Interview: Keep This Up

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

For the three of us it's quite varied, we each had different upbringings with music, be it friends, family, or partners. For Chris (myself) if he hadn’t gotten into music, he would spend more time working as a magician. For Mike his dad got him into music and without it he'd probably have gone into accountancy

As for Dan family got him into music and he cannot picture a life without it

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

For the three of us, we mostly spend our time either working or practicing, but form that it helps us create new ideas and new ways of looking at songs.

How long has your band been around?

Our band has been around about 2 years and gone through a few member changes along the way

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

We are based in Peterborough, UK and there is a very predominant Rock/Alternative music scene here – However, we all grew up listening to a range of alternative, metal, punk, and pop-punk material which has influenced our songwriting

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

The name of the band came from a song we liked at the time (The Story So Far – Keep This Up) – It grew on us and stuck

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

Unfortunately, we have yet to play a show – covid put a stop to everything we had planned last year unfortunately but we are looking forward to playing some shows this year

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

We haven’t had a chance to play any venues yet but we are really hoping we could play at Met Lounge in Peterborough as we have been going there for years to watch bands.

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

Chris: It would have to be Fall Out Boy, Neck Deep and State Champs

Dan: Rancid and Palisades

Mike: it would have to be Bowling for Soup & My Chemical Romance

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

Chris: Just because someone else has written something great, doesn’t mean you can’t – Stick at it and write what feels good.

Mike: Learn to listen to all music and not just what you're playing

Dan: Ignore people online, follow your heart

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

Stick with it, don’t let anything discourage you, and keep writing

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

Chris & Mike: Punchlines by far, it is the first song we released and recorded together

Dan: I’d have to say Worst Friend, a song we’ve yet to release because it is such a fun song to play and interesting lyrically.

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

Chris & Dan: One of our favorites to play currently in rehearsal is a song called Worst Friend which is yet to be released and we honestly look forward to playing it live

Mike: One of my favorites has to be a song we've yet to release called Something to Say

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

We send a lot of voice notes to each other constantly and always bounce ideas off one another. It drives us to keep writing and create a sound we enjoy. A range of artists inspire our music but we tend to just write what feels right to us and what we enjoy.

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

Just good vibes really, there are no agendas we have, we just want to put out music that people can sing along to and enjoy. Maybe even dance to

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

Sometimes we disagree on riffs/styles of playing but we always find a compromise and work to the best of our abilities. We don’t really disagree on a lot of things, we’re very similar people

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

We are hoping to play a lot of shows in the future and release our new EP which is currently in the works. We hope everyone will enjoy what’s to come.