Local band The Fontaines have produced two EP’s in just 10 months with the help of a new member and supportive fans.So I joined them in their rehearsals to find out a bit more…
I was pleasantly surprised as I entered the Attic’s rehearsal rooms, Mowbray Street, Sheffield, where I was gate crashing The Fontaines’ weekly band practice. From the outside it looked like a cold, dingy abandoned old building, but I soon made myself comfortable on the sofa whilst they set up ready for a warm up song before we got going.
The Band
The Fontaines consists of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Joe St Ledger, aged 17, lead guitarist Alex Tood, 17, 18-year-old Oliver Clark on the drums, and 16-year-old ‘baby of the band’ is their bassist, Tom Nugent, however much he tried to convince me he was 36.
There have also been two more recent additions to the band; 16-year-old Ellie Rockliff on the trumpet, and saxophonist Jo Woodcock, aged 17.
Ellie warned that they are an immature bunch, they certainly don’t take themselves too seriously and it was refreshing to meet a band that are having so much fun whilst undoubtedly working hard to get where they want to be.
Jo could not make it today, as she had “chopped half of her finger off”, pretty problematic for a saxophone player even if it was a slight exaggeration, and just a cut. As Ellie explained how she did it at work, suddenly the boys burst into The Human League’s classic “she was working as a waitress in a cocktail ba-aaar”.
Joining us too was Harris – who couldn’t quite determine his role, toying between “fan, silent member and groupie” but eventually settling for “friend of the band”.
The Fontaines original line up formed around September 2013, but as Joe so bluntly put it; “up until January we were really terrible, but then Tom came along and he’s actually talented, which made all the difference.”
The Music
In the space of those 10 months the Fontaines have managed to record an impressive two EPs: Santiago Skyline and their newest release which came out on November 21, Velvet.
“We think of ourselves as the next Arctic monkeys”, Tom blurted out, but the laughter that followed prove that this was indeed a joke.
The majority of their lyrics are the work of Joe and Tom; influenced by bands such as Little Comets and Circa Waves.
Joe described the newer tracks as more “musically interesting” – he said the older stuff was simpler, whereas this, although still sounding like the same band was much more fun yet challenging to play.
They also had the addition of the horns this time around, which Ellie said really helped their sound move forward – cue the accusations of her “blowing her own trumpet.”
The recording process sounded intense; “one day in and we want to kill each other”… but 48 hours and 3 gallons of tea later, with even the sound of clinking spoons from tea being made appearing in the track Cerowyn, it was done. And despite the disagreements, it was also described as two of the best days of their time as a band due to the achievement they felt when it was complete.
Santiago Skyline and Velvet are both now available to buy on iTunes, and whilst “music is not about money, on the other hand being poor – being below the breadline or unable to afford to power our amps is not ideal,” so they are aiming to break-even this year through sales.
Around £2000 has been spent over the past year on things such as rehearsals and studio time, and as sixth form students, it’s a struggle. Three of them having jobs has helped though, and they joked that if they shared between them there would be enough for everyone – with half of the band having two jobs and the other with none.
But their hard work and budgeting will hopefully pay off, with Joe planning a gap year once he finishes school to work in order to help fund the band.
The live shows
The Fontaines have done a number of local shows over 2014 – playing to around 400 people at Sheffield’s O2 Academy in March. “We were the main support but nearly everyone left after us, so that was a bit awkward.
“There were people trying to crowd surf and failing miserably, people pressed up against the barrier, it was surreal. And Alex lay down and played a solo.” He argued that this was less of a highlight for him however, upon realising that he needed to somehow get up whilst still playing.
But their largest show to date and collective ultimate highlight as a band was when they played to a fully sold out Plug in November – celebrating the release of their latest EP.
“It was so exciting to be able to buy the listings poster; which says ‘sold out’ over the Fontaines, right near the likes of Catfish & the Bottlemen who played Plug the week after us.”
Despite other bands having more likes on Facebook, Ellie said that a lot of their fans come to see them play regularly, and are really dedicated.
And she is not wrong – one fan has actually had lyrics from their song Santiago Skyline tattooed on his leg. For a band only in their early days – that’s pretty bizarre.
Gigs can too be stressful though, and although they said the chance to play Tramlines festival was an amazing opportunity, by the end of it and after fitting six gigs into three days, Joe had no voice and Tom’s fingers were wrecked with blisters.
Tom said: “Most of our best memories are the trips”. He then went on to reminisce about the time that the band nearly left him behind in order to make a gig on time. “Our parents got so pissed off with taking us out that we now have to lug our stuff around ourselves on public transport, and it took some getting used to.”
The Future
On March 6th 2015, the day of their first official single release for ‘1984’, The Fontaines are headlining what will be their biggest gig yet at Sheffield’s iconic venue The Leadmill.
The furthest they have played so far is Selby – where the boys admit to often spending time wandering around looking for the weirdest street names.
But they will soon be venturing out of Yorkshire, with plans of a mini tour this year that will hopefully hit cities including London, Manchester and Leeds, and of course ending in Sheffield, to tie in nicely with their release of their first single.
Time was ticking and the band had rehearsals to get back to – but Tom had one thing to add “I just want to say that I think we’re all quite excited about being in a band, it’s just really great and lots of good things have come of it.
The band and crew are just one big family, and I wish them the best of luck.
Shuffle 