MUSIC
Do you have an album you couldn’t live without?
Very good question. The album I couldn’t live without… I’d probably say, me personally… “Transformer” by Lou Reed. Because I’m a massive Lou Reed fan. And again, The Velvet Underground – they were quite influential on our band, I would say. Just because it was raw and horrible… and it just sounds fucking amazing. But I would say that we would both say “Blonde on Blonde”, “Exile on Main Street”, the first album by The Clash. You’re seeing a pattern here: The Clash, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan. Um, “Bone Machine” by Tom Waits – That’s up there! “Mule Variations” by Tom Waits – Amazing. And there’s an old compilation album that was done in the 60’s I believe, called “Nuggets” which is about the whole garage rock ‘n’ roll, when it first came out. So, yea I’d probably say “Nuggets” as well. That’s had a heavy influence on our sound
How long have you known each other? How did you meet?
So, me and Matt met in school. He was one of the big kids. He started puberty when he was like… two. And I was one of the younger – well, I was in the same year as him but I was one of the little kids who didn’t start puberty till probably about five minutes ago. So there’s me, full of energy, running around, trying to annoy all of the taller kids – which I was very good at and I wear that badge with pride! Being the annoying kid and Mat was the cool, like alternative kid. Long hair, listening to all of the rock music coming out in the early noughties. And I used to annoy the fuck out of all of them, so Matt hated me in school. I liked Matt. That was when we were like 11 – and I think on his 13th birthday we had a sleepover over his house. And the only reason he invited me was because my cousin Joel played guitar and I played drums. But the only reason he invited me was to get Joel over and because I drummed. No other reason. Didn’t like me. Then we just went through the rest of school and then he started a skiffle-y kind of band with my mate Marcell and then they wanted a drummer – and I eventually got the call. And then Hey Presto! We became “The Suits”, jammed it out. We’ve been going for a good couple of years now. Just getting that psychic thing that me and Matt have got. It’s quite extraordinary what me and Matt do on stage. We could do it blindfolded and with earplugs in but still sound fucking wicked cause we’re tight as fuck.
When did you form the band? What inspired you to make music together?
Well, I think it was just a collective agreement on the same kind of sounds. I don’t know, we just clicked. It sounds cliché and a bit of a cop out but we just clicked, we just played and we just had it. I knew when to stop and when to start, he knew when to stop and when to start. Loud and quiet – we both knew. It was just, in we got and we just… it’s magic. And we’ve played with other bands. Either like, with other people or just me and him being the backing band for other people. But, I dunno. Me and him just had this constant thing and it just sounds… well, it feels more. It sounds great but it feels fucking amazing.