It’s that time of year again, when in the run-up to Bloodstock we endeavour to interview every band gracing the SOPHIE, New Blood and Jägermeister stages from 8th – 11th August 2019. This means you’ve got a chance to read up on all your favourite bands set to play over the weekend and decide which new ones you’ll want to check out.
As ever, we’re predicting some horrible clashes because, true to form, there are some great bands across all three stages so you should start planning who you want to see.
Our thanks to all the bands / artists for taking the time out to answer our questions!
Bastard – New Blood Stage, Sunday
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We’re from the mustard capital of the UK, Norwich. “A Fine City” as the sign says just as you enter.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
Solidly we’ve been a band for about a year and a half.
Where does the name of the band come from?
There’s no great origin story there, we just thought it would be funny and memorable. Discovered more recently that Motörhead were originally going to be named Bastard so that’s a nice nod to a legendary band.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
I think what best describes us is versatile and honest. We write big, mean riffs with pounding rhythms, and we make sure we can play live what we record in the studio. What you see is what you get with us.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
Massive energy from the start of the set all the way till the end. There’s not a moment that we’re standing still. You’re not gonna be bored watching us throw ourselves about like something out of the Exorcist.
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
Our frontman, Jim, has been, he loved it!
Which M2tM region did you win, or did you come through other channels?
Norfolk, the show was held at the Brickmakers in Norwich which is a cracking venue.
Can you put into 10 words or fewer how it felt when you realised you were heading to Bloodstock?
Utterly shocked and a little bit wankered.
What sort of setlist can we expect?
Our current set is the best live show we’ve ever put on. We’ve been hard at work making sure it gets our vibe across and contains aspects that will catch people’s attention We’ve got fast bits, slow bits, groovy bits and silly bits. Something for everyone provided you like it heavy.
Which other bands do you most hope you’re not squished up next to so you can see them play?
We’ve got everything crossed because we’re really keen to see Boss Keloid.
What are you working on at the moment?
When we’re done prepping ourselves for BOA, it’s back to writing more material. We’ve got so many ideas as to how we can develop our sound and already have a few fresh tracks in the works. As well as that we’re putting together a covers set to play a charity show with local death-core legends Annotations of an Autopsy!
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Jim has a habit of injuring his head on nearby objects. At one show he went to jump up on a table in front of the stage and cracked his noggin on the PA. Lots of blood splashing about for the rest of the set.
What drink do you throw back to get yourself fired up before going on stage?
We play a dangerous game with beer in the hours leading up to a show, how to get loose enough to have a good time but not sacrifice too many motor functions along the way.
Put all your eggs in one B a s t a r d