Katie is a fan of newcomers GROUNDS and reckoned they were worth some of your time. Have a read and a listen!
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Louis and Charlie: We’re from South London.
Bertie: I’m from Limerick.
How did you meet?
L: Tinder for bands, ha…Bertie and I linked on joinmyband.com – heard his riffs and vocals and thought it would sound sick with a full band. I already knew Charlie and he’s a sick bass player, so it was a no brainer.
How long have you been playing as a band?
L: About eight months
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
L: We wanted to go for an old fashioned female name like Wilma or Iris originally, but they were all taken, so Grounds just came about, felt it worked and suited our sound in a way.
What are your influences?
L: Nirvana, Fugazi, USA Nails, Gallows, Weezer
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
L: Grunge and punk.. with catchy hooks.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
B: Anything from hospitals to growing up in Ireland in the 1990s
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
C: Loud and fast!
L: We’ve only played seven shows so far, but we recently played at the Old Blue Last with Piano Wire, Tenebrous Liar and Horseflies. A bunch of wicked bands and the pit properly kicked off during our set. Was great to see the energy.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
C: I once saw Casey Chaos from Amen break his leg on stage when jumping from front of house speakers. He also used to smash up his face and have blood pouring everywhere. Maybe not the wildest, but I’ve had mates and bands alike bring flight cases into the pit. You can imagine how much fun that could be.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
B: I play a Mexican Fender Tele that my girlfriend bought me. And whatever amp is available at whatever rehearsal we use! I’m not a big tech guy, not too pushed on the sound as long as it sounds heavy. I love boss DS-1’s.
C: Fender precision bass, D’Addario strings, Ashdown 600 bass head.
What are your plans for the rest of 2017?
L: We’ve just put out our debut single (“Stutter”) which you can grab from our bandcamp. We also have six other songs recorded which we’ll be releasing through out the rest of the year. We just want to gig and tour!
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!
L: Bertie probably has some good headliners in mind – but I’d get Horseflies (from Portsmouth) and Dinges (Luton) to open!
C: Foos headline, playing early stuff and we’d get those two as support.