Tom Williams and The Boat: Is this the future of music?

Normally it's not easy to release a single without a record label. It's even harder to get radio airtime and, let's face it, festivals are a very distant dream. But not for Tom Williams and the Boat. After numerous plays on BBC Radio 1 and 6 Music, along with a slot at Glastonbury, this band has done a lot more than many would ever do, and have achieved this independently. 

The six piece ensemble, originating in Tunbridge Wells, are an example for any bands seeking independent success in the future. They have just released 'Yearbook' a behind the scenes DVD documentary of the making of their second album 'Teenage Blood' which was released earlier this year under their own label 'Wire Boat Records' and show no sign of stopping.

I went along to witness the band performing at their local venue (NME's Britain's Best Small Venue) Tunbridge Well's Forum, and spoke to keyboardist, Chris Stewart, who explained to me how the band management set up works:

"Our situation as a band is that we have loads of people working for us, all working for different companies or themselves. 

"So we have: band management (Moshi Moshi Records) who have got us a press agent (who works for her own company, and is in charge of getting us in magazines/newspapers etc) and a booking agent (who works for a larger company called Primary). 

"Then we have a radio agent (who gets us plays on radio) and works independently. We have an online press agent (who is also in charge of tracking our online downloads etc). And finally we have a lawyer (who is independent as well). We also have a separate accountant.

"By using our own label, we are called 'independent', and have cultivated an image of being a very DIY band that work hard and do everything themselves. Being 'signed' is not necessarily a priority for the band."  

And work hard they do. It's evident that a lot of time and effort goes into the writing of their music. The layering of smooth violin verses accompanying powerful guitar riffs, whilst catching keyboard trills in between of the controlled drum beats is fairly rare to hear these days. Oh, and not to mention the wailing of front row teenage girls. 

But there is one element missing from their journey: funding. There are various ways in which funding can be raised, some of the most recent attempts have been from fan fundraising, but normally the answer leads back to that of a record signing. I asked Chris how they will overcome this key issue without losing their independence.

"You can get funding through signing a publishing deal, which we are currently working towards now. A publishing deal gives you a fee of say £20,000 for 10 years covering all released work, and then makes sure you are earning the maximum amount from all radio plays or plays in shops and clubs all over the world, and also tries to get you on television and films where fee's can be pretty high. So signing isn't necessarily a vital thing for a band anymore."

Tom Williams and The Boat's documentary DVD 'Yearbook' is available for download here, and you can also get tickets to see them them performing at The Brudenell Social Club in Leeds on the 22nd December and at the Think Tank @ Hoults Yard, Newcastle on the 23rd December 2012.  

Disco's Out (Murder's In)

  

    After winning the Dorset Music Awards in 2010, Disco's Out Murder's In have been on a roll gigging and touring like never before. With their second album on the way and a summer of possible festivals, I asked them some questions giving you lovely readers the chance to get to know this talented band.   

    Who does what in the band Disco's Out Murder's In?

Disco's Out (Murder's In)  

Steve – Guitar and Vocals,

Lee – Left-handed Bass,

Tubbs – Drums,

Imogen – Pocket Trumpet,

Ed- Trumpet,

Lyndsey – Saxophone,

Martin – Glockenspiel, Keys, Trumpet, Trombone, and MC.

 So, for people who may not of heard your music, how would you describe it to them?

We like to call it Brass Fuelled Rock. It is basically just rock music with melodic brass sections over the top. We have dabbled in bits of ska/reggae and hip-hop in the past, but more recently the music has taken a heavier route with some big riffs and bigger choruses.

You also apparently have a very flamboyant dress sense, what sort of crazy things have you worn at your gigs?

The most common outfits have been the Rabbit, wolf, tiger, donkey, and clown. The banana suit has seen better days so hasn’t made an appearance for a while. The more surreal outfits include a washing basket, and super 80’s mullet wig combined with the clown outfit.

The Dorset Music Awards 2010 really helped you break through, what made you enter? 

Someone mentioned the completion to us so we just handed Rich and Trev a CD. We had very little knowledge, or expectations of the completion to begin with, we just wanted to play another gig.

You won four festival slots during the awards, which festivals did you play at?

The awarded festivals were Larmer Tree, Endorset in Dorset, Camp Besitval, and Shambala.

We also play a handful of other festivals that summer, all of which were a result of the DMA completion.

Are you playing at any festivals this year?

We are very excited to be playing Larmer Tree Festival again, and also Endorset in Dorset. There are a few more in the pipe line that haven’t been confirmed yet, but fingers crossed for another adventurous summer.

Other than the festivals, how else have you benefited from The Dorset Music Awards?

Since entering the awards we have found it much easier to get gigs than before hand. We have also noticed a much better attendance at gigs (before the competition we were infamous for playing a gig in front of one paying customer.)

What has been your biggest achievement as a band?

I think last summer was the biggest achievement as a band! We have also played a whole heap of charity events which always feel like an achievement however small they are.

With 7 of you in the band, do you ever have little tiffs? 

Yes. But nothing that a hug doesn’t sort out. It is difficult to maintain a big band, but all in all I think we have more fun and laughs then disagreements. And the disagreements end up in laughs!

Does anyone in DOMI have any funny habits which you have all picked up on gigging together?

Lee is Left Handed. Lyndsey is the most festival fun person (as long as she doesn’t burn out on the first night) Tubbs loves eating hoagies before every show, and Imogen can’t perform without pre lunge exercises back stage. (Ed and Steve are writing this)  

What plans do DOMI have for the future?

We are currently recording an EP for release early next month. Much like the first EP we are DIY ‘ing it in our garage, but with help from some good DoMi Friends.

We have lots of merch to start distributing  including hand screen printed t-shirts, and are preparing our tents for another hot sticky summer on the grass.

Youtube Video uploaded by Junglebrother98

Fresh Talent

I co host a radio show every fortnight and was lucky enough to have first play Clara's Hustle's single "Step Away". The song went down amazingly with listeners and especially my co host, who all fell in love with the song and so it's clear the band will have a promising future, but who are they? Well for all of you who haven't heard of the talented trio here is a Q&A so you can be in the know.

Who makes up Clara's Hustle?

Clara's Hustle consist of lead vocalist Amber Clara and myself Kiks Samavat and Josh Alford. Although my main instrument is guitar I take care of the production side of  things, programming the drums and synths. Josh is our drummer but also plays other instruments. Also on Step Away there are brilliant backing vocals from Laura Grant, and we were lucky to work with Chris I from the US who mixed the track for us and offered his own input. The three of us have been in bands and outfits in the past but have decided to go at it as a threesome and take things a little more seriously, although I think once we start gigging properly we'll have to use some other musicians to fill up the live set up.

How would you describe your style of music?

I honestly can't come up with a single type of genre to describe our music as, which I suppose is a good thing. It's always a problem when a band lets a style or trend influence their music too much. Step Away is a very poppy song in terms of its arrangement and instrumentation, also threw in a cheeky bit of dubstep style 'wobble-bass' to mix things up a bit. We've got quite a few tracks written and ready to be recorded, the styles are quite a step away if you will from Step Away. Some of the songs have got elements of RnB, soul, eighties pop and even a bit of bhangra in one of the tracks.

What are your influences?

All three of us have quite an eclectic taste in music that spans many genres. I've been writing songs for quite a few years now and I guess my biggest influences in terms of writing have been The Rolling Stones, Bright Eyes and Ryan Adams. Obviously our style is a bit different but I think in terms of the message given across by their lyrics, I'm most inspired by them. We' all appreciate the music in the charts at the moment. I think if a track has managed to make it into the Top 40 it must be doing something right. When it came to producing Step Away, I listened to quite a lot of RnB and Hip Hop- Kelis, Pharrell, Kanye- to get some cool ideas that could be used in our sound.

What's behind the lyrics of Step Away?

Step Away was one of the first songs I've ever written that has been true to myself and my experiences. I've found coming to university has opened me up a tiny bit and I'm writing songs that are a bit more personal. Step Away was written after a relationship I'd had recently. It's about losing someone you care about because you didn't tell them how you truly felt about them and you kept your heart and your true feelings on the inside. It's a sad song and I can't listen to it too many times, and it doesn't help that Amber put a lot of emotion into the vocal performance. As a song it means a lot to me and I'm delighted with how it turned out and the opinions I've received from people.

What is lined up in the future for Clara's Hustle?

In terms of the future, I think we're going to act a bit patiently and cautiously. I used to love recording loads of demos and gigging with rough sets, but I suppose I feel like a bit of perfectionist with Clara's Hustle. The writing process is taking a lot longer than usual because I struggle to write lyrics that I'm completely happy about. So I think over the summer we are going to try and record as many of our songs as possible. It's difficult because the three of us live in three different parts of the country at term time so we can't meet up all the time. Our plan is to record a decent number of songs to a high quality standard and come up with a tight perfected live set and then we will go from there. We plan to gig in as many cities around the UK next year. Things may be a bit touch and go due to our distance during term time but we are going to give it our best shot and try and meet, practice and record as much as possible. You can expect to see and hear a lot more from us over the next year. 

Click here for a free download of "Step Away" and to stay updated with the latest gig dates and songs join http://www.facebook.com/clarashustle.