Hi Guys,
How is life in the music business treating you today and where on your tour are you?
Well we are back with a new album and still rocking out so things are still going great! Currently we are at the beginning of the CONTROL European tour and currently in Spain and we have to say it's great to get back out there on the road!
New album out and lengthy tour underway. Can life get any better?
Haha it's going to be a busy year which is great for us because that is what we like to do best play music and get out on the road!
Can you tell us how the band was originally formed, and are the ambitions from those early days still alive today?
It's a very long story but we formed back in 2004 Jason was playing around town in a couple of blues bands and The Brew "formally strange brew" at that time were playing around the town of Grimsby also and had a strong reputation, the previous guitarist left and an occasion came where we just happened to meet at the right time we got together for a jam and never looked back and Jason still doesn't know if he got the job in the band!
As far as ambitions go I think right now they are at their strongest as we have gained a lot of touring and writing experience over the years we just want to keep evolving and developing as a band and I think the moment that stops with any band it's time to give up and we are not going to do that for a long time!
Your fourth studio album ‘Control’ was produced by Toby Jepson, how did that come about and, did you approach the writing or recording of this album, differently from your previous records?
We just wanted to try something different try a different writing process, try a different studio and work with somebody different so Tim contacted Toby Jepson we sent over some demos which he was really enthusiastic about so we hooked up and things really gelled he was on the same wave length as us when it came to our sound and how we wanted the album to come across which was back to basics just three guys in a room raw power!
Where was the album recorded and over what period? Were the songs already complete before you went into the studio?
The album was recorded in VALE STUDIOS in Worcester and it really was a fantastic place, a studio with so much character, it's an old country manor house from the 17th century and one half is converted to a vintage recording studio! As far as the songs are concerned we took a different approach of writing as the previous albums were mainly written on the road, we actually took 2 weeks out of our touring schedule to sit down and really work on the overall compositions which I think really worked we then hooked up with producer Toby Jepson and he came down to rehearsals so we polished things up and got things tight ready for recording as we all agreed this process as to be done completely live to get the energy of the record across!
How do you approach getting your music heard and making an income? How important is it to find a label do you think?
Well we fortunate that our record label, Jazzhaus, provide us with this support. They work closely with agents and companies to get our music out there. Without this support it would be almost impossible. So to find the right label is important I think. Not necessarily a big label but one that supports you!
You have shared the concert stage with many great bands including, ZZ Top, Ozzy Osbourne, Chickenfoot, Jeff Beck and Lynryd Skynryd, to name a few. What have you learnt from seeing these bands in action close up?
I've have certainly learnt so much about what goes on behind the scenes as far as big shows are concered also we've really learnt how to make an inspiring memorable show.
Was there any music that you listened to through your School / College days that you still get a kick out of today?
Of course it's a time in your life that will always stick by you and these bands/songs will always bring back these memories!
Do you have more songs already written that did not make the record and if so, what are your plans for them?
We decided to really just focus on writing 10 of the strongest tracks we've ever written of course there were a few others that got pushed to one side but we shall probably use these ideas at a later date.
Who controls the music on the tour van/bus and what are the current faves?
Well back in the day it depended on who was driving, now we all have headphones in when we are travelling but strong favourites are always The Who live at Leeds...Led Zeppelin How the west was won and Pink Floyd live at Pompeii...current bands are the Black Keys, Raconteurs, Rival Sons and Tame Impala.
