Our regular run-down of as many of the upcoming Bloodstock bands as we can get to talk to us! This Summit Fever play the Jager stage on the Friday…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We are from Shropshire, which is just outside Birmingham.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
We have officially been a band for 2 years now. This Summit Fever started as a project for me (Andy Blackburn) during the Covid pandemic. Writing Music was a productive way to spend my free time. Jim heard the songs and suggested we have a jam so we did and we just carried on. We tried to bring in other band members but it just didn’t work for one reason or another so we continued as a duo.
Where does the name of the band come from?
I (Andy Blackburn) have a fascination with big mountains. “Summit fever” is the term when someone is almost at the top of a 8000 metre mountain and pushes on to the summit even if there’s a strong chance they will lose their life. The brain isn’t getting much oxygen at that altitude so decision making is affected. I liked the analogy so went with it.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
There’s only 2 of us but we make a big wall of sound. We use fuzz pedals for the guitar and Jim hits the drums extremely hard.
We love writing big riffs and coupled with a strong drum groove we create our unique fuzzed up sound.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
We play every show like it’s our last one. We don’t believe in just standing or sitting there and going through the motions. We give every ounce of rock n roll energy our ageing bodies can muster.
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
I personally haven’t been before but it’s always been on my radar. Some friends of mine have been many times and they love the vibe there. I’m looking forward to the experience a lot.
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When/how did you find out you’d been selected to play at Bloodstock?
We entered Metal 2 the Masses a couple of times and unfortunately didn’t make it. A few months back I saw a post about applications being accepted for the Jager stage on social media so i sent our press kit and didn’t expect a response. However we received an offer and it made us very happy. This is a big deal for us.
What sort of setlist can we expect?
You can expect a dynamic, riff heavy set of songs from our latest EP Distraction Rituals plus some other favourites of ours.
Which other band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?
I want to catch Tuskar on the Sophie stage. They play on the Sunday though so I know we won’t clash as we are playing on the Friday. I also want to catch Crowbar and Meshuggah too.
What are you working on at the moment?
We are actually writing some new songs currently. Hopefully we will head to the studio before the end of the year to record them.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Wildest thing for me was seeing Pantera play at Wolverhampton civic hall on the Reinventing The Steel tour. Seeing and listening to Dimebag Darrell live was incredible
What drink do you throw back to get yourself fired up before going on stage?
To be honest, I never drink before going on stage because I want to play my best so I usually have water or a coffee. However I may make an exception for Bloodstock and have a Jagermeister before we play!
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This Summit Fever: official | facebook | instagram | bandcamp | spotify