I’m probably a little biased, but I think Wales produces some amazing bands, I get especially excited over some of the new bands and talent that is emerging, there are so many great bands out there right now, and Bridges are definitely one of them.
The band haven’t been together that long but already have a solid reputation as a great live act and the debut EP is eagerly awaited.
They are Ross Dixon – Vocals, Grant Roberts – Guitar, Alyn Evans – Guitar, Liam Toomey – Bass and Martyn Howell – Drums and we spoke to the band to find out all about them.
Who are you and what do you do? We’re Bridges, a 5-piece rock band from across the South Wales valleys.
Where did the bands name come from? Our guitarist, Grant, randomly thought it up just as we were starting out
How did you get started? We fell together from two previous local bands. Our singer Ross and Grant were in one, and our other guitarist Alyn was in a band with our bassist Liam. We found our drummer Martyn selling Big Issues in Cardiff. (We joke – he’s actually our second drummer, both of whom we got lucky in finding, through friends and contacts!)
What have you got going on at the moment? Loads! We’ve just finished recording the songs for our first release, due to be released with a launch show this spring, so we’re really busy getting all that together – artwork, final mixes, merch, launch show planning etc. All that, amongst a fairly busy schedule of gigs through February and March. Plus we’re just about to shoot the video for our first single, through the awesome guys at the Make It Project and Tantrwm. Oh, and we’re beginning writing more new stuff again!
Favourite music and why? Our inspirations, really. We’re digging the local scene and whats coming out of it, but in terms of “bigger” bands and favourite music, we’re all fans of bands like Young Guns, Kids In Glass Houses, Alexisonfire, You Me At Six etc.
Favourite book and why? Where’s Wally. We’re still looking.
Favourite film and why? Anchorman and/or Step Brothers. Just because Will Ferrell.
Best experience in the business so far? Selling out our first headline gig has hit top spot recently. Just getting really positive vibes from everyone we speak to, or who listens to our music, and seeing people sing along at shows. We can’t wait for our EP launch show, hopefully that’ll top the lot.
Why should Soundscape readers care? We’re a bit easier on the ears than a lot of the bands around us! But we’d prefer people to check us out, and then hopefully care because they like what we’re doing!
Tell our readers an interesting fact about the band? 4/5ths of us are musically illiterate!
What’s the best and worst things about touring? We haven’t got a fully-fledged tour under our belts as yet, but from past experiences, the best would be making new fans, and the worst would be the money. Or lack of.
Most embarrassing thing to happen to you while in the band? Our very first original song. Hah! We try to never mention that, and hope absolutely nobody remembers it.
What’s your writing and recording process? We’ll start off with Alyn and Grant coming up with the initial idea. They’ll bounce their ideas back between them either over the internet, or when we get to prac. We try and get the main melodies and guitar parts to Ross beforehand, so he can come up with vocal lines when we all get together to write the song. Then when we all get together, we’ll whip it into shape with drums and bass, before giving it a final definite structure. Then finish off the vocals and melody lines, tweak it, and then nail it down.
What inspires you? Seeing other local bands making names for themselves. We see how thriving the Welsh scene has been in recent years, and look at where bands like Funeral For A Friend have got to, followed by KIGH and The Blackout. Straight Lines are hot on their heels, closely followed by bands like Reaper In Sicily, so seeing those guys getting places really drives us on to follow their lead, one step at a time.
Best thing about coming from Wales? See the answer to our last question. Haha! We’re surrounded by success! Not only by the bands who have gone on to big things, but even the smaller local bands. There’s such a pool of talent across all genres, from acoustic to hardcore and everywhere in between. It’s awesome being a part of that. And I don’t think any of the bands would get anywhere without such passion from our fans. Us Welsh are generally passionate on the whole, with rugby, football and whatnot, and music is no exception.
Who are your role models? Collectively we’ve probably answered this pretty well, but individually, they’d be as follows: Ross – Kelly Jones. Grant – Dallas Green. Alyn – Bon Jovi. Liam – Matt Barnes. Martyn – Dave Grohl.
Hardest thing about the current business? Finding luck. It takes a LOT of hard work and dedication to get and keep the ball rolling, but it’s even harder finding that small slice of luck to really catapult you further.
Favourite Batman actor? We went for a character instead, which is Penguin. He’s rad!
So, that’s, Bridges, definitely a band you need to keep an eye on.
They are playing a headline show to mark the bands first birthday in Elliots Bar, Aberdare on Sunday the 17th of February, so get down and help the band celebrate.
