SotA Anthology 2015-16 | Page 81

COMM241

Evelyn, the keyboardist,
adds: “The audience can
get a drink with the band
after; that wouldn’t happen
at an O2 Academy or a
massive venue.”
The band’s passion for
the music industry is
evident, and I wonder if
they
personally
prefer
smaller venues? Ross,
the drummer, speaks first.
“The smaller it is the more
intimate it is and you feel
closer to the crowd, so you
interact with them.” Evelyn
is quick to agree: “I love the
vibe and the intimacy of a
small venue.” Mike smiles
before adding empathically,
“Especially in Liverpool, even
if we were a gigantic band I
would rather do four gigs in a
smaller venue than one in a
big venue, every time.”
There is another issue faced
by small music venues: the
unwavering presence of the
internet. Are music venues
being put out of business
as more artists like Justin
Bieber
are
discovered
online, and is it still important

©ChuffMedia.com

it’s important because with
the O2 Academy thing,
every city and tour is just
O2, O2, O2; you don’t even
know which city you’re in
because every venue looks
exactly the same and that’s
soulless. You don’t get the
experiences that you would
get from playing smaller
venues - for instance us
playing in Bold Street Coffee
tonight. Here, there’s no
stage, you’re eye-level with
everybody, you can address
people and people get a
personal insight into the act.”
bands can play live?
Evelyn nods avidly. “We’ve
been obsessed with bands,
then seen them live and
been completely put off
because they can’t play
their instruments or it’s just
completely to a backing
track. It’s hard to become
emotionally
attached.
Playing live is just a huge
part of our job, and a huge
part of who we are and what
we respect about other
bands.”
Mike continues her point: “To
be honest, from our point of
view as gigging musicians,
the backing track thing has
gone absolutely crazy to
the point that bands that
are sold on the basis of the
rawness of their live product
are just three- quarters
backing track.’ Saul, the
bassist, agrees. “What can
be used to enhance the
sound can also mask it and
it turns into karaoke.”
The band’s ‘Fuzzy’ gig
nights are set to give local
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artists the platform they
deserve to showcase their
talent, so I ask: what was
the main aim behind the
nights originally?
“For me, it was to have
these small old school club
nights, so we could connect
with the crowd,” says Mike.
“It’s like the live thing times
ten.”
Evelyn seems to reminisce
on a memory before adding,
“It’s a chance for us to be
able to put on bands that we
really like, and music that
we’re in to, and to have that
old-school feeling of when
you went to a gig in your
local town when you were
like 16 and you could meet
all the bands and there
wasn’t this big shiny thing
over it, it’s just rough and
ready.”
Clean Cut Kid’s singles
Runaway, Vitamin C, Pick
Me Up, Jean and 20 Years
From Now are on iTunes.
www.cleancutkid.co.uk