We recently threw out a bunch of our questions to a big pile of bands who’d got in touch with us directly. Here’s the first of them…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We’re all from London, UK.
How did you meet?
Jess and Rick had been in a few bands together before Night Thieves. They were looking to start a new project and put out an ad for a guitarist/songwriter. Paul replied, auditioned, and we went from there. Chris joined us last year after our previous drummer moved on.
How long have you been playing as a band?
2 years.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
After going through over 100 ideas Night Thieves came up after a few beers at the pub. It was inspired by the orange glow over the city at night and the lights that take away the night… nothing to do with actual thieving and we don’t run around at night with ‘swag’ bags over our shoulders!
What are your influences?
We all listen to a wide range of music from metal to pop and go out to see a lot of other bands, recently Northlane, Dream State, Yonaka, Bring Me The Horizon.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We haven’t set out to sound like any particular bands or a sub-genre. Melodic rock with pop and metal influences is probably a good description. That combination gives us a unique edge. There’s a track on our EP called “In This City (Say Never)” is quite a good example of that, it starts with a happy upbeat vibe, into a crushing section, and then a massive drop tuned chorus with a pop vocal melody.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
No, not really. Lyrically it’s probably a bit random and light hearted. Jess has quite a unique writing style and lyrics usually start with something relatable, a topic, or how people perceive things. We’re not a political band or a band that wears our hearts on our sleeves.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Full of energy! We love to blast through our set and give the crowd a solid performance. To date we have played four shows but have a run of dates coming up including a London date on 2nd April supporting Marisa and the Moths. Finding Kate and The Dark are also on the bill so it’s going to be awesome!
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
We haven’t had any wild things happen, yet! But, if we’re talking about other bands then it has to the Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist taking a dump onstage at Reading Festival and then smearing it all over his white t-shirt. It was nasty!
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Rick plays Dingwall basses and has a few pedals from Darkglass. Paul uses a Fender Telecaster Elite and a Jim Root signature model. His pedalboard is made up of Boss, TC Electronic, Radial, Truetone, and Digitech. Drum wise, Chris has quite a collection of Sabian hats and cymbals.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
Our debut EP has just been released! It’s called Battle Cry and was produced by Jason Wilson (Marisa and the Moths, Fightstar, Dinosaur Pile-up). Check out our website for videos and links!
What are your plans for 2020?
Playing as many shows as possible! We also have two more videos coming out and we’ll be back in studio soon to record the next EP.
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!
Supporting a band like Bring Me The Horizon would be amazing! Can we be cheeky and have two openers? Aggro and Hawxx.
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