My motivationsâŠ.. Steve (Guitar & Backing Vocals)
Iâve played guitar for over 20 years and I got into the recording side of things about 16 years ago. I loved being able to turn ideas and concepts into songs and sounds for anyone to hear, and I still do. I studied audio engineering at the School of Audio Engineering (SAE) in London from 2008-2009, had some work experience at Metropolis Studios and briefly with Jason Perry, however I never pursued it as a career. It was always something I enjoyed doing, however I didnât want to live in London anymore and felt being away from the capital may effect my chances of work. I also couldnât bare the thought of working with sub-standard musicians who expected an engineer to make them sound good, despite the fact they couldnât even play their own songs. Maybe thats snobbish? I donât know - but Iâd never expect anyone to wave a magic wand and turn my steaming pile of sh*t song into a number 1 hit. Norfolk doesnât have many big studios, but in-between working 9-5 jobs and studying for my BSc in Environmental Science, Iâve still managed to record a few local bands (I Said Goodbye, Joiners, Adventure By Post) as well as Prey Drive, to satisfy my audio engineering needs!
Now Iâm 35 years old, it feels different being in a band. I used to be full of hope and desire when it came to releasing songs, playing shows etc, however the more and more experience I gain, the more my motivation diminishes. I have peaks and troughs though, however on the whole; I would say iâm far less optimistic about music now than I was 20 years ago. Donât get me wrong, I still love playing in a band and writing music, however sometimes I just enjoy the process of making a song far more than I do having to play it live and promoting it. Getting other people to hear your band can be exhausting and sole-destroying. Perhaps I put too much pressure on myself and the band to get stuff heard, as I guess i truly believe in the songs etc and think people would enjoy them. But without hoards of money to pay for PR, radio pluggers and show buy-ons, it just doesnât seem a very fair system anymore. Getting a local band as a support act for a big touring act is super tough, whereas previously it used to be a rite of passage. I remember ALWAYS seeing local bands open for touring acts. But if you do get that opening slot, music fans just turn up for the headline act now instead of opening themselves up to the fact that they may actually discover a new band they like, who are local!?Â
It feels like unless youâre signed to a major and constantly in press/radio, not many people are going to give you the time of day. This isnât entirely true iâm sure, but sometimes thatâs how it feels. And weâve had some amazing opportunities too - like supporting Busted at a sold out UEA show. To play in front maybe 1,000 people was immense, and we gave it our all. But the crowd werenât there for us, and didnât know who we were or what we did. We had to work hard to win them over as weâre a completely different band to Busted, however we did sell a lot of merch that night! There are also all too many âmanagementâ and âbookingâ agents too, who will happily take a retainer from bands each month, often of at least ÂŁ500, and theyâll send out a bunch of e-mails on your behalf with no promisesâŠ.. Weâve never done that, but had many offers however it just felt wrong to us to spend that much money with no guarantees coming our way.Â
Nowadays, as I said earlier, my motivations are just in producing new music and getting it recorded. Iâd love for people to hear the songs we do, despite how difficult it is to get them heard, however I keep trying. I enjoy the process of hanging with the guys in PD and just making music. Demoing everything in my little home studio and then taking it to a studio to progress it, is a real fun experience. Making videos too is amazing. I feel weâve churned out some cool videos in the past and I really hope we can do some more again soon. If I dwell on the fact that not many people will see them, it does bum me out. But I try to enjoy the process of making them and that usually outweighs the negatives.
Iâm also inspired and motivated by my wife (cheesy, I know!). She came to the UK 5 years ago from Colombia to do a PhD at the University of East Anglia. She bossed that within 3 years (instead of the usual 4) and now works on a project with her home country from Norwich in what seems to be the perfect job. We got married 2 years ago and are working towards getting her a UK citizenship, which is difficult, but sheâs never given up and just takes each challenge on the chin and rolls with the punches. She came from an extremely different background to me, had to struggle with racism and bullying at school and always feared she wouldnât amount to anything. But sheâs now a Doctor in Microbial Ecology and married to a rockstarâŠâŠ