The Magic Gang live at The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham

My photo of frontman Jack Kaye 

This post first featured on Little Indie Blogs. To view the original click here

I think it goes without saying that The Magic Gang are one of the most talked about unsigned bands around right now. However, if their live shows are anything to go by, I'm placing my bets that in no time at all they're sure to be one of the most talked about signed bands.

VITAMIN are another much talked about band, who have emerged over the last 18 months as a fine support - as they prove once again tonight. In fact, the six-song set is so well-received by their Brum fans that they could easily have been the headliner. With an enthused crowd behind them they moved through both more familiar songs like 'This Isn't Love', ‘To Believe’ -their latest EP title track - to their new single 'Waterfall'. Their show is sharp, lustrous and in Jared Lavelle they have a charismatic frontman.

This was my fourth time seeing Brighton's The Magic Gang, and on each occasion they have seemed tighter and more experienced than the previous time. Tonight is no exception. They opt to throw in some of their new material with the highly addictive 'It Isn't Easy', 'All This Way', 'Only Waiting' and 'Blue For You'; each tune possessing The Magic Gang trademark sound and containing the quality to cause their oh-so-familiar contagious and uncontrollable singalongs. It is rare to see a band's untried and unfamiliar songs being as well-received as theirs, with fans giving just as much energy (if not, more) than with their older tracks and shouting along as best as they could.

My photo of the band in full swing

The vibe created by listening to their music at home is one that couldn't differ more to their live performance as it is anything but laid-back. Despite this, the same amount of positivity can be felt as hearty singalongs echoed throughout the tiny venue as it was as if it was struggling to hold up with every single line being thrown back at the band as if the crowd had written their songs. It's clear that these guys are having the time of their lives and are enjoying every second with whole band beaming with constant laughs and smiles plastered across their humble faces; which I must say was contagious.

As they close with classic crowd favourite 'No Fun', they give one last frantic burst with frontman Jack Kaye patrolling the stage motioning for the crowd to sing even louder. With the crowd willingly going along with his urging, chaos inevitably broke out with fans being pushed on stage causing mic stands to fall over and leads to be pulled out of guitars. As frantic as it was, neither the band or their fans showed any signs of slowing down. Magic? You got it!

An Interview with Willie J Healey

Meet Willie J Healey, a new 21 year old solo artist putting his own spin on hazy surf-rock. He's recently been signed and has two EP's out so far, one of which he supposedly recorded in his garage at home.

Photo credit to Itunes

I went down to The Sunflower Lounge last night to watch Willie support Beach Baby in Birmingham and having seen him play live once before, I knew that I was in for a good show. His highly enjoyable and tight performance consisted of all round chilled vibes including the upbeat and high energy 'Dude Like Him', producing a feel-good atmosphere alongside his clear enthusiasm and cheeriness throughout. His easy-going tone continued with the much welcomed and more laid back 'Subterraneans', channelling Mac Demarco and The Beach Boys vibes throughout the room. I would definitely say he's one to watch and I'm expecting big things from him  in the near future.

I caught up with the man himself when he came offstage after his performance to ask him a few questions, have a read below on what he had to say.

First of all well done, I really enjoyed your set. The crowd seemed to like it too, how does it feel having people reacting like that to your shows?

Thank you! It was really fun. But it's nice; it's kinda weird to see people singing a long because I don't really have that much of a fanbase at the moment so it's kind of rare but when people do, it does make me smile.

I noticed that you mentioned on stage that this was your second time in Birmingham, how do you like it here?

Yeah it seems pretty cool. It's nice being able to go to all of these places but I never get to spend much time anywhere though, so all these cities seem the same in a way cos you're just in and out. So I have been to Birmingham but I haven't been to Birmingham, I've only been to The Sunflower Lounge - twice. I like this place though, It's so loud in there, you guys need ear plugs too I think.

I first found out about you after seeing you support The Magic Gang at 100 Club in London. How was that show for you?

It was really cool! It was our first show with them as I didn't really know much about them before but it was really nice. But 100 Club is pretty legendary, isn't it? All of the big dogs have played there so it felt nice to be there. The crowd was really cool too. It's nice to play to younger audiences 'cos they seem to move and dance around a lot more.

How has 2016 been so far for you musically?

Pretty cool so far. I've just been recording a lot and gigging; not too many gigs yet though, but I think we're gonna have a few more tours coming up soon. I signed a deal just before Christmas and that was wicked so I guess it's business time now, well kinda.

Have you come across any obstacles yet?

I'm kinda lucky cos I used to work for my dad and I think the biggest obstacle for people starting out is making money. But no not really, I guess the whole getting signed thing usually results in a lot of outside opinions so that can be an obstacle; like when someone says "Go and write a three minute song instead of a four minute one" but no-ones really said anything to me like that. I guess the only obstacle would be not gigging but that's not really an obstacle, is it? That can be achieved.

I think it's quite rare to see many solo artists these days as a pose to groups of people in bands, do you have any words of wisdom for other aspiring solo artists out there?

I guess to try and write a load of songs; you can't make all of your songs excellent but I just try and  make as many as I can whenever I can and try and record it all. Also try and be in as many projects as you can and I think just enjoy it too, really; cos if you're just aiming for Wembley then you're not gonna enjoy anything so just enjoy it as it comes.

So if you could start a band project alongside your solo stuff, who would you choose to be in it with you?

Well I really like the band I play live with now so this is hard but if it was a super-group then I'd have Willie Nelson upfront with me so there'd be two Willies. On bass I'd have my bassist that I have now - Alex Train cos I'm quite lucky with him, he has the sweetest bass too have you seen it? It's like a tear drop; I think that's been the highlight of the set for most people.

I quite like the music video for Subterraneans, did you set out aiming to approach the meaning of the song with it or was it just a bit random? (click here to watch)

It was all a bit rushed to be honest with you, not to make it sound shitty or anything. I just had to come up with something quite quickly and my industry folks told me that I needed to make one so I just went straight into it. I did it twice actually cos the first one was really really really boring, even more boring than the one I have now. But I thought that I'd at least need to try and have fun with it so I brought the cake into it. It seems like so long ago now though like I'm not really that into it myself anymore but I'm glad you like it, there's some funny moments in there.

My photo of Willie J Healey and his band 

Have you found a common theme so far when writing music?

Not really no, I guess I watch a lot of films so they influence me. I live in a town that's lovely and all but it's a bit dead. So really I just use films and my imagination and just try not to get too cheesy; that's my regular thought like - is this sounding too cheesy? but hopefully they don't.

I read an article about you where you'd written a massive apology letter to your neighbor about the chaos you caused involving his fish, wife's clothes and your limosine. What was that all about? (you can read what I'm talking about here)

Ah yeah, that was all made up. Cos you know how with most bands it's like "This is Willie J Healey from Oxford, he's 21 years old and he's been playing guitar since he was fourteen" So I just tried to do something a little different and more interesting. I just think who really cares about that stuff? When I first find out about a new artist I don't immediately think "I wanna go and read their bio" so yeah I just tried to be different and a bit more light-hearted. I know it's not extremely different but it was fun anyway.

Of course there's been the sad news about Prince, did that effect you in any way? Was he an influence to you?

In all honesty, not really. It's of course a shame though when someone as influential as himself dies and I totally get how good he was so I got it when everyone in the van was sad. But I haven't really had my Prince phase yet. Cos you know how there's a few obvious bands like The Smiths, Prince and a bunch of others who I'm sure at some point I will be into but at the moment I'm not. It was a real shame though like we played a gig on the same day and it felt a bit wrong.

So who would you say was your biggest musical influence?

Probably Neil Young. He's a bit of a 70's rocker but I really like the the way he deals with everything and his mindset. My friends and family are obviously influences too. And films as I said; I love old films and sci-fi ones a bit. Mostly just American films.

And Finally, you said earlier that you'd be doing more shows so is there any chance of you coming back here soon?

We haven't got anything booked yet but it's on the circuit so we'll definitely be back cos I'd like to but I'm just not sure when yet. Hopefully soon.


You can listen to Willie J Healey on Spotify here
Or check his music out on iTunes here

Written by Rosie Mulhern

An Interview with VITAMIN

This post was first released on Little Indie Blogs. Click here to view the original.

Leeds-born and bred indie-pop band VITAMIN have been causing quite a stir recently due to their rising success. Previously on tour with Sundara Karma and Rat Boy, the band are currently on the road with The Magic Gang across the UK, where they'll surely be catching the ears and interest of many more to add to their growing fanbase. No doubt part of their set will contain effervescent new single 'Waterfall'. Released last Friday (April 15), the track was recorded in Leeds and produced by Rich Turvey.

With the VITAMIN sound almost literally bursting with enthusiasm and euphoric guitar pop, it really is a slice of synth heaven - firing constant summery vibes all around; not to mention frontman Jared Laville's unique vocals adding an edge to it all.

I caught up with Jared recently to hit him up with a few questions. Have a read below about what he had to say. 

So, to kick off, Jared, how are all you guys since I saw you last at the Birmingham instore?
Very well, thank you! Had a lot of fun in Birmingham.


Has it been a busy time for you, with touring and recording - and no doubt doing endless interviews like this one!I never stop! We've been working on everything at the moment: artwork, videos, writing, recording - and, of course, interviews. And we start touring again! Theo and Cam have been starting up 'Brother and Sisters' (their club night), although we say it's more of a party - and everyone's invited.

You mentioned artwork there, and I do like the unusual theme of vegetables and sweets in your covers. Where did that come from? For example, with your debut EP 'Giving It Up', the cover features a broccoli covered with hundreds and thousands. That is a bit...well...bizarre, no?! Is there a subtext to it?
I randomly stumbled across Wendy's [Amsterdam-based illustrator, Wendy Van Santen] work on a blog and it immediately caught my eye; it's hard for it not to. I instantly connected with it and to me it felt so relevant to our music in the way of having something so overtly sugary sweet on top, and then something a little more sobering underneath. For those EPs it was the perfect visual for the music. 

For those not having seen VITAMIN before, how would you describe your live show? 
Our gigs are parties. We make our biggest impact live, it's where our songs completely come to life and similarly for myself. I love the stage, I love being on stage and I love connecting with people so directly by singing right there in front of them. I want people to come away feeling they've seen a real performance, I want people to be wowed. 

I am sure they will certainly be wowed! Is performing live a big part of why you do what you do, or do you prefer making music, the writing and recording part of it?
I love it all. For me, they all work in perfect harmony together. If you've been locked up in a studio for months, then all you want to do is be out on the road, and vice versa. I don't think at this point in my life I could do just one, I need that stimulation from the variety; they each have their moments and one complements the other. 

Is there a message you try to get across with your music, or is it more about the sound? Honesty is all I aim for in our music. As long as I and the rest of the boys believe in it, that's all that matters.

You have said that the band originally started just as a means of offsetting boredom. The music scene in and around Leeds has been quite healthy for some time, what or who were the inspirations that got VITAMIN hyped up to do something of their own?We started VITAMIN for the same reason every young girl or boy starts a band: because they love music, they love writing music, playing music - whatever gets you hot. It has simply been my dream to be a musician, be in a band, since I can remember. I've been in a band since I was 10! Then when you start developing and meeting people you realise that the sky is the limit, and that in itself motivates and inspires me. I'm not afraid to admit that I want us to be a big band. 

You haven't been doing too badly so far on working towards that! What is influencing you right now? Are there any certain styles or artists that you look at and think you'd like to try a variation of?
My biggest influences come from my childhood and growing up, and the records my mum would play around the house. A lot of soul records such as The Isley Brothers, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Tracy Chapman... I'm also a huge Björk fan: the level of honesty in her music is so inspiring. I would hate for us to be a 'variation' of something, that seems pointless to me, we will always strive for something new. 

Where do you usually get your song writing inspiration from? Is there a usual process that you follow when writing?
We mix up our process all the time, we write separately, together. In the box, live in the room. Outdoors, indoors. It is so important for us to keep our writing process and surroundings fresh, otherwise how are you supposed create something fresh and vital, if you don't feel that way? 

If, to quote yourselves, 'this isn’t love...then what is that timeless thing called ‘love’?
I'll tell you when I know!

We'll get back to you on that one then! In the meantime, let's go for a few quick ones. Who would you:
a)ask to come and perform a live show with you?
Ladysmith Black Mambazo, no question.

b) like to collaborate with?
Would love to collab with Daft Punk. 

c) have round for a dinner party (dead or alive)?
I bet David Attenborough has impeccable table manners...

d) listen to if you could only listen to one band for the rest of your life?Reckon I'd have to say Michael Jackson on that one.

I gather that you have successfully put on your own club night at the Brudenell in Leeds. Will this be an on-going thing? 
Yeah, as I said earlier, Theo and Cam are taking 'Brothers and Sisters' into the DJ realm starting this month. It was always our vision for 'Brothers and Sisters' to become something more than just a club night, so this is the next stage for it.

VITAMIN have been compared to the likes of Bombay Bicycle Club and The 1975. How do these comparisons rest with you?It's natural for people to compare and I understand why people do it. But I personally would never compare us to either of those bands - I wouldn't compare to us anyone for that matter. I just don't think about that kind of thing, all I think about is, 'Do I like this? Do I believe in this?' And if yes, then it's a win. 

Written by Rosie Mulhern