The Here and Now

Who are The Here and Now? Where you’re from, how you met, how long have you been playing together etc

We’re a 3-piece alternative rock band based in London. Our guitarist, Lee, and myself have been mates for over 10 years since when we went to uni together and we were introduced to Cherry through mutual friends. In 2020 Lee and I had been jamming and writing a couple of original songs together by the time we met Cherry. After she nailed her audition, the 3 of us haven’t looked back since. We’re one of many “pandemic bands” so it was challenging being at the start of a new band during the various lockdowns but that gave us plenty of time to work hard behind the scenes writing a bunch of original tracks before starting to play live together from this year.

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

I initially thought of our name, it’s a lyric in a song by one of my favourite bands. It resonated with all of us as it pretty much sums up why we formed the band in the first place and the basis for a lot of the themes we write about. Sometimes we can all be stuck in the troubles of the past or too focused on the future and letting things that might not even happen in future dictate how we live our lives. We think it’s really important to value each and every day and that we live in the moment more and not take for granted what we have in the here and now. We write songs about our own real experiences and things we go through every day as we navigate through adulthood.

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

Groovy, energetic, catchy, genuine, fun

Who are your biggest influences musically?

Where do we even start!?! We all have such eclectic tastes in music so it’s hard to name everyone who we’ve been influenced by but we’ll give it a go with a few names: Royal Blood, Bloc Party, Foals, Rage Against the Machine, Paramore, Maneskin and the list can go on. Whilst we’re influenced by loads of different artists we’ve been told by a few people we’re a bit different with our sound and so we enjoy being a bit more difficult to pigeon-hole into one specific genre.

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

Our first gig together was at the iconic Spice of Life (The Sex Pistols, Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens) in Soho in April. Between us and the rest of the other great artists we shared the bill with, the night was a sell-out. It was incredible to hear the roar from the crowd throughout our set and even hear some people singing lyrics to our first two singles back to us. After 2 years of songwriting sessions over Zoom and irregular rehearsals because of the pandemic it felt amazing to finally share our music with people live.

What’s your songwriting process?

We all contribute to the songwriting process whether that’s co-writing lyrics together or individually writing songs so we each have our own personal ways of writing when we’re on our own. When we’re together we nearly always start with a main theme for the song or message we want to talk about and then go from there. Often song ideas come from a riff written by Lee or an idea that he and I have jammed together but we also try to sometimes write the music second once we know the feel and mood of the lyrics we’ve written.

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

Cherry: Phoebe Bridgers or Arlo parks – they are incredible live and I want front row tickets! I also want to be the third singer the next time they hit the stage together at a festival.

Rich: If I could tour with Blink 182 or Red Hot Chili Peppers, I’d have a front row spot every night seeing my favourite drummers Travis Barker or Chad Smith which I’d never get tired of.

Lee: I’d tour with AC/DC. 1) Any tour they now do would likely be their farewell tour and to see them up close and personal would be a dream. 2) The parties would be WILD!

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

Cherry: Dave Grohl on drums, Pete Wentz on bass, Jack Black on guitar, and Hayley Williams being my bestie on vocals just because I can.

Rich: Travis Barker on drums, Flea on bass, Dave Grohl on guitar/vocals, Michael Kiwanuka on guitar/lead vocals

Lee: Joey Jordison (Drums), Cliff Burton (Bass), Tom Searle (Guitar), Layne Staley (vocals)

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

We might talk about some pretty deep themes in some of our songs but we’re all about making songs that people can bop their heads and get moving to when we play live. Expect fun, catchy guitar hooks, energetic drum beats and big vocals that you can get singing along to.

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

We’re pretty chilled out pre-gig, we usually just talk about the set together for the last time over a drink and we always make sure to watch any artists that are playing before us to support them and to psych ourselves up.

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

Cherry would like a Coke Zero tap and only green blue and orange peanut butter M&Ms.

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?

We did this on our socials a few months back and discovered the following guilty pleasures for each of us, some slightly surprising and some not so much…

Lee: Caribbean Queen – Billy Ocean

Rich: Kelly Clarkson – Miss Independent

Cherry: Anything by Taylor Swift (which she does not feel guilty about at all)

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

Even though Lee and I have known each other since 2011 we’d never actually heard each other play our instrument until 2020 when we started the band (if only we’d started playing together sooner).

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

You can find us on your favourite music streaming platforms and on Instagram at @thehereandnow_band which is where you’ll find all of our updates and news.

Finally, What does the future hold for the band?

We’re recording our debut EP which will be dropping later this year and have some more shows lined up at some legendary venues across London and across the country eventually too.