Playing in the background. The sounds you may not have heard.

Lost City Lights:

Scott - Vocals/Piano/Acoustic Guitar/Songwriter

What instrumentalists influenced and inspired you?

‘Freddie Mercury,Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty, Jimmy Eat World and Dallas Green/Alexisonfire have been my biggest musical influences when it came to writing the Lost City Lights songs.’

What did you love about the sounds?

‘I loved Freddie and Rob Thomas’ pop song writing sensibilities and Jimmy Eat World especially the futures album have had a massive affect on the way I write and I love how dallas’ voice soars over the the guitar melodies and the distorted chords.’

How if at all did it affect your own styles?

‘All 4 have affected the way i approach song writing, the way i approach my vocal melodies and most importantly my lyrics. Freddie is the biggest influence on my stage performance and the way I carry myself. He was a great performer and I can only hope to be half the performer he was.’

Mark - Lead Guitar/Occasional Co-Writer
What instrumentalists influenced and inspired you?
 
‘Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Walsh, Angus Young, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, John
Frusciante, Eric Clapton, Eddie Van Halen, Tom Morello, Phil X, Jimi
Hendrix, Brian May, Pete Townshend, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, The
Edge, Jeff Beck, Randy Rhodes.’
 
What did you love about the sounds?
 
‘Loud Loud Loud Loud Loud.’
 
How if at all did it affect your own styles?
 
‘I don’t think it so much had an effect on my style, more so my attitude towards making music.  The point of being in a band is taking everything you love about music personally, and crafting it into something that is your ideal take on the music that you listen to and the stuff that inspires you. So ideally, you should be your own
favourite band. Because if you've got the chance to take all these different influences, everything you love about music and mould it into something that you think is your perfect blend of material, then Bob's your Uncle.’

Paul - Bass Guitar

What instrumentalists influenced and inspired you?
 
‘Matt Freeman is the biggest influence of mine. He was the reason I started playing bass and although my musical tastes have changed over the years since starting to play his influence still remains a big part of my writing process. Other influences include Paul Simonon, Bruce Foxton and Nick Harmer.’

What did you love about the sounds?

‘I have always been prone to listening out for more unusual bass lines,
contrasting rhythms and the use of notes which complement the guitarist rather
than blending in, which is a common trait amongst bass players.’

How if at all did it affect your own styles?

‘I try to be more of an active musician when possible. It can be inappropriate
for bass players to use a lot of decoration in songs all the time, on the other
hand it can be the easy way out to simply play the bass notes of rhythm
guitarist. I try to find a happy medium when writing bass line.’


Make Sparks:

Craig - Guitar and Lead Vox

‘When I was a wee kid it was my Dad teaching me the basic chords and some blues riffs. When I was 12 I heard Definitely Maybe and it changed my life. For some reason its not cool to admit to it anymore but I was a massive Oasis fan and idolized Noel Gallagher until I was about 17. Then I heard Biffy Clyro…’

What did you love about the sounds?

‘I had only heard my Dads old music before then (Alice Cooper, Gary Moore, Slade) and although I still like some of them, nothing had hit me like Oasis did. The songs just sort of knocked me on my ass and made me want to learn every single one of them on my guitar that had been gathering dust for a couple of years. Then I got it out and learned how to really rock an open G and Am ;) It was more than the guitars in Oasis though, I really did love the band. I don’t enjoy any of their work anymore but I still enjoy going back to the old stuff and all of the B-sides.’

How if at all did it affect your own styles?

‘It affected our songwriting more than anything. We don’t have any similar sounds or styles to them anymore (and Adam never liked them anyway!) but we do always try for unifying, uplifting choruses and sing along hooks which is a real Oasis trait I think!’

 

The Silent Forest:

Drummers/guitarists/singers

What instrumentalists influenced and inspired you?

‘I can remember being very young, me and my sister Lesley (who plays in the band) sitting in the living room at home with dads headphones on, huge things they were and listening to Queen LP’s.  We would sing out the Melodies and strut up and down the living room like Freddy Mercury and Air guitar like Brain May, deny it all you want Queen were so massive because they wrote hit after hit after hit, it was the sense of big sound and big melody which I try to continue, lyrically too quite amazing when you read in between the lines, its always a sound of a good song when every time you listen to it you discover something new about it.’

‘We listened to lots of “dad rock” growing up, that might explain the way I sing, but we were also exposed to the classical greats, I own more soundtracks than I do Albums by bands, music on its own particulary the giant classical tracks carry a different weight, you can’t describe a sunset with words, we’ll leave that to Mozart, Beethoven and Greig.’

‘Lately I have returned to listening to powerful lyrical music, which I had almost ignored as for the last year and a half the music and the melody has taken presidence.  But one artist at the moment who affects how I right Lyrics is a rather unknown man called David Ford (fromerly Easyworld), that man makes me smile all day.

What did you love about the sounds?

‘I think I speak for the whole band when I say that we have no defined musical tastes.  Music has to do that thing where a grin slowly emerges across your face.  Like the first time I heard Sigur Ros through headphones, I bought the album Takk and sat and listened to the whole thing right through while watching stars on a freezing cold night.  I wasn’t bored or tired, the music just caught me and held me.  I think this comes from listening to classical music as children and just appreciating the mix of beautiful harmony and mixed instruments.  Like lots of strings and long held guitar notes along with the singers high pitched singing.  

The same goes for all the massive rock / pop songs I’m in love with.  They all have something in them that holds you.  The first album from the Guillemots, the opening song is much like a Sigur Ros song its called “little bear” and they is massive held strings and this simple piano line and vocal melody.  Then the album has songs like “Annie lets not wait” which is an amazing pop song with banjos and paino’s and even some school choir singing, but the same sounds like all the greats have, that interesting mix of melody which makes you listen on and smile endless throughout.

It doesn’t just have to be the poppy songs that do that, I used to be into Slayer and things like that (not anymore) but the great heavy metal songs have great melody, melody and balls right enough but still the same passion which comes through. One band that does this for me at the moment is 65 Days of Static, no singing right enough but the songs are loud and quiet but drive themselves.’

How if at all did it affect your own styles?

‘Our style is affected in various ways  I know that when I write the basic tunes out on my own I keep it simple (mainly because of lack of skill) and stick to the guitar and vocals usually with Lesley in the room on her violin and somewhere with the two of us playing the same thing over and over the song ideas take shape.  Once I have a melody which changes and has a bit of passion to it (just like the Queen and all rock and pop greats) I start to work on the lyrics.  These take the longest amount of time.  I’m re-writing lyrics almost 9 months after I’ve finished the melody I can’t leave a lyric sounding like it fits or Rhymes, I think this is because of listening to David Ford and Pearl Jam, Eddie Vedder writes great things, which are not just about how he feels about a women but a mixture of things affecting his life.  I think Queen and Bruce Springsteen get this balance of great lyrics about life with perfect melodies.

Then its time to take the skeleton song to the band.  Where Jamie adds the classical element to it.  He thinks about the layers and walls of sound which accompany the melody.  His guitar lines act as hooks.  I do like to ask him for something but usually he gets it with out me saying too much.  Iain the drummer, just loves to drum he likes to use his kit as an instrument and not as a method of just keeping time.  Drumming can change a whole song, like Wake Up by Arcade Fire, such a simply song but the drumming changes how you think of the song.  I don’t set out with drums in mind and very often I need to ask what I want (which is never observed, but he knows best).

The end result ares influenced by big pop classics, yet with the mind set of making people listen harder, you don’t want to give them what they want.  Classical instrumental arrangements mixed into a good song structure using Pads and loops of noise and strings influenced by classical, rock ballads and Lyrically singer songwriter music form the ingredients of our music.  Depending on the gig we are playing you can see all these elements shinning through. I can take on the guise of a singer songwriter and play on my own or just an acoustic and a violin or cello.  We can play faster and with more balls when just in 4 piece form, we have even gone the full Sigur Ros way (which would be amazing to do all the time) and played with an orchestra.’

 

Answers from ambulances:

Scott - Vocals/guitar,

‘Genesis P-Orridge was a big inspiration, I liked him since I was 15 and he turned me onto writers, artists and musicians that I never knew existed.’
 
Sara - Singer

‘My inspirartions are Kate Bush and Elizabeth Fraser. They both have a beautiful and unique voice, which has inspired me to create my own beautiful and unique vocal style.’
 
Chris - vocals/guitar

 ‘Michael Angelo Batio has always been an inspiration to me. I think it's fair to say that when it comes to playing guitar, the ability to get as many notes played in a minute is much more important than feel or anything boring like that. Batio's style, both in terms of his hair and shredding technique, have pretty much been implemented into my own stage craft. Although I must add that, when playing with Ambulances, I've had to abandon the Dean Double Guitar as it's too heavy for me to carry these days. My motto is, "More is more". Vocally I try to set the bar high, and so recently I've been trying to emanate the classics. I have so much respect for Cliff Richard.’
 
Big Al – Drums

‘I've forgotten more than Cozy Powell ever knew.’

 

What The Heroes Say

What instrumentalists influenced and inspired you ?

John - Singer

‘Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Frank Sinatra,The Doors, Ian Brown, Noel Gallagher’

John -Guitar

‘John Lennon, Keith Richards, Martin Luther the king’

Sean – Keyboards

‘Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and Pete Townsend’

John - Bass

‘Paul Weller, John Paul Jones, John Bonham, Robert Plant, James Brown, Bon Scott
Des-drums – my older brother bashed the kit in the house and I followed suit!’

What did you love about the Sounds?

John-singer

‘Their voices, their melodies, their style….goose bump stuff’

John-guitar

‘John Lennon – I loved his crunchy Rickenbacker sound from the Beatles early days,
Keith Richards – love the style of his Telecaster riffs and solos and Martin luther the king – “I have a dream” loved that bit!’

Sean - Keyboards

‘Completely original and authentic, their music sounded honest to me.’

John - Bass

‘The passion and aggression that each artist showed when performing and the communication between each person in the band to create the sound which inspires me to be in a band today.’

Des - Drums

‘I loved the different sounds of the drum kit and how powerful it all sounded.’

How if at all did it affect your own style ?

John - Singer

‘Hasn’t really because you can’t copy these guys. They are one offs, totally original. All I try to do is sing well and write songs that people will remember and perform them with passion. If any comparisons are made I’ll take them.’

Sean - keyboards

‘I’ve never been totally affected but other artists but if anything it made me wants to write my own songs and work with others to create “a sound”’

John - Bass

‘Image, attitude towards music and wanting to be successful at what I enjoy doing the most, playing live.’

Des - Drums

‘It didn’t really, I soon developed my own unique style!’

What instrumentalists/singers influenced your own styles when growing up ?

John - Singer

‘Elvis and Frank, my mum played their records day and night, The Beatles, The Doors, The Who, The Small Faces, Northern Soul, The Jam, Stone Roses, Oasis, U2’

John - Guitar

‘Noel Gallagher, Ryan Adams,The Beatles,The Rolling Stones, The Stereophonics (When they were half decent like!), Neil Finn, Bon Scott, Bonnie Tyler
Sean-keyboards- Beatles, The Who, Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash, Oasis’

John – Bass

‘Elvis Presley, Lennon/McCartney, Paul Weller.’

Des – Drums

‘Ringo Star, Keith Moon, Charlie Watts and Larry Mullen Jnr’

 

First Charge of The Light Brigade

What instrumentalists influenced and inspired you?

‘To name but a few,Ennio Moricone, Robert Smith(The Cure), Tom Waits, Randy Newman,George Harrison, CSN, Neil Young, Ry Cooder, Johnny Marr, Neil Finn, Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Richard Manuel, and loads of new artists.’

What did you love about the sounds?

‘Everything!! Simple sounds are hard to create, having your mood changed by a great unique other worldly sound, and the ability of music to bookmark an era of your life
How if at all did it affect your own styles? We are constantly inspired by new music and recording techniques while also try to listen to as much music from all decades and trying to head off in one set direction.’

 

TSM Radio

Drummers/guitarists/singers

What instrumentalists influenced and inspired you?

I was inspired by Fleetwood Mac, Tracy Chapman and Christina Aguilera.

What did you love about the sounds?

I love many different things from each.  Christina Aguilera’s voice to me is one of the best, her range, the emotion she can bring to a song, was and still is a huge inspiration to me.  The melodies and instrumentation in Fleetwood Mac’s album “Rumours” is simply stunning, and lyrically I love Tracy Chapman.

How if at all did it affect your own styles?

I would say my style has definitely been affected by these artists as they have played a great part in my growth as a musician and writer.  I have studied and watched each and tried to take in as much as I can.  Listening to their albums helped me decide what kind of artist I would like to be and what quality of music I wish to achieve.