Fashion Tips are a riot grrrl punk band based in both Leeds and Newcastle, they are made up of Esme (lead vocals and keys), Liam (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Callum (lead guitar and backing vocals).
1. What inspired you all to get into music?
L - Going to gigs at a very early age in the 00s and thinking music would remain a viable career forever.
C - Being so bad at sports that my parents forced me to learn guitar.
E - Britpop was the first music I liked as a kid. I was a curious child, so that led me into “indie” more broadly, then it was Nirvana and Hole and Sonic Youth and a copy of Our Band Could Be Your Life. A fast track to punk rock brain damage.
2. What are your plans for the rest of the year?
C - Gig with Fashion Tips and start composing music for another indie game.
L - Recording an album and a split EP with band friends <3
E - I hope to play more cities we haven’t yet reached as well. Liam and I relocated to Leeds this year, so we’re really excited to get more involved in the amazing DIY scene here, and to go places we couldn’t get to as easily before. Our last mini-tour was easily our best, it’s reassuring to know that there’s still a place for a band like ours in the world.
3. What has been the highlight of your career so far?
L - Watching our first LP get pressed on vinyl in the machine.
C - Joining the band of course, and going on tour down south.
E - Not to be cheesy but it is literally about the friends we made along the way. The only success we really prioritise is how we’re feeling. You can do something that sounds like a big deal on paper, but what’s the point if it makes you miserable? We try to work with the idea that we’re building a big network of friends. Everything else seems fake at best and poisonous at worst.
4. Who do you turn to for inspiration music wise?
E - I mostly listen to punk rock in a broad sense, but we’re all huge nerds so our tastes are all pretty varied. I think we’re a punk band that writes pop songs. On this new record we’ve also taken a lot of inspiration from dance music, especially UK bass stuff, jungle, grime, garage etc. I connect most with underground music. You don’t know the secret stories people have had with those tunes, it’s significant to their lives in all these private ways. I’m obsessed with that. It doesn’t matter if it’s a riot grrrl 7” or an old club banger.
L - Older punks, I’m mostly listening to Deerhoof right now.
C - If I’m ever feeling stuck for inspiration, I always listen to Tin Drum by Japan, or some Yellow Magic Orchestra.
5. Who is your favourite upcoming band / artist you hope others check out?
L - Wormboys, Wormboys, Wormboys! And Ubiquitous Meh!
C - Pink Poison are a good band from Newcastle.
E - We played with a band called Ghost Car recently that captured my entire heart with their Slampt-y, Lung Leg/Black Cat #13 vibe. I really regret not scooping their LP, it’s great. Also, Unmarry Me from Brighton, England are about to be your new favourite band, I promise.
Written by Kay
Post a Comment