Interview: Arcadian Haze

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What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

We all come from musical families whether they be actual musicians or just music lovers. We’ve all been singing and dancing at parties from a young age, being northern lads it comes with the territory. Had he not got into music, Tye reckons he’d be playing for Manchester City by now. Jamie would be a male supermodel, Nath would be at Her Majesty’s pleasure, Rosey would be a politician, and Gilby would be on the game… Obviously, we all made the right choices in life.

What do you like to do when you're not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

Just the usual like at home it would be family time, listening to music, watching TV and reading. Or out and about could be in the pub, playing sports, fishing, walking, going to gigs. Creativity, especially lyrically, can come from all sorts of everyday situations from the mundane to the very bizarre. Musically it’s usually from messing about playing instruments or being inspired by whatever music we hear.

How long has your band been around?

Just a few years. This lineup has been together for about a year.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

We’re all born and bred in Barnsley, South Yorkshire which has distinct working class traditions, hardy people full of character with great humour and fighting spirit. So maybe that comes through in the music but it couldn't be any other way really.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

Our bassist Jamie is an avid fan of The Libertines and it comes from the line in ‘Good Old Days’, “Arcadian dreams s’all fallen through but the Albion sails on course” so initially we were gonna be Arcadian Dreams but we all like haze so went with that instead as it adds more attitude which is what we’re all about.

Tell me about the best and worst shows you have played.

The best show was probably at Network 2 in Sheffield on a Thursday night, we were gigging a lot at that point in time so it happened to be the one gig that most of our regular fans missed, however, another local band, Crossfire Eagles who were on before us brought a large crowd, the majority of which stayed behind to watch our set, and they really got behind us which meant a great deal. In terms of atmosphere and playing to our own crowd, which is always special, it has to be Cafe Totem also in Sheffield which we sold out; sweaty and mental. I’d love to tell you about the worst gig but we vowed to never speak of that night again.

Tell me about your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you haven't already?

Favorite venue has to be Cafe Totem. It’s like playing in someone’s kitchen but somehow fits 100 people in there, removes any barriers from the crowd which is biblical. The dream has got to be Oakwell, we’re all football fans and to play in our local team’s stadium would be amazing.

If you could play any show with any lineup who would be on the ticket?

Arcadian Haze, The Beatles and Elvis Presley

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band?

Stick at it no matter how challenging it can be and your time will come.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

Treat the build-up to releasing new material with the respect it deserves.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

‘Love On The Dole’ it was the first song we recorded off the new EP and it marked a change in direction for the band

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

‘Don’t Be Evasive’, ‘Blue Eyes’ and ‘Twentythree’ tend to get the crowd going, we’ve a couple of new tracks that will blow people away when we’re back on stage too!

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

We tend to jam as a full band and if Tye and Nath can get some good melodies going over it we’ll get a rough recording to take home and write some proper lyrics then we’ll start to piece it together by getting the structure of the verses and choruses etc.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

Our songs are from the heart, either about past or present situations in our life or stuff we feel strongly about. We’re proud of our backgrounds and think it shines through in the lyrics.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

Yeah of course we do, we’re like brothers and all real brothers argue, don't they? We just have it out, get all the negativity out of the air then kiss and make up.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that's coming up?

Hopefully this debut 3-track EP ‘Love On The Dole’, we’ve just released, does well and we can get a tour sorted. We’d love to sit on the Soccer AM sofa at some point and showcase our music to fellow footy-mad fans across the nation!