Miss Vincent Interview

I spoke to Miss Vincent at Takedown Festival about death, vomit and their new EP.

How do you feel your set went today?
All: Really well!
Alex: We were first on so when we were getting ready to go on there was almost nobody in there, there was a load of people at the front and that was cool but we got our stuff together, turned around to get ready to play and it was rammed!
Lawrie: I was actually really nervous about playing this morning because this was our first time playing Takedown so I was super nervous this morning. But yeah, we were really happy with it.

Do you plan on checking out any of the other bands?
All: Definitely, so many!
Lawrie: Definitely Creeper! We will probably check out Milk Teeth as well, I don’t know what  time they are on.
Alex: I think there are loads of good bands on the Obsidian Stage as well, which is where we were. We are actually missing Ugly Love right now which sucks, but we will make it up to them some other way. But there are so many cool bands, there is almost too many to list.
Lawrie: We will definitely be watching Dead because they are on the same stage as us and they are good friends of ours, so we will definitely be watching them as well.
Alex: Ashestoangels, even though they clash with InMe! I will have to split my time between those two. Yeah man, today is going to be amazing!

How would you describe your music to someone who has not heard it before?
Lawrie: I guess I would say moody punk rock. We have a new EP coming out in a couple of months’ time and we have gone down a much darker direction with it, so the first EP is a little bit lighter, but it still has its dark parts so I guess I would say moody punk rock.
Alex: Yeah, I mean fast and dark, that is kind of it. It is not like… It’s hard! I don’t want to say we are like a goth band, I want to say we are like a pop punk band but…

Lawrie: …We kind of are! We are kind of everything, let’s just go with moody punk rock.

You mentioned the new EP, have you finished that or is there still work to do on it?
Lawrie: Yeah, it is pretty much there. It is all recorded, we have got artwork, we are just kind of finalising everything with the label that we are working with. Just kind of in the final stages of preparation really just to get it out there basically.

What inspired your band name?
Alex: So I am a massive Alkaline Trio fan and there is a line in one of their songs which references Miss Vincent, so I Googled it thinking that there must be a really cool story behind it. I actually stumbled on a completely separate ‘nothing to do with it’ article about a woman in London who was late thirties/early forties, she had a family…
Lawrie: She wasn’t a recluse or anything.
Alex: No, she was just a normal person and she died watching TV one night, wrapping Christmas presents for her family. And nobody found her for two years. It inspired me to write a song about it first of all…
Lawrie: Very morbid but very interesting and quite sad at the same time, because this was in London. It wasn’t sort of out in the middle of nowhere kind of thing. It was just in a London flat, a middle-aged woman who wasn’t found for two years, which was a long time to be dead and for no one to notice.
Alex: Our first single that we ever released was actually going to be called Miss Vincent before we had a band name, and then we sort of just adopted it for our band name.
Lawrie: We just decided we liked it!
Alex: And that was kind of it!

Who would you say your major influences are?

Lawrie: Well two of us are wearing Bayside t-shirts right now, so I’m going to have to say Bayside!
Jack: Definitely Alkaline Trio, obviously. We all love Alkaline Trio! Then it is kind of a mixture after that.
Lawrie:  There are a few bands that we all absolutely love, for example Bayside and Alkaline Trio, and then we have all got our separate influences. I absolutely love Brand New!
Alex: He is a massive Brand New fan!
Lawrie: Yeah! Nirvana, and then we all like stuff like Bad Religion and A.F.I.
Alex: Yeah, just mix all those bands up, throw it and then that’s what you get.
Lawrie: If all those bands were sick into a bucket and we drank it…
Jack: But why would you drink it?!
Lawrie: I’m not really sure where I was going with that…

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians?
Jack: Practice! And don’t give up, just keep trying.
Lawrie: Just work super fucking hard and gig as much as you can. Just really, really try and don’t expect anything for nothing! You have just got to bust your balls and work as hard as you can.
Alex: Also get an instrument, get good at it and then join a band, or just get to a certain level. You need to be able to have confidence in yourself to work with other people, and then once you are in a band practice, practice, practice! And never stop practicing, ever!
Lawrie: I think part of it is just pinpointing what you want to do as a band, because a fair few bands that are around at the moment, no names in particular, but we have played with some bands who go a bit this way with one song and a bit that way and they don’t pinpoint who they really are, so you’re not quite sure what they are about. It is about really pinpointing what you want to do and what you want to sound like and just go straight towards that.

What inspires you to continue to write music?
Alex: Whatever happens around me! I find writing really cathartic so essentially I just can’t stop writing songs, I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t write songs. I write hundreds… Well not hundreds and hundreds, but I think at the moment we have a bank of almost a hundred tracks. Most of which we will never ever use! Most of them are no good at all, but the process of writing really helps me a lot and it is just something that I feel like I need to do all the time. And if I don’t write for a while I get really, really sad and really down about it!
Lawrie: Yeah and for all of us as well this is really our kind of sole creative outlet, like none of us do anything else musically really. I teach, but that is not so much creative. So collectively it is our sole creative outlet.
Alex: So we have to do it, essentially!

What else have you got planned for this year?
Alex: So much! But we can’t talk about any of it yet. New EP, tours and more tours!
Lawrie: New music and gigs. We recorded a new video last weekend which will be out in a months’ time. New everything!

Photography by Rob Campion
www.facebook.com/missvincentband 

Takedown Festival at Southampton University 7/3/15

Punk rockers Miss Vincent (8/10) were the first band to grace the Obsidian Stage, and it is safe to say that they managed to warm up the crowd well: “Takedown is a long day and you’re going to be here until 11pm… It’s important to stretch and warm up for the amazing bands, and that is our job!” The local four-piece managed to entertain everyone with their fusion of harmonious vocals and bass-filled riffs, and they even had more people joining the crowd as they played. 

Progressive rock legends InMe (9/10) managed to appeal to both young and old fans with the performance of their debut 2003 album ‘Overgrown Eden’. Despite being out for over fifteen years, the Essex trio were able to mesmerise the crowd with their passionate and energetic performance. Dave McPherson’s vocals were both harmonious and heavy, truly reflecting the theme of InMe’s performance style. They were also able to excite fans by announcing the release of a new triple album in May. For their final song ‘Faster The Chase’ they invited Mikey Chapman from Mallory Knox to join them on stage, resulting in mass amounts of mosh pits and beach balls flying everywhere.

Bristol-based goth punk band Ashestoangels (7.5/10) were a sure-fire hit on the Obsidian Stage, appealing to fans of bands such as Fearless Vampire Killers and Black Veil Brides. Lead singer Crilly was no stranger to getting involved with the crowd, constantly jumping into the mosh pit and engaging with excitable fans.

Local metalcore five-piece Our Hollow, Our Home (9/10) drew in a huge crowd for their set on the Uprawr Stage, proving exactly how many fans their hard work and persistence has gained them. They definitely have the stage presence of a much bigger band, as they were constantly able to encourage fans to create mosh pits and circle pits. Despite having technical difficulties at numerous points during their set, their professionalism and talent allowed them to continue performing one of their best shows to date.

Metal loudmouths The Hell (8/10) managed to insult the crowd numerous times during their set, but their fans seemed to love it. Their offensive yet humorous act proved that metal music does not always need to be serious. With lead singer Nail$ hurling insults left, right and centre, it is safe to say that if you are easily offended then you should steer well-clear of the bandana-wearing five-piece: “It is international women’s day tomorrow, so I want every woman in here to kick a man in the face!” Playing songs such as ‘Bangers And Mosh’, ‘Deal With It’ and ‘Everybody Dies’ The Hell managed to engage with a rowdy yet passionate crowd.

Forming from the ashes of electronic rock band My Passion, British rock trio Fort Hope (8/10) managed to impress Takedown-goers with their beautiful lyrics and harmony-filled vocals. Sounding much heavier than they do on record, Fort Hope rocked the crowd with songs such as ‘Control’, ‘The Rapture’ and ‘Sick’.

Uprawr Stage headliners Heart Of A Coward (10/10) proved exactly why they were so high up on the bill with their energetic and exciting performance. The Milton Keynes based metal five-piece rocked the crowd with their heavy riffs and fast-paced songs. Lead singer Jamie Graham’s vocals were on top form, filling the arena with harsh screams and angry lyrics. Jamie also proved that Heart Of A Coward were all about the music and not violence as he stopped their set due to violent people in the crowd and refused to continue until they had left. They also performed a new song for the first time ever, ‘Hollow’, which sounded even heavier than their previous material. Ending their set with fan favourites ‘Deadweight’ and ‘Around A Girl In 80 Days’, Heart Of A Coward were able to entertain fans from start to finish, providing a fitting end to an incredible day of live music.  

Photography by Rob Campion.