Tag: uk tour

#Review: Bastille @ Brighton Centre, Brighton – 18/04/22

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On Monday 18th April 2022, Bastille arrived in Brighton for the closing night of their 2022 UK tour, in support of their fourth studio album, Give Me The Future. The night was incredible, with support from BIM and The Native. Here’s what we had to say about the sensational event…

BIM

Following a last-minute line-up change, due to singer, Dylan, being unable to perform, long-time Bastille backing singer, BIM, stepped up to perform as first support of the evening. Whilst she only performed 2 songs, she wowed the audience with her incredibly powerful, and soulful voice. Songs, ‘O.T.R.’ and ‘Cinematic’ both had sexy vibes to them, the latter of which makes references to a selection of films, which BIM invited the audience to guess which ones she was singing about. The singer was candid with the audience about being alone on the stage and asked for the support of the crowd, which they gave readily. A great singer, with some incredibly dynamic vocals – definitely one to look out for.

The Native

This band were an interesting act – they’re clearly young but quite experienced. Unfortunately for the singer, he was having trouble with his guitar which threw him off slightly, however they remained professional throughout the show delivering a flawless performance. That said, they could have used a little more personality, energy and smiles in their stage presence and whilst they have well-written songs, if I’m honest, they were not the most captivating tunes. That aside, they did manage to get the crowd excited for Bastille and their song, ‘In My Mind’ was a real stand-out performance.

Bastille

From the moment the band took to the stage, there was a huge surge of excitement and cheering from the anticipating crowd, particularly when singer, Dan Smith, emerged at the back of the stage, on a high platform in front of a white rectangular backdrop.

From start to finish (of the 100-minute set), this was a truly captivating experience; probably one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen! The production was instantly impressive with a cool stage set-up, that saw crossed-shaped lights dance across and above the stage, whilst a massive stage-wide screen displayed a variety of stunning visuals at the back of the stage, throughout the set.

Much as with their fourth studio album, Give Me The Future, the entire set was broken up by audio-visual interludes that made the whole performance feel as if you were part of a wonderful cyber experience.

The set was packed with an impressive amount of songs and featured both new and old tunes that had the audience singing along with every word! Even some of the deeper cuts from previous albums as well as those from their latest, had the audience ecstatic.

Despite the nearly seamless flow to the set, the band were truly considerate of their crowd too, stopping the performance a couple of times whilst people who had passed out were carefully lifted out of the crowd.

The band were highly energetic and showed off just how refined they have become at performing in a big concert venue. They’re true professionals and giants in their genre, who deserve their every success.

Without a doubt, this band are a phenominal live act to watch and will have you jumping and singing along within seconds of taking to the stage. Whilst this tour may have now drawn to a close, I’m sure the band will be back and touring again, having said they missed performing during the Covid pandemic, and I cannot recommend watching them, highly enough – they will not disappoint!

Highlights:

  • When singer, Dan Smith, jumped off the stage and into the crowd, during the band’s performance of ‘Happier’, it created a massive buzz throughout the audience and had everyone hyped up (watch the video below as I came face-to-face with him in the crowd!)
  • The appreciation for their fans just being there was evident and the love for enabling their latest album to reach Number 1 was felt by all.
  • The diversity of the set was really thrilling, with a combination of new and old, fast and slow songs, meaning the crowd were kept on their toes throughout.
  • The stage design was amazing – it enhanced the performance without detracting from the band themselves in a wonderfully immersive way.
  • ‘Things We Lost In The Fire’, ‘Happier’, ‘Of The Night’, ‘Future Holds’ (due to BIM‘s stunning vocals!) and ‘Pompeii’ were definite highlights of the show.

📷 All of the photos in this post are credited to Michael Hundertmark 📸
Why not give him a follow on Instagram and Twitter or check out his website.

 Setlist

Stay Awake?
Distorted Light Beam*
Things We Lost In The Fire
Laura Palmer
Oblivion
Those Nights
Quarter Past Midnight*
Back To The Future*
Plug In…
WHAT YOU GONNA DO???
survivin’
Good Grief*
Promises
Give Me The Future
4AM
No Bad Days
Happier*
Run Into Trouble*
Of The Night
Future Holds (with BIM)
Pompeii*

Encore
Hope For The Future
Shut Off The Lights (with The Native)

* These songs can be viewed in the YouTube playlist, below.

Finally, I want to say an enormous thank you to Jenny Entwistle from Chuff Media for sorting out this review for us and to Bastille, The Native and BIM for putting on a remarkable event!

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#Review: James Arthur @ Brighton Centre, Brighton – 12/03/22

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On Saturday 12th March 2022, James Arthur arrived in Brighton to perform an incredible show in support of his latest album, It’ll All Make Sense In The End. With support from Sonia Stein, the evening was one packed with excitement and stunning performances. Here’s what we had to say about the show…

Sonia Stein

Sonia Stein was an interesting performer – she seems to eloquently blend funk and soul with contemporary pop, making for a really interesting sound. Think somewhere along a similar vein to Nao and you’re along the right track. She graced the stage in a bright yellow jacket, accompanied by just two band members, however between them, they produced a fantastically full-on sound. Between songs, she displayed an almost shy demeanour, yet her vocals were powerful, well-controlled and confident. If you’ve not checked her out yet, you can catch her live throughout James Arthur‘s current UK tour, or listen to her recordings on all streaming platforms.

James Arthur

He may have done something amazing simply by winning X Factor in the UK, but James Arthur demonstrated that he is so much more than just a talent show winner at his Brighton Centre show.

The singer/songwriter took to the stage to monumental applause from the packed crowd as he showed off not only his incredible vocals but his great guitar skills too, on opening track, ‘4000 Miles’.

From there, the artist proceeded to wow the audience with a mixture of his well-known hits, old cuts from previous records and some album-tracks from the recently-released, It’ll All Make Sense In The End.

The singer is undoubtedly a true professional, having spent 10 years in the industry, performing countless shows and releasing 4 albums to date, and his show appeared seamless throughout.

One thing that truly stands out in his performances though, is just how incredibly powerful and achingly beautiful his voice is live. Of course this is something you’d expect from having heard his studio recordings but it translates so well to his live performances as he shows off just how technically impressive his voice is…and it’s all done so effortlessly.

James Arthur engages with the crowd well telling little anecdotes here and there but particularly shows his gratitude to the crowd for their decade of support since winning the X Factor and how grateful he is to the show for allowing him to pursue his dreams, before launching in to the incredible single that started it all, ‘Impossible’.

Four albums in and nearly a couple of handfuls of tours down, it’s easy to see why this singer/songwriter has picked up such a fantastic following and just how wonderful his shows are. Whether you know each and every song or are relatively new to his music, I can’t recommend highly enough, seeing him live whenever you get the chance. He will not disappoint.

Highlights:

  • His vocals – I said it earlier, but his voice was truly remarkable – powerful and dynamic; something mesmerising to behold live.
  • The cruel joke he played on the audience by welcoming out Anne-Marie to perform an acoustic rendition of The Greatest Showman cover, ‘Rewrite The Stars’, before admitting she wasn’t actually coming.
  • The renditions of ‘Happy Birthday’ he sung to a couple of members of the crowd were hilarious, particularly when he couldn’t hear the name of one of them and had to keep getting them to repeat their name numerous times.
  • The addition of a section of ‘Ready Or Not’ in the middle of ‘Sermon’ made for a great crowd-pleaser.

📷 All of the photos in this post are credited to Matteo D’Ambrosio 📸
Why not give him a follow on Instagram.

 Setlist

4000 Miles
Medicine*
Sermon (including a snippet of ‘Ready Or Not’)
Falling Like The Stars
September
Can I Be Him
Rewrite The Stars (Acoustic)*
Safe Inside/Empty Space/Emily (Acoustic)
Naked (Acoustic)
Last Of The Whiskey
Always
Sun Comes Up*
Impossible*

Encore
Train Wreck
Lasting Lover*
Say You Won’t Let Go*

* These songs can be viewed in the YouTube playlist, below.

Finally, I want to say a HUGE thanks to Simon Blackmore for arranging this review for me and to both James Arthur and Sonia Stein for putting on such incredible performances.

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#Review: James Blunt @ Brighton Centre, Brighton – 03/02/22

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On Thursday 3rd February 2022, James Blunt arrived in Brighton to kick off his The Stars Beneath My Feet Tour, seeing the artist perform a whole bunch of his greatest hits to a packed crowd. With support from Irish singer, Gavin James, the event was incredible from start to finish. Here’s what we have to say about it…

Gavin James

The singer took to the stage and instantly wowed the crowd with the beautiful, falsetto-driven ‘Nervous’. Starting out as just the singer and a guitar, he proceeded to be joined by a keys player and drummer, creating a deeply rich sound. The set was packed with more rock-like tracks such as the guitar solo-laden ‘Coming Home’ to the piano-led ‘Always’ (before he switched back to guitar, mid-song!) The singer really drew the audience in with his witty crowd interactions and ability to get everyone singing parts of his songs, along with him. He is a really interesting artist and someone to definitely keep an eye on!

Highlight: The beautiful falsetto notes and powerful full-on vocals Gavin James can create with his voice is truly astounding and wonderfully captivating!

 Setlist

Nervous
Heaven
Coming Home
Tired
Circles
Always
Hearts On Fire
Only Ticket Home

James Blunt

Say what you will about James Blunt, the guy is a fantastic performer and comes with a massive, loyal fan base.

From the moment the intro music blared through the speakers and the TV screens descended to cover his entrance, before slowly rising again to reveal Blunt himself, the crowd were cheering in anticipation.

Known for his sense of humour on social media, he was also just as quick-witted in person, making jokes about singing ‘You’re Beautiful’ 22 times, performing his “greatest hit” tour (saying because he only has one) and telling people to sit tight as he took to the piano before belting out a series of sad songs.

This was a truly wonderful show, that demonstrated the amazing talent he has, not only as a songwriter, but a performer too and showcased a diverse collection of songs (after all, this is a greatest hits tour), making it a performance to remember.

Whilst the screens above the stage added some diversity, the visual effects used were at times a little corny but did add to the arena feel of the show.

If you get a chance to catch James Blunt on this UK tour, I highly recommend it – whether you know him for his obvious hits, or are a long-term fan, he will not disappoint with his showmanship! I loved every second of it, despite not knowing every song, and would love to see him again.

Highlights:

  • James Blunt‘s banter with the crowd was on point and always had the audience in stitches.
  • The performance was faultless – he was a true professional at his art…as were his band.
  • There was the perfect combination of uplifting tracks, sad songs and even rockier elements, showing just what a great collection of music he has created over his career so far.
  • The way he held the crowd in the palm of his hand was something amazing to behold too, and there were people who clearly knew every word to every song, showing just how much more he is than ‘You’re Beautiful’.
  • ‘Wisemen’, ‘Love Under Pressure’, ‘Postcards’ (particularly for the use of the ukuleles), ‘OK’ and ‘1973’ were among some of the best songs of the show.

📷 All of the photos in this post are credited to Michael Hundertmark 📸
Why not give him a follow on Instagram and Twitter or check out his website.

 Setlist

Breathe*
Wisemen*
Carry You Home
Adrenaline
The Greatest
Goodbye My Lover
High
Smoke Signals
I Really Want You
Love Under Pressure
Postcards
So Long, Jimmy
Same Mistake
Monsters
Coz I Luv You
You’re Beautiful*
Stay The Night*
OK

Encore
Where Is My Mind? (Pixies Cover)
Bonfire Heart
1973*

* These songs can be viewed in the YouTube playlist, below.

Finally, I want to say a HUGE thanks to Tom Pearce from Good Soldier for sorting out this review and to both Gavin James and James Blunt for putting on such a great show!

Enjoyed this? Check out some of our other live reviews here:

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#Review: Fickle Friends @ Chalk, Brighton – 13/01/22

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On Thursday 13th January 2022, Fickle Friends kicked off their UK tour at Brighton’s Chalk, in support of their second studio album, Are We Gonna Be Alright? The band were supported by Foxgluvv and Valeras, before taking to the stage to play a packed set. Here’s what we have to say about the evening…

Foxgluvv

Stemming from London, support act Foxgluvv, aka Imogen Davies, showcased her unique pop style to early arrivals, in anticipation of the long-awaited Fickle Friends album tour.

You can see her influence from the likes of Madonna and even a touch of Kate Nash within her song writing – very 80’s inspired. She stood confidently on stage, singing songs about relationships, anxiety and identity in a sincere manner. Foxgluvv only had a handful of songs, as a debut album is still on the horizon. One standout song of the evening was the disco banger, ‘1:00AM’, with foot-stomping bass and synths, showing true potential, on par with Charlie XCX, for more exciting things to come in the future.

Michael Hundertmark

Valeras

Valeras were an interesting pair (I say pair, because they’re technically a duo but come accompanied by two other touring members). They packed a punch in terms of sound and the singer’s voice was great too – both raw and powerful. The singer, Rose, did a great job of captivating the audience too – especially when she revealed that she is part of the LGBTQ+ community and performed a personal song about this. There was another point in the set, where she stepped down from the stage and into the crowd, really capturing everyone’s attention. It was a great set and they’re certainly an act to keep an eye on.

Fickle Friends

Fickle Friends took to the stage and the crowd burst into applause and cheering as the band performed their incredibly catchy single, ‘IRL’. From there, the set was packed with a superb combination of songs, both new and old – some from their debut album, You Are Someone Else, some from EPs and some from their recently-released second album, Are We Gonna Be Alright? It was a fantastic showcase of their catalogue!

The band’s use of their instruments and backing tracks interwoven throughout the set was seamless and they demonstrated just how good they are at live performances…even after some time away from performing due to the pandemic. Singer, Natti’s voice was impeccable throughout too – effortless and powerful in all the right places.

The stage design was humble, with their second album cover as backdrop and some cool light towers on the stage to add interesting effects, but otherwise is was over to the band to wow their audience, and wow they did; the crowd were loving every second of the band’s performance, dancing and singing along throughout.

The set was split into some of their most upbeat pop tunes, then “rock hour” (as the band called it) and then “the home straight”, which consists of songs the band know inside out and have performed for so long they don’t have to think about it. Natti took a sip of her “home straight juice” and explained the layout of the set to everyone, making people laugh. “Rock hour” consisted of some of the tracks from their second album, one which they experimented with a heavier sound, in places (read our review here).

Possibly one of my favourite moments though, was the performance of second album title track, ‘Are We Gonna Be Alright?’ The song was very different from the rest of the set and really showed off the talent in Natti’s voice, as she played guitar with fellow band member, Jack – it was beautiful.

Their crowd interactions were short and sweet but kept the show moving nicely.

One thing’s for certain; the band are polished in terms of their live performances and know how to entertain a crowd in all the right ways! If you haven’t seen them live yet, I strongly recommend catching them on this tour, especially as they’ve hinted that it might be a while before they tour again! Grab a ticket and dance and sing the night away.

Highlights:

  • The diversity of the setlist made for a truly brilliant show.
  • The energy that oozed out of the band was superb and made for a great set.
  • Favourite performances included ‘Glue’, ‘Not Okay’, ‘Love You To Death’ and ‘Say No More’.
  • ‘Pretty Great’ was a brilliant end to the set too as a vocoder was used in one part, Natti played some keyboard, Jack took centre stage and shredded the guitar, it was wonderfully chaotic in the best way and made for an outstanding close to the show.

📷 All of the photos in this post are credited to Michael Hundertmark 📸
Why not give him a follow on Instagram and Twitter or check out his website.

 Setlist

IRL
Glue*
Not Okay*
Hello Hello
Not In The Mood
Brooklyn
Write Me A Song
Yeah Yeah Yeah
Love You To Death
Hard To Be Myself*
Are We Gonna Be Alright?
Say No More*
Swim
Pretty Great

* These songs can be viewed in the YouTube playlist, below.

Finally, I want to say a HUGE thanks to Kat from Deidkated PR for arranging this review and to Fickle Friends themselves, for putting on an incredible evening.

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#Review: ONE OK ROCK @ Roundhouse, London – 10/05/19

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On Friday 10th May 2019, the massive Japanese band – ONE OK ROCK – arrived in London. It was only the second date on their EU leg, of the Eye Of The Storm World Tour and they performed at none other than London’s renowned Roundhouse. The band put on a night to remember, supported by British pop outfit, Anteros.

Anteros

The band took to the stage with their vibrant personas and glitzy 80s synths, further reinforced by lead singer, Laura Hayden’s sparkly red dress. This band are a wonderful blend of indie, pop and new wave – think Blondie meets modern-day contemporary pop; along a similar vein to Fickle Friends. There are certain punk-like trends to Hayden’s stage presence, with her almost “don’t-give-a-damn” flounces around the stage, equally met with gusto – it’s quite mesmerising. The music is good and their energy was captivating to watch.

Highlight: The high-energy end to the band’s set made for a chaotic last impression, certain to leave people wanting more.

ONE OK ROCK

The band have only played in the UK a couple of handfuls of times but it was clear from their loyal fan base, just how much their performances are looked forward too, with a queue that lined up all round the streets, prior to the show.

As ONE OK ROCK took to the stage, the crowd whipped themselves up into a frenzy as the Japanese band launched into their opening track, ‘Push Back’. This was a set that despite the relatively small stage in comparison, felt just like an arena show…complete with pyros!

The set was teeming with a few older hits, plus a whole bunch of songs from their latest record, Eye Of The Storm (<— review here) – all of which had the crowd singing at the top of their lungs! Their energy was truly infectious from start to finish.

I was particularly impressed by Taka’s live vocals – so often you can hear little flaws in a singer’s voice when they’re performing live, but the power and effort he put into his performance was virtually flawless…even if he did keep fiddling with his in-ear throughout the show.

The quartet know just how to put on a show though; from Taka’s ability to capture the crowd by holding a particular stance and Toru’s rocking out with his guitar to Ryota’s powerful bass moves and Tomoya’s face poking up over the drums, as he beats away at them effortlessly – this is a band that you need to see live. It’s clear that they have spent a long time practising and perfecting their set – there isn’t too much between-song banter, but instead just packing in the songs, to give the audience a great time.

It was my first time seeing the band live and I had an amazing time – it’s so often that the UK send great bands and artists over to Japan to perform but it’s great to see a Japanese band coming over to the UK for a change! I strongly recommend catching this band live, the next time they make a rare appearance in the UK – you won’t be sorry, I promise!

Highlights:

  • Taka’s effortless vocals and stage presence alone, made the show thrilling to watch.
  • Having not heard too much of the band’s back catalogue, it was great to hear a lot of tracks from their most recent album, Eye Of The Storm.
  • There was an instrumental break during which Taka left the rest of the band to rock out on stage, demonstrating just how talented these musicians are – it was nice to see him let some of the other’s in the band have some of the limelight for a while, particularly a little drum solo from Tomoya.
  • The sheer polished-precision with which the band delivered their set, showed just how much rehearsing must have gone in to perfecting their live shows.
  • The loyalty of the crowd, singing back every word of every song, showed just how far-reaching their fan-base is.
  • PYROS! Pyrotechnics just make a show even better! It was great because they weren’t overused, just boosted a couple of songs when you least expected it.

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 Setlist

Push Back
We Are
Taking Off
Unforgettable
Clock Strikes
Head High
Take What You Want
Stand Out Fit In*
(Instrumental)
Giants
I Was King
Change*
The Beginning
Jaded
Mighty Long Fall

Encore
Wasted Nights

* These songs can be viewed in the YouTube playlist, below.

Finally, I want to say an absolutely HUGE thanks to Robbie Peacock for enabling this review to happen and to both ONE OK ROCK and Anteros for putting on a fantastic show.

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#MuzikSpeaks: An Interview with Georgie

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On Tuesday 13th March 2018, Georgie came to Brighton, as the sole support on Jake Bugg‘s acoustic, UK tour (review here). We were lucky enough to get some time to chat to her backstage at the Brighton Dome. I cannot thank her and her tour manager (Mark) enough for their hospitality and making us feel so welcome and sharing a couple of beers with us; it was a real pleasure!

📸 Cover photo by Damon Peirce 📷
Why not give him a follow on Instagram and Twitter or check out his website.

Hey, how’s it going?
Yeah, good thanks.

So you are about to release your EP, ‘Impacts’, how do you feel prior to a new release? Is it nerve-wracking or exciting?
Yeah, excited. I mean, it’s always kind of nerve-wracking to see what the response is going to be but it’s exciting because you’ve kind of been at the very start of the song, so it’s nice to write it, record it and then get it out. So yes, it’s always exciting.

Awesome! So, where did the idea for the title come from and what’s the meaning behind it?
Well the main single on it’s called, ‘Too Much TV’, so it came from that really and what the song’s about.

It’s a 3-track EP, isn’t it?
Yeah.

Is there one track you’re kind of really excited for people to hear, other than ‘Too Much TV’, which is already out?
Both of them really, yeah, because they’re both songs that I wrote ages ago, about 2 or 3 years ago so I’m kind of excited to get them both out.

What’s your usual writing and recording process like?
I haven’t really got one to be fair; I kind of write in different waves. Sometimes I’ll write like here, just on my computer or I’ll have an idea and I’ll write at home or just have an idea on the bus and I’ll get my phone out and like hum into my phone a little melody and I’ll write the lyrics. It’s all different really; if an idea comes I just try and get it down as quickly as possible. Well like a lot of the time I do write the music first and then the lyrics kind of go on top.

That’s awesome. If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be and why?
Oh…dead or alive?

Either. Or go for one of each?!
Oh…one of each. That’s a good question. I’d probably collaborate with Elvis for the dead one…just because it’s Elvis and just to be in the same room as him would be amazing! Alive; at the moment, I love Chance The Rapper; that album, Coloring Book it’s just so good, it’s like chaotic and beautiful, it’s amazing so I think I’d have to go with Chance The Rapper, yeah.

Nice, good choice…and different it would be quite a nice collaboration.
Yeah (laughs).

What music have you been listening to most recently?
Loads. I’ve got like a little playlist that I have on tour which I always add to. So, I really like Bruno Major at the minute, Rex Orange County, Chance The Rapper…I listen to a lot of old stuff as well, like a lot of old blues like Johnny Hooker and bands like Fleetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin and stuff, so it’s quite varied.

Yeah, quite an eclectic mix! If you had to cover a recent chart song, which song would it be and why?
That’s a good question…um…I don’t listen to the charts that much so I don’t really know what’s in the charts. Like, that Dua Lipa song, ‘New Rules’, is quite good, but she smashes it so I don’t think I could cover it and do justice to it.

I feel like it’s a grower that one, because I hated when I first heard it.
Me too! Me too! I was the exact same, I mean you can’t get away from it at the minute.

Yeah, it’s everywhere! So how’s it been touring with Jake Bugg? What’s that been like?
Yeah, amazing. Like this is my third tour with Jake now so it’s kind of like [I’m] used to it now. It’s like I’ve become part of the team, so it’s quite nice. I’ve probably made myself too comfortable.

(Laughs)
Like go in and take milk from his fridge and stuff (laughs). But yeah, it’s good. He’s a great artist; he’s one of the best of what England has to offer of this generation, so it’s really cool to be on tour with him.

That’s cool. What have been some of your favourite cities to perform at?
Brighton! Which is true, like I love Brighton; it’s one of my favourite cities, just to go for a night out in. London’s cool – I do like playing London. I mean, the London crowd are very like sit there silent – they just want to be impressed.

Like, it’s your time. Impress me. Go! (Laughs)
Exactly, it is totally that. I guess they’ve just had everything come through the city so they’ve heard it all and seen it all. Up North’s cool; Manchester’s great, Nottingham, Glasgow’s always good fun – everyone’s like drunk. So yeah, they’re probably a few of my favourite cities.

Do you get much time off to go and explore them?
A little bit, yeah, a little bit. I did the Europe run with Jake (Bugg) at the beginning of this tour and I had like 3 days in Stockholm which was cool and here you get a few mornings off. I got a free morning in Margate the other day so I just had a run on the beach, which was pretty nice.

That’s pretty cool; nice to take some time.
Yeah.

What makes a show particularly amazing for you?
The crowd. I mean a gig for me is never just about the artist on stage, it’s about everybody in the room, so like the crowd are just as important as the artist, so if the crowd have really got a nice feeling, then they’re always my favourite kind of gigs. And the venues themself as well, like some venues just have something magical about them. Like tonight’s venue’s beautiful, like a lot of history as well.

Yeah, the Dome’s a good one!
Yeah, I saw Abba played here!

Yeah.
That’s it, I’m made. I don’t need to play anywhere else now (laughs).

(Laughs) Has anything really scary ever happened to you on tour? If so, what?
Scary? I don’t know…When I was in Dublin…yeah (laughs), actually two things in Dublin. I nearly set myself on fire in Dublin.

Oh my god! (Laughs)
(Laughs) Yeah it was the last show of the tour with Jake (Bugg) and I was with my band and he was with his band and I had a whiskey in my hand and I lit a cigarette and poured the whiskey down my scarf while I lit the cigarette.

Oh no! (Laughs)
And my scarf just went up in flames. I could still smell my burnt hair for like a week afterwards. Someone came outside and was like, “I can smell something burning,” and I like, “Yeah that was me.” (Laughs). Yeah that was probably the scariest thing, I would say, yeah.

(Laughs) Yeah, that’s pretty bad! Do you have any pre-show or post-gig rituals that you do?
Not really. I probably just drink a whiskey. I go to the bathroom and say a little prayer, um, and then I’ve also like, just started dancing a little bit, like ten minutes before. I can’t dance; I put like Sheryl Crow on or Shania Twain and just let loose (laughs).

I like that, that’s fun! Have any of you got any weird habits?
I probably have got loads! Before I go to sleep, I always have to say to someone, “Goodnight, God bless, love you, see you in the morning.” I’m like OCD with that, it’s like weird. Even if I’m on my own, I’ll ring someone up and be like, “Just ringing to say, goodnight, God bless, love you, see you in the morning.” (laughter) And it has to be the last thing I say, so as soon as I say that, I put the phone down (laughter). But that’s more OCD than a weird habit.

It counts as a weird habit! (Laughs) Do you have any other passions outside of music?
Yeah, sport I guess. I love football. I used to play football. I love playing tennis. I used to be really sporty before I did music, but I’ve only recently just got back into playing sports. And film, I love film. I just watch films all the time.

Ah, that lines up my next question very nicely. What’s the best film you’ve seen lately?
I watched Spotlight recently, that was good; that’s disturbing though.

I’ve not seen it, but I’ll have to watch it.
It’s good, yeah, it’s good. I also watched that one on Netflix which is like Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller, but I can’t remember what it’s called. They’re like a Jewish family. I can’t remember what it’s called but it was really good. Like the characters are great and Emma Thompson is in it as well and she’s like one of my favourite actresses.

Yeah, she’s cool. If a film was made about your life, in like 20 years time, who would you want to play you?
It would probably be…I dunno…I love Emma Stone, but she’s too cool to play me.

(Laughs) I love Emma Stone, she’s cool.
Yeah! (Laughs) Yeah, she’s great! Or Judy Dench as well – just put a brown wig on Judy Dench (laughs).

(Laughs) If you were a chocolate bar, which one would you be and why? Nice random question for you!
This is literally the best interview I’ve had. (Laughs) Yeah, this is so good, these questions.

Aw thank you, that’s very nice to hear.
Um, I’d say a Twirl, because you get two of them. They’re like flaky on the inside and crispy on the outside.

A Twirl is a good one actually. What really grinds your gears?
Loud chewing.

Oh God, I’m sitting here chewing gum! (Laughs)
No, you’re not chewing loud, don’t worry. You’d know about it if you were. (Laughs) It’s more like crunching. Like my dad’s terrible, like he’s just got the loudest crunch ever, so maybe that.

I can relate to that! What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to any of you, in life? Setting your hair on fire? (Laughs)
I remember when I was like 13, I’d just started playing the guitar and where I’m from, Mansfield, there’s like a big, steep hill going down into the town and I had my guitar on my back and I was just toddling along and it was icy and I slipped over onto my back but because my guitar was on my back, I couldn’t get up. I was just like a turtle and everyone was walking past. I was like there for a good 5 minutes just like, “Help!” (Laughs) This old guy came and helped me up, so that was embarrassing.

That’s hilarious! I’ve just got one more question: What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
I guess, “Don’t give up” – the obvious one. Like my tour manager said one to me the other day, which was really good; it was like, “For every 50th brick wall, you build a Taj Mahal.” It was something like that. So you have to build lots of brick walls and it can sometimes feel like it’s taking forever but at the end you’ll get the Taj Mahal, if you keep building the walls.

That’s good advice; I like that! Well thank you very much for taking the time to talk!
No, thank you very much for having me!

Georgie‘s releases are all available:

  • To purchase on iTunes – Georgie
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Muzik Speaks Interviews

#MuzikSpeaks: An Interview with Mercedes Arn-Horn from Courage My Love

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Having just released their second album, Synesthesia, I got the chance to chat with Mercedes Arn-Horn from the Canadian pop punk band, Courage My Love.

During our interview, Mercedes informed us about their upcoming UK, US and European tour, discussed how the making of this album was therapeutic for the whole band and shared one of her most embarrassing stage moments with us. She also told us about some of the music she’s been listening to recently and as with most of our interviews, we played a rather hilarious game of ‘Would You Rather…?’, so please make sure you check that out!

I hope you enjoy this interview! Please go ahead and show your support by sharing the link on your social media accounts!

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Muzik Speaks Interviews

#WildCardWednesday: The Menzingers – ‘After The Party’

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American Punk Rockers, The Menzingers, have just released a new song called ‘After The Party’, which is also the title track of their new album (due out February 3rd via Epitaph Records).

The song is in-your-face with its punchy guitars and intense vocals and is filled with nostalgia whilst still sticking to the romanticism of not quite growing up.

There is no official music video yet but the audio video can be viewed below – we’ll update you if a music video is made.

Also, the band are due to embark on a UK tour in April 2017, so be sure to check them out at one of their upcoming dates!

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‘After The Party’ can be downloaded off iTunes now – https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/after-the-party/id1167648174?i=1167648720

#MuzikSpeaks: An Interview with Joe Ragosta from Patent Pending

This interview with Joe Ragosta from Patent Pending is HILARIOUS!

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It’s interview time again, and this time, it’s with the incredibly funny Joe Ragosta from Patent Pending.

Having released their most recent album (‘Riot Hearts Rebellion’) in 2015, the band are getting ready to tour the UK in April 2016.

I got the opportunity to do this Skype interview and loved every second of it – not only is Joe hilarious, but he was incredibly generous with his time, spending nearly an hour talking to me. As a result, I’ve split this interview into two parts, but it’s well worth the watch; the guy is a comedy genius!

We continued our interview tradition by playing ‘Would You Rather…?’ and Joe ended up flipping it onto me and asking me one heck of an ultimate question!

He also shared embarrassing stories, scary experiences and confessed to some unusual music tastes – any avid Patent Pending fan will not want to miss this!!!

I feel this is my best interview to date and really hope that you will enjoy watching it. I had the best time talking to Joe so please, please go on and share this link and video across your social media accounts and spread this hilarious interview! 

Matt – Muzik Speaks
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Part 1

Part 2

Patent Pending‘s releases are all available:

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Ali Tabatabaee from Zebrahead

Frankmusik

Life Of Dillon

Platnum

#MuzikSpeaks: An Interview with Platnum

Aaron Evers and Michelle McKenna from Platnum took the time to do a Skype interview with us, and they were awesome!

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We’re back with another interview, and this time, it’s with Platnum.

Having taken a short break from music, they’re back, as a duo, and getting ready to tour in January 2016.

The pair (who rose to fame in 2008, with their H “Two” O collaboration, ‘What’s It Gonna Be’) have been taking some time to work on new music. Their first garage/bassline anthem became huge and having spoken to them, they inform me that their new music will see a return to their musical roots, while still remaining commercial.

I had such an amazing time interviewing Aaron and Michelle – they were a real laugh and so nice!

Continuing from the tradition set in our previous Zebrahead, Frankmusik and Life Of Dillon interviews, we asked Platnum to take part in a game of ‘Would You Rather…?’ – however, Aaron decided they should throw themselves straight into the WTF?! (#WYRwtf) level…brave!

I really hope that you will enjoy watching this interview as I had a great time talking to them and please, please go ahead and share this link and video on your social media accounts! 

Matt – Muzik Speaks
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Platnum‘s releases are all available:

Enjoyed this? Watch our other interviews

Ali Tabatabaee from Zebrahead

Frankmusik

Life Of Dillon

Joe Ragosta from Patent Pending