OWES

Who are OWES? Where you’re from, how you met, how long have you been playing together etc

3/4 of us are from Hemel Hempstead. Jack (drums) and I met at school and basically just wrote music for two years instead of studying the GCSE course. When I left, Jack entered us into battle of the bands, without a band, in February 2020. I dragged Callum (guitar) into the equation. Obviously as soon as we started we had to stop, which gave us time to just think and write. Luke (bass) joined a year and a bit later to cement us as this.

Who came up with the band name and does it have a story or any meaning behind it?

I needed a name for a folder where some of the early songs were saved, and wanted something concise which could be written in capitals. OWES was the first thing that came to mind. That’s the boring truth of it sadly. There’s also a million and one connotations to the word too. I like the ambiguity of it I think. It was the same case with the shade of pink – it wasn’t particularly thought through at all but it’s come to be strangely prominent.

If you had to describe the band using just five words, what would they be?

Five words aren’t nearly enough.

Who are your biggest influences musically?

I think it’s safe to say all of us were well and truly engulfed by the new wave of post punk since it kind of exploded, what, 5ish years ago? IDLES, Fontaines D.C. and Shame are pretty obvious influences. Besides that, anything from The 1975 and Arctic Monkeys to Tom Waits and Demob Happy. We like a lot of music. Luke produces a fair bit of house as well. It kind of drives how we create I guess, in terms of straddling genres somewhat. From a personal perspective, it seems insane to stick to making one thing when what I consume jumps from The Dillinger Escape Plan, to Al Green, The Pogues and everything surrounding/in between.

What’s the band’s biggest claim to fame so far?

I’m not sure that we have one to be honest! Just generally people seeing us at shows we go to and talking to us about when they saw our set is always nice. Someone also sent us a photo of a bloke wearing our t-shirt at SXSW in Texas, which is nice to see so early on.

What’s your songwriting process?

I’d love to say there’s an entire elaborate process where there’s an intensity and proper graft to it but it’s little more than a process of purely messing about for however long it takes. Sometimes it’s a case of someone playing a chord or a riff and it just registers something, I don’t know what. I structure it and write lyrics and it’s done in half an hour, other times songs sit on the back burner for months on end. There’s some which aren’t going to be out for ages which were written 2/3 years ago. We kind of just collect songs as and when they get written. It can start with anything. Whatever I hear in my head, I get on to an instrument and paper. From there, Jack makes stuff sound pretty and that’s honestly how it’s been since we were about 16 doing demos on an iPhone or a painfully slow school mac. Nothing much has really changed in that sense.

If you could go on tour with any current band or artist, who would it be and why?

I’m going to try and be sensible rather than sensational. I’m reluctant to say Foo Fighters or someone like that (but if they want to take us on tour, that’s fine by me) because it’s obvious. They’re brilliant and they’re massive.

I like the idea of touring with Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes. Frank has been huge for all of us, all the way back to early early memories of blasting Orchestra of Wolves. I definitely think you can hear the influence in our music. They’re a top band, and being from Hemel as well there’s just a certain ring to it as an idea. They’re the type of thing that makes you believe it’s possible, when ‘something’ is from where you’re from.

If you could put your dream team band together consisting of any musicians from the past or present who would the band members be?

There’s going to be a load of clashes in this, but let’s make it interesting. Let’s have Bernard Purdie on drums, Ray Manzarek with some keys, David Gilmour and Johnny Marr on guitars, Doug Wimbish on bass with Jack White fronting. Also having Clarence Clemons on sax and a percussion section where you just leave Paoli Mejias and Eddie Brown with whatever they want to do whatever they please.

How would you describe your live show to someone who has never seen you perform before?

Creative eccentricity whilst being reserved is what we go for with basically everything we do. I’ve never watched us live, so I don’t know what we’re like. Hopefully not complete shit. But from where the four of us are on stage we like to be high energy and erratic whilst keeping it really clean cut and sleek. So yeah, whatever the word for all of that is.

Do any of you have any pre-gig or post gig rituals? If so, what and why?

At least one of us ends up in a really irritatingly hyperactive mood, from just before soundcheck. Usually Callum or Jack. So most of the time is spent babysitting whoever it is on the night. Before a show we’re painfully predictable really. Just marauding between the bar, the back and the smoking area. Immediately before we go on, I don’t really know. Everyone kind of just disappears and then turns up again with a minute to spare, checks monitors and goes on.

What would your ultimate rider be if you could have anything without being accused of being a diva?

Something along the lines of that mental Oasis rider. You must’ve seen it, they had everything. Additions of Buckfast, Jameson and Desperados would be the only major changes I think.

This question is for all band members. If we were to browse your music library what is the most embarrassing song we might find? Or who is your guilty pleasure artist?

For me, 22 by Taylor Swift. Bonkers tune. Callum reckons Written in Blood by BMTH. Jack’s is Beauty and a Beat by Justin Bieber & Nicki Minaj, and Luke’s one is Toxic by Britney Spears.

Tell us one thing your fans would be really shocked or surprised to hear or learn about the band

I guess just that we’re rarely in the same room as each other. We’re dotted about the south of England a lot of the time so just make time as and when. We don’t use amps either. That’s probably the main one which raises eyebrows a lot of the time.

If people want to check you out online, where is the best place to go?

We’re on everything, but Instagram is probably our most lively platform.

Finally, What does the future hold for the band?

We’ll see I suppose. Nothing we’re not ready for.