Our Hollow, Our Home Interview

I spoke to local metalcore band Our Hollow, Our Home before their set at Takedown Festival about the Hampshire metal scene, Facebook fans and the reaction to their latest EP.

How does it feel to be back at Takedown Festival?
Josh: Amazing! We love this festival, since it is our hometown… Apart from Tim, Pompey, wahey! Yeah, it is great! So many sick bands, shout out to Advanced Promotions for putting it on every year.
It is the best day out and the start of summer!

What has changed since you played Takedown last year?
Tim: We are more unfit!
Toby: We have released a CD! That is a little bit more important!
Josh: We have released a CD! We are concentrating on the summer, getting touring and we have a lot of things planned. It is probably just taking it that step up, just being a bit more serious about it.
Tim: We’ve had summer festivals and touring. We have to push the EP a bit, but we have a new video coming out. Yeah, just having fun.

What bands are you planning to see today?
Tim: I’m going to see the boys in Create To Inspire, they are good lads. We have already seen Prolong The Agony, they are good mates of ours. I want to go see Moose Blood and Blood Youth. There are so many bands at the moment, there are too many to choose from!
Josh: For me it is Mallory Knox, I don’t really listen to Charlie Simpson but it would be interesting to see him.
Tim?: We are majorly gutted because we clash with Creeper! And they are like the band of the weekend for us and we can’t see them, but hey ho! Come see us, not them! (laughs)

In the time that you have been together you have gained over 10,000 fans on Facebook, how does it feel knowing that you have reached out to so many people?
Tim: It’s amazing! We are used to growing up in bands where you get 2000 fans and you are really excited. You have to take a step back and just be like ‘wow’. We have done nothing to warrant that many people paying an interest in us, so it is pretty special.
Josh: It is awesome! When we struggle, when we are like ‘god we have put so much money into this band’ it makes it all worthwhile, it really does.

What are your views on the Hampshire metal scene?
Josh: At the minute it is going really well, we have got local bands that are killing it! Creeper, Bury Tomorrow. Obviously they are getting places! But then you have got other bands such as Prolong The Agony who are doing really well and it is just really good to see. A few years ago there wasn’t the community in my eyes that there is now.
Tim: It is like the local bands coming through, there was sort of a gap there for a while and now you have got the boys in Gone By Tomorrow and Saint[the]Sinner. We supported their last show and all of them just make the scene a community, instead of just being bands that occasionally play together.

What has been the reaction to the //Redefine EP?
Josh: From what I can tell from the reviews that we have been reading it has done really well. It has been a long time coming and it has been painful for us to get that EP out. I cannot stress how hard it has been for us, but it is out! Download it on iTunes, Band Camp, come buy it at a show, illegally download it in some way, shape or form!
Tim: It has been a labour of love to get it out, but it has been worth it just to see people say that they are going to listen to it, people checking it out… It is worth it, all of the way!

How would you describe your music to someone who has not heard it before?
Both: Cheesy metalcore!
Josh: We don’t think that we are that heavy, but when we play live we are pretty heavy! Catchy heaviness! We could play any stage of this festival! (laughs)

What inspires you to keep writing music and performing?
Toby: Well I am the only one who writes anything! I don’t know, I watch a lot of classic films. I get a lot of electronic bars from soundtracks like Gladiator and Lord of the Rings. Things of an epic scale I don’t like can be limited to a single genre. I will take elements from all sorts of things in life and focus and channel it through music.

What advice would you give to any aspiring musicians?
James: Don’t act like us! (laughs)
Toby: I would say that the best thing to do is to get into a practice room together and write a good couple of songs, maybe four or five, and when you have got those five choose one that you think is your strongest song and don’t skimp on recording. If it means that you save and work a Saturday job or whatever, try and raise £800 and go to a professional studio because in this day and age the internet is everything, so people will judge you and merit you on your online presence. So by having a good track online for people to listen to is the best way I’d say to start anything.
Josh: Just to add onto that any Tom, Dick and Harry can get a MacBook and record something, so the quality of that recording is so important!
Tim: I think that the work never stops as well, you can’t stop pushing yourself and you can’t stop pushing your band name. Just try and get people to listen to it, you can’t just take a break from that or it won’t be worth it.

What should people expect from a live show from Our Hollow, Our Home?
Toby: A bit of a party, I suppose! We play heavy music but we don’t necessarily come across as big bruiser guys who are like ‘YEAH!’
Josh: We like everyone when we play live to have a great time. We played at The Joiners a few weeks ago and it was a party! We don’t take ourselves too seriously.
Toby: You have got to understand that a lot of people forget that when you pay to go and see a show that it is a show. So like you wouldn’t pay to go and see West Side Story just standing there would you, you expect an act. We try and put on a show, that is what we do.

What else do you have planned for the rest of this year?
Josh: We can’t say… Festivals! We have got a couple of things that we can’t say but that makes it exciting. We have got touring, festivals, we want to push the new video as we said earlier. We are going to try and build up what we have done last year and cement ourselves a little bit more.
Toby: Along with continuing write the new release I suppose. We have made some headway with it, but I would like to get a lot more nailed in on the pre-production side so I can expect where to shape the record.

www.facebook.com/ourhollowourhome
Photography by Rob Campion 

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 

Ashestoangels Interview

I spoke to Crilly from Ashestoangels at Takedown Festival about damaged knees, internet piracy and Johnny Cash.

How do you think your set went today?
Pretty good, nothing broke! I stood on the audience and they seemed to like it! I had a good time, it was really exciting and it is nice to play to a full room during the day.

Are you planning on checking out any of the other bands on today?
Creeper, 5.35pm! I have got the time tattooed on my inner arm like the guy from Les Misérables, except instead of the number from a time that I was in a French prison for stealing bread to feed my family it is just the time to see Creeper! They are going to be good.

How would you describe your music to someone who has not heard it before?
A goth punk explosion!

How has the reception to Horror Cult been?
Pretty good, people seem to like it! They seem to love stealing it from the internet, which I am actually fine with. I would rather people stole it, enjoyed it and came to see us play it. I don’t care about online sales, which is lucky so we gave half of them to Music For Good to put houses somewhere. Somewhere nice, I hope!

What inspired the band name?
David Bowie! Ashes To Ashes is my third favourite David Bowie song, we couldn’t call ourselves Ziggy Stardust or Spiders From Mars, that is a thing!

What made you want to become a musician?
Well I wanted to be a fighter pilot, but that didn’t work out. So I went for the second best of not killing anybody! Also I started going to local gigs and being like ‘yup, that is what I want! I want to be on that stage!’

Who would you say that your major influences are?
It started out as A.F.I and Aiden, and now…  I don’t know, I still love those bands, but I don’t really think about anyone else when I am writing, I just try and write the best songs that I can, the only way I know how… Like Johnny Cash! Three points for the Johnny Cash reference, number three!

What advice would you give to anyone that wants to become a musician or a singer?
Look after your knees! I left my knee brace at home, I made this one out of duct tape and it is pretty bad… I am going to pay for this one tomorrow! When I started out first of all I fucking sucked, and that is fine! You don’t have to be good to begin with; in fact it is good to have to improve because it teaches you valuable lessons. But I really wish that I had learnt how to sing a little bit better than I did in the beginning, like I never used to warm up and because of that I get vocal problems. But yeah: warm up, tune up, play and make sure that you practice and you will be alright!

What inspires you to keep playing songs and writing music?
Stuff like today! I think we are the kind of band that people… There are no like casual fans, people don’t just check us out. People either don’t like us, don’t know us or they are really into it and they are the people that like music the way that I like music. I am an old man compared to most of the people in this venue and to see people who have the same passion that I do is just amazing and I hope that they keep it up, because I have and I am still here.

What do you think that people should expect from a live show?
Well… They are going to get involved! I don’t stand for any of that standing still! And also people have stopped videoing us, there is no video evidence of us playing for the past two years. I don’t take a stand against it, we are not one of those bands who are like ‘fuck your camera!’ or any of that shit, I just think that you are going to have more fun if you are actually involved.

What else do you have planned for 2015?
Got to record another album, because I get bored! We are going to go on tour some more. I really like being on tour and our new van is more reliable so… Cool!

Is there anywhere that you want to play that you haven’t before?
Festivals! I want to start doing the festivals! We are doing D.I.Y tours, and that is fine. We have been doing them forever but now like our last one, half of it is sold out which is fucking crazy! So we are going to keep doing that and building on that. We’d really love to play some festivals! I have such a good time at them!

Ashestoangels head out on tour again later this month with 48Hours. Catch them at a date near you:

March
26 HARLOW - Square
28 MANCHESTER - Satans Hollow
29 NEWCASTLE - Think Tank
30 BIRMINGHAM - Asylum
31 BRIDGWATER - Tiki Beach 

April 
01 LONDON - Barfly

www.facebook.com/ashestoangels

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. 

Dance Gavin Dance at Takedown Festival 11/5/13

Post-hardcore band Dance Gavin Dance are well renowned for their line-up changes, but they have definitely found a great new lead singer in the form of Tilian Pearson. The crowd hesitation before Dance Gavin Dance started their performance was immediately wiped away when Tilian started singing ‘Tree Village’; his voice sounded incredible and full of emotion. It takes a lot for a new lead singer to perform songs that they haven’t written, but Tillian was able to sing them in a unique yet familiar way. Their new song ‘The Robot With Human Hair Part 4’ gained a great crowd reaction, proving that there is a lot of excitement for their upcoming album release ‘Acceptance Speech’ later this year. Dance Gavin Dance gave one of the best performances at Takedown Festival and proved that they’re still here and stronger than ever.

Check out Dance Gavin Dance here: https://www.facebook.com/DanceGavinDance

Tesseract at Takedown Festival 11/5/13

Progressive metal band Tesseract are renowned for putting on an incredible live show, and at Takedown Festival they did just that. Ashe O’Hara’s vocals are possibly some of the best in the progressive metal scene, giving chills to the crowd. His astounding voice merges well with the highly impressive technical guitar riffs found in all of Tesseract’s songs. Despite playing a short set which consisted of about four songs, Tesseract managed to get the crowd going and performed an unforgettable set.

Check out Tesseract here: https://www.facebook.com/tesseractband

We Are Fiction at Takedown Festival 11/5/13

Peterborough rock band We Are Fiction were the second band on the Big Deal Clothing Stage at Takedown Festival, and they definitely set the atmosphere of the day right. Phil Barker’s vocals are amazing and merge well with the harmonic backing vocals of Marc Kucharski. We Are Fiction’s songs are the perfect mix of mellow rock and harsh screaming vocals, making them a band accessible to rock fans across the spectrum. ‘Sail On’ was especially well received by the crowd and it was a great ending to an incredibly strong and impressive performance. With their songs appearing on Scuzz and Kerrang, We Are Fiction are growing in fans rapidly, and if you haven’t checked them out yet then you’re missing out!

Check out We Are Fiction here: https://www.facebook.com/wearefiction