MAGNETIC TAPE ZINE
Who would you cite as influential
on your sound?
Chaz: Subtlety, space, repetition are all pretty important
aspects of the songs we play together. Lots of 80s and
90s hardcore punk.
Clyde: Jeez, pretty much everything we've ever listened
to. It all comes through.
Rob: I don't have any specifics really. A bit of
everything, but I try to go for 'less is more'.
Lyrically, is there any kind of theme
or subject that ties the record
together? What is the process
when you write lyrics?
Chaz: No theme to the record, just songs about the shit
I'm sick of seeing and hearing about. I usually write a
couple of lines and then improvise from them when we
record. Some songs have a full set of lyrics, some have
just one line and I go from there.
Clyde: I guess for me, failure in various forms.
What’s the music scene like in
Birmingham? I read an interview
where you said “One of the main
problems with the city is the lack
of really good bands.“ do you think
this is changing at all?
Chaz: I haven't lived in Birmingham for a couple of
years now so relatively ignorant on new Birmingham
bands, but there's always been a handful of great bands
but never broken off into enough to keep gigs exciting.
What bands excite you in
the UK right now?
Chaz: Mars to Stay, No, Mob Rules, Carson Wells.
Clyde: Same. I don't really know what's going on, but
there seems to be some new blood coming through,
so fingers crossed. Birmingham confuses the fuck out
of me... second city, but it can't pull shit together for
show turnouts or bands. I was speaking to a guy the
other night and he was disappointed that only about
60 people had turned out to see Blacklisted in Reykjavik.
But then Birmingham has about 4 times the population,
and I remember a time when getting 20+ people to a
show was a good turnout.
Clyde: Too many to mention. The ones Chaz
mentioned, Plaids, Kin Shot, Pine Barrens, Twisted,
Sleepers... so many more besides that.
Rob: All of the above, The Flex, Perspex Flesh,
The Blue Period, Bonehouse, Good Throb...