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Here it is folks, our first interview. And what better band to start with than Plymouth skacore outfit NoComply.
Formed in 2000 to critical aclaim and serious skanking, they recently signed to Deck Cheese and are now set to
take the world by storm with their new album 'Your Life (is Your Direction)'. We spoke to lovely lead lass
Kelly . . .
tp - Firstly, tell us a bit about yourselves. History/Who does what in the band/influences etc.
NC - Okay NoComply have been going seriously for just over a year although three of the members started a few years before just playing local gigs and stuff. I (Kelly) sing, Jon plays guitar, Nick plays bass, Simon plays drums, James plays trumpet and Oz plays trombone.
We're into a whole bunch of different stuff. Everything from ska to hardcore really and everyone has different individual influences.
tp - I read on the website that you're all quite different age-wise, the youngest being 17 and the oldest 23. What's it like being in a band with younger/older people?
NC - It's not really noticable I don't think. We're all best friends so I never really think "oh Si is 4 years younger than me". We pretty much all have the same mental age, if that makes sense!
tp - You're from Plymouth, what's the scene like down there? Having played a few gigs in the Southeast, how does it compare to the Southwest?
NC - The scene is okay in Plymouth. There are people here like Kev, Oli and PMC who put on really good punk gigs but it would be nice to see a lot more UK bands coming through. Plymouth is really out of the way though! but it is a cool town and a good place to play. The scene in the the south east is a lot different, I've noticed that there is a lot more of a younger crowd in some places there.
tp - The lyrics in your album are quite dark, with a lot of references to selfishness, hate etc. Who writes the lyrics and what inspires you when you write the lyrics?
NC - I write all of the lyrics. Different things inspire me but mostly the song is wrote in a quite sub concious way. For example I might have read something and would've been thinking about it for a long time and then when I come to write the song the words that come out are some unintentionally related to it. Some songs deal with political and moral issues and some are about everyday life, relationships and stuff.
tp - You're now signed to Deck Cheese. How does being on a label compare to what you were up to before you were signed?
NC - It's better because now our CDs are in the shops and it really helped out having a graphic designer to do the cover and stuff. Also our CD gets reviewed in more places and more people know about us. It's good to have people that you trust on your side giving you advice and guidance, the same goes for our booking agent Ian.
tp - Your set is a very energetic one, what do you do to relax when you're not playing? (and how does Kelly keep her voice sounding so great?)
NC - When we're on tour there isn;t much time to do other stuff, if we have time we'll chill out in the town where we're playing or sleep (a lot!). When we're back home we'll maybe go out with friends or try and see a band in Plymouth or Exeter.
I should take better care of my voice because sometimes I'll drink and smoke and then I'll worry and eat loads of Vocalzone and drink gallons of black tea!!!!
tp - Lastly, any thankyous, shout outs or final thoughts?
NC - Okay final thought: I have a little diary and every week there is a different quote which I kind of like so I'll share that! This weeks is Mahatma Ghandi: 'The moment the slave resolves that he will no longer be a slave, his fetters fall. Freedom and slavery are mental states.'
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