More new music for you, this time from furniture-friendly four-piece Sofasonic…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We’re based in Hertford – well that’s the most central point for the band anyway!
How did you meet?
SJ and Elliot met working together, Michael and Elliot used to play football together (well, when they weren’t injured!!), and Elliot and Niall grew up in the same village so knew each other since they were mini-rockers!
How long have you been playing as a band?
SJ formed the band in 2007, with Elliot joining soon after. Michael joined in 2010 and Niall joined in 2013 which is where we are now.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
The name has always been the same since the start back in 2007 with a very different line up. It represented a strong, fast paced sound in a laid back way which still rings true ten years on.
What are your influences?
We’ve been inspired by a heavy riff-based, bluesy type sound. A complete departure from the earlier years of 90’s indie inspiration. The ones that kicked it off for us were Rival Sons, and as the album progressed bands like Crobot and Queens of the Stone Age can be heard influencing our writing.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
As our influences show, our music is catchy but not in a ‘pop’ way. The riffs and hooks drive each song and they don’t try to be anything clever or over the top. That’s not to say our music isn’t thought about when we write it. Our uniqueness comes in the delivery and the drive of the tunes. Good, hard blues rock!
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
For the Get Made album, all of the songs have quite a dark meaning about the struggles of life, be that physical or mental. It’s about the hope of overcoming anything that can be thrown at you. Musically they give off a different vibe which is exactly how we wanted them to sound.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
We’re aware a lot about our sound, and try to make sure everything is clear cut. We’d rather play at half-volume with everyone hearing every piece of our music, than playing at 11 and people struggling to hear the lyrics or the guitars. We get into the music and the show and try to put on the same show to 1 or 100 people! Our lead singer usually just wants to bounce around so keeping him behind the mic to remember to sing is a challenge!!
We’ve been lucky in that we manage to get through about 40-50 shows a year.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Other than the usual jumping off amps and speaker stacks (not us mind you as we’re all made of glass!), our wildest thing is probably playing a gig where our lead singer Michael had broken his ankle 3 days before! Very Dave Grohl although it was just a chair, no rock throne for him haha!!
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Michael plays a Maton BB 1200 JH (his absolute baby!), through a Marshall JCM 401 DSL with a Blues Overdrive, Booster and Wah pedal completing the set.
Niall plays a Fender Mustang through a Blackstar amp, using the inbuilt effects to have some awesome sounds!
SJ plays a Fender P-bass through an original Fender Bassman. The most beautiful sounding bass amp in the world – EVER!
Elliot plays a Mapex kit complete with custom Sofasonic drum skin! The most important part of the kit though is the cowbell. ALL. THE. COWBELL.
What are your plans for the rest of 2017?
2017 has already been pretty good to us, but we have our most amazing time ahead. In April we’re off on a 5 city-6 gig tour taking in Bruges (7th/8th April), Aachen (10th April), Amsterdam (12th April), Copenhagen (13th April) and Gothenburg (15th April). We’re with some great friends BEUK, Redwire, Mother Gaia and Elisa so it’s going to be brilliant!! We’ll be showcasing the whole thing on our Facebook page so everyone can be there! We’re also releasing our first album – Get Made – at the end of June! Available in all the usual online places but also as a special edition CD. Our website will have the details as soon as it’s announced!
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!
Wow, this one is really tough! We’d have to get our good friends Redwire to open up for us as they have that raw energy needed to get the crowd poised and ready for us! The headliners…… hmm… as a band there a few options but I think Crobot would be as close to a joint decision as you’d get! (Or Queens of the Stone Age because who wouldn’t want to be on the same bill as them!!)
