Up-Load UK, Gigs News & reviews The Hustle Interview

Upload	What are the band member’s names and what are their roles ?
The Hustle	Lewis Fall (Vocals & Guitar), Wrighty (Lead guitar), Thom Rowlands (Keys) Phil Davies (Bass) and Gethin Hale (Drums)
Upload	How long have you been together and how did you start the band?
Lewis	We formed The Hustle in 2005; at the time myself, Wrighty, Phil and Gethin were already in a band together but after a couple of line-up changes we’d outgrown the name and needed a fresh start, so we recruited Thom to help change the dynamic, drew a line under what had gone before and formed a new band to make it feel new again – one of those New Yardbirds to Led Zeppelin situations, basically. Myself and Phil were in the same school and have been working together since the turn of the century, Wrighty was recruited after a drunken jam at University when I realised he could fingerpick better than me, and Gethin was found through one of those processes of Chinese whispers that can only happen in the South Wales Valley.
Upload	So who are your main influences?
Wrighty	Influences are a strange thing with us. We all have different stuff we listen to, but then when we’re writing we usually start with one thing in mind and find that it turns into something completely different, then we wonder how it actually happened. We usually find out our songs are influenced by when other people tell us! I listen to stuff like The Killers, Radiohead, Reef and Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lewis grew up with classic rock like ELO and Eagles, Phil is into early Aerosmith, Pink Floyd and more recently bands like Franz Ferdinand, but when playing he drags in funk and disco influences, Thom is a huge Beatles fan and is into pianists like Ben Waters, Elton John and Jools Holland, while Gethin has grown up with punk and Americana – Blink 182, Fall Out Boy, Jimmy Eat World and bands like that. Somehow everything meets up in the middle, but we’re yet to discover how.
Upload	Which other bands do you admire and why?
Lewis	At the moment I admire Kids In Glass Houses because they’ve done really well for themselves in signing a major record deal, they’ve got loads of potential and they’ve got their whole musical career in front of them.
Wrighty	The Rolling Stones – they’re alive…
Phil	At the moment I admire Aerosmith because they’re about the only band with the same line-up they had in 1971 which is no mean feat, and bands like Franz Ferdinand and The Killers because you can tell in their live shows that they made it the hard way and not the quick-fix X Factor way. They’re not afraid to try different things and not just emulate other bands, and if you can still be true to yourself in an image-conscious industry then you’ve done well in my book.
Thom	The Beatles, because I hope that in 40 years our music is still popular and relevant.
Upload	Is there any other band or individual that you would like to work with?
Phil	Girls Aloud. Five of us, five of them. Do the maths. I get Cheryl.
Gethin	Counting Crows, Just because they are all such quality musicians.
Upload	Where do you see yourselves, career wise, this time next year?
Thom	Hopefully in the right place at the right time.
Upload	You have an album called ‘Things I Wish Were Mine’ out in May, Have you started recording yet? and how is it working with the producer Romesh Dodangoda, who has worked with other great Welsh bands such as Manic Street Preachers, The Blackout, Kids In Glass Houses & Dopamine?
Lewis	The album’s all done and we’re more than happy with it. Hopefully it’ll be out in May but it’s a case of finding the necessary backing to help it along. Romesh is fantastic to work with, he’s a great producer who knows how to extract the best out of you as a musician. I’d say his most annoying habit is managing to get your gear sounding better than you can make it sound. He brings ideas to the table and does the best for the songs, and he’s more than happy to tell it to you like it is.
Upload	Are there any other countries you would like to tour in and why?
Gethin	Any chance to tour and wake up in a new city every day would be cool.
Upload	If you could swap places with someone for a day, who would it be and why?
Lewis	I’m quite happy being me at the moment.
Phil	I’d like to swap places with Lewis then.
Upload	If you could never play music again, what do you think you would do with your life?
Lewis	I’m writing up a PhD in Exercise Physiology so I’d quite like to pursue that.
Thom	Teach music.
Wrighty	Lecturing.
Phil	Spend my days reminiscing about how I used to be able to play music.
Gethin	Teach Music or A Cage Fighter.
The Hustle	Yeah whatever you say Geth…
Upload	If you were a superhero what would your name be and what special powers would you have?
Lewis	I’d be Green Lantern. He’s the best Superhero ever. Fact.
Phil	Captain Normal. I’d have the ability to get to places on time.