Interview: In Peril

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

James:  I’ve just always played musical instruments – as far back as I can remember.  If I wasn’t...I doubt a lot would be different – I’d probably be doing the same shit, but with less tunes!

Hayden:  I’d probably be wasting away in front of a Playstation...

Gary:  Not wanting to be ‘normal’...

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

Hayden:  I’m mostly working but that doesn’t influence the music really, the music is a way to decompress

James:  I’m a keen photographer – being out with a camera in my hand is a great way to forget all the other stuff I have going on.  Not so much an influence, as a way to clear the mind.

Gary:  Going to the gym gives me freedom to think...

How long has your band been around?

Matt:  I joined the guys around 18 months ago, but they had been working together awhile before that.

James:  Me, Hayden & Gary have known each other for around 15 years – at various times we’ve all been in bands together.  IN PERIL has been in its current form for roughly 18 months.

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

Hayden:  We’re all based in and around the Northampton, UK area.  The music is really good in the area and we all wanted to be a part of that.

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

Hayden:  It was a group effort during the first lockdown over a Zoom chat, but I’m pretty sure Jim came up with it - maybe he was trying to tell us something!

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

Gary:  The best gig I’ve done was head lining the o2 academy in Liverpool.  Worst gig has got to be playing a venue in Soho and knowing after the gig we had to drive up to Liverpool through the night to shot a music video!

James:  Some of the best gigs I’ve played were with Hayden & Gary in a past band called ‘Dry Til Friday’, at the SnowDome in MK – that place had a wicked vibe to it that just made it great to play. Worst gig has to be a tiny-ass bar somewhere in Luton – I spent the whole set hidden behind a supporting pillar...

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

Gary:  I loved playing the main stage at the Roadmender in Northampton.  There’s too many decent venues to list I’d love to play at.

Hayden:  I loved playing at the SnowDome in MK before it was closed down due to drug issues.  Rock n roll, I guess!

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

James:  The others will rip me for it, but I’d love to be on the same ticket as Metallica.

Hayden:  Would have to be Deftones, Frank Carter and the Rattle Snakes and Incubus. 

Gary:  That would have to be Slash’s Snake Pit, Velvet Revolver or Stone Sour.

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

Gary:  Find good musicians; have a laugh, enjoy it and stick with it.

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

James:  Pay more attention at school – then you could’ve got a real job!

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

Matt:  Our debut single – ‘Bad Dreams & Battering Rams’.  We’ve been working on it for around a year and now that it’s out there, we’re really proud of the end result!

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

Hayden:  ‘Bad Dreams & Battering Rams’ - just because I think a lot of people could relate, due to what everyone has gone through this year.

Gary:  I’m really liking ‘Bad Dreams...’  It’s a nice tune then it kinda lets rip.  It’s just a nice tune to play (for me).

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

Hayden:  Matt writes a lot of the riffs and I write the lyrics. James:  We all like to hash stuff out in a room together.  Matt writes a lot of stuff and sends it out to us, but until it’s actually out in the room and we’ve all been able to get our sound on it, we’re never sure where it’s going to take us.

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

James:  I don’t know that we do!  We’re all just about having some fun, really.

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

Hayden:  Yeah, but only ever in a creative way.

Gary:  Yeah we do, but it’s not bad - it’s just ‘maybe that would sound better there...........’ We learn from each other...

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

James:  2020’s been shit – like most bands, we’ve not been able to get out and share our tunes with people.  Next year, we’re lined up for some festival spots and as many gigs as we can fit in around our day-jobs.

Gary:  I’m looking to getting out there and playing as many gigs as we can, wherever we can gig!! But at the same time still enjoying it and having a laugh with my mates

Matt:  We’re still putting together new music and releasing it out into the wild when we can – keep an eye on our Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/artist/67Dv7xDY0QQuhT7Ocfjld9?si=uMlBLh-bRg-1T0oK_uM9sA) & Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/IN.PERIL.Band) streams for new tunes when we release them!