What is the band’s name?
The Beat
How did you come up with the band’s name?
We were initially going to called, “Skin Deep,” which was in reference to the variety of people within the band but one day I was looking through Roger’s 1972 thesaurus and it had a music section which was split into two: Discord and harmony. The first word on the side of discord was, “Clash,” and I was like, “Woah this looks like it could be fertile country here,” and I looked at the second one and it said, “Slam,” but I misread it as, “Sham,” like the band and I knew something was going to pop up here. I looked at the first word of the harmony side, which was more our thing anyway, and the first word was, “Beat,” and I thought, “What else could it possibly be?”
What made you go into music?
My dad gave me my first acoustic guitar when I was twelve years old. He came back from the pub one day and asked if me if I had ever heard of a band called, ‘The Rocking Berries,’ and I said I had. He said they weren’t performing anymore and there was a bloke down the pub who turned out to be their tour manager. They owed him money, so he was selling all of their gear and my dad bought one of their guitars out of the back of this guy’s van!
You have a tour coming up, tell us where you will be heading.
05 JUNE COVENTRY THE EMPIRE
09 JUNE CAMBRIDGE JUNCTION
10 JUNE NORWICH EPIC STUDIOS
11 JUNE MANCHESTER CLUB ACADEMY
12 JUNE GLASGOW ST. LUKES
15 JUNE BELFAST EMPIRE MUSIC HALL
16 JUNE DUBLIN WHELANS
18 JUNE NORTHAMPTON ROADMENDER
19 JUNE NOTTINGHAM THE LEVEL
21 JUNE WAKEFIELD WAREHOUSE 23
23 JUNE MARGATE DREAMLAND
24 JUNE SHEFFIELD LEADMILL
25 JUNE NEWCASTLE RIVERSIDE
01 JULY HARPENDEN PUBLIC HALLS
02 JULY LONDON ELECTRIC BALLROOM
03 JULY SALISBURY CITY HALL
05 JULY BIRMINGHAM GLEE CLUB
EXTRA DATES ADDED BY POPULAR DEMAND:
08 JULY LIVERPOOL THE CAVERN
09 JULY CARDIFF PORTLAND HOUSE
10 JULY BRISTOL THEKLA
Will you have support and if so, can you tell us who?
We will be sorting out the supports in the next couple of weeks. We’ve got a list of bands in mind and friends in bands all over the country such as in Scotland and in Ireland. We’re dealing with promoters and our manager to sort it all out but we’re waiting to see how the tour is selling before we move forward. So far, it’s looking really well and we’re playing much bigger settlements in comparison to our last tour, which means we can afford to choose smaller opening bands that are more in our genre; maybe we’ll get a 2 Tone cover band!
What can we expect from the tour?
We’re thinking of doing some songs but I’m also thinking about doing a couple of very interesting demonstrations on the cooking styles of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, which are very interesting.
I’ll mainly be songs off of the first album and then a few of the hits from the other albums and maybe even a couple of new songs. We’ll probably take some requests because every gig is at least 50% the audience’s responsibility. By the halfway point it’s always the enthusiasm of the crowd that carries you home. It’s very much to do with the mass consciousness of the show and it’s all about working the crowd into a certain position so we’re all in the experience together.
When you’re not doing music, what do you do?
I’m a very keen rose gardener and I really enjoy gardening and experiencing the beautiful sunshine whilst being surrounded by birds and fountains. It turns out I also I have an incredible green thumb for growing weed. It’s a legal in California, and some of my plants grow up to 7 ft when they’re only meant to be about 4 ft. I’ve had some amazing reviews with some people wanting to pay the devil’s ransom for my organic, filtered weed. Maybe I’ll turn it into a semi-retirement business!
What was the song you listened to most that influenced you to go more in to the music scene?
Moondance by Van Morrison. There’s something incredibly soothing about it and it soothes my soul. All of his early songs like Madame George move me a great deal. All Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix too because when I bought the single, I had never heard anything like it. It was like looking at a whole new world and I wanted to have a go at it.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians not about the industry and just as an artist?
Mean it – just mean it with all your hearts. People are going to think you do and if you don’t it will kill you. It’s like going on a racetrack, but not knowing how to drive.
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
Sadly, one of my favourites is, “It’ll all end in tears,” which is a quote from the Buddha. You’re always near impending misery so try to laugh and find joy in the catastrophes. My song The Love You Give (Lasts Forever) is about my mum dying and I think this links into the saying, “It’ll all end in tears.” If know you will lose everybody that you’ve ever loved, how did you keep on loving? That’s the challenge. We all know how it ends but how do you create the giggles on the way to balance it? I’ve failed miserably at this so far but I’m going to give it another go today.
Your coming off tour;
1/ Where do you go first?
Bed. I’m a homebody because I spend so much time in the middle of major cities after midnight, so I don’t really need much urban excitement. I live quite an agrarian lifestyle; it’s just me, the garden, the plant pots and the animals. When I get home from tour, I usually walk straight into the garden to see all my plants. I have about 120 plants and a lot of those are roses. I spend most of my time on tour worrying about them getting brown spots and nobody noticing. I usually home in on the videos people are sending me of watering them and I end up giving gardening advice on the road.
2/ Who do you see first?
My son, Max. My daughter, Chloe, sings on tour so Max is the person I tend to miss the most
3/What do you eat first?
Probably a homemade chicken vindaloo depending on how much energy I’ve got. I really like to make curry and ox tail stew.
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
