Interview with Good Time Locomotive
What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?
I am sure everyone in the band has a different story to tell, but mine grew with The Beatles and Elton John but got into full swing when I heard the intro to Money for nothing by Dire straits. They have remained my spiritual musical home for my entire life so to speak.
What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?
The day job ... which is teaching music as it goes! So it is pretty much creativity all day long!
How long has your band been around?
Well it started between myself and an old friend (who is no longer in the band) a few years back just writing music, but we tend to count it after Hugo joined on vocals. He made GTL what it is!
Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?
Ecclectic! I grew up in the home counties and got exposed to a wide range of music, but George grew up in less fortunate circumstances and has his musical roots in hip-hop. We all love music that makes you emotional in some way though. If it doesn’t do something to you then what’s the point?
How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?
It is a line in one of the songs we wrote (that will be released on the second EP) and the lads just said that summed up who and what we are perfectly.
One way or another, the songs always land on a message of hope and positivity. We are all striving for the good times in life (or at least we should be). Our preferred mode of transportation? A locomotive....we don’t like to hang around!
Tell me about your most memorable shows.
They are about to happen! In all honesty, as a two piece, we are currently piecing together the live line up. Hopefully the profile we have built online can get us some decent shows in the new year.
What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?
I always enjoy the smaller places but festivals are obviously a blast.
If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?
Don Broco, Enter Shikari, Royal Blood... which might leave us at somewhat of a disadvantage as they are all a lot heavier than us...but they are just the bands that popped into my head! One of the issues is that, whilst we are technically ‘pop rock’, it is genuinely hard to pin us down to a particular set of bands/style....Oooo add Coldplay to that list please! :)
What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?
Don’t! Lol No seriously, it is bloody hard work but what else are you going to do when you love it as much as you do? Just don’t do it half arsed!
If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?
Eat less, move more! Sorry, joking aside I would say to be better at saying no to people and situations that don’t lend themselves to what you are trying to achieve. In the long run it is bad for everyone when you try to be responsible for anyone’s happiness but your own. That sounds selfish but someone ends up unhappy when you try to please everyone at the expense of yourself! It isn’t like most of them will thank you for it even when you do so just do what makes you happy.
Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?
That is like being asked to pick between your kids! Ok...I honestly think the writers of these songs would each pick a different one as we genuinely go to a lot of effort to make sure there are no fillers, but right now, probably our new song ‘The Dark Within’. It is loosely based on a time in my life when I was struggling with depression. Something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy btw. Step into the light falls into that category as well. That is the best chorus I have ever written. I am very proud of that!
Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?
Lines of Symmetry is a blast to play! So is A new beginning. I am a drummer so it is anything where I get to kick the crap out of the drums! Not really sure what they did to deserve the punishment I dish out to them, but it must have been bad!!!
What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?
It will change a bit now that one of the founding members has left, but up to this point I co-write the music in sections that we then stitch together to make the music. Hugo writes scratch track vocal parts and then he and I rewrite the words to those parts. However, I think I would rather write fully formed songs in one sitting to get a chance to do some more joined up storytelling with the lyrics. I am a sucker for storytelling in songs!
My inspiration for writing music is that tingly feeling of the hairs standing up on the back of your arms. If it doesn’t take you there or have you jumping or moving your body in some way, then you are doing it wrong!
What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?
Positive ones, but very often starting with the darkest of places. Even the party songs are about a break up or the folly of living to excess....We do still like to party though!
Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?
We fire anyone who steps out of line! Sorry, permanent joking is a force of habit. Seriously though, band agreements. It sounds formal but if you lay down some ground rules ahead of time then whenever someone starts to go on an ego trip you can just say that you did a gree to not be a dick! It really does solve a lot of issues.
That being said, creativity often gets sparks flying, but it is a LOT easier with two people in your band having the final say. It is still great to have 3 other guys in the live line up advising you though. So long as you don’t have a egomaniacal way of going about things, then you should be able to listen to good advice!
What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?
We plan to keep on releasing the songs we have stacked up. So the current batch for EP 1 will see us up to Christmas 2023. Then we have a further 7 written for EP 2 and a truckload of snippets and ideas kicking about for the future.
The main thing is to get people to hop on board the Good Time Locomotive first though.
Thanks so much for the interview.