Just what you need for a Friday – something upbeat and bouncy to get you into the weekend. You have Beachmaster to discover today…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
CJ (vocals/guitar): Penrith, Cumbria. Lake District.
How did you meet?
CJ: The band as it was needed a drummer and someone pointed Robson our way. When we eventually came to needing a bass player, Martyn was a fan of some of the songs, so we asked him and he just sorta said yes.
How long have you been playing as a band?
CJ: All three of us together have been doing this for three or four years, the band itself has been around a bit longer.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
CJ: I don’t really get sick of this one as it’s a fond memory. I was up late one night watching a David Attenborough documentary about the Elephant Seal. The “Beachmaster” seemed really cool, he wins all the fights and gets all the ladies. They’re actually really horrible and I thought “that has to be the band name”.
What are your influences?
CJ: I like punk and the various folk off shoots of some punk artists etc, Rob likes the Smashing Pumpkins and pretty much anything Mike Patton does. And Martyn likes metal and Simon & Garfunkel, and I think I saw Die Antwoord and Meatloaf CD’s in his car.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
CJ: We’re kinda punk, there’s lilts of folk, pop you know. Kinda rocky but we try to segue between genres a lot. I guess that’s what makes us unique, I’m not sure. We’re not trying to be anyone or anything.
Rob (drums): I tend to call it punk/emo these days… But then, genre can be difficult because punk can make someone think of Les Butcherettes, or Rise Against, or the Sex Pistols – and those are all totally different bands. As cliché as it sounds, I think we just sound like us. We all have very different influences and hopefully that comes out as pointing us in a direction that hasn’t been done by too many people before. That’s for anyone who listens to decide though.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
CJ: I sang a lot about water and boats and the sea, then I got a job on a boat and stopped singing about those sorta things so much. It was never intentional. The overall theme would just be cryptic metaphors in relation to emotions and human situations that I’d expect everyone deals with, only I’m too self conscious to say them outright, so I bury them in strange lyrics about wearing dresses and such.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
CJ: I’m terrible at stage banter so I just talk crap for a second and then “chk chk chk chk” we go into the next song. We try to keep the live set up-tempo but we do play a few ballads from time to time.
Rob: I usually write the set lists and try to challenge everyone by not keeping things the same too often. Always try to play stuff that’ll keep people dancing though. How many shows… I would guess somewhere around one hundred by now, but we don’t keep count.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
CJ: Some things I’d best not mention in case my parents read this.
Rob: Our friend Steve fed me ice cream while I was playing one time. It’s not really that wild, but it was a pretty difficult task and a fond memory. My dream is now for us to be successful enough to afford to pay someone to do that at all our gigs.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
CJ: We love our gear. I’ve got a cheap Squier tele and a couple of Orange Tiny Terrors. Martyns got a Fender jazz bass and some form of Orange rig. I won’t go into what guitar pedals we use but there’s a lot of dirt and gain.
Rob: I use a Sakae kit, a bunch of Istanbul/Zildjian/Paiste cymbals, and a Yamaha Jimmy Chamberlin steel snare. Hurt my bank account a bit but I’d say it was worth it.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
Rob: Our new single “Only If You Know” comes out Friday 23rd August, with a pretty fun music video too. Then we’re playing a 6-date UK tour in October – Penrith, Newcastle (Gateshead if we’re being specific), Carlisle, Manchester, Ayr & Glasgow. It’s the closest thing to a proper tour we’ve done, and we’ve booked everything ourselves, so we’re pretty excited/nervous. Hopefully all goes to plan.
What are your plans for 2019?
CJ: 2019 is pretty much done right? I guess we’ll play some shows and have a very merry Christmas.
Rob: Besides “Only If You Know” and the tour, we’ll probably put another single out before the end of the year that we’ve had ready to go for a while, and we’ll finish up recording some half-finished things that we’ll put out next year. Besides that, I’ll probably just eat a ton of nachos.
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!
CJ: I’d have someone I wanted to see first then someone I didn’t like after so we could just go home and play on the PS4. Jokes aside, I’d probably choose one of my fave bands like Alkaline Trio or Hot Water Music, and invite our friends WeAreQuasars to support because they’re singing some pretty good rebellion rock and have guitar tone for days.
Rob: I’d have The Frames or Los Campesinos! to headline, and Toy Tannus supporting.
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