WILL FLY: An interview with indie rock five-piece Callahan!

 

PART 1 - "THE INTERVIEW"

 

1 - What is your earliest musical memory and what pushed you towards pursuing a career in the music business? 

 

Jonny - "Velvet Underground and Nico."

 

Donny - "Johnny Cash, a man who came from nothing."

 

Ben- "I just like playing bass."

 

Nathan - "Listening to Elephant by The White Stripes."

 

Joe - "First time I played the drums."

 

2 - Had you been involved in any other bands or musical ventures before Callahan?

 

Nothing serious before this.

 

3 - How did Callahan begin?

 

"Three members of the band all put themselves forward to playing a replacement slot at a gig, they then got together seriously, then we recruited another guitarist and a drummer."

 

4 - Where did the name Callahan come from?

 

"The film Dirty Harry, Donny was off his box watching Dirty Harry and said “we should be called 'Callahan'." 

 

5 - How would you describe the sound of Callahan?

 

"We’re a mixed bag, we take influence from The Who mainly though."

 

6 - The first song you ever wrote together is called 'Will Fly' - it seems to have inspiration from the britpop movement of the 90's. What is the song itself about and what influenced it?

 

"Moving on from people that hold you down, and in terms of influences: Primal Scream."

 

7 - Do you have any 'rituals' before you go on stage?

 

"Donny has an uncontrollable bladder and then we go on and play."

 

8 - Any live dates coming up?

 

"We’re playing the Billingham Catholic Club on the 19th of September and the Westgarth Social Club on October the 5th."

 

9 - Any new songs in the pipeline?

 

"Yeah, plenty."

 

10 - When can fans expect the next official release?

 

"Hopefully an EP before the year is out."

 

11 - Who would be your dream collaboration?

 

"The Who around the time of Live at Leeds."

 

12 - Who would be in your dream super group?

 

"Guitarists - Jack White and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, bassist - Les Claypool, vocalist-Noel Gallagher and drummer - Neil Peart."

 

PART 2 - "THE QUICKFIRE ROUND"

 

1 - Favourite Beatle?

 

Jonny - "Cowboy."

 

Donny - "Rhinoceros."

 

Ben - "Volkswagen."

 

Nathan - "Ringo Starr."

 

Joe - "Stag."

 

2 - Favourite band?

 

Jonny - "Goat."

 

Donny - "Pink Floyd."

 

Ben - "The Who."

 

Nathan - "The White Stripes."

 

Joe - "Rush."

 

3 - Favourite new band?

 

Jonny - "John Wizards."

 

Donny - "Beady Eye."

 

Ben - "Walk off the Earth."

 

Nathan - "The Dead Weather."

 

Joe - "Mastodon."

 

4 - Favourite song?

 

Jonny - "Lola - The Kinks."

 

Donny - "Time - Pink Floyd."

 

Ben - "Safety Dance - Men Without Hats."

 

Nathan - "Ball and Biscuit - The White Stripes."

 

Joe - "Bulls on Parade - Rage Against The Machine."

 

5 - Favourite album?

 

Jonny - "Daydream Nation - Sonic Youth."

 

Donny - "Second Coming - The Stone Roses."

 

Ben - "Live at Leeds - The Who."

 

Nathan - "Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not - Arctic Monkeys."

 

Joe - "2112- Rush."

 

6 - Vinyl, CD or download?

 

Jonny - "Vinyl."

 

Donny - "Vinyl."

 

Ben - "Download."

 

Nathan - "CD."

 

Joe - "Download."

 

7 - Style icon?

 

Jonny - "Wurzel Gummidge."

 

Donny - "Shaggy from Scooby Doo."

 

Ben - "Emo Teenage Girls."

 

Nathan - "My Mam picks my clothes."

 

Joe - "Clown from Slipknot."

 

8 - Favourite clothing brand?

 

Jonny - "Delicious Junction."

 

Donny - "Fred Perry."

 

Ben - "HMV T-shirts."

 

Nathan - "Florence and Fred."

 

Joe - "Topman."

 

9 - Favourite film?

 

Jonny - "Fight Club."

 

Donny - "Dirty Harry."

 

Ben - "True Romance."

 

Nathan - "Role Models."

 

Joe - "Anchorman."

 

10 - Favourite TV show?

 

Jonny - "Supermarket Sweep."

 

Donny - "Tipping Point."

 

Ben - "Countdown."

 

Nathan - "Catchphrase."

 

Joe - "Pointless."

 

11 - Who would play you in a film of your life?

 

Jonny - "Gary Oldman."

 

Donny - "Morgan Freeman."

 

Ben - "Johnny Vegas."

 

Nathan - "Chris Martin."

 

Joe - "Will Ferrell."

 

12 - Favourite food?

 

Jonny - "Pizza with Jalapenos."

 

Donny - "Curry and Chips."

 

Ben - "KFC."

 

Nathan - "Veggie Sunday Dinner."

 

Joe - "Tuna Pasta bake."

 

13 - Football team?

 

Jonny - "Middlesbrough."

 

Donny - "Middlesbrough."

 

Ben - "England."

 

Nathan - "England."

 

Joe - "England."

 

Hope you enjoyed this feature on Callahan! Check out our previous feature on Go Native!

 

Listen to "Will Fly" here - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=vb.1395478527340627&type=2

 

You can also like our Facebook page to keep up to date with all future interviews at the following link - https://www.facebook.com/aldorabritainrecords

 

AB Records

OUR TIME WILL COME: Our interview with Little Liam from last week!

 

PART 1 - "THE INTERVIEW"

 

1 - What was your earliest musical memory and what pushed you towards pursuing a career in the music industry?

 

"Well to be honest I was never into music, I met Ocean Colour Scene very early on as Moseley Shoals studio was two minutes from my house and it was the band who really made me want to do music, Steve Cradock in particular. He gave me a guitar, a lead and a tiny Marshall amp and was politely told "now fuck off and practice"!"
2 - Had you been involved in any other band prior to Little Liam?

 

"I was in a band before Little Liam which was at first called The Priory and later The Absolute Beginners. I was in this band with Oscar Harrison's (Ocean Colour Scene) son Leon who was our drummer and also Dan and Dave on guitar and bass."
3 - How did Little Liam begin?

 

"Little Liam began years after my previous band ended. I was recording all my music at home and learning all the instruments to be able to make it sound like a band rather than on my own, we had problems with the last band and people left so it pushed me back a little bit, I went home and over the next couple of years went on to write most of the songs which we now play at our gigs!"

 

4 - Where did the name Little Liam come from?

 

"Well to be honest, this stuck from Moseley Shoals studio, the band used to call me Little Liam and it just stuck and was easier than thinking of a new name!"
5 - How would you describe the sound of Little Liam?

 

"We have tried to figure this one out ourselves because it's kind of unique but again we go with smooth rock."

6 - Your debut EP is an acoustic affair, featuring only Liam on guitar and vocals. Why did you decide to go down this route and not have the rest of the band playing on the EP?

 

"It wasn't something I had too much time to think about as I got an offer from the label in London and they was going to pay for it all to be mixed and mastered but didn't have time to write and create anything else, I stayed in STUDIO16 in Ladywood for seven days 24/7 and wrote eight new songs on piano, four of which ended up on the EP, if we had more time then it would have been a band EP for sure but there is more to come!

 

7 - The closing track of the EP - "Our Time Will Come" - is one of my personal favourites. What is the song itself about and what influenced it?
"Again I wrote "Our Time Will Come" and it's kind of something you wish for! I Love music and also my family and friends immensely and I believe if we all stick together the way we are and keep the passion then "our time will come"."

 

8 - Earlier this year you were joined on stage by Simon Fowler of Ocean Colour Scene. How did this come about and how did it feel to be playing alongside a true legend?
"AMAZING! Absolutely amazing! It's a weird one, Ocean Colour Scene were supposed to be playing in Scotland but unfortunately got cancelled and Simon seen us listed in the line up for Welfest so he contacted the organiser to ask me if he could join for a couple of songs! WOW! Ideally again, it would have been him joining the band onstage but it was all so quick we didn't prepare for it and if you have someone like Simon Fowler joining you, you HAVE to be on form!"

 

9 - Do you have any rituals before you go on stage?
"I like to sample some grass!"

 

10 - Any live dates coming up?

"Yes, we are playing at The Adam & Eve in Digbeth TONIGHT!"

11 - Any new songs in the pipeline?

"We have loads of songs we are currently working through to add to the set."

 

12 - When can fans be expecting the next release?

"Well we are going to either do another EP but this time with the band or an album, we are in the studio later in the year."

13 - Who would be your dream collaboration?

 

"Ocean Colour Scene and Paul Weller!"

14 - Who would be in your dream supergroup?

"That's a hard one, I dunno!"

PART 2 - "THE QUICKFIRE ROUND"
1. Favourite Beatle?

 

"Love them all."

2 - Favourite band?

 

"OCS."

3. Favourite new band? 

 

"Beady Eye maybe."

4. Favourite song? 

 

"Got too many!"

5. Favourite album? 

 

"Moseley Shoals and Marchin' Already."

6. Vinyl, CD or download?

 

"Vinyl & CD."

7. Style icon? 

 

"All the mods."

8. Favourite clothing brand? 

 

"I like Pretty Green."

9. Favourite film?

 

 "Wizard of Oz."

10. Favourite TV show? 

 

"Documentaries."

11. Who would play you in a film of your life? 

 

"Maybe Tom Hardy"

12. Favourite food? 

 

"Italian."

13. Football team? 

 

"Aston Villa."

 

Hope you enjoyed this feature on Little Liam! Check out our previous feature on The Impendium!

 

Buy Little Liam's EP here - http://www.griffiths-clothing.com/music/little-liam-the-beginning-detail

 

You can also like our Facebook page to keep up to date with all future interviews at the following link - https://www.facebook.com/aldorabritainrecords

 

AB Records