“I think we have to be realistic and say if Blues is going to move forward then we can have Old Blues and New Blues and New Blues will have influences from outside of the genre.”
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Interview
A Welshman, a Frenchman, and a Brazilian walk into a bar….
…and blow the place apart!
Without doubt, one of the most joyous displays of musicianship and camaraderie I have witnessed to date.
Turning the negativity of lock-down on it’s head, the guys decided to take a step back, review and re-create. Drummer and vocalist Taeg is French, Dhino on Bass and vocals is from Brazil and Joe on guitar and lead vocals is from Wales and they all converged in London.
The spontaneous joy is infectious and a lot of the shenanigans on stage appear to be completely unrehearsed and this is confirmed later on in the interview. Drummers playing bass: Bass players playing drums: Bass players hi-jacking guitarist’s effect pedals….
Interview
Kirk – Hi and thanks for agreeing to an interview. Have you come up here from London?
Joe – Yeah, we came up from London and we were lucky enough to be asked to support Jimmy Carpenter at a gig in Edinburgh, in The Voodoo Rooms. Colin from Blues Matter magazine arranged that, and we’ve had another couple of gigs. We stopped about halfway up in Crewe and did a gig there as well. Nothing in Glasgow as yet but we would love to play there. We would love to play The Howlin Wolf.
Kirk – Yes, that’s a popular Blues venue, the Record Factory on Byres Road is another. The Hug and Pint, The Bag O’ Nails, all good venues. Webster’s Theatre is another good one if you can draw a crowd.
Dhino – We played Wales a couple of weeks ago and have done several in England and are also looking at going over the Northern Ireland.
Kirk – Are most of your regular gigs in London?
Joe – We are a London band, but we have made the conscious decision to go out and tour and make connections and build our fanbase all across the UK. It’s the only way to directly connect with fans across the country.
Kirk – To meet and engage with real people rather than the “Likes” of social media?
Gaet – Yes, that is our strategy, that is the goal. Gigging and meeting real people. The social media is great but at the end of the day you have to share this experience with real people.
Kirk – For a 3-piece band there is a huge sound but there is a lot of space. Is that something that you have crafted or is it just naturally how you play?
Joe – The sound is something that we have become very aware of while recording our new album over the months of May and June. Listening to the songs over and over again and tweaking them with the help of our engineer really gave us an insight into where everything should sit. I think that the album is a very accurate representation of how this band sounds live.
Gaet – Also, we have been playing a lot, every weekend, and that really helps bring the sound together.
Kirk – And so tell me something. During the set you Dhino, you went up onto the drum riser and you started hitting one of Gaet’s cymbals, and then he started hitting your strings and then during Joe’s guitar solo you somehow managed to swap instruments without Joe noticing. At the end of the song Dhino was on the drums and Gaet was on the bass, and you were both rocking out!! And then Joe, you turned around and you looked genuinely shocked! I saw you jump a little and you said “Jesus Christ!” and then burst out laughing.
That looked completely spontaneous, was it rehearsed at all?
Joe – Nope. I had no idea what was going on. It just goes to show what a self-indulgent idiot I am (laughs)
Kirk – I like the way you mixed up the song “Restitution” by putting a little Reggae break in there. Which leads me on to an observation I made. I can normally pick out influences in a band and most people always like to say “Oh you sound a bit like this guy or that band…” but I can’t really compare you to anyone. Why do you think that is?
Joe – Thank you, that’s quite a compliment! One of the reasons for that is that we have a lot of influences that are not really in the Blues world, and we are inspired by other music out-with the genre. I believe that is a good thing. I think there is currently a need to bring in a more diverse audience and that’s what the new album does, it asks the questions “Is this the Blues?” “What is Blues?” If Blues is going to continue and bring in new young audiences, it has to evolve a bit in the same way that Jazz has. There are some that have the opinion that if it’s not slide on an acoustic guitar then it’s not really Blues. We don’t think that. We think it’s perfectly ok to be re-imagining the music with influences from funk, dance music, hip-hop. That’s what people were doing back in the 30’s and 40’s, they were using the influences around them from the music of the time, even classical music. I mean Debussy played the first ragtime, which then became Blues. I think we have to be realistic and say if Blues is going to move forward then we can have Old Blues and New Blues and New Blues will have influences from outside of the genre. And I think that’s why we don’t sound like any other Blues band.
Kirk: Lockdown seems to have inspired you quite a bit. You have taken a real challenge and turned it into an opportunity.
Dhino: Yes, it was a nice challenge actually. We refused to just stop. We were born to be musicians and we had to change our mindset during lockdown and ask the question “Ok we cannot gig so what CAN we do?” We were on the phone to each other every day, talking about the music, writing songs. I think that lockdown actually helped us develop as a band in some way.
Joe: Yes, I think when you are a busy gigging band, you don’t have the time to stop and write new material. And we actually met Gaet during lockdown.
Gaet: Yeah, it was a great opportunity to think about the future, to think about the next step. What do we want to do, where do we want to go?
Kirk: Gaet, you are French. Dhino you are Brazilian. And Joe, you are Welsh. That seems to work well.
Joe: Yeah, when things get tough, we swear at each other in our native languages! It’s funny, we were all drawn to London to meet people but as soon as we got together, we started looking for gigs in other parts of the UK and here we are in Scotland!
Gaet: Yeah, the London vibe is a bit strange at the moment. It seems like there are a lot of function bands playing in the city centre, like it’s for the tourists. We don’t get this {The Callendar Jazz and Blues Festival} vibe down there.
Kirk: Scotland does have a bit of a reputation for our audience participation and enthusiasm. Especially Glasgow…but you need to be good (laughs)…if you’re not good it can get quite messy.
What are the plans for the future?
Dhino: Keep playing, keep recording, keep touring.
Kirk: Are you going to tour on your own or are you looking for a double-header or a support gig with other bands?
Joe: It’s funny you mention that because, starting in November, we are going to be doing some double-header shows with the Mark Pontin Group (http://markpontingroup.com/) We will be doing Leeds, a couple of gigs in Wales and some other gigs around the country. We are also looking to do something in Darlington with another couple of bands.
One of the main advantages of going out and travelling around is that we have met so many people that want to help us and get involved. To come and play Scotland we need to have 4 or 5 gigs to make it work and people are keen to make that happen, so gradually we make more and more contracts and friends and then suddenly it’s done. Making those contacts is a huge thing when you are touring. We have a goal of 150 gigs next year, which is a lot, but it’s those contacts that will help make that goal a reality.
Some people say live music is dead. Look at this place! It’s definitely not dead.
Kirk: I think there is more appetite now than ever in this post-lockdown scenario. People have had a chance to reflect and prioritise and I think there will be a real injection of renewed enthusiasm for live music both from the audiences and also musicians.
While we are talking about live gigs, what is the dream gig for each of you?
Dhino: Well, I am Brazilian so I would love to play “Rock in Rio”. I grew up watching my heroes play at that festival.
Gaet: For me it would be a tour full of Stadium gigs!
Joe: And while we are doing that, if we could stop off and play a gig at Antone’s in Austin, Texas then that would be a dream come true.
Kirk: Well, if there is any justice in the world then it’s going to happen for all of you. Thank you very much guys. Really enjoyed talking to you and really, really enjoyed the gig. I wish you all the very best for the future!
Date: 03/10/2021
Location
The Callander Jazz and Blues Festival
Camera info
Camera: Sony A7R3
Lens: Sony 24-104 f4
Focal length:
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Time of day:
Conditions: Exterior/Interior
Lighting: Natural light/Stage lighting
