Interview with Shipwrecker

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

• Eve Barnes (Drums): I was always listening to my parents record collection as a child and tapping along even though it was mainly all classical stuff like The Planets or the War of the Worlds soundtrack! They eventually then bought me a drum kit for Christmas, but I was so small I couldn't even reach the pedals! I then had drum lessons and this introduced me to a whole world of new music, like jazz and 60's rock and I've never looked back. I joined my first band and I was hooked. I can’t imagine what I’d do without music!

• Matt Vaggers, (Vocals): If I hadn’t gotten into music I’d be frustrated, or possibly in an institute for the criminally insane. Even worse, I might be a lawyer or something.

• Adam Hillhouse (Bass): My dad originally got me into music, always encouraged my brother and I (my brother plays drums). I like the outdoors so if I wasn't playing music, I'd probably be getting out more doing that.

• Jo Barnes (Guitar): I got into music as it was an excuse to hang out with the older kids at school who I thought were much cooler than kids my own age! I was jamming with 17 year olds when I was 10. I think without music, I wouldn’t go insane quite as quickly as Matt, but I’d definitely have to channel my creative energy into something else (maybe painting or writing?) - I’m not as chilled out as Adam, so I couldn’t settle for peaceful walks outside.

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

• MV: Listening to more music! I also love history, and love a good big concept sci-fi, fantasy or action film, and all these things tend to provide inspiration and find their way into lyrics eventually. 

• AH: I listen to a lot of music from different genres when I'm not playing, and I think that definitely influences how I play bass, even if I'm not consciously aware of it.

• JB: I’m basically a massive nerd, so I like playing board games, role-playing games and stuff like that. I’d say that learning to be unselfconscious with what you like is a great way to be more creative!

• EB: Yeah! Jo is a massive nerd. I play drums 24/7, when I’m not with Shipwrecker, I’m usually filling in for other bands. I’ve just finished recording the drums for the new Zombina and the Skeletones album - That was a really interesting experience, playing horror punk at 200 BPM! I like to think that all my other projects push me creatively.

How long has your band been around?

• AH: I guess since 2017 and the first EP

• JB Yeah, Eve, Adam, and I have been playing together informally for years, probably since we were all at uni, but the band officially formed when Matt came on board for a 2 day recording session to make the Elevator Sessions EP.

• EB: Although we didn’t get together again until 2019! So it feels like we really got going when we started work on the album in the summer just before the first COVID lockdown.

• MV: Hopefully there won’t be any more major breaks in the schedule from now on!

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

• MV: Whilst I’m a proud Merseysider, I like to think there are global influences in what tickles me/us creatively.

• AH: I'm not conscious of the area influencing me but my dad and brother were in blues/funk bands growing up too and hanging around when they were rehearsing/playing definitely influenced what I was listening to and trying to learn on bass.

• JB: The three of us are from the Wirral, and I think it’s an area that has lived in the shadow of Liverpool, and by extension, The Beatles. I think we are all fans, but in order to stand out, I think Shipwrecker consciously tries to avoid that classic Merseyside sound. I probably grew up hearing one too many jangly guitars to ever try and incorporate that style into my playing!

• EB: I’m from the Isle of Wight originally, which has a big rock music heritage, so I didn’t have the whole “Beatles” thing growing up, like the rest of the band did! It's an area that has a rich musical heritage, and I've carried that with me.

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

• JB: The band originally started life as a one-off recording session, and I put together a group of musicians that I knew would be a good fit. However, Eve and Adam had never met Matt before he came into the studio to record the vocals. It was kind of a crazy way to put a band together, and we had a phrase at the end of the session that we were like “Ships passing in the night”. This really stuck with me, and I wanted to reference it in the band name somehow. In the end, I came up with “Shipwrecker” after the Wirral coastline where there were famous smugglers who used fake signal fires to wreck ships against the rocks. There is a history of shipwrecking on the Isle of Wight too, so it felt like a nice link on that point too.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

• AH: Shipwrecker have only done two live shows, so maybe the first one?

• EB: Yeah, we've now played two sold out shows out of two! Not bad.

• JB: We played our first gig and then went into lockdown before we had a chance to get our album finished. We used the time away from live music to work in the studio, so we are only just back performing live again now that the album is in the bag.

• EB: Getting back on stage this year was amazing, we had a great reception, and playing the new stuff off the album live was so much fun! We can’t wait to do more gigs once the album is out.

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

• MV: Personally, I’m pretty fond of playing the Live Rooms in Chester, and Podium Victorie in Alkmaar, Netherlands. I will not rest until we’ve played Anfield though.

• JB: Anfield is a great shout! I'm really looking forward to playing Future Yard for our album launch in August, though. Liverpool has so many great venues, but it is great to see the Wirral developing its own scene at last.

• EB: We also wrote the album in their basement rehearsal rooms so it seems very fitting that that's where we're launching the album! In terms of favourite venues, though -  I’ve played the main stage at the Isle of Wight festival, so I’d love to go back and do that again! You can't beat the feeling of being on a big stage playing to thousands of people.

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

• MV: Queen, Soundgarden, Aerosmith, Genesis, Muse, The Darkness. Name your price.

  I'd love to play bass with Bonnie Raitt, saw her recently and it was such a great show. Maybe Eric Clapton too, played along to a lot of his songs when I first started learning bass, so to play them with his band would be awesome.

• EB: I'd have to resurrect loads of rock legends for this! It would be the classic Isle of Wight festival lineup from 1970. Hendrix, The Doors, Free, Jethro Tull, Sly & The Family Stone. That would be incredible plus it would be like a hometown show for me!

• JB: Looks like it’s my job in this band to keep us vaguely contemporary! I’d go for Illuminati Hotties, Spiral Drive, and Little Barrie. Preferably in a small grotty venue with about 200 people packed in. They are always the best gigs.

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?

• MV: Practice more. Listen more. Don’t overthink it. Do “you” - everyone else is taken.

• AH: Stick with it, practice a lot and study music if you can. I've had phases where I've forgotten all about playing music and I'd probably be a lot better if I'd stuck at it

• EB: Remember to have fun with it, write for yourselves. You'll have to play your songs a lot when you start gigging so you need to still enjoy playing them when they're not new anymore! Always record your jam sessions and rehearsals as it's really useful for picking out good ideas that could become potential songs and also to listen back with a more critical ear for what you can improve.

• JB: I’ll say the opposite - I hated practicing when I started out (still do, to be honest!). The joy of music for me always comes from playing with other people. So I’d say to do that as much as you can. Don’t get hung up on genres and styles too much, just try to find enthusiastic bandmates - That’s the #1 factor in sticking with it in my experience.

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

• MV: "Take the shot!"

• AH: "Spend more time learning your instrument and actually studying music."

• EB: I think the advice I'd give my younger self would be not to overplay! This was something I used to do I think because as a female drummer I felt like I needed to prove myself and I suffered a bit with imposter syndrome. These days I'm much more relaxed and always try to play for the song and give everything its own space.

• JB: I think I’d tell my younger self not to take music so seriously - I was a bit snooty about what I would play, but I am much more open minded these days. Not sure younger-Jo would listen to me, mind you!

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

• MV: Tough call! Holy Ground from the new album was special just as it started with one of those magic moments where a melody line and lyric just appears in your head whilst doing something mundane and you have to run for a guitar - the song seemed to just write itself. We’ve also a track called Always Out of Reach from our first EP which represents a lovely meeting of minds to me, whilst also excising some demons!

AH: Keyboard Warrior, Matt's lyrics have a strong message and it feels relevant these days.

• JB: I really like Voice In My Head, it’s a proper little pop banger type song - the sort of thing that I spent my teenage years wishing I knew how to write! I love the fact that it follows a lot of traditional songwriting conventions, but still finds time for a backwards guitar solo in the mid section!

• EB: For me, it’s Sleep Tonight - It’s a song that survived the pandemic… It was one of the first songs we wrote for the album, and it just matured and improved over time - The production on the final album version really added the finishing touches, and we made some bold choices that I’m really proud of.

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

• MV: I love playing Big Four. It’s just got a raucous energy and I get to wail. Request-wise, Voice in my Head seems to have garnered a following!

• AH: I like playing Always Out of Reach I think it's our most popular song and has gone down well when we've played it live.

• EB: I really enjoyed playing Holy Ground live. It's got a crazy middle 8 section with an almost Rage Against The Machine style groove to it that really catches the audience off guard - You wouldn't expect that in this kind of song! The shuffle groove in Sleep Tonight is also another favourite to play.

• JB: Sorry, Matt wins. "Big Four" is the right answer. (I get to wail as well).

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

• EB: We jam a lot or Jo will turn up with some riffs he's been working on. Adam and I will then start to put a groove to it. We'll then try to give it a bit of a rough structure so Matt has a framework to start thinking of vocal melodies. He'll then usually come up with a melody first and then go away and write some lyrics. Then we get down to refining the structure and listening back with a critical ear for what the song does and doesn't need. Stuff like is the verse too busy should the guitar drop out here etc what can we add to make it interesting and we'll make refinements from there.

• JB: I write a lot of the music, but it is a very collaborative process. I love hearing Matt’s vocal melodies, because without fail, they are never anything like what I imagine in advance! That always gives us a springboard to go off and finish the songs together, as there are so many creative ideas available to pick from. The inspiration comes from each other, I suppose.

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

• MV: I’m all about variety. I tend to think an album should traverse diverse subject matter. Love, loss, observational stories, pseudo-philosophical bullshit, musings on life, the universe and everything.

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

• AH: Not really I'd like to think we get on pretty well.

• MV: We’re fairly diplomatic, and respectful, but we do occasionally find divergent opinions because we’re all passionate about making good music. I think it comes down to fighting for what you believe in, but respecting the democratic process. Pick your battles etc. It’s all coming from a good place ultimately! 

• EB: No major gossip or fist fights I'm afraid! We're all too mild mannered for that! We have disagreements when it comes to the creative songwriting process, I think that's important though and the discussions we've had around this have improved the songs. It's pushed us not just to accept a song as being in its finished form once it has a structure and we're open minded enough to try things different ways until we find the one that works best. 

• JB: I start all the arguments in Shipwrecker! The rest of the band are all so easy going, though, and we definitely approach any disagreements with a kind of “Us against the problem” approach, rather than an “Us against each other” mentality. I do encourage us to justify our creative decisions though. Musically, I’d rather make a weird choice for a good reason, than a safe choice for no reason.

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

• EB: We have an album coming out on August 4th! It’s called “Different Beast”, and It'll be available on vinyl as well as all the usual streaming platforms. We're launching the album at Future Yard in Birkenhead on the same day, tickets are on sale now.

• JB: We are looking at some tour dates for late summer/autumn this year, but nothing we can officially announce just yet. We’ll see you all at Future Yard on August 4th - We’ve booked some amazing support bands, including Polker, who are fantastic, and GONDOLAS - Who have recently been picked up by BBC Radio and are going to be massive soon. Get your tickets here: https://futureyard.org/listings/shipwrecker/ and keep in touch at https://linktr.ee/shipwrecker