#ROADTOBOA2017 – Departed

As ever, we’re going to try and cover every single Jäger, New Blood and SOPHIE stage band before Bloodstock kicks off on August 10th. Your chance to check them out and start planning which bands to get there early for!

Trust us when we tell you that this is bound to result in some frustrating clashes because, as ever, there are some great bands on these three stages.

Our thanks to all the bands for taking the time out to answer our questions!

Departed – Jägermeister Stage, Friday

[MP – Mark Pascall / BB – Ben Brookland]

Simple things first – where are you guys from?

MP – Hey, How’s it going? We are all based in Torbay, South Devon.

How long have you been playing together as a band?

MP – Ben and I have been writing for about three years now and we started to put the band together a couple of years ago. The first show with the finalised lineup was last March. So almost a year and a half now.

Where does the name of the band come from?

MP – Thinking of a name is a part I hate when putting together a new band. Around the time that Ben and I started to jam and write we were going through some tough times and lost some people that were very close to us. Ben’s former band The Treatment had a track called “Departed” and Ben has the track name on his guitar strap. At one rehearsal I said, “How about Departed, it’s already on your strap, sounds cool and is appropriate too?”

Describe your music. What makes you unique?

MP – In-your-face hard rock with influences from 60’s rock n roll to modern day rock! Played the right way! Loud soaring guitars, powerful vocals and a thundering rhythm section.

BB – It’s a balance of high energy rock n roll with a strong sense of melody and musicality! There’s a little something for everyone in there.

What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?

MP – High tempo, energetic rock. Departed gets the crowd going with its infectious anthemic catalogue of songs. Every band member is great to watch and puts everything into their live performance, you won’t forget seeing Departed!

BB – Unpredictable! Rock n’ roll has always been a unifying experience, we try to keep up that tradition of energy, excitement and spectacle in our own way.

Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?

MP – This will be the first time to be honest, it’s a long way for us southerners. Really looking forward to it!

When/how did you find out you’d been selected to play at Bloodstock?

MP – We were playing the final of the Metal 2 the Masses competition in Saltash, Cornwall. On the night not one band was selected but two; the rules were broken because Simon Hall couldn’t decide on one of us to win. So instead, because he liked us so much he invited Departed to headline the Jägermeister stage. It was mad, we were blown away!

What sort of setlist can we expect?

MP – It’ll be an energetic one for sure! No ballads or acoustic numbers. We will come off that stage exhausted!!

Which other band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?

MP – I’m looking forward to catching the main headliners Ghost – Departed are playing directly before them on the Jägermeister stage so we will have to get a move on once we’ve finished our set.

What are you working on at the moment? How are the preparations for the upcoming dates with Michael Schenker?

MP – We have festivals/other shows over the summer and we are constantly working on new songs with the view to start recording again as soon as possible. Regarding Schenker, we are working on refining our show and making ourselves the best we can be. Departed are going to hit that first stage at the Shepherds Bush Empire all guns blazing.

BB – We’re continually writing and coming up with new ideas, keeping creative and moving forward musically is really important to us. Now we have a strong permanent line up for the band and are coming to the end of the cycle with our debut EP we hope to be releasing new music as regularly as we can!

What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?

BB – Someone who managed an old band of mine got bitten by a monkey at a state fair whilst touring America… then he had an anxiety attack thinking he’d contracted rabies. It was pretty wild, and funny looking back! Didn’t stop him taking a ride on a camel afterwards though. Apart from that I’m more of a pipe and slippers man…

Jäger, Hobgoblin Ale, Kraken, Kingstone Press Cider, Kaltenberg Beer or Bulleit Bourbon? And, yes, we’ll be counting all the votes!

MP – That’s a tough one, at the moment I’d say Bulleit Bourbon! I tried it for the first time at this year’s Download Festival and it was great! Finished the drink and ordered the same again straight away. What an awesome day! The drink was “The Horse’s Neck”.

BB – All of that, shaken and double strained over ice!

 

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