AN INTERVIEW WITH THE KAVALIERS - 08/08/2016
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| THE KAVALIERS - photo credit to Will Raisbeck From left to right - Jordan, Sam, Tom, Matthew and Robbie |
Tom Statham (vocals), Matthew Brewin (guitar), Sam Kennedy (guitar), Robbie Thompson (bass) and Jordan Booth (drums) make up this indie-rock/Britpop band who since starting to make music have headlined all of the best local venues and have hit some of the finest in Sheffield.
They have got themselves a solid South Yorkshire fanbase through these gigs and now the boys in the band are working on expanding this fanbase by gigging around the rest of the UK.
They have previously released their EP ‘Taking Care of Business’ in which they worked with Alan Smyth (linked to Arctic Monkeys and Reverend and the Makers).
We were greeted with the new single 'Another Night' on Saturday (9th April). This single came with a B-side called 'Dream On'.
On the night of the release, these boys took to the stage at The Diamond Live Lounge in Doncaster. On this night they managed to draw in the biggest crowd for an single release in the history of the venue.
I got the chance to interview the band after their Mapfest performance on Saturday in the slightly odd location of the carpark behind Social Bar Doncaster (the venue in which they played)
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| THE KAVALIERS at their EP release - photo credit to Caitlin Boyle From left to right - Sam, Jordan, Tom, Robbie and Matthew |
Sam: ''These three went to school (Tom, Jordan and Robbie) and Tom and Jordan were in the band together then Matthew joined and he invited me and Robbie to play with them.''
Robbie: ''Me and Sam were always big fans of the band and when they asked us to join we leapt at the opportunity.''
Jordan: ''That's hard that question because its been like member by member but we've all known each other ages.''
Sam: ''Suppose Robbie always knew these lot but I played with Robbie before.''
Robbie: ''Yeah me and Sam knew each other from being babies.''
When did you first start making music and why?
Sam: ''I started playing guitar about the same time that School of Rock came out, I was scatting everywhere.''
Jordan: ''My dad was in a band and he got me on the kit and told me to pay and I did. I started to play with his band sometimes before I started my own band, I was about twelve.''
Matthew: ''I was eleven and I saw ACDC at The Donnington and after that I just really wanted a guitar, my dad came home with one and it is the first thing I've ever been naturally good at I could just play it. I didn't have to force learning it.''
Who would you say the biggest influences for your band are?
Tom: ''Influence is a big word, you wouldn't say you're playing a band because you're influenced by them. I don't like saying a certain band influences our sound.''
Jordan: ''Our genre is definitely Manchester based and Britpop-esque. I think every song has a different sound so influences aren't really there.''
Sam: ''When you write a new song and you look at each other and you're like 'I felt it that time' its that.''
Matthew: ''Yeah, you influence each other and that's were our sound comes from.''
Tom: ''I feel like when people say 'influences' they mean who do you sound like.''
Matthew: ''Or who do you want to sound like, we just bounce off each other. It comes from songs I'd want to listen to.'
'Another Night' came out this year, what are the themes behind the single?
Matthew: ''Another Night, I wrote it when I was going out in Sheffield a lot and all we had was going out and jut getting fucked every weekend. I was always like 'ah lets go out I'm not bothered about work' so it was about being somewhere but wanting to be somewhere else. That's what a lot of our songs are about, wanting to escape.''
Do you just have one songwriter or do you all do it?
Tom: ''We have like two main lyricists and then we all chip into the melodies.''
Matthew: ''An idea comes in and we al just formulate it. For example like I'll bring the main riff in.''
Jordan: ''We always start with guitar.''
Matthew: ''And then we start building the structure.''
Sam: ''We find the best songs come that way though don't they, like just a shitty idea to begin with but then we add layers and it builds and builds. Not something premeditated.''
Matthew: ''I feel like one main songwriter doesn't sound like five lads in a band. I don't want Catfish and the Bottlemen syndrome, they're mint but everyone looks at Van McCann as the band and I don't want that.''
What are your favourite venues to play?
Tom: ''Diamond Live Lounge is bang on, it just depends where you play and how many times you've played there.''
Matthew: ''It's here isn't it.'' (Social Bar, Doncaster).
Jordan: ''In Donny, local, Diamond is good.''
Matthew: ''But you've got to pack it out.''
Tom: ''Diamond treat you like a proper band don't they.''
Sam: ''Leopard gets a lot of flack but as far as a good gig is concerned I think it's great.''
Jordan: ''It's got to be here for the favourite though.'' (Social Bar, Doncaster).
Matthew: ''Social is definitely favourite, it's always got a good atmosphere and everyone here are alright aren't they.''
Jordan: ''They're all fucking mad for it.''
Which venues that you haven't played yet would you really like to play?
Tom: ''The O2 Academies.''
Sam: ''Yeah, the city academies and more university venues, I really like university gigs. Places that are already busy without you having to pack them out are venues which I want to play more of.''
What would you say your biggest musical achievement to date is?
Matthew: ''Got to be Diamond Live Lounge hasn't it, highest attended single release Doncaster has ever had.''
Robbie: ''Yeah it's got to be Diamond for me too.''
Sam: ''That's been the pinnacle hasn't it.''
Tom: ''As The Kavaliers it will probably have been when me and Boothie were first in, when he was the drummer and I was the singer, I know the rest of the band weren't in the band then so I don't know if it counts but supporting Pete Doherty at Walkabout in Barnsley was a big achievement for me. Cast at Diamond was decent too or I'd even say the single release, that was decent as well.''
What is something you want to fulfil in terms of the band?
Robbie: ''To do it for a living.''
Matthew: ''Yeah then you don't have to fuck off to work every morning.''
Robbie: ''To get paid to play music to people who want to listen and to play gig where people are buzzing.''
Tom: ''Yeah to not have to slog into work everyday at 8am, to be able to just play music as a job.''
What else can we expect from The Kavaliers throughout the rest of 2016 / the beginning of 2017?
Sam: ''It's got to be us releasing some new music.''
Jordan: ''Our singer is going to have a beautiful little boy or girl, we don't know yet.''
Matthew: ''We'll decide when we get there.''
Jordan: ''We're all gonna crack on with writing.''
Sam: ''All of the new writing is receiving positive feedback so its just about getting in the studio and smashing it out on tour.''
Jordan: ''Yeah, we'll be building up and announcing a tour for next year.''
Sam: ''This all sounds very.''
Robbie: ''Cliché.''
Sam: ''Yeah it sounds very cliché.''
Jordan: ''That's just standard though.''
Sam: ''It is, that's what we are doing. It's for the fans but because of the way they were tonight, dancing around and loving it but yeah, we are writing now so new music is coming and hopefully a tour.''
You can catch The Kavaliers at Leadmill on the 28th August and at Plug on the 2nd September.
You can listen to their latest single 'Another Night' and it's B-side 'Dream On' here:
Written by Sophie.
Matthew: ''I was eleven and I saw ACDC at The Donnington and after that I just really wanted a guitar, my dad came home with one and it is the first thing I've ever been naturally good at I could just play it. I didn't have to force learning it.''
Who would you say the biggest influences for your band are?
Tom: ''Influence is a big word, you wouldn't say you're playing a band because you're influenced by them. I don't like saying a certain band influences our sound.''
Jordan: ''Our genre is definitely Manchester based and Britpop-esque. I think every song has a different sound so influences aren't really there.''
Sam: ''When you write a new song and you look at each other and you're like 'I felt it that time' its that.''
Matthew: ''Yeah, you influence each other and that's were our sound comes from.''
Tom: ''I feel like when people say 'influences' they mean who do you sound like.''
Matthew: ''Or who do you want to sound like, we just bounce off each other. It comes from songs I'd want to listen to.'
'Another Night' came out this year, what are the themes behind the single?
Matthew: ''Another Night, I wrote it when I was going out in Sheffield a lot and all we had was going out and jut getting fucked every weekend. I was always like 'ah lets go out I'm not bothered about work' so it was about being somewhere but wanting to be somewhere else. That's what a lot of our songs are about, wanting to escape.''
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| Me and the band during the interview. |
Tom: ''We have like two main lyricists and then we all chip into the melodies.''
Matthew: ''An idea comes in and we al just formulate it. For example like I'll bring the main riff in.''
Jordan: ''We always start with guitar.''
Matthew: ''And then we start building the structure.''
Sam: ''We find the best songs come that way though don't they, like just a shitty idea to begin with but then we add layers and it builds and builds. Not something premeditated.''
Matthew: ''I feel like one main songwriter doesn't sound like five lads in a band. I don't want Catfish and the Bottlemen syndrome, they're mint but everyone looks at Van McCann as the band and I don't want that.''
What are your favourite venues to play?
Tom: ''Diamond Live Lounge is bang on, it just depends where you play and how many times you've played there.''
Matthew: ''It's here isn't it.'' (Social Bar, Doncaster).
Jordan: ''In Donny, local, Diamond is good.''
Matthew: ''But you've got to pack it out.''
Tom: ''Diamond treat you like a proper band don't they.''
Sam: ''Leopard gets a lot of flack but as far as a good gig is concerned I think it's great.''
Jordan: ''It's got to be here for the favourite though.'' (Social Bar, Doncaster).
Matthew: ''Social is definitely favourite, it's always got a good atmosphere and everyone here are alright aren't they.''
Jordan: ''They're all fucking mad for it.''
Which venues that you haven't played yet would you really like to play?
Tom: ''The O2 Academies.''
Sam: ''Yeah, the city academies and more university venues, I really like university gigs. Places that are already busy without you having to pack them out are venues which I want to play more of.''
What would you say your biggest musical achievement to date is?
Matthew: ''Got to be Diamond Live Lounge hasn't it, highest attended single release Doncaster has ever had.''
Robbie: ''Yeah it's got to be Diamond for me too.''
Sam: ''That's been the pinnacle hasn't it.''
Tom: ''As The Kavaliers it will probably have been when me and Boothie were first in, when he was the drummer and I was the singer, I know the rest of the band weren't in the band then so I don't know if it counts but supporting Pete Doherty at Walkabout in Barnsley was a big achievement for me. Cast at Diamond was decent too or I'd even say the single release, that was decent as well.''
What is something you want to fulfil in terms of the band?
Robbie: ''To do it for a living.''
Matthew: ''Yeah then you don't have to fuck off to work every morning.''
Robbie: ''To get paid to play music to people who want to listen and to play gig where people are buzzing.''
Tom: ''Yeah to not have to slog into work everyday at 8am, to be able to just play music as a job.''
What else can we expect from The Kavaliers throughout the rest of 2016 / the beginning of 2017?
Sam: ''It's got to be us releasing some new music.''
Jordan: ''Our singer is going to have a beautiful little boy or girl, we don't know yet.''
Matthew: ''We'll decide when we get there.''
Jordan: ''We're all gonna crack on with writing.''
Sam: ''All of the new writing is receiving positive feedback so its just about getting in the studio and smashing it out on tour.''
Jordan: ''Yeah, we'll be building up and announcing a tour for next year.''
Sam: ''This all sounds very.''
Robbie: ''Cliché.''
Sam: ''Yeah it sounds very cliché.''
Jordan: ''That's just standard though.''
Sam: ''It is, that's what we are doing. It's for the fans but because of the way they were tonight, dancing around and loving it but yeah, we are writing now so new music is coming and hopefully a tour.''
You can catch The Kavaliers at Leadmill on the 28th August and at Plug on the 2nd September.
You can listen to their latest single 'Another Night' and it's B-side 'Dream On' here:
Written by Sophie.
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