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I’ll start by asking who would you say your biggest influences are? My biggest influences for my acoustic stuff are the regular ones like Nick Drake, Elliot Smith, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell etc. The last couple of years I've listened to a lot of Patti Smith and Jackson C Frank. Sam Beam from Iron & Wine is probably my biggest influence.
You are releasing a new album soon with Sad For Life what can we expect from the album? The album is 10 tracks I wrote a while ago featuring backing from some friends, I recorded the guitar and vocals in 2019 with Ste before layering some bass and percussion and getting the amazing Paz to lay violin and backing vocals. We'd been playing quite a few of the tracks live for a while so it was a relatively painless process. I think it's quite an atmospheric and old time sounding record, the songs are all inspired by East Cleveland and I'm happy with how it's turned out
As well as your solo work you have been known to play in many other bands. How different would you say the creative process is from performing in a band and your own work? Generally the bands I play in write by jamming for a great deal of time or having someone work on an initial idea before presenting it. There's usually quite a lot of work to do before something is fully finished. With solo stuff it's a lot more organic and sometimes song write themselves really quickly, all the people I play music with have a tonne of ideas and I've always got a lot of half finished songs so it's pretty much a race to get the ideas realized.
What have been some of your favorite gigs you’ve played as a solo act and within a band? I haven't played many acoustic gigs in the last year. I played a really nice evening for Eddie & The Valkyries single launch at the Spooker Records attic a while ago that was a good time. With bands gigs I'm always a fan of all dayers like Heelapolooza Twisterella or Stockton Calling, I really miss Make A Scene festival I hope that comes back so I can be 18 again.
How have you been keeping busy creatively during the current lockdown?
This year I've been recording a lot of demos so I can get some songs out of my head and hopefully get another release out this year. I've been trying to get good on the banjo since January so this pandemic has been handy in that respect. Also I've been gardening a bit if this happens again next year I'll be self sustainable on chives and cress.
As well as your album do you have any plans on any other releases with any of your other acts? Yes Sorry Escalator have released 2 new singles this year and we will be finishing their new EP in the summer. Dripp have got the second EP written and should be recording it this year. Heel Turn will likely return to headline Leeds next year.
Finally if you could recommend five other north east act who would they be? There's tonnes and tonnes of great bands from the area but a some of my faves are Swears, Shaking Nightmares, Mt Misery and Peg Powler. I've seen Werms and Ghost Signals lately and they're both brilliant too. Also shout out Parissa Zarifi who played on the album and is a great songwriter. Sorry its hard to pick 5. It's if all time put Dartz! Exit By Name and Hot Quiche Conspiracy in there too.
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