instagram: @thetimesoutband
What were your earliest memories of music and does anything you heard from your parents or siblings or older figures still influence you today?
I think our earliest memories of music are pretty similar to that of most people, we just listened to whatever our parents put on in the car or had on at home. I think we just got lucky enough to be showed songs that must’ve subconsciously ignited an interest in music. For me, it was Madness, The Specials and Queen, my dad always had it on in the car; I remember vividly head banging to sheer heart attack at like 5 years old. For Josh, his dad showed him Jimi Hendrix and Pearl Jam, triggering his interest in guitar music. In Leon’s case, it was his dad showing him Metallica and Pantera, which sparked his love of heavy music. Frank’s dad always had northern soul records on these really loud speakers, he still has them on sometimes when we pop around for practise. But, yeah. I think that these bands and artists kind of flipped the switch for us, subconsciously, and though they matter less to us now, it helped start the journey.
How did all you guys meet? What was it like when you first played together under the name The Timeouts?
Frank and I started the band in 2017, I wanted to join a band after listening to (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? He was the only drummer in the school and though he was older than me, I suppose I mustered up the confidence to ask him to play some songs with me and one thing led to another. We managed to find a bassist, and we started playing small gigs, writing songs and just trying to do something new. We played a local festival in the summer of 2018 and met Josh, who was in the band on after us. We instantly clicked and within a week, we’d managed to pinch him from his other band. I hated the band name we had back then. So, I thought about it and changed it to a name that I thought was cooler. After one practise, we played a gig with Josh, the first as The Timeouts.
That was a mental moment, it was all coming together. But, our bassist didn’t seem to be able to keep up, he didn’t show the dedication and he didn’t want to take this anywhere, really. So, we ended up replacing him with my school mate Leon, who is not only a better bassist, but he fit the band better. It was crazy, everything just fit together perfectly and it was one of those moments where we all knew, you know?
Such a rocking song, ‘Dancing With Your Best Friends Girlfriend’! How did it come about?
Thank-you man! I think it was about a year or two ago, Josh and I had only really been writing songs together for a little bit and we were finding our feet as composers, but I think this song was the turning point for the partnership. Josh sent me over the intro riff and said that he didn’t know if we’d ever use it, because he didn’t really like it. But, after hearing it I insisted on him finishing the song. He sent me the full song and I was hooked on it. The song was titled ‘Dancing with Your Best Mate’s Girlfriend’ on the original demo, (Josh normally comes up with a working title based on how he thinks the music sounds), We were under the impression that it’d change eventually.
But, I became fascinated by this concept, it seemed like a beautiful tragedy, and I wrote about 10 different versions of the song lyrically before in the middle of a French Mock exam at school, that opening line struck me, and I ran to the toilet to write it down. Once it’d come together, me and Josh showed the lads and we played it that night, and honestly it’s got some of my favourite lyrics in it, so I’m really proud of it.
Both sonically and lyrically, there’s an Artic Monkeys influence in the song. How significant are AM to you all?
Lyrically, I definitely cite Alex Turner as a huge inspiration to me, and I definitely see some of the similarities in the song. But, I’m just a young lad writing about being at a party, it was always bound to have a similar lyrical sound. In general, Arctic Monkeys have inspired me massively as a composer, but I would say that we tend to stray away from writing Arctic Monkeys style songs, because we don’t want to be another run of the mill Sheffield band.
Green Day too? Are you more into their older stuff like Dookie or more recent work after American Idiot?
Green Day were an early influence to me, but I soon grew out of all that, I found it too inaccessible, a 15 year old boy in England just didn’t understand the feeling of 90’s east bay punk. I needed something more local, more relatable. It didn’t work for me. I know as a band, we much prefer The Clash or The Sex Pistols, it just seems more real to us, you know? Can’t argue with Billie Joe’s songwriting though, the man is a machine. But, if I were to pick, American Idiot, to me, was their best album.
Can you give us a load down on any new music in the works?
Well, I don’t know how much we’re allowed to reveal. We’ve got a lot of songs written, it’s just a case of getting them recorded now. We were set to record the next single in early April, but obviously this Coronavirus situation has spiralled out of control and that’s been delayed now. We will be putting another single out ASAP though, all I can say is – it’s a very different sound to the debut single. It’s a much grittier song, a more complex song. We wanted to put out DWYBMGF as the first single to reel the audience in, It’s a catchy number, but we have a lot more to say, and I think the music we intend to put out soon, will show a different side of us, that’s much more unique. We can’t wait.
How do you view yourselves as a guitar band at this moment in time, can you see yourselves getting an album together in the future?
We don’t tend to think about the whole ‘Guitar Band’ thing, because we don’t want to put ourselves in a box. We want to write music that matters, whether that’s with a guitar or a piano, it could be a didgeridoo if we feel it’s important. We just want to say something, we want to be something more than just another band. It’s a far-fetched dream, but we just want to have an impact. As for the album, we do have it written, we’re just trying to perfect everything before we get in the studio. But, yes, it is coming!
What music is helping you cope with the quarantine? Hope you and your families are well!
Thank-you man, we hope you and your family are well, also. We’ve been listening to a lot of The Beatles, Muse, The Last Shadow Puppets and The Cure, Rancid, Django Reindhart, Alterbridge, Alice in Chains, Foals, Pink Floyd, Uncle Acid and the Deatbeats, Nothing But Thieves and The Smiths. Just getting in a lot of music, trying to stay sane! Hope you and your loved ones are safe and well. Thank-you for letting us be a part of your page!
Thank you, thankfully close and friends and family are okay! And thank you for answering some questions, can’t wait to see what happens next with you guys and talking more with you!
The Timesout are on all streaming platforms and on social media (can find their Instagram handle below the photo).