Want something straightforward for your Band of the Day? This Irish (and Greek) lot should have you sorted.
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We’re from all over Northern Ireland, and Konstantin, our drummer, is actually Greek, but we’re all based within 20 miles of Belfast.
How did you meet?
Carlos and Tommy met through their tattoo artist and mutual friend (shoutout to Dave from Bloodline Tattoo!) who played guitar in the band for a time. Chris and Konstantin answered our ads online when we were looking for another guitarist and drummer, and Neal was a friend of our first drummer who joined just to fill in on bass, but we loved him so much we wouldn’t let him leave!
How long have you been playing as a band?
We’ve been playing seriously as Wild Heat for around 1.5 years.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
The name comes from our first drummer, who is what we in this country call a culchie: someone from the countryside who speaks with a thick accent. The summer we formed the band was a particularly hot one, and phrases such as “I can’t stick this heat! Wild Heat!” were often heard from behind the kit.
What are your influences?
Skid Row, LA Guns, and Mötley Crüe would be three of our main influences.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We describe our sound as a modern twist on 80s metal. Grunge killed hair metal in the early 90s, but we think it’s high time for that big 80s shred-pop sound to make a comeback.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
We write songs about all the usual stuff, but we want them to be relatable and mean different things to different people. Hopefully that’s true so far!
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
We always have such a great time on stage. Some bands take themselves too seriously and forget to have fun. Maybe it’s because our music has a “feel-good” sound, but we always try to get people smiling and enjoying themselves first and foremost.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Tommy managed to stage-dive and crowdsurf when he was playing a show many years ago. Although he wasn’t with Wild Heat at the time, strangely enough it was the night that Carlos’ sister met her future fiancé, who was a friend of Tommy’s… Carlos says he may even have been there that night, although fate didn’t bring them back together until 10 years later!
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
- Carlos – Maverick & Jackson guitars, Engl and Rocktron preamps, Marshall JCM cab with Celestion speakers.
- Tommy – Sennheiser mic.
- Chris – Orville & B.C. Rich guitars, Bugera amp, Kustom and Berlinger cabs with Celestion speakers
- Neal – Gibson & Warwick bass, Ashdown amp.
- Konstantin – Sonor drums with Paiste cymbals.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
We’re currently plugging our debut album, which is available now on all major online streaming platforms and can be easily found from our webpage!
What are your plans for 2018?
The rest of 2018 is going to be spent promoting the album as best we can, then in 2019 we will hopefully get some tour dates on the mainland and spread the Wild Heat across the UK as we finish off the 2nd album.
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!
There are so many great bands coming out of Northern Ireland right now that we really couldn’t choose just 2 for a gig, so we’ll go for a couple of big names – Warrant to open, then Whitesnake as the headliners. Hell yeah!
Wild Heat: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | youtube
