Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A: I was born and brought up in a small north-western town called Widnes. I lived there till I was about 19 and then moved to Liverpool and I’ve been here ever since. I got into music when I was about 13; playing guitar in high school bands and stuff. Then when I moved to Liverpool I started busking and realised pretty quickly that I could make a living from it If I stuck at it long enough. Then the gigs started coming in and I started to tour a little bit and writing and releasing my own stuff and it’s been that way ever since, never really looked back!
Q: And what other artists have you found yourself listening to lately?
A: I’ve been into late 60’s/70’s English folk music in a big way recently. People like: Nick Drake, John Martyn, Davey Graham, Vashti Bunyan are always on when I’m at home. With the Autumn creeping in I’m also listening to lots of Jazz, the usual big-wigs like Bill Evans, Chet Baker, Miles Davis, that sort of thing.
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences?
A: That’s a tough one because I feel as if I’m always becoming strongly influenced and then moving on to another source of inspiration just as quickly as I took to someone. In terms of folky stuff the list is endless, but John Martyn and Bob Dylan are probably the two that I’ve obsessed about the most. In terms of my electric guitar playing, virtually any blues guitarist and Eric Johnson – not a lot of people have heard of him up my neck of the woods which is a shame but I think he’s probably top of the pile.
Q: You have just released your new single, ‘Paper House’. Is there a story behind it?
A: It came out of a bunch of riffs I was exploring in this alternate tuning I’d discovered on a John Martyn song (shock). I was writing about the difficulties I was facing at the time, mostly to do with anxiety and stuff like that. I liked the idea of the Paper House being a metaphor for the impermanent prisons we can confine ourselves in in our own heads. Funnily enough, over the period of writing, recording and releasing it I’m doing much better!
Q: Can we expect a new EP or even an album from you in the near future?
A: I am working on a few tunes in the studio at the minute with my friends who are all fantastic players, I think there might be something happening towards the middle of 2023 If we’re lucky.
Q: What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
A: That’s a tough one, I’m not too sure. I think with my music there’s a real sense of honesty (as cliché as that sounds) . I like to think with everything I’ve done you get a sense of a “warts an’ all – all the bells and whistles” approach. It’s not for everyone, it doesn’t really confine itself to one genre or one sound. There’s elements of everything in there from Prog, Folk, Jazz, Rock. I’m quite happy about that to be honest. Seems to be a nice melting pot of all my biggest influences subconsciously into one sound!
Q: Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more?
A: Mmm, that’s a very good question too! I had a conversation about this the other day. I’d be lying if I said I was totally fulfilled by where my music is at the minute. But I think that’s just my ego talking. Of course I would like it to connect with more people, what artist wouldn’t? But these days there’s a price you have to pay for that. LITERALLY and metaphorically. If I ask myself honestly I’m just not sure I want to be bound by those restrictions; I don’t want to start thinking of my music as a product that I can sell. I just want to write good music that I like that’s honest to me and to keep getting better as a musician and a writer, I think that’s where the true form of self-fulfilment comes into it for me, I think that’s worth striving for more.
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do you usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: I’ll usually start with just messing around on the guitar. Maybe I’ll hear a cool riff in my head or something from just playing some chords. Usually a strong refrain will come, like the one you hear in Paper House, that was the part that came first. Then I’ll start scrutinising a bit more, I’ll think about the lyrics, think about where the song has come from, where I’m at personally at that point in time and if the music can reflect how I’m doing at that time. Sometimes I’ll get a song out in half an hour, other times It’ll take weeks. After that I’ll take it and show the band and see what they think. Most of the time it’s in the rehearsal room that it really gets flashed out. Everybody gets a chance to put their flavour on it and then we usually take it into the studio and record it as we played in rehearsal. It’s the dream really.
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: A few years ago I had an accident and I damaged some of my vestibular functions. Left me feeling perpetually off-balanced and dizzy. It was in its worst stages for several months and I had to stop doing everything for a time. No writing or playing, certainly no performing, I had to cancel so many gigs, I couldn’t even stand up straight without nearly falling over. All in all it’s taken a few years to get over. I still have days where it affects me but generally speaking I’m dealing with it and it doesn’t really affect me too much these days. That was rough though, you’d be amazed at the things you can get through when you have to!
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: Getting over my injury was a pretty proud moment. I mean, in general the whole process took years. For years I was having to face certain obstacles I’d never faced before. I had to change my mindset, pretty much had to learn how to be strong willed and mentally tougher to get through it, and I did and I feel as if that whole experience (as awful as it was) has taught me to be a better, more well-rounded person in so many ways, ways I couldn’t have imagined.
