Your Army are a female fronted 4 piece from Brighton, who play a blend of riff heavy modern rock with classic touches, great big hooks and catchy melodies, something the band describe as Dirty Rock! After working hard touring and building up a large live following they signed to German label Intono, and in April released debut single and video ‘No Good’, a great track with a kick ass chorus that you can check out below. They have recorded their debut album with Ace from Skunk Anansie and I reckon this band have a great sound and could be huge, so we grabbed them to ask them some questions.
Who are you and what do you do? Lucy is the singer, Andy on drums, Chris on guitar and Si on Bass.
Where did the bands name come from? We actually used to have a song called Your Army when we first started that was inspired by Radiohead’s “You and whose Army”. We needed to change our original name (Exodus) as we found another band with the same name and just thought it was really strong.
How did you get started? We started out the old fashioned way! We were all friends from college who started writing music together, we moved to Brighton and starting sending out demos to venues to get gigs and out to radio stations to get them to play our music. We then gigged as much as we could, recorded home made demos and toured around the UK in our van that would break down in every town!
What have you got going on at the moment? We’re flying out to Germany late June to film our second music video for our next single “One Last Time” which is very exciting and then we’ll be back over there in the summer for some festivals. After that, we have our album coming out and then we’ll be touring in November.
Favourite music and why? Anything with energy, a great beat and a decent vocal. Rage Against the Machine for all these reasons! It’s intense and passionate. Also we big fans of Billy Talent, incredibly tight band with huge riffs. Alien Ant Farm! Anthology was such a good album!
Favourite book and why? I don’t know if the guys have even read a book for about 10 years! We’re not big book readers which sounds really ignorant but I feel ashamed to pick out a favourite book out of the 3 I’ve read!
Favourite film and why? Simon’s is Scarface or Lock Stock – gangster films or anything with a bit of grit. Also fantasy films like Tron. Chris is a James Bond guy, also loves the Bourne trilogy – something cool and clever. Lucy has a collection of naff! So Muriels Wedding, Waterworld, Sex and the City.
Best experience in the business? Being signed for the first time to our label Intono Records. It was the best feeling to have a group of people who believe in our music and have the same excitement about it as we do. They’ve been a huge support for us and have turned into our German family.
Tell our readers an interesting fact about the band? Lucy was actually in a girl band before she joined Your Army and they even competed in the first series of the X-Factor! They did pretty well and got kicked out just before the live show but we won’t tell you the name because it’s too embarrassing.
What’s the best and worst things about touring? You get to do the thing that you love for two weeks solid and pretend you’re a rock star! And get away from real life for a while. Plus we get to meet people who are genuinely interested in the band and enjoy our set which is always great.
The worst thing…sleeping in the back of a van with three other people and not eating decent cooked meals. And we get the most cranky when we’re hungry and tired!
Most embarrassing thing to happen to you while in the band? Andy just has the most unbelievable knack for putting his foot it in and saying something he probably should have kept to himself. So whenever we do radio interviews or meet someone important, we gaffer his mouth up so he doesn’t say something awkward!
What inspires you? Definitely when you hear a fucking good tune, whether it’s a new artist or one of our all time favourite songs, it makes us want to gig and write and work harder! We’re all about energy and excitement with our music so I think that feeling inspires us.
Who are your role models/idols? I (Lucy) admire any female artist who has amazing talent and who has worked hard to become successful. Lauryn Hill, Beyonce and Janis Joplin because they all have the ability to move me with their voice alone and Debbie Harry because she’s just so cool. For Andy it would Muse—his all time favourite band! Or Radiohead, for writing the music they want to write and not being afraid of it.
Hardest thing about the current business? I guess because the industry is so overwhelmed with new talent and new music all the time, it’s hard to get yourself noticed and set yourself above the thousands of other bands trying to achieve the same thing as you! It’s hard not to try to fit in with the latest trend or brand yourself as a gimmick to get to where you want. However, we’re not looking for a quick trip to fame and fortune…the only way to do it is to be authentic, work hard and be good at what you do…and have a thick skin!
Favourite Batman actor? For me (Lucy) it’s Christian Bale! Ever since I saw him in American Psycho I’ve always thought he was so cool. He has that intense, psycho vibe whether he’s playing a good guy or a bad guy!
Any band that name checks American Psycho is cool in my book so have a listen to ‘No Good’ below and make sure you head to the bands website for more info.
