Band of the Day: The Ultraviolet

Pop-punk 4-piece The Ultraviolet are based in Boston (Lincolnshire, not the other one that most likely stole its name). They spent a lot of 2016 building up a great reputation as a live band, while working on their new EP which is due out on March 21st. Guitarist Sam Beck rested his weary strumming fingers to answer a few questions about the band. Get to know them better now before the EP is unleashed and everyone wants a bit of them…

Simple things first – where are you guys from?

We are all from Boston and the surrounding area except for Russ, who is from Sleaford.

How did you meet?

Myself (Sam) and the singer (Ben), both met at music college over five years ago. We always used to jam and write songs together but we never actually decided to start a band until about 2013. We both knew Emilio (bassist) from school and actually played a few gigs together whilst we were at college. It seemed right to get him to join The Ultraviolet due to our musical interests and familiarity with one another. I’ve known Russ for a few years since a cover band I was in played at the same gig together. When our previous drummer left he got in contact with us about wanting to join.

How long have you been playing as a band?

Although we started the band in 2013, we probably didn’t start playing gigs together until mid 2014.

Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?

We honestly don’t know, haha! It sounded cool at the time so it kind of just stuck. Maybe something a bit more google friendly would’ve been better.

What are your influences?

Some of our influences range from Mayday Parade, Taking Back Sunday, Blink 182, A Day To Remember, Foo Fighters, Fightstar and Jimmy Eat World.

Describe your music. What makes you unique?

I guess our music is alternative rock with a blend of pop-punk and emo all thrown in there. We like our songs to sound big and energetic but we still want to retain a catchy vibe to them so they stick in your head!

Do you have any particular lyrical themes?

Quite a few of our songs have darker meanings to them and some issues which are touched upon are depression and suicide. However, we also have a few which are about love and heartache and the impacts this can have on an individual.

What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?

Our live shows are always filled with a lot of energy. Nine times out of ten, Ben will leap off the stage and run around the room to really try and connect with the audience. We try and keep as busy as possible and we’ve lost track of the amount of shows we’ve played.

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

One festival we played last year Ben began to climb the lighting rig only to realise that he couldn’t spare a hand to hold the mic and sing.

What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?

I currently use an Orange Rocker 30 through a copy of a Les Paul. I find the amp provides a lot of clarity to the tone it gives. This combined with the Seymour Duncans in the Les Paul really gives my amp some balls. Emilio uses Yamaha bass guitars and an Ashdown amp and Russ uses a Tama kit with a collection of cymbals he’s managed to cobble together.

What are your plans for 2017?

To essentially carry on the work we put in from 2016. We want to release a lot more music and play a lot more shows to try and expose our music to the masses.

If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!

We’d love to support Foo Fighters due to the sheer size of their shows. To play on a massive stage like that with one of your favourite bands would be incredible. I’d love to have a local band who we are friends with support us too. We all try and help each other out in our local area and sharing a stage with your mates is always cool.

The Ultraviolet: facebook | twitter | instagram | soundcloud | bandcamp | youtubebigcartel

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