THIS FEELING: Interview w/ Storms + What's Coming Up at This Feeling

Gigslutz have partnered up with This Feeling to bring you an exclusive interview with pop-grunge four piece Storms ahead of their first Scottish performance at King Tuts (15 August) with This Feeling. We chat to the band about recording, Isle Of Wight Festival and what This Feeling means to them.

Championing premier live music, below are also highlights from the best of This Feeling’s club nights coming up in the near future. If you want to hear fantastic new live music, then This Feeling should be your first port of call.

Hello! How are you today and where can we find you answering these questions?

Felix: In a dirty flat in London

For readers who may not have discovered you yet – can you tell us a bit about yourselves. How you got together, what you sound like…?

Yacob: We found each other on Tinder.

George: And we sound like Hanson…

You have recently worked with Steve Osborne – what impact has he had on the band?
Felix: He’s got the best ear I’ve ever encountered. In the studio we’d play a take and think we’d nailed it, and I’m pretty sure 90% of the time it would have been “nailed” for another producer, but Steve would say “nope, play more stoned!” or something like that. He just knew when “the one” was “the one”.

George: Yeah, I was kind of in awe of him at first, knowing full well who he’d worked with and produced but he helped us feel pretty relaxed from the word go, there was no ego. There were times we had disagreements but he was happy to try it our way if one of us felt strongly about whatever it was. I won’t lie and say there weren’t moments where it got a bit intense, but that was purely due to the fact we were short on time, you know? We did the vocals at his place in Real World, down in Bath. He had these 2 ancient mics we’d never heard of, which just sounded amazing. One of them was called a Ball and Biscuit (which is exactly what it looks like) and it gave this awesome, crunchy dry-effect. You can hear it on the drop down on Special, really fucking emotional.

Gary: I think he has made the drum sound a lot heavier, he’s a mind full of information on mic-ing. I think we had up to 27 mics on the drums at one point. We were recording everything live, drums, guitars, bass, but we needed George’s vox as a cue in places because we didn’t use a click, old-skool-Stevie haha! So, Steve and Henry, the engineer at Eve Studios, spent ages setting up this vocal booth in the live-room, with screens and blankets and this huge vocal mic, just so we could all be together in one place and “vibe”. Then I’m just messing about on the drums before we start tracking and Steve says “George, you have to come out mate. I’m gonna use your vocal mic on the drums too. It sounds fucking awesome!”.

Yacob: Eve Studios had a really positive effect on the whole recording team as a unit too. It’s a big, old house that’s been made into a studio. You sleep upstairs, then you walk downstairs in the morning and you’re in the studio, it’s all around you. There were times you had to wait to take a piss because there’s a mic in the toilet re-amping the snare drum, there are patch bays in every room. All this served to mean we were really comfortable and together all the time. No stupid SSL desk you were scared to put your mug on; haphazard and full of character, the whole place – and amazing old gear! So, we became like a family and really gelled. And, Steve let us watch the football on his iPad when we weren’t doing a take. What a fucking legend.

You have been building up a reputation as a great live band – for readers who are yet to experience that, what can they expect?
Felix: A lot of noise. Our verses are all quite quiet, followed by what we hope are ear splitting choruses. It’s pretty simple really, on the chorus you turn on your 2nd distortion pedal and make sure it’s really fucking up. You want people to explode on a chorus, not get another drink.
Yacob: But, if you are going to the bar, mine’s a Guinness.

You recently played the This Feeling / Jack Rocks stage at IOW festival – how was that?

Felix: It was one of the best gigs we’ve ever played. Mikey, from This Feeling, Jack Daniels and all the acts that played made it one of the best stages I’ve seen all summer. We saw so many good bands, and they really looked after us.

Yacob: Yeah, really lovely crew. I’ve never been to a proper festival before as I always said I wasn’t gonna go to any until we played them. I’m not a big fan of camping, crowds of people, mud and rain but it was such a great weekend.

George: Yeah, it was hilarious, we spent it with a great group of people. I remember just after the gig, back stage, this old scouse guy comes up to me and tells me I look like Billy Idol, so I was like, “Yeah? You look like the lead singer from The Zutons, mate”. My mate gives me a little nudge and goes, ‘It’s him”.

Whats your thoughts on This Feeling in general and the way their ethos of helping bands?

George: Mikey who runs This Feeling has been a supporter of us from day one, he’s great!

Yacob: We’ve known Mikey for years. He’s absolutely smashed it with This Feeling and it’s great for guitar music because he does it for the love of music.

What is your most rock n roll moment to date?

Yacob: Rock’n’roll? You’ve come to the wrong band. We’re all complete angels…

Gary: Felix pissed down me leg at Isle of Wight when we were watching Fleetwood Mac, and for some reason i let him…

Yacob: Casually talking to Robert Plant about football at Real World…

Felix: … and not actually realising it was fucking Robert Plant!

What other bands are you digging at the minute? Any recommendations for us?

George: We’re really into Honeyblood, Gengahr and Kagoule at the moment.

Felix: We’ve got some friends who live in Brighton currently called LTNT, they’re fucking awesome.

If you could record with one artist ever, who would it be?

Yacob: Beethoven in his last decade when he was deaf. You could just be playing complete nonsense and he’d have to go along with it. It would be hilarious.

Felix: The Beatles, in the 60’s, when there was shit loads of money to spend years experimenting and getting fucked up.

What would your desert island disc be?
George: Oasis, Definitely Maybe

Yacob: Definitely Songs In The Key Of Life by Stevie Wonder, maybe…

Felix: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie

Gary: The White Album by The Beatles

WHAT’S COMING UP AT THIS FEELING

Glasgow, King Tut’s – Sat 15 August
Medicine Men, Storms, Moonlight Zoo

London, Amersham Arms – Sat 29 August
The Mircodance, Swarm, Smokey Taboo, The Albi

Manchester, Night & Day – Sat 29 August
The Vryll Society, The Watchmakers, Jordan Allen

Manchester, Night & Day – Sat 26 September
Same Streets, Fronteers, Gold Jacks, Ist Ist

London, Amersham Arms, Sat 26 September
Savage Nomads, Fans, Shirt Tails

ON TOUR W/ THIS FEELING:

Trampolene (+ various support)

Brighton, Hope & Ruin – Sat 29 August
Glasgow, King Tut’s – Sat 5 September
Leicester, The Cookie – Sat 12 September
Birmingham, The Rainbow – Fri 25 September
Bristol, The Exchange – Sat 26 September

Louis Berry (+ various support)

Leeds, Nation Of Shopkeepers – Fri 18 September
Sheffield, Rocking Chair – Sat 19 September
Southampton, Joiners – Fri 2 October
Brighton, Hope & Ruin – Sat 3 October

For more information plus free downloads from the bands, visit the website by clicking here.
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Twitter: @This_Feeling

Rachel Young
@_rachel_young