Interview With JJ Of Dire Bloom!
Today we have with us JJ, the Guitarist from Dire Bloom. These guys are really tearing the Pop-Punk/Emo scene up at the moment and you need to check them out! Their Debut EP "Facade" has already dropped and its such a dope record. Check out the interview below! ↓↓
Hey, thanks for agreeing to the interview . So, tell the readers a bit about yourself.
"No worries! I’m JJ, the guitarist from Dire Bloom. We're a 5 piece Emo/Pop Punk band from Leeds, UK. We consist of Felix Kjåelberg - Vocals,
Tom Cutts - Guitar/Vocals,
Ben Whynes - Bass
& Adam Kelly - Drums."
What kind of music do you play?
"We tend to label ourselves as Emo/Pop Punk as our material ranges from both sides of the spectrum."
How did you all meet?
"Me and Tom knew of each other from playing in various local bands in Nottingham when we were younger, We both ended up coming to university in Leeds - becoming great friends and living together for years. When we eventually decided to start Dire Bloom it all fell into place pretty swiftly."
"In our university years we became good friends with Ben after going to the same clubnights / having the same circle of friends. He messaged us saying he'd love to help us out with Bass, which we were stoked with because we knew he was such a talented musician! He knew of Adam from a friend and Adam knew Felix from his course. It was a really natural and fast formation!"
If you could liken your music to another musician/band who would it be?
"It's a bit difficult to pin down one band who we can liken our music to - our influences range and we blend these in our writing. We'd describe our sound as a mix of bands like Brand New / Basement / Moose Blood / Knuckle Puck."
What things can inspire you to write a new tune?
"Originally, when writing Facade the inspiration came from just wanting to write music again. I was working a 9-5 job and realised I'd lost touch with my musical creativity. I wrote the music for the EP in my spare room and I found the whole experience really enjoyable - seeing it all come together with everyone else's individual input after my initial skeleton of the tracks was really exciting and inspired us to create further. A massive inspiration for the lyrical content / theme of the EP comes from what was essentially a year in Tom's life - drawing on his experiences in this time and being pretty damn emo about it."
"We're in the process of writing new material for our 2nd EP and the inspiration is coming from just being in a band and being inspired to expand and build upon what we've already created!"
I listened to your debut EP “Facade” and it’s a really strong record, are you happy with how it has done as a debut?
"Thanks very much for checking it out! We're extremely pleased with how it's been received for a first release. It's enabled us to get some really great shows in our hometown, go on a mini tour across the UK and its great to hear positive reviews from people who have managed to check it out and listen."
"Saying that, we can't wait to show people what we've been working on for our 2nd EP. The material is a massive progression from Facade and it's exciting to see how far we've come in terms of songwriting in such a short space."
What has the response to your new songs been like when you play them live?
"They've gone down really well so far, it's been great to see people enjoying them and even a few people singing along at our local shows!"
What musicians inspired you to start making music?
"I'd say for the band as a whole its artists like My Chemical Romance / The Used / Taking Back Sunday who were a huge influence in us playing the type of music we do. Although I can say that for me and Tom it was Mcfly who inspired us to originally pick up a guitar..."
Favourite Gig you’ve played?
"Our favourite gig so far probably has to be the Seaway / WSTR / Gospel Youth show at The Key Club, Leeds. It was our second show as a band and the response we got from the crowd was unreal. They were completely up for it from the offset and we got a few mosh pits and stage divers which was great to see so early on!"
If you had to describe your music to someone who had never heard you before, how would you describe it?
"I’d describe it as being like Toy Story 3, pretty good but leaves you wanting more."
Is there somewhere the readers can listen to you?
"Yep! We are on all major digital streaming platforms - just search ‘Dire Bloom’!"
How is the music scene down there in Leeds?
"The music scene in Leeds is pretty incredible & one of the main things that brought me here for university. It’s the home of Slam Dunk which constantly brings great bands to the city through it’s shows & of course the festival. The local scene is packed with great bands in varied genres so there is always something to watch that might appeal to you if you fancy checking out a local show!"
Any gigs coming up?
"After supporting Decade at The Key Club we have a fun show at Bad Apples with our good friends in High Tides (21.03.17), as well as playing Suckerpunch Festival (08.04.17)"
If you had some advice for people just starting up a music career what would it be?
"Pick up an instrument and be in a band, it’s extremely fun - you won’t necessarily get a career out of it but why not enjoy yourself & create music while you can!"
Thanks for chatting to us today, anything else you want to say to the readers?
"My pleasure! Check us out on social media and be sure to give our debut EP ‘Facade’ a listen!"
