I met Mo (drums) and Ed (PR guru from Trail of Press - big thanks again!) outside a pub, and the three of us spent a good ten minutes wandering around looking for a place to sit down to do the interview. Eventually we found a pub a short walk from the venue (after declining Mo's suggestion we 'do this over a coffee' in a local Pret a Manger, seemingly the only empty place on this Thursday evening) and settled down. It's a measure of the band, and indeed, of Ed, that there was no stress or issues with having to walk the streets looking for a place to sit. It's not all bands which would be willing to do that.
Settling down with a couple of drinks while Ed went off to sort out the remaining press for the day, I asked Mo about the tour, and how he felt about headlining London. "[It's] pretty overwhelming", he told me. "Hopefully we’ll play well. Fourth show of the tour, and really looking forward to it." The rest of the tour, Mo said, had been "incredible. We started off in Glasgow, in King Tut’s, which I have always wanted to play there, cos obviously it’s been on the circuit for years and years. It’s been going really well, no disasters yet!" Mo was, however, "always knackered. I don’t know what the matter is, but I’m permanently tired! Yeah, though, we love doing it. It’s looking like we’re going to have a really busy year anyway, so I better get used to it. We just love being out on the road."
Our conversation soon shifted to the past few months for Lonely The Brave:
"We’ve noticed over the last couple of months that you’ve really started to hit the big time, playing the Warped Tour and so on… how’s that feeling for you?", I asked. "Yeah, it’s good", Mo told me. "People sometimes ask whether we're feeling the pressure yet, but I dunno, we don’t really feel it. You can’t knock it, we’ve got a really good opportunity to get the record out to a lot of ears and stuff like that; just hopefully people are gonna like it, that’s all we hope for really!" Warped Tour, though, would surely not be the kind of gig the band would be expecting to play? Mo nods, telling me "It was really good! As soon as they said ‘do you want to do it?’ we were like errrrm yeah! I’ve sort of grown up with Warped Tour, I’ve got all Warped Tour DVDs at home with Glassjaw, Poison The Well, loads of our favourite bands on and stuff like that, so being asked to play it – like even though we stuck out like a sore thumb - you’re still gonna do it! You know, you’re asked to do something like that, you just do it, it’s a no-brainer!"
Although arguably the band didn't fit the general profile of the Warped Tour, they played a sublime set. Mo told me that "A lot of people said they enjoyed it. We did get one person say that they thought we looked like we were off our heads on drugs, and I was absolutely baffled by that but still… maybe two paracetamol or some anti-inflammatories for my wrists or something like that…! Apart from that, though, yeah it was really really good", he told me with a smile.
Our conversation continued:
Dan: "When I watched you I thought it
was a really relaxed, laid back experience…"
Mo: "Yeah, maybe! I think we’ve always
written really honest music people can probably relate to. Everyone has
feelings, no matter how different they may be. I think some people
connect to it on that level I guess, which you know, is fine by us!". It's definitely the case that the lyrics Dave sings are striking a pretty deep chord with a lot of the band's fans. I asked Mo about it, and he said that it was a real added bonus, that "if
people interpret the lyrics in their own way, that’s what music is about for me
and everybody else. To hear people reciting the lyrics (Dave writes all of the
lyrics, as a frontman should in my opinion)... well, I know he’s happy about it, it’s
a really special thing. Theres a lot of tattoos popping up, as well, you know,
people getting the lyrics tattoo’d which is just, well, madness; but at the
same time I’ve got a load of Deftones and Defeater lyrics and things like that!
It’s a beautiful thing definitely!"
The band have really experienced a dramatic rise to stardom in a really short timescale. I asked Mo how that had been for the quintet. "It’s bizarre", he laughed. "Every time I tell my
mum, I tell her they put us in a magazine again
this week… usually when I go home, [that magazine is] on the wall, in a frame! I dunno how you’d ever get used to it. It’s really enjoyable you know, this
whole journey’s been so much fun! I'm not gonna take it for granted for a minute…" When pressed, Mo told me that "As long as you’re making
your mum happy, surely that’s half the battle! You gotta
keep your Mum happy!"
Lonely The Brave chose to take Fatherson out on tour with them this time. Mo told me that Lonely The Brave "played a show with them [Fatherson] about a year ago and have been obsessed with them ever since. When we were throwing about band names to come out with, it was like Fatherson? Yep. An absolute no-brainer, our first port of call. They’re incredible as well".
Thus far, Mo and his bandmates are gaining widespread credit and have universal appeal from fans of all genres. We spoke about this, Mo talking me through his diverse music taste (and obsession with Dinosaur Jr.). This variation must translate into Lonely The Brave's sound, surely? "I can understand what you’re saying, it really has come out like that", Mo said. "When we got the band together a few years back, we were always put on at punk and hardcore all-dayers, and we didn't really seem to stick out very much! It was like we were accepted by hardcore kids and punk kids. People who like indie and other stuff like post-rock seem to like us too. It’s a really weird amalgamation, I can’t understand how it’s happened! It certainly wasn't premeditated".
Interested to find out more about the band's gig routine, I asked Mo as to whether they had any pre-gig rituals. "We have on this tour!", he told me, laughing. "A couple of beers, you know, a couple of freezing cold beers preferably if we’re lucky enough to get them… then we just put a bit of Springsteen on, something like that, and have a little dance…we've been doing it on this tour, it’s ridiculous… you know, jam a bit of Springsteen…and we go!" It was at this point, about ten minutes into the conversation, that I realised I hadn't touched my pint. The drummer is one of the most engaging people I have had the chance to interview, but not only that, I found him to be hugely genuine, honest and down to earth. His humility, and that of the band's, is truly refreshing. I told him so. "That’s really nice of you to say so," he replied, the genuine pride in his voice obvious. "We get told off now and again for being too humble, but I don’t know what else to say, this is just who we are as people! I think the honesty people see and hear is 100% who we are!" Back to the pre-gig ritual, I wondered whether it was bringing the band any luck. Mo laughed again, telling me that he didn't know, but as the band had been playing well on the tour, "Maybe the Boss is there in spirit!"
I wanted to know why the band called themselves Lonely The Brave. Mo responded openly: "That’s a really good question, I was asking to Dave that the other day". He paused, considering. "It wasn’t from the film, Lonely Are The Brave. I think it was just a little bit of a play on words that me and Dave had. Dave actually came up with it… we might have come up with Lonely Are The Brave and then realised there was a film already called that. It just fits well. I think it sits well, too", he said, pointing at his hoodie, prodding along with the words "Lonely-The-Brave, you know, like Poison-The-Well". It goes well on the merch, I laughed. Mo agreed, "Yeah! But I think at the time where we were as a band, when we were putting it all together we had a few things going on which weren't 100% ideal, but you know, it was quite a big thing to try and push this band on so it sat quite well with where we were then".
This intrigued me, and I asked Mo to tell me more about how the band had propelled themselves forward over the previous months. "[We had to] basically give everything up, live on the breadline! First thing I’ll say, though," he said, forever humble, "is that things are great, being in this band, the touring’s great and we really can’t complain about anything, but you have to make sacrifices in other areas". It was clear that Mo genuinely means what he says, and feels incredibly grateful to be in the band. He continued, "I had to give my car up; it’s mainly money or family orientated things, you know, you’re away from your family and stuff. You do have to sacrifice a lot but there’s nothing to complain about really". I pushed further, asking what it was which made the band to decide to make all those sacrifices? Again, hugely honest, Mo told me that the band were "Just too stupid to stop! It was just sheer ignorance and the thought that maybe we could actually do something with it! When things weren’t really happening, I don’t know what kept us going really, we just did. We were going to write a record, spend a lot of time on it and hopefully get someone to put it out, that was pretty much our goal. But then here we are now, about to play our second sold out London show in a row! I don’t know what’s going on!"
Finally, I spoke to Mo about the band's future. He told me that "Yeah, the album’s finished, done. We’re just waiting to put it out, just waiting for a release date which should be soon. And then yeah, just, tour. We’re gonna be on the road for the rest of the year, looking like we’re going to have a really busy festival season, and not just in this country as well. Just getting out of the country on our band is amazing". New single, Trick Of The Light is out "soon", he told me, having forgotten the release date, but telling me that the video is up on YouTube.
We closed the interview, Mo thanking me for it. We then sat with Ed, chatting and finishing our drinks. It struck me again how easy it was to be in the drummer's company, something again which is a rare find in big bands. We then walked back towards the venue, the pair discussing how they were actually going to get back inside, having not brought any sort of press or band identification. Seeing the queue outside, Mo joked that he couldn't believe he'd have to queue for his own gig, before we split.
The gig itself was absolutely incredible. Fatherson played a stunningly atmospheric half-hour set, somehow managing to bring a mesmerising, Sigur Ros type experience to the capacity crowd. Frontman Ross Leighton's voice is almost beyond compare, meeting all the notes beautifully. This was an epic set, from a band who deserve to hit the big time.
Lonely The Brave, as I expected, played a simply sumptuous set, whipping through fan favourites Black Saucers, Trick of the Light and Backroads. The precision, passion and downright brilliance with which this band perform has to be seen to be believed. As with Mo earlier, they are a supremely engaging band. They made me feel like there was nothing in the world other than the people in the small venue, myself, and them on stage. The world outside, and all of the problems and issues which come with that, disappeared.
Dave, as ever, was an enigmatic and unique frontman. Still clearly shying away from the spotlight, it is stunning to see a band give so much emphasis to the quality of their sound at a gig. It's easy to be gimmicky, joking around with the crowd to try and hold up a poor set. Lonely The Brave, however, have absolutely no need to do that. Their music is simply outstanding. The honesty, humility, and downright decency with pervades the quintet is astoundingly refreshing.
Lonely The Brave deserve to be massive. Speaking to PR man Ed just before the gig, it is very clear that this is a band who have that something special, that something which just makes them stand head and shoulders above the rest.
As your writer, I implore you to listen to this band. Go and see them live. Pick up their EP. Check them out on YouTube. They absolutely will take you by storm. They will be your new favourite band.
Huge thanks to Ed at Trail of Press PR (http://trailofpress.co.uk/ ) for setting up this interview, and to Mo for his time.
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