I'm a rockstar on hiatus - Ask Me (Almost) Anything

[SweetnSaltyPopcornPlease]

I'm a semi-successful musician in a rock band. It's my only occupation, has been for some years. I've been a lot of places, seen a lot of stuff and met a lot of people. Ask me anything. I can't answer everything for various reasons but let's see how it goes...

@Jux

Oh, and I meant to also thank you for answering so many questions, and for the insight you have given into your world. (Am I being creepy, people? I just want to be polite, I think OP has been great.)

You are most welcome!

@BloodSweatAndBeers

Will you start another thread if this one fills up before Friday OP?

I doubt it will fill up. But I wouldn't leave you hanging if there was a demand.

@OutComeTheWolves

Thanks for starting this thread op I've found it really interesting.

My question is what do you think of the socially distanced gigs that are coming up? I'm missing seeing live music a lot and The Libertines are playing one near me soon. I'm very tempted to go but I have a feeling something might be a bit lost.

It will be very odd at first. But I also think all distancing will go out the window when the music starts, lol. How will that be policed? Bring your own hula hoop and no touching rings? 😂 (Sigh) I laugh but real indoor gigs could be seasons away, especially since small venues are at risk of closure. Do help if you hear of one near you.

Are you Blossoms?

I've not asked anything yet but have returned to this thread around 70 times.

Op, can you not just offer us some kind of cryptic clue for us to google, it's driving me mad not knowing who you are

@JustAPassingFashion

I've not asked anything yet but have returned to this thread around 70 times.

Op, can you not just offer us some kind of cryptic clue for us to google, it's driving me mad not knowing who you are

Hahaha. Do you have any music based questions that aren't investigative?

Can you give us a list of potential names you may be please 😊

I was convinced you were from The Horrors, but the bit about an ex band member rules that out.
Back to the drawing board!

Have you ever done a duet with another musician/band and if so... who?

If this has been asked, I apologise

Have The Horrors had a top 20 single?

What's your favourite UK festival?

And if you could create your own festival lineup (say 10 artists for one day on your main stage, who would they be?)

And one last one, do your family enjoy your music? If so is it generally their taste or is it just because it's you?

Sorry if they've been asked already, I might have missed a post!

Hello OP old timer here!

I started going out on the, I suppose alternative scene, in 89. Then it was v much all mixed up - shoegazing indie, rocky indie, bit of metal, bit of Goth, bit of hip-hop etc etc. Nirvana and the Prodigy both came out and that was There weren't a huge amount of radio stations and TOTP was still on.

Have things got less mixed in these days do you think, with streaming, a million specialised stations etc with young people less exposed to a wide range of music?
(I have no idea by the way, I'm in no way down with the kids )

My other question is kind of linked. When I see festivals on the telly, the bands at least the ones higher up the bill seem the same more or less as when I was young. The presenters are my age. You can get fancy tents and proper bogs and loads of child friendly stuff. Lots of festivals are aimed square at middle aged with kids. And they all seem v expensive. Have the more famous festivals essentially grown up with the 90s festival goers? Or is my perception cockeyed?

Well if you're not going to tell me what you want from the corner shop OP I was wondering how do you find new music that you like?

Do you have lots of 'free' time available to actively seek it out (e.g. I have to sit down with Spotify and some time on my PC to try and look up recommendations, trawl through stuff until I find music I really love - often I'll be caught by something sounding amazing but feel meh about it halfway through a track/album) - or do you listen to radio, playlists, go along to live gigs (in normal times) etc?

Despite the sheer volume of music we have at our fingertips now - 14-year-old me DREAMED of the time I could listen to music without having to save up for a £14 CD - in some way it used to be more simple in the past - R1 Evening session, NME, mates made you tapes.

Perhaps it's just my lifestyle since having kids and no free time - and constant noise in the house - but I don't have any tailored/"curated" input so there's no way for me to maximise my limited time to find the stuff I'm most likely to love. This is why I come to stuff years after everyone else likes it!

@HyggeTygge

I'm the same - in the past you just listened to John Peel/Janice Long or Annie Nightingale at 9 o'clock on Radio 1 and you got to hear what was out there - now I am lost and don't feel connected to the music scene in the way I once was. Different distribution methods and the sheer number of bands, I guess but it has made me less adventurous and informed.

Have you ever met Nick Cave?

Are you in snow patrol??

@SweetnSaltyPopcornPlease See, you're the kind of musicians that I respect. You do it because of the music, nothing else, just the sheer passion and with sincerity and integrity. I co-wrote a song 20 years ago (alias) that did rather well but then I fell into my other love as a career and children! You have made me get my gear out though with the plan to just song-write. Thank you!!

Some songwriting questions if I may?

What software do you use, or are you old-school with notation paper?

What's your opinion of artists who use Ableton etc, can't read music, can't play an instrument and yet have number 1s?

Do you get nervous before a gig?

@JustAPassingFashion

Have you ever done a duet with another musician/band and if so... who?

If this has been asked, I apologise

Not a duet but we've definitely had other artists feature on songs and had some cool people do our remixes/b-sides.

@eggofmantumbi

What's your favourite UK festival?

And if you could create your own festival lineup (say 10 artists for one day on your main stage, who would they be?)

And one last one, do your family enjoy your music? If so is it generally their taste or is it just because it's you?

Sorry if they've been asked already, I might have missed a post!

I really enjoyed the Isle of Wight festival. I love how kooky everyone is, it's full of fairies and glitter beards, stilt-walkers and wonder. And they treat the artists well. Glastonbury as a comparison, has no backstage security around the dressing room, so your stuff isn't safe, no cleaners so the toilets are foul, the artist liaison is always off watching another band so you have no assistance, and there are no activities backstage. A good festival has all these things sorted, because you can be there all day or sometimes 2 days.

@eggofmantumbi

What's your favourite UK festival?

And if you could create your own festival lineup (say 10 artists for one day on your main stage, who would they be?)

And one last one, do your family enjoy your music? If so is it generally their taste or is it just because it's you?

Sorry if they've been asked already, I might have missed a post!

Lol, I don't think my family enjoy my music, but they do enjoy our live shows. Doesn't bother or surprise me. Everything isn't for everyone.

@NiceGerbil

Hello OP old timer here!

I started going out on the, I suppose alternative scene, in 89. Then it was v much all mixed up - shoegazing indie, rocky indie, bit of metal, bit of Goth, bit of hip-hop etc etc. Nirvana and the Prodigy both came out and that was There weren't a huge amount of radio stations and TOTP was still on.

Have things got less mixed in these days do you think, with streaming, a million specialised stations etc with young people less exposed to a wide range of music?
(I have no idea by the way, I'm in no way down with the kids )

My other question is kind of linked. When I see festivals on the telly, the bands at least the ones higher up the bill seem the same more or less as when I was young. The presenters are my age. You can get fancy tents and proper bogs and loads of child friendly stuff. Lots of festivals are aimed square at middle aged with kids. And they all seem v expensive. Have the more famous festivals essentially grown up with the 90s festival goers? Or is my perception cockeyed?

Gosh, there are now sooooo many festivals around the world that cater to EVERYBODY. Although we are indie rock we have been booked for dance, hiphop and goth rock festivals that really didn't suit our music. An agent once told me festivals are the biggest risk in music and will turn your hair grey. They are extremely expensive to put on and a lot of logistics goes into it. Ambulance and police on site, stage safety, site security, vendors, sound and lighting, catering, town traffic planning etc. So the tickets have to be expensive. Which means usually only certain people can afford to attend more than one. They mostly cater to that fact so need the right artists for that audience, hence the old school headliners and the family friendly atmosphere. But there are ones for younger crowds too, headlined by current chart toppers.

Hi OP!! Morning!!! 👋

I love a lot of different types of music, but the 90's for me were probably my favourite time, counting crows, Shed seven etc.
I joined the police at 19 in 1995 so have only ever "policed" concerts such as T in the Park, and I have never gotten to enjoy a festival as a normal person. (If course I'm not including seeing Buck Fizz at the Cairo Hall when I was 6).
What music festival would be the one you would suggest that I go to and would enjoy?

*Caird Hall