Sheggs was a big fan of Hollowstar’s debut EP Some Things Matter which he reviewed earlier this year. With the band starting to gear up for 2018, what better time to find out a little more about them?
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
St. Ives, Cambridgeshire.
How did you meet?
Joe and Jack are brothers so hopefully explains itself. When we were young Phil lived on the next street and the three of us decided to start learning instruments together. We didn’t know Tom until Phil met with him while working together 2013.
How long have you been playing as a band?
We first started jamming together at the start of 2014. We never believed we would create something this well received so was taken more as a hobby in the beginning, just for the love of playing music. From January 2014 to February 2015, we trialled numerous bassists with Joe initially planning to just do the vocals. After 13 months looking for this elusive member, Joe was persuaded to give the bass a try and in June 2015 we played our first live show with the line-up you have come to recognise.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
Well… according to science a hollow star is impossible becau…
The truth is we stuck 2 words together that we liked the sound of.
What are your influences?
Black Stone Cherry, Thunder, Slash, Led Zeppelin.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We wanted to take classic British rock and mix it with the modern drop-tuned, blues rock and create our own wave off riff based noise!
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
We like to write about real life. Most of the time it is situations that one of us has been around to some degree over our lives.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Our live show is an experience. Every show we do comes with high energy, a huge sound, screaming guitar, sweat and passion!!!
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
To be fair, it wouldn’t be any of the wild antics you would typically expect from a rock band but it was having 4,000 bikers arrive mid set. That noise was incredible!
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Both guitarists use a selection of PRS guitars from the PRS SC58 to PRS Custom 24, they also both run Kemper profiling heads with custom Marshall cabs. Joe plays a Fender P-Bass with a few backups and runs a TC Electronic BH550 through a 4×10 custom cab we call ‘The Bastard’ (IT’S HEAVY!). And for the loud one at the back… a 5 piece Tama Rockstar with a bunch of Sabian AAX cymbals and 1 UFIP ‘Rough Series’ crash (none of this 1 tom set-up malarkey, MORE IS BETTER!).
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
We have our final home show of 2017 on November 17th at Cambridge Junction and we will be joining Tygers of Pan Tang on November 21st at The Robin2, Bilston. This is part of a small run of shows over the next couple of months to round out the year.
What are your plans for the rest of 2017, into 2018?
Our focus now is on 2018. We are recording new material, filming music videos and making sure we have the right team in place to take this forward. Up to now has been our teething stage. As soon as January hits we will be very much in your face!
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 would have to support Black Stone Cherry. They were the main inspiration behind our sound.
As opener we would go with The Bad Flowers. They are a 3 piece making a bigger sound than most 5 piece bands! They recently earned Planet Rock’s “Ones to Watch” and look set for big things. On top of that they are nice people and that has to be the most important thing!
From previous Band of the Day Tomorrow Is Lost: If you could only take one thing on tour what would each member of the band take?
Joe – Toothbrush, you laugh now but I’ll be the last one smiling!
Phil – Food… a boy’s gotta eat!
Jack – A change of clothes, there’s nothing worse than a sweaty ride home!!!
Tom – My PRS, because I don’t let it leave my sight.
From another BotD, Project 86: Who is your musical man crush? Your Mr. Holland’s Bropus?
Haha! We think Tom’s is definitely Mark Tremonti, just put their two pictures together.
And from Core of iO: What is your view on streaming services such as Spotify as a band/artist breaking through? And do you think it helps or hinders developing artists?
Yeah we definitely think that it helps, all these platforms allow you to reach an online audience.
Some Things Matter is out now.
Hollowstar: official | facebook | twitter | youtube | soundcloud
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