I have been joined by 'Rolling Thunder' who have answered some questions about their band so you can find out more about them!
Welcome to Totally Music would you like to introduce yourself?
Thank you for having us on Totally Music. We are Rolling Thunder, an indie 5-piece
from Northampton. Charlie (vocals), Ryan (guitar), Harry (guitar), Joel (bass) and Josh
(drums).
How did you come up with the name Rolling Thunder?
So, me (Charlie) and Ryan first began talking about forming a band back when we
were in secondary school. We were studying the Vietnam War in GCSE History
together at the time and that’s where we’d come up with all these ideas about
forming a band, even though we had no band mates, instruments or experience.
For this reason, we wanted the band name to be something to do with Vietnam. The
first name we came up with was Agent Orange but some Californian Punk band from
the 70s had beaten us to that one, so we settled for Rolling Thunder.
We came up with it pretty quickly though and really like it. Some people hate it, say we sound like a heavy metal covers band, but I think that just makes us like it even more.
It definitely has nothing to do with Bob Dylan as much as some people like to think it
does.
What inspires the music you create?
Ryan is the lead songwriter and brings the bulk of the ideas to the practice room but
for the most part people write their own individual parts or build on Ryan’s ideas
which means a lot of different influences come together.
I think initially we were really inspired by the likes of Oasis, The Beatles, Artic
Monkeys and really big bands like that, since then we’ve all taken inspirations from a
lot of different artists. Bands like The Maccabees and Blur have really started to
creep into our sound as our song writing develops technically.
With regards to lyrics, the inspiration is really whatever is going on in mine and
Ryan’s lives at the time. Whether this is dominated by relationships and girls,
drunken nights out or just observing things and people we see really depends on the
vibe of the song. 99% of the time we have a song finished musically before we have
any words and this tends to direct the subject of the lyrics in some way.
In February you released your EP ‘Know No Different’ what was that experience
like?
We’ve only ever recorded with one person, Jon Martin from Thorpe Recording
Studio, which means its very relaxed and over the last few years we’ve definitely got
better at directing the recording process and getting our ideas across better.
The songs that weren’t already released as singles were recorded in Summer 2022
and the process was really pain-free to be honest.
Compared to our debut EP there’s a lot more going on musically with synths, overdubs and lots of backing vocals. We new it was a massive step up and were really excited to share it with people. So far, the response has been really positive and that’s been great and we’re looking forward to playing the tracks live regularly over the Spring and at festivals in the
Summer.
What is your favourite song on the EP and why?
For me it would have to be ‘Come Back Again’. When we released it as a single back
in 2021 the reception it got just blew us away. The riff seems to just connect with
people and so when we play it live we always get a great reaction and that’s what it’s
all about for us.
As for the new ones, I think Schmaltz is really great and will go down well. It’s quite
different to anything we’ve done before and even has a spoken word part at the end
so Yard Act will be quaking in their trench coats.
What was your most challenging moment during the creating of the EP?
Getting to the studio after a big night out. Luckily Joel brought a bottle of Vodka with
him so we were able to stave off the hangover but it led to some particularly
adventurous takes. The backing vocals to ‘Tell Me Where The Time Went’ were a
spur of the moment thing that I think had quite a lot to do with people’s blood
alcohol levels at the time.
Weirdly the album artwork seemed to be more challenging than the music. We
struggled to agree on it for ages but got there in the end and we’re all really pleased
with it. We wanted to be clever and for it to mean something to us.
What has been your proudest accomplishment as a band?
Being selected to go and play at MaNo Festival in Germany was a proper “Blimey”
moment. To be flown abroad to play and have everything paid for made us feel like
proper rock stars. The same goes for our invitation to play at Silverstone Circuit for
the MotoGP last summer. As massive racing fans and being so local we have worked
at the circuit selling merch before it was so cool to go and play our music to the
crowds.
What is your dream venue to play at and why?
Great question, and there’s loads actually! Although, to be fair, as long as the
venue’s full I don’t think we’d care too much! A home coming gig at Franklins
Gardens in Northampton would be pretty mega – always wanted to play a stadium.
Failing that I suppose we’d take Red Rocks, Wembley or The Waldbühne if they’ve
got any slots going?
What can fans expect from a gig of yours?
A lot of energy and just 5 lads having a good time really. That’s what it’s all about.
When I go to gigs I want to feel like the band are really loving it up there. We always
do so hopefully that comes across.
What’s next for you?
We’re out on a tour in Spring 2023 playing some new towns which we’re really
excited for. We haven’t began thinking about music beyond this EP yet to be honest
so for now it’s just all about getting out there and playing live! We’ve got some really
cool festival-type stuff planned for the Summer too which will be great.
If you would like to check out 'Rolling Thunder' you can find them here:
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