We enjoyed listening to your song “The Travelist” What is the story behind the song and how did you create/write it? Also, what inspired the song title?
That’s awesome, thank you! So the story goes that when I was traveling I met this person who traveled around from place to place picking up odd jobs. In a conversation they turned round and said “I’m not a traveler, I’m a travelist…”and that word stuck in my head for years. So when lockdown hit I was playing the riff and as I was ranting about my frustration with lockdown and not being able to go and gig, the line “Cause I was a Travelist” just fell out.

We understand that there is a music video that accompanies the song. What ideas went into making the video and is there any story – or message – that you hope the video contains?
Indeed there is! It was filmed around my old stomping grounds of the Troph Of Bowland, Blackpool and one of my favourite bars Dirty Blondes, by the legendary Pook from the band blanket and previously Me Vs Hero. So the message I wanted to put out was the story that many musicians/bands go through when gigging. We spend hours driving from place to place to play 30 mins (more or less depending), we’d spend loads of money on fuel, rehearsal rooms, equipment, merch, recording, PR and from time to time you play to empty an room. As much as I love those music videos where you’ve got the band rocking out to a packed bar and it’s all like “Woah this is the best show ever maaan”, it’s not like that all the time. I wanted to capture those moments where sometime you just play to the bar staff and that’s enough. For me it’s not about the glory of playing to a sold out room, even though those moments are incredible and very validating, it’s the about getting out there with your mates and playing music for the sake of playing music because you need to and it’s who you are.

If you had to describe your sound, how would you do so? Furthermore, what artists (or other sources) do you cite as influences?
My sound I’m still trying to place after 10 years of releasing music…It’s been described once as a wall of sound with random bits of graffiti on it which I quiet like. My main influences are Bruce Springsteen, Marvin Gaye, Nirvana and Frank Turner. I listen to anything and everything though and a band from York called Lyon Estates and my tour buddy Joschka David Mohs from “the sunny” part of Germany, Wuppertal for me have been a big influence recently.

What have been career highlights so far? And what is on your bucket list that you’d want to achieve?
There’s too many to count, I’ve been blessed with some incredible touring moments both on and off stage. I’ve supported a few of my hero’s and even had people I look up to like Vinnie Whitehead pull me back into the game when I wanted out. Hmmm, out of my top 100 I’m gonna go with…Touring in Australia for the first time. The crew was just my partner, my guitar, a small busking amp, myself and a small Hyundai Getz from 2010 and we travelled all around Australia playing in Petrol stations, bars, nightclubs, street corners and you name it I played there. Had to keep the tank filled some how right ha! It was just a really good time in my life, full of memories. It was raw good old fashioned get out there and play your ass off, it was a real education in performing for me and in becoming an artist and more importantly myself.

If you could be the main support for any living artist, who would that be for and why? Alternatively, what would be your dream live booking?
Ah you sod haha! The pipe dream of course would be Springsteen or Frank Turner. I mean Springsteen because hello it’s Springsteen the man is basically God ha! With Frank Turner it’s more seeing him play in a nightclub in Darlington with just an acoustic guitar then kicking it and rocking out with the Sleeping Souls was my lightning in the bottle moment where I was like “Oh shit you can play punk rock AND folk, still be solo and have a band?!” I know it seems obvious to some of my peers, but from my background it was a case of either you were acoustic and did it solo OR if you wanted to rock out you get a band.

What artists have you been listening to? Additionally, who should others be listening to?
So as mentioned earlier Lyon Estates and Joscha David Mohs, but I’ve also been listening to the likes of Heartwork, Tim Holehouse, Smoking Gives You Big Tits, George Gadd, Leonie Jakobi, Olivia Browse (Calendar Girl is a jam by the way!), Daybreaker aand Sugababes.

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