Music editor Amy Pollock chats with drummer Joe Emmett from The Amazons ahead of their UK tour starting in October. Read on and you can also find out how to WIN a pair of tickets to see the band in Glasgow!
Q1: For the people who might not have listened to your music yet, how would you describe your sound to them?
We like to concoct the ingredients of sweaty-energetic-rock ‘n’ roll.
Q2: What’s the story behind you forming together as a band?
Matt, Chris and Elliott have been playing together for quite sometime in various nuances. I joined the band in 2014 and The Amazons were born.
We met at a bar where Matt, Elliot and Chris were playing in one band and I in another. I was playing bass and looked uncomfortable strapped to wood with strings so after several messages they found out I was in fact a tub basher and I’ve just never left!
Q3: Since you started making your own music, who has been your biggest influence?
We have a variety of individual influences which all play a part in forming The Amazons’ sound. But we love the grandeur of Arcade Fire, the grunge punk ethos of Nirvana and the sparkling opus of Zeppelin.
Q4: As the four of you are from Reading, what was it like playing a gig as big as Reading Festival for the first time last year?
BBC Introducing have been incredibly supportive to us and for them to pick us at that early stage to play was incredible. We’d been plugging away playing shows in Reading and wasn’t sure what kind of turn out we’d get but the place was packed and everyone seemed to have a great time including us. Hopefully we’ll be back to fly the flag next year!
Q5: What’s the best piece of advice you were given when The Amazons were just starting up?
Do everything yourself and rely on nobody! You find out very quickly that if you don’t get your head down and play as many shows as you can, continually write and record your material, review it and try and build your own brand of whatever you’re doing – nobody is going to do that for you. It’s a great foundation that we stick to now.
Q6: What is your most favourite song to perform?
At the moment it’s our new single ‘In My Mind’, but we do like to leave everything on the stage for ‘Something In The Water’.
Q7: What can we expect to see from The Amazons in a year’s time?
Bentleys and jacuzzis! Failing that just being able to make more music and play more and more shows. It’s a boring answer but we love what we do and we hope people will be receptive to our debut record!
The Amazons will next be performing at The Garage, Glasgow on October 7.
You can also be in the chance of winning a pair of tickets to see The Amazons by simply sharing Brig’s Facebook post or retweeting us! The winner will be announced on Brig Newspaper’s Facebook page on Friday, October 7.
[…] months back, to see how far they have come and what they’re saying now, the chaps sat down with Brig: the newspaper/website for the University of Stirling. The boys said, when trying to describe their […]