Interview with She Burns Red

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

I think like most people around my age it was sitting in the house looking at my mum and dad's vinyl records and just being obsessed with the cover art, I can vividly remember looking at Abbey Road by The Beatles, before I even knew who or what The Beatles were. The one that got me the most was the cover of Live & Dangerous  by Thin Lizzy and being like “who is this guy? How do I get to do that?” Then it was basically getting introduced to bands through my older cousins. Too many to even list. 

If I wasn’t doing music now I would have an abundance of free time and lots of  spare cash.

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

You probably wouldn’t think of it by looking at me right now but I need to go to the gym. It’s probably the best thing for my mental health and I’d recommend it to anyone who is going through any issues. It really does take your mind off everything and endorphins are always good! I also weirdly have started playing golf, it's absolutely infuriating but again it's exercise and it's a good excuse to turn off my phone for a couple of hours. I think anything that clears your mind is good for creativity. Lets new stuff in I guess?

How long has your band been around?

The band started around 2014/2015 but we never got a chance to really get anything going due to people leaving/falling out/family reasons or career. In its current line up only since lockdown, but since then we have made incredible progress.

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

I’d say Livingston, Scotland. Well apart from Naz, he’s Italian, but myself, James and Scott actually all attended the same High School, at completely different times. It's a new town that was built for the overspill of people from Edinburgh and Glasgow. Because its a new town there’s not a lot of history so I guess it's given us a forward looking perspective.

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

I would absolutely love it if I had a really great story or meaning to the band name but it was just literally three words that came to my head. It does conjure up some images in my head when I think about it. 

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

There have been loads for so many different reasons. Call Of The Wild last year was our first outdoor festival slot, that was special. Winter Rocks in Sheffield was just unbelievable, great atmosphere and any gig we get to play with our buddies South of Salem is always messy. Our Last gig at Macarts with Trucker Diablo was also awesome. We played three new songs and they all went down really well which felt great. Our biggest problem now is what songs to leave out, but it's a nice problem to have. 

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

There’s a few, any venue that takes care of the band is special. We’re playing The Waterloo in Blackpool this October at Rockmatic supporting Florence Black. It's such a great venue so I can't wait for that.

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

Ohh Jesus. Probably Foo Fighter and Deftones, we’d fit perfectly in that I think.

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?

Hmm, probably be patient, learn your craft, don’t rush it. Enjoy the process but set some goals, they don’t need to be massive but have something to aim for.

Advice for my younger self? Stop worrying about your age, it doesn’t matter how old you are, as long as you have an audience that wants to hear you that’s all you need.

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

Make sure you have members that are committed to the long haul and are prepared to put in as much work as you are.

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

Rise And Fall means a lot to us as a band. It's the first one we wrote together and took us in a different direction composition and lyrically. 

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

I feel personally Out Of Darkness. The crowd really seems to connect to it as the subject matter is something we’ve all gone through. It's also going to be our next single…

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

It's awesome, we have four songwriters. So all it takes is a riff or a lick, maybe a chorus idea and we can all jump in on it. We have a group chat full of ideas so right now we have plenty to be getting on with.

I actually think we inspire each other, we know the next song has to be better than the last one.

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

That there’s always hope. No matter how dark things may be, you have to look to tomorrow. We aren’t a party band that sings about chicks and booze. That’s for after shows…. Well, the booze anyway. 

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

Of course, you have to, it comes down to passion. If we all got on and just agreed with everything all the time I don’t think you’d be writing great music. You get past them by talking and being honest, it's that simple. 

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

We are releasing our next single Killing Time on September 16th then it's down to Axis Recording Studio to get the album done which will hopefully be coming out spring 2023.