Introduced by Monk
- Basingstoke-based punk ‘n’ rollers Small Town Saviours have proved that they aren’t the ‘E.N.E.M.Y’ of infectious glunk rock with the latest single from their forthcoming, self-titled debut album, due to be one of the most hotly anticipated releases of the first part of 2023… The lead single has been on heavy repeat on ÜRHQ’s much-coveted playlist, so we could think of no better excuse to catch up with the guys and find out a bit more about what them tick…
Given the name of this feature, I started off by asking them to introduce themselves individually and collectively:
[We are] Lance Skybaby on vocals and lead guitar, T-Bone on bass and backing vocals, Skinny Pete on guitar/backing vocals and Carl D on drums and [yes] backing vocals. We formed in 2019. We have all played together before in other bands over the years and we’ve always written well together. It didn’t take much time before we had a handful of killer songs and we knew we were onto something!
Personally, as a historian, I have an interest in etymology, so I feel I have to ask about where the band name came from and if it has any special significance…
The band name was suggested by a close friend, it’s the title of an old punk song by a band he was really into. We just thought it sounded great!
Does the name reflect what you are seeking to do/achieve as a band?
Yes, we feel it represents the hope and empathy we deliver in our sound and lyrics perfectly. It’s kind of us saying we’ve got your back, we’re here for you!
Music is categorized into various genres and sub-genres. How would you define your sound? What individual and collective influences do you draw on for your sound?
We draw from a lot of different genres in our music but to sum it up simply I’d have to call it “pop rock punk”.
You’re releasing your first album in January… can you tell us a bit about it?
We really can’t wait to take people on this sonic journey; from track one through to 13 you’re all in for a rollercoaster ride of riffage and groove, topped with lyrics of loss and recovery hope and resolve that’ll leave your hearts full and your necks sore.
Are there any particular lyrical themes/personal issues you are addressing in the songs?
We address issues from mental health, lost and found friends and lovers, acceptance and of course the occasional dip into a story song with a bit of playful tongue in cheek thrown in! The overall message of the album I would say is that there’s always a calm after the storm and things will always work out in the end if you keep fighting through.
How important is social media in getting your music out there?
These days social media is a very important tool to get your name, music and videos out there into the world. It’s essential for building a wider fan base, still gigging and getting in front of people is still massively important.
Is it more important than, say, streaming outlets especially given the fact that the financial returns for streaming can mean a band doing a lot of work for relatively little reward – i.e. you earn very small percentage returns, with the services themselves taking large chunks of your potential income. Is it worth the effort, or is it a fact of the business that you just have to accept?
All I can say is we’re in this game because we enjoy creating and crafting our art and hopefully it resonates with people when they hear it. Obviously, it would be great to get paid handsomely for our efforts, but money is definitely not the main priority, as long as we can make enough to put back into it to keep creating then we’re happy.
The pandemic of the couple of years led to a log of bands having to explore other methods of generating income marketing themselves. I’m thinking of how many bands found themselves having to go down the live streaming route. And a lot of them charged their fans for watching the shows. I know there are pros and cons to “free” versus “pay per view”, but as a (relatively) young band I’d be interested to know if, given the shitfuck of the past two years, it is more important for you to get your music out there than to make money out of doing so? I guess the point I’m making is “is it worth some short-term pain for long term gain”?
The love of the art is a main drive, making money really can’t be a priority at this stage, it’s too difficult to make any, ha! Yes definitely worth ‘Short-term pain for long term gain’
Life does seem to be getting back to some form of normality, but do you think the option of things such as live streams will continue to be used by bands, especially to reach into territories where they may not be able to play, or afford to go to?
Yes I do, now that live streams have become such a big thing they are here to stay. Especially when they can be such a great tool for a band to increase their reach without having to pay the crazy mounting costs that are involved with touring.
So, what is next for the band? What is the plan for 2023 in terms of getting out there and bringing your music to new and expanding audiences?
We will have a second single and our debut album will be dropping in January 2023. The plan after that is fill the year up with playing live shows and getting back into the studio to start work on album number two.
OK, now a bit of fun, and a couple of quickfire “out there” questions to give us a wee bit of an insight into your personalities:
- Ice cream: vanilla or strawberry? Strawberry……100%!
- Gravy or curry sauce on your chips? Gotta be curry sauce on chips , save the gravy for the Yorkshire puds.
- Salted or sweet popcorn? Split vote here so we’re going to have to cheat and go with a mix!
- Buckfast or Iron Bru? Gotta be Iron Bru
- Smarties or M&Ms? Smarties coz “only smarties have the answer”
- Pineapple on pizza? Yes, to pineapple on pizza, nice to be exotic sometimes.
Final question: If you had your choice of any bill to be a part of, who would be the three other bands (signed or otherwise) you would choose to play with?
In no particular order: The Wildhearts, Backyard Babies, Green Day.
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