1. First of all, how did you guys meet? And what made you think that you’d have the chemistry to start a band together?
James and I are brothers, and we went to school with Jonny. We’ve known Jonny since he was five years old. We lost touch a little after school but ended up at Uni together and started the band there whilst on a music tech course. Flash came along later – James met him through working at a call centre for a bit. The chemistry was very obvious from the start, and we work really well together, but more importantly have a lot of fun.
2. What’s your main influences? And what made each one of you pick his instrument?
It’s a real mixed bag of influences. My Dad used to play us loads of great records as kids. He had a massive record collection. There was always a lot of music around at home. Everything from my Mum’s Beatles records, to punk, post-punk, new-wave, glam, 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond. My Dad would always record Top of the Pops and any music stuff onto VHS too, so we’d have these compilation videos of music from TV to watch. It was nice when my brother and I started buying our own music too, as we’d all have different bands to tell each other about.
I think if you asked the band then Faith No More, Nirvana, the Clash, Supergrass, Weezer, Hundred Reasons, Green Day would be notable mentions.
My uncle gave us a battered old guitar when we were kids, so we naturally started to muck about with that and the passion for playing along with all our favourite songs grew from there.
Flash was forced to play clarinet as a kid and hated it, so when he said he wanted to quit his folks agreed so long as he picked another instrument. They shook on it and he picked the drums. They weren’t expecting that I don’t think.
I think Jonny was born with a guitar… but he reckons a bit like us, he was inspired by the ‘60s record collection of Beatles and Stones that his folks had in the house.
3. When you toured New York, how were you received by fans and critics there?
We went down really well and the whole thing was a blast. From the minute we landed we were taken on a whirlwind of bars, parties, and gigs. Playing at Loft parties, legendary (now closed) venues and hanging out with some cool and friendly people.
4. Since “Ragnarok” was inspired by the adventures you had in NY, what’s the craziest thing that happened there? Did it get to be on the record?
So many adventures….. We literally more or less went from one party to another the whole time. There was a loft party with people dressed as clowns and people with snakes around their necks, us getting into random cars thinking they were our ride, sleeping on floors, staying up all night at another impromptu party and looking out across the NYC skyline at 6am thinking it was still the evening, ending up in a Manhattan penthouse apartment playing pool, drinking very expensive whisky and watching the grand prix at 3 am eating fancy cheese and Jonny losing his vision in a dive bar… it was a very wild ride…
5. Can you pick a song from your catalogue to recommend to someone who wants to get into The Fades?
I would suggest ‘Lost My Job’ – the new single, as it has a sense of humour, but also talks about serious issues. It has a good mix of our brand of post-punk, indie rock and garage rock. A little bit of ska skank in there too.
6. Your latest single “Lost my Job” tackles a global post pandemic social situation, can you tell us more on what’s behind it?
A deadly combination of the pandemic, Government corruption and corporate greed has created a cost-of-living crisis with rising energy bills, food costs and unemployment. The track is a story about living in this environment and being recently fired, having to sell all your stuff on Ebay to try and help ends meet.
7. Can we expect the record to tackle more of those “post COVID” issues?
The Fades always try and talk about serious issues, but also try to be a bit tongue in cheek and have fun too. So, the album is a mix of those things. Some serious subjects, but also taking the piss and having a laugh. The album is going to be called Night Terrors, so it’s a take on those moments in the middle of the night when you wake and are bombarded by thoughts. I think this was happening to people a lot more during the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.
8. How did the writing and recording process go during the lockdown?
We went into the rehearsal studio as much as we could, as we needed a release, and all the pubs were shut… It was such a mad unprecedented time. Something we’d never experienced before, so there was so much strange energy flying around when we got together. We wrote pretty fast and wanted to record it all. We booked in with Stephen Gilchrist at Brixton Hill Studios to go in and capture it all on record using some classic analogue gear. We wanted to restrict ourselves by trying to get everything in a few takes and not rely on digital gear and the ability to edit and overdub a thousand times. We wanted a real ‘live’ record and I think we got it. This album is definitely one of the most consistent and complete things we have made.
9. Can you describe the sound of your upcoming record? What’s your favorite song off it so far?
It’s dynamic post-punk garage rock. There are some reflective moments, some funny moments, some in your face moments and some far-out trippy kraut rock moments. It feels like a complete record. Something you should listen to in one go, as an album. We’re really happy with it. My favourite song is Follow Me Around, but that is likely to change. We always have a different favourite at different times.
Cheers!
Dave
THE FADES
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Hazem Mahani
