Interview with Small Town Saviours

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

• Hey, Skinny Pete (Guitar) here, 

  I first got into music when I was maybe 7 or 8 through my older sister. I remember growing up to the tunes of Meatloaf and Gun's n Roses, I'd sing along and dance around the house like a little nutter. 

  As far as actually playing music, I didn't pick up a guitar until I was 16 after getting into bands like Blink 182, Green Day, Offspring and started learning their songs. I think the first riff I ever learnt was Offspring "Pretty fly for a white guy" ha, ha good times. 

  If I hadn't gotten into music, I would definitely still be doing something creative. I'm an arty person at my core so I'll always need an outlet for it in some form or another. 

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

• Honestly music takes up our time, when you consider time spent practicing, writing, recording, making music videos and content, photo shoots, interviews and running the social media side of things on top of playing live shows. So, when we do get our down time, we try to relax as much as possible. That being said, you can't switch off a creative mind, it's always working away in the background so listening to music, watching films always have an influence.  

How long has your band been around? 

• We formed in 2019 but we've all played together in various bands over the years.  

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

• We're based in Berkshire/Hampshire. For the most part of life there has always been a big Rock /Punk scene around here which always inspires us to keep playing and be a part of it with our friends. 

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

• The band name was suggested by a close friend, it's actually the title of an old punk song. We feel it represents the hope and empathy that we deliver in our sound and lyrics perfectly. It's kind of like saying " we've got your back, we’re here for you". 

Tell me about your most memorable shows 

• Most memorable show for me was one of our early Christmas shows, we played in Basingstoke at The White Hart. It was packed with our friends and loved ones, there was a great atmosphere that night and I remember just looking around the room and seeing everyone so happy and in the moment. It felt so festive and heart-warming. Also recently supporting the Mercury Riots in Southampton this year, tiny venue, not very busy but great vibe and everyone had fun!   

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

• My favourite venues to play at are The White Hart and The Irish Centre, both are in Basingstoke. 

  As I said there’s a big scene there, they always show out and we have a right ol’ party. 

  As far as venues I'd like to play at, I've always wanted to play Camden Underworld, I've seen so many awesome bands there over the years and it’s just such a gritty venue with so much character. 

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

• I would say The Wildhearts, Green Day and Backyard Babies would be an awesome line up to play with! But there’s so many others too!  

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? 

• My advice would be, beg, steal and borrow from all of your favourite bands, put it all in a melting pot and see what comes out. Eventually you'll develop your own sound from it, just enjoy yourself creating and things will start falling into place. 

  To my younger self, it would be not to give up, there’s gunna be a lotta hard times and stuff to go through in life but music will always be there to help you through in one way or another. Also take the bad times and use them to fuel your music, let it be your fire. 

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

• Similar to my answer above but I think you would have to be very careful with this……you wouldn’t want to miss out on any experiences in life that have shaped your song writing today!  

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

• The song that means most to me I'd say is Ride it out. It just came to us at the right time after lock down, everyone was feeling uneasy or were struggling in some way. We felt everyone needed a song like this to remind them that they are not alone in feeling this. Storms always pass, you’ve gotta stay strong, have faith and Ride it out. We're definitely proud of this song. 

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

• My favourite songs to play are Hometown Hero and No Rats, No Snakes, No Second Takes. They both just get me pumped up, slamming uplifting songs with great melodies and guitar harmonies. 

  I would say Cry is one of our most requested/talked about songs. People seem to resonate with its tale of love lost/missed opportunity. It also has a really fun music video to accompany it, In a kind of Grease lightning/ Happy Days style. 

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

• Our music is inspired by our real-life experiences, very biographical and I think that’s what keeps it all so sincere and relatable. 

  Our usual process would be myself or Lance (Vocals) being a riff to practice, the others will start jamming along to it and normally we get onto a good thing pretty quickly. We're lucky to have four writers in this band, Carl (Drums) writes melodies and is really good at structuring, chopping out unnecessary parts and T Bone (Bass) is great with vocal harmonies and melodies. So, we all work through a track, ironing it out as we go. 

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

• We address issues from mental health to friends, lovers (lost and found), acceptance and resolve. We hope that what people take away from this is that things always get better in time if you just keep fighting through, better days are ahead. 

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

• I wouldn't say we have disagreements really; we all compromise well. It always comes down to what's best for the song at the end of the day. 

  It's a shared vision and a shared effort and I'm so grateful to write with such open-minded guys. 

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

• Next up for us is our debut album dropping 27-01-23, and another single just before that. 

  The plan is to really get out there gigging as much as possible next year. We’re also looking forward to getting back in the studio to record album number 2 which is over half written already!  

  Keep in touch with us at: https://www.facebook.com/smalltownsaviours ,  https://www.instagram.com/smalltownsaviours, and  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAV5V-BB4cPdLDLx7Yo_4ZA