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Ravenface Interview


Ravenface Interview

Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (https://petesrocknewsandviews.com)

Tell us about the origins of Ravenface.

Originally we started a long time ago back in 2009 but the band as you know it today was really formed coming off the back of a long hiatus in late 2016.

Myself (James) and Jack were original members and the original song writers in the band, we pretty much hand picked members from other touring groups we knew would be great for the project. Adam came from The

Colour Line, Cameron played drums in a band comprised of a lot of the members of another project of mine so that one was a no-brainer. And we stole Leah from Stuttgart in Germany, which obviously makes practicing a bit of a challenge but based on her work as an outstanding guitarist and in her project Aliases, there was no way we couldn’t have her on board

 

What is it like being a band in Blackpool, is there a lot of support from venues etc for up and coming bands like yourselves?

Blackpool music scene has definitely been through a renaissance the past few years. It was thriving when we started back in 2009/2010 the first time, then it died down a bit. The guys at Bootleg Club have really done a great job of bringing underground music shows back to Blackpool and these days they’re pretty thriving. We have some rad bands here too, guys like Strange Bones and Ska Face pack out shows here.

 

Who or what are your musical influences?

All of us have a hugely differing taste in music / influences:

 

James: I listen to and absorb so much music during the process of writing and producing an album it’s almost impossible to write out. I’ll borrow String/ambient ideas from film soundtrack composers, song structure and hooks from pop music, production tricks from dubstep and electronic music etc. There’s very little music out there I can’t appreciate at least some element of.

 

Adam: The weirder the better for me. Jamie Lenman, Mike Patton & Frank Zappa I would say are my regular go to artists in whatever incarnation they have released music. But as a bassist I adore trip-hop, neo-soul, disco, funk etc. Thundercat is amazing, Victor Wooten & Marcus Miller. But at the same time I’m a huge fan of Black Peaks, The Dillinger Escape Plan & Three Trapped Tigers. I’m influenced by everyone mentioned above; right through to the local bands like Dividum & 99% Cobra to name two. Ultimately I’m looking for passion in performance, along with exceptional song-writing skills and musicianship.

 

Cameron: The Night Game Bruno Mars Chvrches Toto Prince (Self Titled album is amazing!) Bruce Hornsby Madeon Zedd Starset

 

Jack: I love tonnes of stuff but top of the list are Coheed & Cambria, Avenged Sevenfold and all the cheesiest 80’s pop a human can consume on a daily basis. Michael Bolton is a time lord.

 

Leah: Cher, Justin Bieber, Devin Townsend, Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, Extreme, Kanye West, Status Quo, Death, Nile, Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death, Cryptopsy, Aqua, Infant Annihilator, Bach, A Perfect Circle, Eifel 65, Kittie, Scatman, Faith No More, Fleetwood Mac, Dillinger…. I’d say they’re my top influences….

 

‘Breathe Again’ is your third album, did you approach the recording of this one differently to its predecessors? & Who writes the songs, how do they ‘come about’?

Production is ultimately down to James the singer who also provides the majority of the backbone of the pieces of music however the writing process is shared between our instruments. Leah in particular had brought a tonne of excellent ideas to the table including full songs which then were distributed between all of us to argue for or against ideas. Ultimately, it is a progression. Like any band; they must write what they think is right at that point in their lives. The new album I think for us has been a breath of fresh air, allowing ourselves to explore a different side to our musical abilities. With new members, all of us have had a say in the writing process. New musical angles will be brought to light and in all honesty the production of the record became much more linear and a very exciting process especially with the distance in which all of us live.

 

What has the reaction been like for the album?

Outstanding so far. We really do have the best fans and they have rightly given their opinion for / against the tracks we’ve produced this time around; with the majority leaning towards positivity. Just like any bands producing material in the modern day it will never be everyone’s cup of tea but at the end of the day as long as people have listened and formulated their own personal educated opinion who are we to disregard that. It’s the trolls across social medias that effectively shot themselves in the foot as nine times out of ten a genuine fan will come along and provide an educated reasoning as to why the trolls comment is ridiculous!

 

What plans are there to promote the ‘Breathe Again’?

Well we’re going to tell two friends, and they’ll tell two friends and so on… and so on…

 

What has been your proudest moment in music?

After a long wait to release Breathe Again it shot to #2 in the iTunes rock chart. Any moment like this is enough to remind us all to be proud of the hard work we put in, we are beyond thankful for everyone who listens to our music.

 

How is 2019 looking for Ravenface?

With ‘Breathe Again’ having just dropped, we will be looking to tour it and really begin our next chapter as a band. We are already in talks of writing new songs together so it will be a busy time for us for sure – we want to keep the momentum going and hopefully keep everyone as hyped as we are for the future!

 

What song do you wish you had written and why?

Leah : Probably ‘Kiss From A Rose’ by Seal for ALL of the reasons! Not sure if I’d have written it the vocals would have been performed quite so well though so I’ll let him keep that!

Adam : ‘Windows start and shut down tune’ so I could retire within half a day of the operating system coming on to general sale.

 

Who is your Rock God?

Leah : I personally would have to say Devin Townsend, if any one person on this earth was made far too talented for their own good then it’d be this guy. He can certainly do no wrong in my eyes!

Adam : Prince; as I’ve pretty much lived my entire music career by one of his quotes – “if I want to hear a certain type of music, I’ll go and make it”

 

Why should we check out Ravenface?

Cause we said so. In all seriousness though, we have put a lot of time and effort into this release and it’s safe to say we’ve made something we’re all incredibly proud of!

 

Any message to the readers of this post?

Yes. Thank you for your enduring patience waiting for this album to materialise. I’m happy to finally be able to have a date to mark on the calendar, that being November 30th, and I hope it both meets and exceeds everyone’s expectations.

Ravenface links:

Band location – Blackpool England

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