Up-Load UK, Gigs News & reviews Kick Box Riot Interview

Upload	You have only been together just over a year, how did the band get together and did you expect things to move as fast for you as they have ?
KBR	Four of us went to school together and started a band there. Then through playing gigs we met Craig. We stopped playing in our old band and Craig wasn’t in a band at the time so we had a jam, wrote a song and 2 months later played our first gig. So we moved quite quickly from the beginning but we didn’t really have any expectations to do some of the things we have.
Upload	What are the band member’s names and what are their roles ?
KBR	Mike – Vocals, John-Marc – Guitar, Craig – Guitar, Jonny – Drums, Ben - Bass
Upload	You were voted best newcomer band of 2007 by listeners of BBC Radio 1 Wales, what was your reaction to this news?
KBR	We all high fived each other!
Upload	You are appearing at this year’s Wakestock festival alongside bands such as Funeral For A Friend and Elliot Minor. Are you looking forward to playing and which other bands are you hoping to watch ?
KBR	Were really excited to be playing with so many established artists, playing on the same bill as funeral for a friend will be a bit surreal coming from Wales and growing up listening to them. But I’m also looking forward to seeing people like pendulum, its going to be a good weekend.
Upload	Your mini album ‘Seeing Ghosts’ was released on 10th March, have you had many reviews done yet and how are sales going?
KBR	We’ve had good local reviews and feedback on iTunes, we’ve just started press for the album nationwide so hopefully that will go well. Half of the CDs we had pressed have gone in the first few weeks of being available and the launch show itself sold out which is something we didn’t expect at all.
Upload	What is your favourite gig that you have played so far and where else, anywhere in the world, would you like to play a show?
KBR	Probably the launch show, it was in the same venue we played our first gig at less than a year before as the opening act. It was pretty much what we had been working towards since that first gig and we couldn’t have asked for it to go better than it did. I’d like to play a gig on the Great Wall of China, with us like a marching band walking along it. I’m guessing it would take a while. Ultimately worth it in the end though.
Upload	Where do you see yourselves, career wise, this time next year?
KBR	Hopefully in a more full time position with the band, playing around the country a lot more and building ourselves up outside of Wales .
Upload	What sort of music have you grown up listening to and has this influenced your own style ?
KBR	We all listen to really different music to each other. In school we all lent towards the heavier kind of bands and then as we grew up started listening to more of a mix of the heavy stuff, poppy stuff, punky stuff. If I think something’s good I don’t really care what ‘genre’ it’s in. I don’t think we really have a set style intentionally we just tend to sit in a room for a few hours playing and then eventually something happens. Obviously you are influenced by what you listen to, for instance I doubt we’ll end up writing the next bleeding love anytime soon.
Upload	If you could swap places with someone for a day, who would it be and why?
KBR	I was going to say someone who I really admire but I changed my mind, id like to choose Alan Hansen because he gets paid stupid money to moan about football to Gary Lineker, Ian Wright and Alan Shearer all day and to be honest I think that’s quite an easy job by anyone’s standards.
Upload	If you could never play music again, what do you think you would do with your life ?
KBR	Well, I’ve got a degree in graphic design so that would be the obvious choice but I’m sure id try to find something more exciting. Can you be a professional bungee jumper? Probably not; nevermind.