There's a fair amount of talent oozing out from Ayrshire in the past year or so, and in amongst that bunch are five piece Brave Young Red. The band do hail from all corners of Scotland, but have got a good history with the music scene in Ayr and are also breaking through into Glasgow and wider afield. Their debut EP 'Roots' was out at the start of this year, and we caught up with the band for a Scottish Fiction chat.
Hello, how are you?
All: We are very well thanks man.
It's the question everyone hates, but could you tell us a little bit about your music and your influences?
James: We find it hard to define what genre or category that our music falls under… So yes we do hate this question! We began as a three piece acoustic group but have developed to include backing vocals, drums, and electric guitars in order to create a much more dynamic and exciting sound. The obvious influences are Frightened Rabbit, Admiral Fallow and we are also huge fans of Fence groups such as Kid Canaveral and Withered Hand. In our spare time we like to close the curtains and rock out to Led Zeppelin or alternatively have a good cry to Aidan Moffat and Bill Wells. So to sum up, we have pretty diverse tastes and influences in music, but if you're a fan of alternative rock, folk, or contemporary Scottish music you'll maybe like us.
What's your song-writing / creative process like?
James: To date, I write all of the material that we play. The group originated based around my efforts as a solo artist and has developed from there so we have pretty much stuck to the same format where I write all of the songs. As an artist I like to challenge myself though, I write songs based on poems, paintings, books, whatever has an impact on me really. I think the rest of the group understand how important the writing process, in particular the lyrics. is to me and just leave me to it! We're still a young band though and every practice we continue to push the boundaries and experiment with different sounds and rhythms. I'm really excited about the new material that we are writing at the minute because everyone is getting involved in rehearsals and I think those who already know us as a group will be surprised to hear how dynamic and just generally different a sound we have produced.
What could we expect to see from a live show?
Angus: Well James is quite partial to talking to about the pandas in Edinburgh zoo… But we've changed quite a bit from when we started. Before you could turn up to hear a nice acoustic band but now we have a much more energised sound which we feel more comfortable playing and have a lot more fun playing whilst we're at it. So to answer your question; a good time!
If it were all to end tomorrow, what would you say has been your greatest achievement?
James: Sucking off a statue of John Lennon with a coffee cup in my left hand during Liverpool Sound City. Angus: My record collection and being able to recite the original three Star Wars films word for word.
Erin: Teaching my dog to sing and being the worst glockenspiel player.
Michael Hepburn & Michael Stewart: Having the same first name in the same band.
What have you got planned for 2013?
Angus: Well we're really excited to being playing up at the HebCelt Fest along with our good pals Rose Parade and Fatherson. We are also looking to record some more material and release it by the end of the year.
What's your favourite shade of red?
Angus: One of our songs (Little Dove) mentions Persian red however I'm quite partial to the red that is in my Darien Venture (RIP) t-shirt I'm wearing right now. The red on the spine of the Neil Young book I'm reading just now is really nice too.
What other artists (Scottish or not) would you recommend to the Scottish Fiction readers?
All: Quickbeam, Blue Rose Code, Evening Hymns, Vasa, Campfires In Winter, Hurray For The Riff Raff, Little Fire (Uncle Sexy), Trusty and the Foe, Mickey 9's.
Thanks for speaking with us, would you care to share a joke with us?
Aye! Why did the man with no arms fall off his bike?
Someone threw a washing machine at him.
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