Q1. How/Why did you get started in the Music scene and what have you been doing to get you to the point you are at currently?
Well, I have always been a big music fan and I have always thought how awesome it would be to be in a band. I think it was probably after last summer where I went to a ton of gigs when I just thought “fuck it, if I want to be in a band, let’s do it!”. So I got some mates together and started writing some songs. We have been through a few lineup changes since then but I think they were all for the better. After that I just spent entire days emailing venues until one or two would give us a gig.
Q2. Who are you influences and why?
I think as a whole the band is influenced by Nirvana, they are probably one of the bands we can all agree on. Apart from that we are all influenced by rather different styles of music. Will and Joe are influenced by bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and more indie stuff where as Ryan tends to listen to heavier music and I listen to punk. I think that’s a good thing though because for example, with our old line up to be honest we just sounded like a Green Day tribute band which is not original. Personally though I’m influenced by bands like Sum 41, Foo Fighters and Green Day, not only because I think their music is great but I love what they are all about.
Q3.So what are you working on right now, is there anything we can look forward to in the near future?
Well, we are going back into the studio during the summer to record some of our new songs. Our old demo is ok, but we put it together rather quickly and like I said we sounded like a Green Day tribute band back then. The vocals for example sound 100 times better now so I’m really excited about getting the new tracks recorded. We are also set to be pretty gig heavy over July and September so I encourage anyone who lives in Surrey to come and check us out!
Q4. This is a two-part question:
a) One thing we’d like to know is how do you connect with your fan base? What platforms do you use and are these working for you?
The main thing has to be Facebook but Sound Cloud has also been rather essential. The other day we got a load of listens from Greece and Denmark which was rather un-expected. ReverbNation has also helped. We have a MySpace page but it is rather unloved. I think all the other sites that are available are a lot better than MySpace now anyway. We also try to talk to the fans after the gigs. I hate bands that even though they are still unsigned act all cocky and refuse to really talk to their fans.
And secondly
b) What are you doing that you believe makes you stand out from the crowd?
I think we have a sense of fun that not all bands have. We really like to show how we don’t take ourselves that seriously. We don’t think of ourselves as some sort of bad ass band. We just really enjoy what we do and I hope that stands out when we play.
Q5. Where are you currently getting exposure? How do you aim to increase/maximize this?
Most our gigs provided for us down at Guildford Community Centre by Theory Project Revolution have been great for exposure and we are very thankful for them. I think our local fan base is getting pretty good and so when we feel that has peaked I have been planning on launching a Facebook ad campaign. Hopefully that will get us some fans from all over the country. Apart from that though it’s really just about continuing to play gigs and continuing to play well.
Q6. Thank you for taking the time out to do this interview with us! Is there anything else you would like to say to the readers?
Please become a fan of us on facebook at www.facebook.com/firsthurdle ! You can listen to our old demo there but like I said earlier it is merely a shadow of what we are now. We will be recording the new tracks soon. If you live in Surrey please come down to one of our gigs to and come check us out! We would love to see you there!
KERRI AND I WILL BE FOLLOWING UP WITH THE BRAND AND ADDING MORE QUESTIONS AND DEPTH TO THE INTERVIEW
