With a brand new single and video dropping today (scroll down!), here’s some info about Gwailo who hail from God’s own country…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Officially we say we are from Newcastle Upon Tyne, but we are from all around the Northeast.
How did you meet?
David and Kyle, our two guitarists, are childhood friends and have been jamming together for years. Steve, Adrian and Michael responded to ads online when we were looking for different members.
How long have you been playing as a band?
Gwailo has been a band since 2016 but with various line ups. The current lineup has been playing together for a couple of years now. It’s taken a few years to find the right members that gel to make the band as good as it can be.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
The idea for the name Gwailo came from Gary our former vocalist. When we first started to think of names, we had loads of ideas but it’s more difficult than people think because this name will stick with you. After a while Gary mentioned a story from when he visited China the locals would call him “gweilo”. We thought it was a cool story, so we kept that but spelt it differently.
What are your influences?
We are all inspired by classic rock bands like Guns N Roses, Queen and AC/DC but we have our own individual influences that help elevate our music. Such as: Ninja sex party, The Reytons, Airbourne and The Dead Daises.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Gwailo differs from other artists because we blend multiple genres to give a dynamic feeling to the songs. We have a diverse set of material from slower ballad type songs to our over driven hard rock head bangers.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Primarily from our own experiences. Anything from funny stories about friends or events in our lives, to deeper hardships an audience can relate to. Or sometimes we just write lyrics that are designed to get people grooving and moving.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
When playing live we bring as much energy to the stage as possible so we can have a good time with the crowd. We bring a relatable stage performance that doesn’t take itself too seriously leaving the fans something to remember and wanting more. With the current line up we’ve done around 20 shows across the UK.
If you like what we do, consider joining us on Patreon for as little as £1 per month!
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
After one of our shows, the owner of the venue plied us with Vodka and requested we make a promo video for their food, so we brandished knives and tenderisers while Michael shouted in polish at the camera.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Adrian uses a Yamaha stage custom drum kit and Zildjian K- Hybrid cymbals. Steve on bass plays a ruby red 4003 Rickenbacker through a Mark bass amp. Kyle on rhythm guitar plays a white Gretch Falcon or a red Gibson ES335 through a Marshall DSL 100. David on lead guitar plays a sunburst Gibson custom shop R8 Les Paul or R7 Goldtop but for our balled he plays a Gibson EDS1275 all through a Marshall Silver Jubilee.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
We have just released out brand-new single “Rock N Roll Seduction”. It’s got an awesome driving riff and a simple catchy chorus for the crowd to get behind. It’s on all streaming platforms and the music video is on YouTube.
What are your plans for the next 6 months or so?
We have already started recording new material which will be released over the coming. We’ll be releasing music videos along with them and have a run of shows to support each release.
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 love to support The Dead Daises. They are a killer band and basically a super group with members from huge 80s rock bands. We would choose White Skies who we played with at Trillian’s in Newcastle because they were supportive and genuine fellow musicians and they rocked.
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If you want to check out more new music, then fire up our Headline Act playlists on Spotify and YouTube!
