig. Their stories and jokes about each other gave the gig an individual feel and broke it up between songs, and one particular story told by Dougie, in which he called Tom, 'Teabag Tom', set the fun mood for the rest of the gig fairly early on.

All of this proved too much for a few audience members, who were reluctantly dragged away from the venue, and after several girls were taken ill, Mcfly burst into a chorus of Another one bites the dust to try and lighten the mood. 

Danny Jones Sings His Solo, Walk in the Sun.
Photo: Luke Botham

A highlight for us was getting personally tutted at by Tom, who was standing near us for most of the gig,  for getting the timing wrong during Star Girl. I was embarrassed at the time, but I guess not many people can say they've been tutted at by Tom Fletcher. 

Once the medley finished, lead singer Danny Jones performed a slow and calm solo of Walk in the Sun, which I think really showed off his range in vocal ability as a singer. Despite being totally different from the bands normal style, it was still pitch perfect and gave me shivers! This was closely followed by the grand finale of Shine A Light as the whole band rocked the stage for one last time.
After the final song, the guys began to throw guitar picks into the screeching crowd. This was followed by Tom and Dougie, who chucked the remaining water from their bottles at the audience (some of which went in my gob...), and then Harry, who gave up a drumstick for a fan. Danny even jumped into the unsuspecting audience at one point, greeting a lucky few nearby where he landed.

Overall, it was a pretty good gig. They sing brilliantly live, and it's easy to tell how much effort they've put in to please their fans. Their powerful and passionate voices pull everyone in and it's hard not to melt into the atmosphere.  They also sing a large variety of songs, and are clearly trying to reach out to each and every person in the room, no matter how long they've been a fan. 

Danny Sings To The Crowd As Tom Plays The Keyboard.
Photo: Luke Botham

Jason Mraz-93 Million Miles

  

I first heard this song last week when I was still at uni before I came home for Easter, and I've being listening to it pretty much non stop ever since. It's not like I've never heard Jason Mraz before, I've been a huge fan for a long time now. But this song is just perfect. It's so laid back and chilled.

Picture: Atlantic Records/ Jason Mraz

Listening to it makes me want to close my eyes as tight as I can and just disappear for a while, absorbing the warmness of the lyrics that are so easy to relate to. I hear the lines and think of home- of my family and friends, my house, my garden, and the beach, and with my eyes closed, it takes me back there no matter where I actually am. It makes me happy, and this mixed with his soft, sweet voice makes listening heaven.

As ever, it's clear how much effort and love Jason's put into this song and I'm sure it's going to be really well received when it's released as part of the new album, Love is a four letter word, on April 16th. The new album, as well as Jason's other music, is available on iTunes. People who pre-order it from his official site will be given an extra track called 'collapsible plans', which is exclusive to the site.

Interview with Frazer Lowrie

“Thighs of steel” probably aren’t something you’d expect an artist to have if you were asked what they might have gained by the end of their first proper tour. But speaking down the phone from Nottingham, where he’s based, Frazer Lowrie explains how after getting ‘ridiculously drunk’ one night at one of his gigs he decided that his music needed something more.  And so, he dug out his dad’s old kick drum, which he’ll be playing alongside singing and his guitar. “I just started belting it and it sounded really good. Hopefully it should definitely turn a few heads because not a lot of people do it, it’s pretty hard.”

Frazer’s been an unsigned solo artist for about two years now, and at the moment he’s busy getting ready for the tour of his new EP, which is out now. Inspired deeply by what he calls ‘dark folk’ such as Mumford & Sons, his unique voice and self-written lyrics are full of energy and passion. And this is important to him. “Lyrics are the only way to get how you feel across to the audience. If your lyrics are more intimate then your audience are going to relate to you more and as a listener you feel more attached to the artist.” With singers like Ed Sheeran getting such negative reviews for his lyrics, it’s a fresh change to talk to someone who appreciates them. And Frazer really does. “It's these artists,” he says, referring to Ed, Example and Wretch 32, “who continue to prove that writing your own music and lyrics is the way forward.”

As we discuss his inspirations, he says how much his recent move to Nottingham has changed his views on music and breaking into the industry. “I think the music industry will always be a struggle to break into for any new artist. It's not a walk in the park. I didn’t gig for a long time because I thought, it’s all online these days, but as soon as I did my first gig in Nottingham I realised how wrong I was.” Moving to Nottingham showed Frazer a side to music that he’d not seen before-live folk music-and this inspired him to change he style completely. “After I played my first gig in Nottingham I realised that I needed to write new songs with new meanings relevant to my current situations.”

For someone who describes chart music as ‘generic’ and ‘meaningless’, I’m interested as to why he’s covered so much of it on his YouTube.  Again, it stems back to his move to Nottingham. “I used to love top 40 music, but I’ve recently become less attached to it,” he says “It seems to me at the moment that people actually prefer watching me do it live. The folk scene is very big around here and live music is appreciated a lot more.”

Despite his love for live music, he reckons he wouldn’t get half his gigs without having an official website. “I couldn’t believe how much it helped my profile on the gig circuit, especially when booking my tour. People assumed I was someone big!” But even though he seems to take quite a positive attitude to social networking and having an online profile, he definitely seems to see live music as the way forward for unsigned artists like himself. “It [the internet] makes a lot of us lazy. It's too easy to sit at your computer and advertise online but the real way to do it is to get out into the big wide world and gig. With gigging you get to meet other bands and you get to meet the promoters that put on the gig and they often know other promoters. It’s an on-going spiral and you’re bound to meet some very interesting people.”

From speaking to Frazer for a good while, it’s clear that he’s very pleased with the position that he’s in right now-“Now I’m in a position where I couldn’t be happier with the music I’m playing.” He might not yet be famous, but he definitely aims to be, and with such a unique take on the music industry that so directly affects him and such a huge passion for his genre, it seems he feels his time could be coming very soon. “I couldn't be in a better scenario at the moment, folk is becoming popular, guys with guitars are in the picture again and the public are starting to care about real musicians.”

Frazer's newest EP 'Things have changed', plus all his other music, can be found on his official website. His covers and videos can also be viewed on his YouTube channel.