Kevin Meyrick – The Noses/The Bleedin’ Noses – Uber Rock Interview Exclusive
Written by Nev Brookes
Saturday, 03 October 2015 04:00
The Bleedin’ Noses (as was) have been one of the bands that have really caught my attention since I began this writing for Uber Rock lark. I reviewed their ‘Eponymous’album, raving about the sound of Welsh hillbilly punk. Then came the shortening of the name to The Noses and their latest LP ‘Even If Your Voice Shakes’, once again had a fair review on these here hallowed pages. Over the course of time more and more of us scribes began to take notice and catch the band live, which is where the band’s music really comes into its own, and it was just prior to a live performance at this year’s Velvet Coalmine that I caught up with their six string maestro Kevin Meyrick, to shoot the breeze, talk music and find out all about future plans.
Hi Kev, great to catch up with you, and nice to see things moving forward for the band, what have been your highlights of the year so far?
Thanks Nev, likewise. There’s been loads of good stuff going on but meeting Michael Eavis and being offered the gig at this year’s Glastonbury festival has to be somewhere near the top, we ended up playing four gigs there, two on the backstage acoustic stage behind the scenes for the Glastonbury crew and artists, but the late night gig in the Avalon Inn was the standout for me, it was great to see the guys from Rudimental and their family dancing away to our country hillbilly punk until the early hours.
The new album ‘Even If Your Voice Shakes’ had a rave review here on Uber Rock and to me it showed a movement away from the sound of the first LP, a new musical dimension seems to have been added was this it’s intention?
Yes, our first album will always stand out, but we put it out there to show where we were at that particular stage of our development, a demo of a time so to speak. If you want a band overview “it is want it is” warts and all, it’s raw but people bought into it, even though we still struggled to get radio play. We think the second album has opened the sound up to a wider audience, it’s a bit more radio friendly if you like. Our biggest problem though as an unsigned band doing it ourselves is how it all works, with the monopoly of airplay held by radio pluggers that don’t come cheap, makes it difficult for a new or up and coming band to break in.
How have sales been on the new album, you seem to be picking fans up everywhere you play?
Initially we only released the album after pressing in three shops in Blackwood, so our local fan base could get their hands on it first. We are proud of where we come from and the locals give us so much support we decided to let them have it first and they really took it to heart and it sold very well. Then we opened up to listing it on iTunes, Spotify etc , we sell the CD at our gigs and regularly shift what we take along to sell. We sold a large number at The Foxton Locks Festival to people who had never heard us before, and got some great reviews from the people who bought them, from a number of bloggers to webzine editors. Next year we think is going to be a big year sales wise, with the promotion and press we’re picking up locally through Wales Online and its paper copies alongside the exposure we’re picking up after this Meat Puppets tour and interest from both Europe and the USA and it’s up to us to push on.
Yeah as you say this gig tonight is part of a UK wide tour supporting what can only be described as “a legendary band” – the Meat Puppets – what has the experience been like?
It’s pretty hard to describe what it feels like. Being on tour is like a whirlwind, your feet don’t touch the ground until the storm has passed and then you get the flashbacks. From what we can remember the Puppets guys are the most down to earth people you will ever meet, no egos no airs and graces that you might expect from such legends, all we can say is that they are very funny guys, masters of their craft, there is no messing about with them. They turn up on time, sound check, sit in the green room smoke like troopers, drink like fish and tell stories, not just stories, great stories!! They have lived the lives of rock and roll stars and they are still shining bright, we have been blown away by them at every gig. Each night they just get better and better and we are sure this tour has left a big mark on us and we will never forget it for the rest of our lives. The Meat Puppets are what the live music experience is all about, it hits you in the chest right into your heart and sends a euphoric message to the brain.
What advice have the guys given you?
Just keep doing what you’re doing, they said they like us as musicians, and can see what the music’s trying to say. They enjoyed our company as people and we have forged a friendship that will last. So remember “don’t change a thing, be who you are and keep doing what you’re doing”
It sounds like the Meat Puppets made quite an impression?
They did, listening and playing with the Meat Puppets I could definitely hear where Nirvana built their sound from, or at least how big a part they played in their development. Moving forward you can hear that influence in so many other bands from the Manics to the Kings Of Leon, the Meat puppets are the real pioneers of the garage and grunge sound and are as vibrant today as in the beginning. Listening to Curt’s guitar sound you can pull his own influences from Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead to all the country music he must have listened to growing up. When I sat down and asked him about these influences and influencers he agreed, reinforced my thoughts and talked about the history of where the sound came from.
So how does this compare to the aforementioned Glastonbury?
Look playing Glastonbury was amazing, to be on the official line up is every band’s dream, it’s taken years of breaking down barriers to manifest the gig but in the end it came down to Michael Eavis catching us playing in his local club in Pilton and straight away saying “you guys would go down well on the Avalon stage”. We made some great contacts, and the next step is to move up to the bigger stages. It’s good to start at the bottom and work your way up, who knows one day we could be on the main stage, well that’s the plan and we believe we wouldn’t look out of place up there.
So with that point still front of mind what can we expect from The Noses moving forward towards the end of 2015 into 2016, which as you say could be a big year?
We’ll keep playing gigs. Live is where we really shine, we’ll keep grounded and not forget the local fan base who’ve been there from the beginning, and apart from that it’s great fun so remember to enjoy everything. Next up will be to start writing for the next album and change our name back to the Bleedin’ Noses we’ve had so much grief from fans. We’ve had offers of more gigs in London and other major cities, we have had some contact to tour with more bands but we’re also considering setting up our own tour. Also our plan is to get some elusive radio play and confirm plans to tour the USA with the Meat Puppets – they really want to help us get out there. They also want us to tour Europe with them, so the rest of this year for us will be spent looking for a new manager or an agent with experience to work with the Meat’s manager to make it all happen.
Kev once again thanks for taking the time out to chat with me today I’m looking forward to catching you guys live once again and good luck with everything.
Cheers Nev.
https://www.facebook.com/Nosesband