The Spase Interview
Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (https://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
PD: What type of artist are you?
The Spase: We are are Indie Rock band from Widnes, Cheshire. We’ve never set out to have a particular style or sound but that seems to be where we fit.
PD: Tell us the brief history of yourself.
The Spase: The Spase formed around 2014 and consists of Andy Forrest and Peter Walker. We
also have a third band member who is also the studio engineer and producer of our albums, Simon Morris. The three of us have been in bands together in one form or another since leaving school.
When we formed The Spase, it was initially to record some old songs, from there we continued writing new material and we’re now seeing how far we can go.
PD: Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
The Spase: jus tin general U” and the beatles to put a whole album together its Contemporary music is an influence. Oscar Wilde and Aldus Huxley because of the way they write, imaginative
Sometimes it’s not necessarily that a big name band has influenced us but that we hear a guitar sound or effect and think it might fit in with our songs and give it more diverse sound scape.
PD: What are your dreams and goals?
The Spase: Sleep! To keep recording and to get at least 5 gigs and 5 songs sorted for this year. We’ve decided this year to record and release each song as its done.
PD: Who writes your songs, what are they about?
The Spase: It’s a collaborative effort, although Andy is the main lyricist. All three members have brought ideas to the studio that have gone on to be songs. In general though, the songs are about what everyone else talks about; life, whats in the news and the questions that those things raise
PD: How do you promote your band and shows?
The Spase: Social Media (facebook and twitter) and word of mouth. It’s amazing how much social media plays in getting your music out there, it’s almost a business in itself.
PD: What do you think about downloading music online?
The Spase: the internet has given people access to so much choice and for musicians it allows them to reach people they never thought they would be able to. Being able to download songs is a great thing, as long as the artists are getting the credit they deserve. One train of thought these days is that the music should be free and that bands should focus on making their money/fortune from playing gigs. I’s all about balance really.
Although we released our albums (On A Cloud and Either Side of Right) digitally, we stressed that people could use streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music as it’s more important to us right now that people get to listen to our songs and feedback what they liked and didn’t like so we can develop our sound and style. Those sites also have useful analytics so we can see where people are listening to us so that when it comes to releasing music and playing venues in the future we know who and where we should be targeting.
PD: What’s your outlook on the record industry today?
The Spase: As we are doing this ourselves it’s difficult to say what the industry looks like, we have the same perspective on it as those individuals looking in. If we had to say something it would be that those people starting out have to appreciate the competition and that not everyone is destined for greatness. We’re at the point where we are happy people are listening to us and seem to enjoy the shows that we have played.
PD: What song do you wish you’d written and why?
The Spase: Andy says that he wished he wrote Never Tear Us Apart by Inxs as he started listening to it again after sometime and thinks it’s amazing. Peter: As it’s around Christmas, he wishes he wrote Merry Christmas Everybody by Slade because it would be fantastic to have a song that you could retire on!
PD: What are some of your pet peeves?
The Spase: Being interrupted and drivers not using their indicators correctly!
PD: What is your proudest moment in music?
The Spase: Our proudest moment has always been when we’ve finished an album and get to show it to people. It’s really nice to get constructive criticism after all that time and effort.
PD: Tell us about your next shows and why we should be there.
At present we are still in the planning stages but if people go to our social media and website they can keep up to date as we make further announcements.
The Spase links:
Band location – Widnes England
Check out our page for The Spase
Find more info about The Spase on their Website
Learn more about The Spase on their Facebook page
Listen to The Spase music on their Soundcloud page
Follow The Spase on their Twitter page
