Winning Live and Unsigned
How much has winning Live and Unsigned meant to you?
We still find it difficult to articulate it. It just crept up from nowhere, grabbed us by the cheeks and whisked us away to a wonderful place full of interviews, recordings and photographs. A place we’d all dreamt of, but never actually been. It’s become full time now, and we’ve all quit our jobs. Quitting your job to pursue your band is the most liberating, brilliant thing you’ll ever do in your life.
During the rounds of the competition, how confident were you of winning?
We had no idea! In every heat we thought it would be unlikely that we would progress. I guess we’re not confident enough in ourselves! We were just treating the competition as a place to meet new bands, play in front of some new faces and hopefully, gain some exposure. Exposure that has been incomparable for us, everyone seems to know who we are now!
Has winning the event opened up any avenues as of yet or provoked any interest from people in the music business, other than the direct package that you won?
A lot more people are certainly aware of us now. There have been some quite interesting words flung around but we’re just keeping our feet on the ground and taking things one step at a time. It’s not very wise to rush into anything, headfirst and eyes shut, in the music industry.
Prior to Live and Unsigned, how were things going for you as a group and how did you find your local music scene?
I’m 100% confident in the statement that we have the best fans on the planet. They’re all crazy, loyal and insanely beautiful. There’s quite a few of them too! They have reproduced a bit, since the competition though. Leigh is a spooky place to be from, either everyone loves you, or everyone hates you and tend to throw things at you. There doesn’t seem to be any in-between.
On stage at the Live and Unsigned Festival
How much did you enjoy playing the O2?
It was a surreal experience. There must have been about six hundred and fifty three butterflies in each of our stomachs, just flying around. They all went crazy, bumping into each other when we were side-stage waiting to go on, that was the scariest bit. They all leave you though, as soon as you get on stage. Then something else entirely takes over. Minutes feel like seconds, and seconds barely exist. One thing I did not enjoy, though, if there had to be something, is not being able to see the audience. Those lights are like the sun, right in your eyes!
What have you got coming up?
Lots! We’re currently looking for the right person to record our debut single, Paper Plate Faces. Then that will be released, and we’ll tour it. Hopefully, everyone will buy it, and we’ll do an album, that hopefully everyone will also buy. We’ll go on to write a Christmas song, get it to number one, then all quit music and buy planes. You know, the usual.
Now that you have won the competition and verified that you are indeed a good group with a large following, how far do you see yourself going in the music business?
We’re not deluded or anything, we don’t think we’re going to be the Beatles. We’re just hoping to be the biggest band in the world.
Who influences the music that you have written so far?
Everyone. From people on buses to all of our favourite bands. We’re all obsessed with very different things, musically. I guess our music is just a soup made from everything that we do, read, watch and listen to.
Who would you love to have the opportunity to play alongside in the music business?
It’ll never ever happen, Morrissey would hate us, we’re far too happy. We just want to tour with some cool bands, we like to make lots of friends. We’re all really feeling Bombay Bicycle Club at the moment, we’ve seen them a few times. It’d be nice to do some shows with them.
"We're not deluded or anything, we don't think we're going to be the Beatles. We're just hoping to be the biggest band in the world."
Were there any other acts in the competition who you felt were particularly good?
Loads! Especially at the final. We watched every single band that day, and every one blew us away. They were the cream of the crop, whittled down from 10,000 bands. Everyone did themselves proud. We’ve even been to see a couple of them, the ones that really caught our ears.
Realistically speaking, do you think you would achieve great things in the business, without the title of Live and Unsigned winners behind you? Particularly with the lack of support the music business seems to offer new acts as a whole.
It has certainly been a fantastic platform for us, and it’s grabbed attention from the media which is very important. I think we’re all very determined people, though. I’d like to think we would have gotten there, one way or another.
What do you believe it is about you and your sound that led you to be crowned winners?
Who knows! Whatever we’re doing at the moment, we seem to be doing it right, so naturally, we intend to continue! Maybe it’s our jaw-dropping good looks!
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