Band Profile: Blue Origin

So we're on a bit of a roll with these interviews and band profiles at the moment, aren't we? We just figured it would be a nice way for all HippyHazers to get to know the bands a bit better and create a friendly relationship between our rock-stars and festival goers :) Speaking of friendliness, we really must let you know what happened when we sat down with Blue Origin as Tom and Nick are a couple of the most genuine lads we've had the pleasure of meeting...

***

Tell me all about Blue Origin... 
Tom: Blue Origin is a five piece rock and metal act from the glorious town of Stoke-on-Trent! The band consists of Nick on Vocals, Mike on Guitar, Jim on Guitar, Danny on Bass, and me on Drums. We do have day jobs but the main focus has been and always will be our music and this band. 

 

Good stuff, and how did you guys get started?
Nick: Blue Origin started about seven years ago when I met Tom. He was air drumming to Puddle of Mudd's She Hates Me at a party…

Tom: Blue Origin has been through a number of small line-up changes but the line up we have now is the strongest we've ever had!

Onwards and upwards :) Who writes the lyrics?
Nick: I write the lyrics for all of our songs. All of my writing starts off as short poems usually which I later bash into a song structure. This is kind of where my background as a writer comes in useful! I’ve been writing from such an early age I think I started around 12. I wasn't all that cool in high school!

Haha, well now you’re in an awesome rock-band... you don’t get much cooler than that! What do you base your lyrics on?

Nick: In terms of inspiration, I'm quite an introvert writer, usually writing about a lot of the things going on in my life when we wrote the song, though I'm trying to push towards a wider, more outward style at the moment. I never stop learning and changing how I write, nor should any writer. If you think you've got nothing to learn then you need a reality check!

That’s really cool to have a constantly evolving style. So who are your biggest influences?
Tom: Every single member of this band has different influences that they bring to the music we write, BUT if we were to say overall, we are greatly influenced by bands such as Shinedown, Black Stone Cherry, Alter Bridge and so many more. 

And what's been your best gig so far? Or best rock star moment?
Tom: I don't really know what Nick thinks but for me I would say it was our big headliner at the Sugarmill at the beginning of 2011. The place was just rammed and the crowd was insane. We had an intro video shown through a load of broken TV's scattered around the stage. The crowd was insane and the energy on stage was absolutely immense! 

Yes, I’d have to agree that sounds pretty cool. However, things don’t always go so good do they? What's been your worst moment as a band so far?
Tom: For me it was our slot supporting another band in a popular Stoke venue... The headliners were a great bunch of guys and they play what they play very well. The only issue was the crowd did not like us at all! The place was full of skinheads dressed in Doc martins and dungarees, like a scene from 'This is England' it was mental.

That sounds quite nerve-wracking. Onto more positive things, who are you excited about seeing at HippyHaze?
Tom: I am excited about seeing our good friends in Nameless, they put on a great show and are a fantastic bunch of guys. As well as them I am looking forward to seeing Sworn To Oath as I haven't been to a show of theirs in a while but the last one I went to was mental and I’m sure this one will be just as great. 
Nick: Yeah, for me Nameless are going to be fantastic! Those guys always put on a great show, and everyone thinks Josh (the singer) is Tom's son… It's a bit of a running joke really!

Haha, I see the resemblance with the lovely locks of long hair! Finally, just to wrap things up what's next for Blue Origin after HippyHaze?

Nick: Well HippyHaze will be the 5th gig on our 2K12 Spring Smashup UK Tour so it’s all busy, busy for us currently. Aside from that it's all about our Debut Album due for release later this year! We currently have a crowd funding campaign going on through pleasefund.us and we're offering all sorts of cool rewards for people helping us out with this. For example, do you want us playing a gig in your living room? Yeah, we can arrange that! Things are becoming very exciting for us here in Blue Origin and this is just the beginning... watch this space!

***

Getting to know all the great musical talent Staffordshire has to offer has been one of our favorite things about organizing HippyHaze, and Blue Origin are some lads we're hoping to stay in touch with long after the festival. If you'd like to give your ears a sweet sweet preview of their music then go check out their Myspace page. Then if you're feeling generous, go donate a bit of your spare dollar to their band at pleasefund.us. We're sure they'd greatly appreciate it, and if you're looking for a band to play in your living room hold them to Nick's promise! Blue Origin will be supporting Sworn To Oath at HippyHaze on the Saturday, so make sure you head over to their marquee during their set, because this is one band you don't want to miss.

TICKETS ARE SELLING OUT RAPIDLY NOW. MAKE SURE YOU HEAD INTO MUSIC MANIA OR THE HIPPY HIPPY SHAKE COMPANY IN NEWCASTLE OR HANLEY AND GET YOURS NOW. A COUPLE OF THE BANDS ARE STILL FLOGGING TICKETS, BUT THEY'RE RAPIDLY RUNNING OUT NOW SO GET THEM WHILE YOU CAN! £14 FOR A DAY PASS INCLUDING ONE NIGHT CAMPING AND JUST £33 FOR A THREE-NIGHT CAMPING TICKET. See you there :)

Love and milkshakes

The Hippy Hippy Shake Company

Band Profile: Sworn To Oath

Last Friday, two HippyHaze representatives moseyed along to The Sugarmill to see one of our headliners perform and we were absolutely blown away! Sworn To Oath will be headlining HippyHaze on the first night of the festival (the Saturday) and we can't think of a better way to start our Easter weekend. These lovely guys are sure to make your heads explode with their talent, so make sure you bring a mop to clean up the mess. Only joking, but they are super-duper cool. We managed to grab a couple of minutes with their guitarist, Dave Leese, and this is what he said...

***

Thanks for your time! So could you please break down for us exactly who is Sworn To Oath?

Well we have Tom Shaw, 23, on bass guitar & lead vocals, me, 26, on guitar & vocals and then Al Junior, 23, on drums & vocals. 

Nice. And what do you do for a living?
Well, the band is our main focus and takes up most of our time, but we all have different part time jobs that we do when we're not on tour.

That's what we like to hear, a band committed to their music! So when did you guys get started?
Sworn to Oath has been going for just over three years but we've all known each other for a while and played in different bands together over the years so that's how we met. When we realised we all shared the same desire and work ethic as one another we got together to start a new project from scratch. There was a definite chemistry when the three of us jammed together for the first time, so we decided to make a go of it and take it seriously. We've never looked back!

Awh so sweet! Music is such an emotional thing... Who writes the lyrics and what inspires them?

We all write together, but lyrics-wise most of the themes in our songs could be inspired by any number of experiences or emotions: the loss of a loved one; past relationships; wanting to make a better life for yourself; not letting the different bulls**t that life constantly throws at you grind you down and more. 

You probably get asked this all the time, but who are your biggest influences?
We're all into so many different bands that we take influence from on a daily basis. If I had to name our 'main' influences they'd have to be Pantera, Black Sabbath, AC/DC. Then we also love some newer bands like Cancer Bats, Everytime I Die, As I Lay Dying and Architects.

Nice mix! I'm a huge AC/DC fan. Anyway, enough about me, more about your best band moment so far...

It would be tough to pick out one gig as our best so far, we've got some favourite places to play such as the Vault in Rugby, The Gasworks in Bradford, the Duchess in York, and obviously the Sugarmill in Stoke. They are all places where we have big, awesome audiences and crazy crowds of people that turn up to support us. Actually, our biggest 'rock-star' moment may have been when we supported Periphery at Academy 2 in Birmingham. We walked out on stage to a packed-out room and it was definitly the biggest crowd we've ever played to. Seeing that many people react to our songs all at once is the kind of thing you dream about as a kid and the reason why we get on stage time after time!

Sounds pretty awesome. On the flip side, what's the worst thing that can happen to a band like Sworn To Oat?

I'd say our worst moments have been when things go wrong with gear on stage. Its just the three of us up there and we all sing and play so when something breaks or doesnt work its tough to cover it up. We always find a way to get through it, but the reality is, when you play as often as we do and you're constantly using your gear it suffers from wear and tare. You can always guarantee that it will break on stage in front of an audience rather than in the rehearsal room!

That's rotten luck! What are you most looking forward to about HippyHaze?

I'm personally excited to see a field full of crazy people who are well up for having a great weekend watching some truely awesome and talented bands. 

I love how you guys thrive off your audiences and the atmosphere so much! So what's next for Sworth to Oath?

Well, HippyHaze is during a run of shows that we're playing around the country at the minute to promote our new single 'Stand Alone', so our next stop will be Manchester at Satans Hollow on April 8th. All other dates for our up coming shows can be found over at our Facebook page.

Nice little plug you got in there Dave, can never beat a bit of shameless self PR :) Thanks for your time, we can't wait to see you rocking HippyHaze!

***

Sworn To Oath are one of the hardest working bands to come out of Stoke, and they've racked up hundreds of gigs since they first formed. We like to think of them as a well-oiled machine which will make for a fantastic performance at HippyHaze. Specializing in metal music, they're sure to blow you away so make sure you don't miss them! 

TICKETS ARE SELLING OUT RAPIDLY NOW. MAKE SURE YOU HEAD INTO MUSIC MANIA OR THE HIPPY HIPPY SHAKE COMPANY IN NEWCASTLE OR HANLEY AND GET YOURS NOW. A COUPLE OF THE BANDS ARE STILL FLOGGING TICKETS, BUT THEY'RE RAPIDLY RUNNING OUT NOW SO GET THEM WHILE YOU CAN! £14 FOR A DAY PASS INCLUDING ONE NIGHT CAMPING AND JUST £33 FOR A THREE-NIGHT CAMPING TICKET. See you there :)

Love and milkshakes

The Hippy Hippy Shake Company

The Hippy Hippy Shake Company Sits Down With... The Pretty Great Whites!

On the same evening and I was lucky enough to grab some time with The Get Alongs and 3's A Riot, The Pretty Great Whites also made time for a quick interview. As well as being awesome musicians, this is a band of four of the nicest gentlemen I've had the pleasure of meeting. Bringing me my drink, making space for me and my friend to sit down and politely waiting for me as I faffed around with all my uni notes, these boys have the whole package... and their fans know it! So what did the Kris, Dave, Kane and Liam have to say for themselves?

***

First of all, boring question but, who are your biggest influences?


Liam: The Who, The Jam, all that really!
Dave and Kris (in unison): Sham 69
Liam: Yeah, Sham 69
Kane: Paul Weller too, legend.


Ahh Paul Weller, I'm a fan. Looking forward to hearing your stuff then... So they are huge rockers with loads of stories to tell, but I want to know what's been your biggest rock and roll moment so far?


Dave: Rugfest
Liam:        Rugfest
Kane:               Rugfest
Kris:                        Rugfest was a rock and roll moment because... well... I can't remember much of it... We had no shoes on... guitars got broken and it went down quite well!
Liam: Basically we drank beer from a wellie!


Eeeew. That reminds me of particularly treacherous game of Ring of Fire...


Kris: Grim. Yeah, you know really the people who come follow us regularly... they're all off it. That's partially because we hang out with them. We drink with the fans, everyone gets smashed and has a good time.


Awh that's nice you have a close relationship with fans! So, you're not adverse to being drunk on stage at all, what with those two alcoholic drinks in your hands Kris...


Kris: *Shrugs* It gives you the courage. The majority of my life I spend...
Liam: Wasted. On the p**s.
Kane: On the floor.
Kris: Drunk. And that's where the songs come from. When you're drunk you're more likely to take in what's around you and when you do that, you write a song. If they're written under the influence, they should be performed under the influence! It puts your heart in it!


Makes sense! So you guys write all of your lyrics then? Where does the inspiration for the songs come from... apart from the bottle...


Kris: Every song is inspired by something in the world around us. Like, the first song is inspired by a prostitute druggie wino, then the last one is about government propaganda and oppression and stuff. Like, none of our songs are commercialized they're all social commentary.


*Rest of the band gazes in awe at the eloquence of their drunkest member* Wow ok, so you're tackling some pretty heavy issues there, not going to lie.


Kris: Well, David Cameron is a f**king w***er, he just sits there behind his desk.


Do I sense a labour voter then? Lib Dem perhaps?


Kris: I don't follow any of them. To be fair, Lib Dem told me they'd legalize marijuana. 


Yeah, and they told me that they'd make uni free. They lied.


Kris: They chat sh*t don't they? They just want a bit of that *rubbing fingers together to signify money* don't they? We're the ones that work and pack cheese for a living so they should just f**k off. 
Liam: Pack cheese?
*Band laughs*
Dave: But yeah, in answer to your question, we write our own lyrics.


*Can't help but laugh* Ok, do you know the other bands that are performing at HippyHaze? Who would you like to perform with if you could?


Liam: Emilio Pinci straight up. 
Kris: We've known him for like, seven years and he's an amazing writer and guitarist


Yeah well I haven't had much experience of meeting him yet but I hear great things so I'm looking forward to it. I'm probably going to need to interview him soon...


Kris: Well you know what, at any point when you're there and he's there, just come and find me and I'll introduce you. Are you going to be at HippyHaze? *Everyone looks baffled at his question*


Yeah... my dad is the organizer, remember? 


Kris: Oh yeah, yeah yeah. Anyway, I'll introduce you. He's a top guy!


Fab! Ok, so who has a girlfriend and who hasn't? 


Kris: Liam is a dedicated boyfriend!
Liam: If it counts, we met at our first gig...


Awhh that's sweet!


Kane: Basically she's a groupie. 


*Laughing* Leads me to my next question. Would you s**g a groupie?


Dave: Oh yes.
Kris: Hell yeah.
Kane: Without a doubt.


That's what we like to hear! One more question... what's your favorite milkshake from The Hippy Hippy Shake?


Kris: Have you done a Pretty Great Whites one yet? That one.


No we haven't yet, but we will, I promise.


Liam: The Kinder Bueno one.
Dave: White Maltesers.
Random stranger: Blackcurrent Cheesecake.
Kris: To be honest, I've only tried a bit of the 3's A Riot one. It was dead good. It tasted pukka!


Well it's been really nice to meet you guys, I'm so glad I've had an opportunity to interview you all. Thanks for your time.


The Pretty Great Whites: Thanks.

***

Labeling themselves an 'indie/post punk' band, The Pretty Great Whites seem to have a very large following of Stoke-based fans and I'm now one of them! Songs to listen out for are Fake Romance and Pretty Little Scumbag... check out their MySpace page and see if you can resist bouncing around your bedroom to these two tunes. I challenge you. Can't wait to see them perform at HippyHaze this Easter, not sure about you guys, but I'll be directly in front of the stage screaming like I love them. Join me? Like you'd be able to resist, The Pretty Great Whites really know how to rock a venue, and we're chuffed to have them on-board :)

TICKETS ARE SELLING OUT FAST SO MAKE SURE YOU HEAD INTO THE HIPPY HIPPY SHAKE COMPANY IN NEWCASTLE OR HANLEY AND GET YOURS NOW. £14 FOR A DAY PASS INCLUDING ONE NIGHT CAMPING AND JUST £33 FOR A THREE-NIGHT CAMPING TICKET. PLUS IF YOU BUY A 3 NIGHT TICKET, GET ANY REGULAR SHAKE FOR FREE!

Love and milkshakes

The Hippy Hippy Shake Company