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Topic: Longshot@mp3hardplay (Read 819 times)

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Longshot@mp3hardplay
« Thread Started on Apr 24, 2005, 11:01am »

mp3hardplay & the A&B-neTwork proudly presents .......
Longshot@mp3hardplay

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Longshot@mp3hardplay interview

Formed in 1999, Rock band Longshot
has been playing its unique blend of melodic rock music all over the London Scene for the last few years.
Tom Hutchison, Alan Porter, and Matt Foreman met and created the band while working for peanuts as glass collectors in East London.

The first year passed writing songs & getting the band’s sound to shape. Longshot was bordering on a punk-style rock and roll band at the time but has since developed their sound to what is best described a cross between Gomez, Coldplay & Foo Fighters.

The band has numerous high-profile gigs in their count, prestigious venues as The Ocean, in Hackney, The Rock Garden, in Covent Garden, Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA), central London, West One Four, in Kensington, & Sound, in Leicester Square.

Longshot recently returned to the live scene with new drummer Alan Enston & keyboard player Alex Butters after some well-earned time off.

They have been busy working on honing their image and recording new material in the last six months - as well as extensive touring across South Engand. The band is very busy at the moment but hope their new-found freedom as a five-piece will soon mean a lot more people across the world will know about Longshot in the coming months.

mp3hardplay.tk ,quellicheilpc & anti-pod.tk talking with the band..........

Elia- First of all, tell us about your Band, what music do you play ...

Alan P- Longshot, in one form or another, have been around for about 6 years. It started off with Tom on guitar and main vocals, Matt on bass and me on the drums and backing vocals. After an accident which meant I couldn’t play drums anymore I went to guitar and vocals with Tom. Alan E joined on drums and Alex was recruited shortly after to complete the line-up we have now. Our sound is quite distinctive and (due to the fact that there’s now 5 of us in the band) our live sets have become highly anticipated on the scene.
Tom- Our music has changed dramatically over the years from almost a pop-punk style to the more mature and full-on rock you hear today. We're still learning every day and the sound continues to evolve but I think we've honed a real distinct sound now that you can only really describe as a "Longshot sound".

Elia- Tell us about your songwriting.....what experiences inspire you to write ?

Tom- Anything can inspire me to pick up the guitar and start writing the next song. There's always that fear you have in the back of your head that you've already written all the best songs you can write, but thankfully our music seems to be getting better and better.
We're writing more as a group now than before, I used to just bring the completed songs and show them to the boys, but now everyone is getting involved in the creative process. The songs are better as a result.
Alan P- I generally take influence from almost anything. The problem is usually getting that riff in your head down somewhere to work on later!

Elia- Did you have any pre-conceived ideas about the music industry ?

Matt- No, learning curve all the way.
Alan E- Expect a lot of bullnuts from a lot of different people. There's always going to be someone who tells you you're great but only says it if they want something from you, like a manager, record label. The best bands tend to shine through in the end.

Elia- Can you tell us 5 things required for a happy healthy & enjoyable artistic life ?

Alan P- 1) Have patience – especially with other band mates!, 2) Be nice to other artists, you’ll get nowhere being rude to people, 3) Never assume you can use other peoples equipment at gigs, 4) If possible, always record everything, rehearsals in particular, 5) Enjoy yourself at all costs!
Matt- Food, beer, laughs, love, family
Alex- Maintain an open mind to any artistic experience before passing judgement.

Elia- What is the biggest challenge you have faced along your musical way ?

Tom- Learning to be a front man. It's a constant learning process but I personally am getting more and more comfortable on stage and expressing myself.
You have to remember that when you're performing you are there to entertain people first and foremost, we're all getting better at showing our enjoyment on stage and rocking our socks off.
Alex- Becoming the confident solid performer that I am now.
Matt- All taking criticism positively

Elia- Have you ever got any help or tips from other musicians,.. you know those annoying "don't do this" & "don't do that"?

Matt- I always thought "f**k em we'll do it our way".
Alan P- I agree with Matt, there’s always someone who thinks they have some pearls of wisdom that you can’t do without. We’ve been doing this long enough now to do what we like. But saying that, learn by your mistakes!

Elia- Which song opens your live gigs ........and why?

Alan P- We’ve just finished a new song that opens the set at the moment (because it rocks your socks off) but it’s good to have a few openers for different crowds.
Alex- Anything thats easier to get into the groove of immediately - leave the technical songs till later!

Elia- Do you remember your first instrument?

Matt- Bugle at boy's brigade, then bass, that's it! I found my love
Alex- An old OLD casio keyboard!
Alan E- Drums all the way.

Elia- First album bought ?

Alex- Queen Greatest Hits 1
Matt- Spin doctors I think, but Gun's n roses was recorded from my bro and was overplayed.
Alan P- Led Zep 4. Still got it too.

Elia- For fun would you ever play in a Celtic album ?

Alan P- Only if we were aloud to dress up as Lepricauns. Otherwise it’s a no-no.

Elia- How would you sum up your recording activity ?

Alex- Ruthlessly efficient.
Tom- Hard, hard work. But if you get it right in the end, that recording is going to stand the test of time. We're just finishing a three-track demo thats taken five months to put together. I'm very proud of it so far.
Alan P- Painstaking. Attention to detail is everything. I dislike recording vocals in particular but it’s all worth it for the final result.
Matt- In out, quick like a cat, full of frustration at mistakes, like everyone. I enjoy it when it's the band all at once.

...continues...

« Last Edit: Apr 25, 2005, 8:22pm by hardplay »

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Re: Longshot@mp3hardplay
« Reply #1 on Apr 24, 2005, 11:02am »

part 2.......
Longshot@mp3hardplay interview

Elia- Do you ever get nervous when recording the same track over and over again ?

Alan E- I get a little frustrated the longer it takes for me to get my drum tracks down, but the boys are pretty good at giving encouragement.
Alex- Nervous? no, I get more confident.
Alan P- I’m with Alex there. Just remember that if you can do it live you can do it in the studio.
Matt- More frustrated than anything.

Elia- Any of you have a portable mp3 player?

Tom- Yes, some Japanese model - the name escapes me right now - but it only holds about 15 songs. Also have a Mini Disc.
Alan P- We tend to use Mini Disc more than anything as it’s easy to hook it up to the desk at a gig and get a decent digital recording of the gig. Minidiscs can be passed around too. You can’t swap songs by rubbing two iPods together but if you could we’d probably use those.
Matt- No! Mini Disc all the way! I like something tangible I can hold and say this one’s good.

Elia- Matt do you ever you use it to playback your tracks, demos etc etc. ?

Matt- From gigs, yes

Elia- Red or white wine ?

Alan P- Red. Everytime.
Mat- Red
Alex- Rose
Tom- Budweiser, white wine if I have to

Elia- Would you say that the Internet could actually be saving the future of music ?

Alex- Neither saving nor destroying, but drastically changing it.
Alen P- It’s far too early to say, but the advent of a regulated download chart and more sites offering cheap legal downloads can only be a good thing. It’s certainly helped
us to get exposure. For the unsigned band it’s a god-send.
Matt- Yeah, definitely, apart from the fraud. We post mp3's on the site for free just to get people interested. We only want people to buy in when they're interested. They're just a taster of what's to come. Plant the seeds and they will blossom into beautiful flowers!
Tom- The internet has allowed us to get our songs out to the world. So it has certainly changed our lives and allowed us to get in touch with other music-lovers, like the people behind this very website for example. It's the way forward.

Elia- When people ask you to describe your current music, what do you tell them ?

Alex- Rock music, of the memorable variety.
Matt- Rock and melody. You have to listen to understand.
Alan E- Jazz... joking! It's rock music.

Elia- let's talk about your instruments and sound......

Alex- I use a Yamaha S90; a versatile (if heavy!) synth that actually feels like a piano.
Matt- Jackson Kelly bass and Ashdown amps. A monster rig!
Alan P- I used to use my Fender Telecaster all the time as it’s so versatile, but since Tom got his Tele I’m almost exclusively using the Gibson SG though a Laney amp. American sound through British power! Great combination.
Tom- I generally use a Fender amp and Mexican Telecaster for a jangly guitar sound. Also use Gibson-style crunchy guitars.
Alan E- I always use DW drums as they sound amazing all the time. It helps on stage to have the same drum sounds as you do on the records and DW do it for me every time.

Elia- Describe a typical rehersal, anybody arrives late ?

Alan P, Alan E, Tom & Alex- Matt !! Ha ha ha!
Matt- Yeah, me. Family commitments and all, but drummer boy is getting worse!

Elia- What's the next step up the ladder from here ?

Alex- Being self sufficient; promoting ourselves further.
Tom- Keep plugging away, writing new songs, playing new venues. We're starting to organise our own gigs too. The band has never been this good.
Album on the horizon within next six months - I'm looking at another three more tracks to record and then reckon we'll have enough good material on tape to put the first album out.
Matt- More rock less socks, album, build a huge fanbase etc.
Alan P- Yeah, rocking as hard as we can, keep up with the writing and get the album finished and released.

Elia- Thanks for the chat folks....

END

:-/