INTRODUCING: The Fontaines

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 6^th 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.

Foxes live review (Sheffield Leadmill 23/05/14)

Last night Sheffield’s iconic music venue The Leadmill played host to the latest of the UK’s female pop singers to storm the charts – Louisa Rose Allen, known to most as Foxes.

After an energetic set by Glasgow based band Prides (who are definitely worth checking out), Foxes took to the stage looking as beautiful as ever, to a huge reception of screams from the crowd which consisting of males and females of all ages.

‘White coats’, the first real sing a long of the night, really portrayed how powerful her voice is – easily comparable to acts like Florence and La Roux who both show off similar tones and stage setups.

Another track which really stood out to me was ‘Beauty Queen’ – a balled consisting of powerfully belted out lyrics that question people’s judgement based on looks.

Halfway through the show we were treated to an acoustic cover of Pharell’s ‘Happy’ which soon kicked in to the livelier version we all know, and despite my initial disappointment that we weren’t hearing her Eminem cover of ‘Monster’, I was impressed.

One downside I think to the show is Foxes lack of communication with the crowd – but she can be forgiven for feeling slightly intimidated due to the massive success she has experienced in such a short space of time.

In saying this however she certainly makes up for it with her energy on stage! In ‘Youth’ Foxes sings, “don’t tell me our youth is running out” and whilst she dances around the stage and is clearly not running out of youth anytime soon, the crowd in the main were stood still. I don’t doubt for a second that they weren’t enjoying the show, it just wasn’t very lively as they simply watched, most likely in awe of her stunning voice.

Ending the evening on a high with the two most well known tracks – Zedd’s Grammy winning Clarity and her recent top 10 hit ‘Let go for tonight’ the audience finally joined Foxes in doing so; going crazy with appreciation for her brilliant performance.

Sheffield headphone disco vs. The Leadmill

First things first, if you are a student in Sheffield and you didn’t attend this event then I’m sorry to say it but WHY?
It was seriously the best night out I’ve had in ages.

For those who don’t know, a headphone disco (or silent disco) is one where you turn up, pay a small refundable deposit for your headphones and then dance the night away in an otherwise silent club. There are two DJ’s which in this case were Leadmill’s indie vs. chart/pop, which you can switch as you please on your headphones to choose what you’re listening to.

My only experience of one of these parties was in Magaluf last year, and you’d think that would be hard to beat but trust me, after getting there we realised it was in a tiny club, and this along with the fact we hadn’t yet taken full advantage of our free bar when our friend goes and cuts his finger open meant that we chose to leave anyway.

Back to the point, so why was this such a good night? The music was just so good; from The Beatles and The Beach boys to One direction and Nicki Minaj, there was something for everyone. It was so varied that there was never a moment where you didn’t love or know at least one of the songs. One of the best songs that I remember coming on was ‘Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody’ which as you can imagine was a popular one. The atmosphere was awesome, and when you remove your headphones you can see which DJ is winning by what the loudest sing a long is. 

I even remembered to record a few short audio clips for my blog so you can hear that it sounded a little like this…

As you can hear, there’s usually a clear winner in song popularity but definitely had a bit of competition coming from my friends trying to out sing me with their Rita Ora on the other channel. We even had the popular freshers anthem ‘Million Voices’ by Otto Knows, which certainly had everyone going crazy singing those oh so difficult to remember lyrics of ‘Eh eh eh eh eh, ah ah ah ah ah’ for an entire song.

So anyway, if you’re hitting any festivals this summer or hear about anywhere holding a silent disco I highly recommend it, I’ve only been to V festival myself and they didn’t have one but this year I’m going to Leeds fest so it’s definitely not gonna be something I miss!

You don’t have to go out and get smashed, enjoy some live music. (or do both)

Here’s another guide but this time I want to focus on the live music aspect of Sheffield’s nightlife. From a young age I’ve enjoyed going to gigs as often as possible but I’m finding this a lot harder now that I’m trying to live off a student budget. So I’ve written this to give you all an idea about the various live music venues you can visit and what type of thing you can expect to find there, with some being a lot cheaper and more accessible than if you’re used to just seeing bands at big arenas.

The Leadmill
The place where Sheffield’s most famous band began. 
Yes the Arctic Monkeys started out by playing gigs to a few hundred people, and soon they became popular enough to have since played both the arena and stadium here in Sheffield. Leadmill is a fab venue for up and coming bands, but also some pretty well known ones such as Sheffield’s very own Reverend & The makers, The Pigeon Detectives and many more.

UP & COMING:
Bastille 19th March –
Check out my review of the gig here.

More events at Leadmill

O2 Academy
I managed to see Professor Green for £5 here during freshers which was such a good night. The size is perfect, it has a brilliant atmosphere but is still small enough for you to be able to see from wherever you stand. Prices vary but the O2 quite often have well known guests at their Propaganda club night which means it’s the standard £4-5 entry and only £1 drinks.

UP & COMING:
Bowling for soup – 17th October 2013
Tom Odell – 30th October 2013

More events at the O2 Academy

Sheffield City Hall
This venue is home to a variety of entertainment; from musicians to comedians. With a capacity of just over 2000, it’s small enough to feel involved but bigger than your average nightclub.

I will also be attending a McFly concert at the end of April so will later be telling you all about that! From front row may I add. (don’t laugh, I bet you’d all sing along if 5 colours in her hair came on.)
Check out my review here.

UP & COMING:
Leona Lewis 3rd May 2013
Bill Bailey 6th May 2013

More events at Sheffield City Hall

Sheffield Motorpoint Arena

The motorpoint arena accommodates up to 13000 people and is home to the bigger acts, having myself seen bands such as My Chemical Romance perform there in the past and they regularly host performances from the likes of Olly Murs, The Script and One Direction.

UP & COMING:
One Direction – 13th + 14th April 2013
that’s this weekend, somebody come with me PLEASE? I‘m genuinely not joking…

More events at the Motorpoint Arena

Don Valley Stadium
Sadly, Sheffield’s biggest venue has been just this week announced as closing down. Often know as the training ground for Sheffield’s Jessica Ennis, it has also had it’s fair share of major musicians performing there such as (again) the Arctic Monkeys and hosted large events like Sheffield Hallam’s Party in the park.

West Street Live
Interested in finding out about some new musicians in the area? Or you are one yourself needing somewhere to play? West Street Live is your place. They are open every night and entry is FREE and they welcome local and national musicians of every genre. They also offer a variety of unique drinks from what I’ve heard at very good prices.

More events at West Street Live

The Viper Rooms
Similarly to West Street Live, The Viper Rooms offers big opportunities for small up & coming artists, mainly on  a Wednesday when they have a variety of different performers each week, from catchy pop musicians to soulful songwriters.

Plug
Plug isn’t just for the club nights, it also offers a wide range of live shows too. A few weeks back they had Chase & Status performing there and during freshers week I saw Sam & The Womp. (Who? I hear you ask, but you all remember that ‘Bom bom bom’ song…)

UP & COMING:
Gabrielle Aplin -15th march

More events at Plug

Corporation
For the fans of heavier rock/metal/punk music, you need to get yourself down to corp and see what they have to offer.

More events at Corp

Bastille: Live review (19/03/2012 – Sheffield Leadmill)

Over the Christmas holidays, I became familiar with a new band: Bastille. I noticed that they were playing at Leadmill in march and mentioned it to a friend who is a fan of theirs, but then made the school boy error of deciding to wait for our next loan installment before buying tickets,  so you can imagine my disappointment when I went on the Leadmill website to find it had sold out. 😦

I was determined I was going to see them live though, so I kept checking back on the Leadmill website and was lucky enough to find that a few weeks ago there were suddenly two tickets available. Obviously I brought them without a second thought and this is my review of our time seeing them.

Just look at that beautiful face. If that’s not enough to make you want to see Bastille live though then seriously, go download the album because that should do it.

(Just want to add, that photo isn’t mine it’s from here.)

After listening to their debut album ‘Bad Blood’ on repeat constantly in the run up to their gig, I was even more excited. And they certainly didn’t disappoint.

This was the first time I’d been to Leadmill to see a live band, so it seemed really strange seeing it at full capacity, and with us barely able to fight our way through the crowd to get a decent view we definitely regretted not arriving earlier. Coming on stage to an excited and impatient crowd at around 9.30pm, Bastille began with their album’s title track Bad Blood, which called for a major sing along from the crowd and got everyone in the mood. They then went on to play nearly their entire album, plus those such as ‘Poet’ and ‘Sleepsong’ that older fans of the band will know.

My favourite song of theirs is probably ‘Things we lost in the flames’, it’s a ballad track from the album, and hearing it live literally gave me goosebumps. The lead singer Dan Smith, sounds equally as good live if not even better than on the album. ‘Overjoyed’ and ‘Oblivion’ were also amongst my favourites to be performed, with everyone singing along to every word.

They even surprised everyone with a brilliant cover of City High’s ‘What Would You Do?’, this was definitely one of the highlights as with so many of the crowd knowing the song and being clearly impressed at their choice of cover, the atmosphere was amazing.

Unfortunately my camera has been playing up so I was unable to get the quality of pictures and videos that I’d hoped for, but my phone camera isn’t too bad so here’s a clip of it.

They ended on ‘Pompeii’, their number one single at the time and then returned to play another couple of songs, ending on crowd favourite and debut single ‘Flaws.’

Pompeii. (Please excuse my singing)

So yeah, if you get the chance (and they’re playing festivals such as Leeds/Reading) then I highly recommend this band.