The B of The Bang have many members, I
think you would be here all day reading if we interviewed them all!
So we got our claws into Wit and asked him a few lovely questions...
So, go on.. read on... (Wow that rhymes!)
How has 2009 been going for you guys?
It's been splendid thus far thanks. We released our first single ("Alfred
light the fires") in April, went on tour with our good friends
and labelmates The Dawn Chorus and have just released our
debut album which, so far, has got some lovely reviews. Busy but
rewarding.
So, what is it like having so many band members?
Its a blessing and a devil at the same time. The B of the Bang
works as a collective really with myself attempting to keep things
on an even keel. All the folks involved have other musical outputs
too so it's a nice little community we have of helping each other
out. Generally there's 4 or 5 of us at live gigs but we've done a
few that swell up to around 9 or 10. It keeps things interesting for
us and, hopefully, the audience. Soundmen sometimes aren't too happy
though....
Any surprises up your sleeves for your fans?
Well, the good thing about the way we work is that every gig is
different depending on who we have playing that night. It keeps us
all on our toes and we can play different versions of songs so
things don't get too stale. I was never really a fan of going to see
someone live and them sounding EXACTLY like they do on record.
Sometimes things go terribly but sometimes things go great and it's
a real buzz....
Tell us then... who in the band has the most annoying habit?
Hmmm....they're all equally annoying in their own special ways. But
I love them. They'd tell you I was the most annoying so......it's
all good.
So, tell me a bit about your new album?
It's called "Beginning. Middle. End." and it has 11 tracks
linked together with a few bits of incidental music. I wanted it to
be more like a story really (hence the title) and I think we've
definitely achieved everything...and more...that we set out to do.
I'm really proud of it to be honest. There's collabarations with the
some of the finest artists in the South including Roberta from
Hold Fast, Jessica from Hall of Mirrors, Tallie from
Plat du Jour, Andy Foster, The Dawn Chorus chaps
and lots more....you can get it from
www.jellymaidmusic.com
Plug
plug plug....
Where is your favourite place to play?
Tricky. Locally Little Johnny Russells has been a kind of
unofficial HQ for us. The owners are lovely guys and some of our
earliest gigs were there. The people of Stiff Promotions at
The Cellars have also been pretty supportive and Hong Kong
Gardeners Club at The Fat Fox are lovely too. The
Wedgewood Rooms is always a mighty pleasure. We'll play anywhere
though really - last year we did an acoustic gig in a beach hut.
That was rather nice.
If you could have any band as support, who would you choose?
Well, funny you should say that, i've been asked to curate a stage
at Southsea Fest this year so i've pretty much been able to pick my
favourite bands and put them on a bill together. There's some
fantastic stuff lined up which will all be announced soon on our
myspace and the Southsea Fest website so keep your eyes peeled....
We have asked a couple bands this, who would you least like to
get stuck in a lift with?
That huge fella from Bowling For Soup. You'd have no room at all.
What are you guys looking forward to most this year?
We're having a little breather after the hectic-ness of the album
and then getting stuck right back in. Hopefullly there will be an EP
or 2 ready by the end of the year and i'm also recording the
soundtrack to a film called "Before Your Eyes" that some
friends of ours (Pinter Moments) are making. Exciting stuff.
Is there anything you would like to add?
I've just got back from Glastonbury. Bishi, Bat for
Lashes, Bon Iver and Blur were all fantastic. They all
begin with the letter 'B'....that's all I'm saying....
If you haven't already checked out B of the Bang, then
here you go!