Tuesday, 8 November 2016

Introducing: Photo Finish!

Photo Finish is a band I stumbled upon when one of their members, Pete, followed me. They have an amazing stage presence and truly love what they do. This pop/punk band from Peterborough have just released an EP called Phone Home, available on iTunes, Google Play, Deezer and Spotify. I got the opportunity to speak to the 4 piece about themselves and the future. I hope you enjoy!

[P] – Pete // [A] – Alex // [L] – Luke // [J] - Jordan

Hello! Introduce yourselves; what instruments do you play?

[A] So we are Photo Finish, we play lots of instruments, I for one play rhythm guitar and 'the voive'

[P] I just play the lead guitar. I have never been much of a voice player.

[L] Same as Pete, except I only play 4 strings...

[J] I'm just happy to be here really. I'm the guy who sits at the back and hits stuff.

You have just recently released your debut EP 'Phone Home', what have the reactions been like?

[P] Surprisingly positive considering we told people it was being released in like June... and it ended up being released in October. 

[L] Some of my colleagues like it, Alex is probably best to answer this one.

[A] Extraordinary. I know this is far from the biggest release of the year, but I hear people singing our songs and I get tweets saying how much people are enjoying it and it's incredible. I'm happy that it's making people happy.

[J] Yeah, it's good to know people are enjoying it. 

Could you sum up your sound for people who have never listened to you before?

[J] Probably not.

[L] And that's why he is the drummer, I think we bordering pop-punk...

[A] We are very 'upfront' in terms of our musical presentation, we are pretty self aware with what er write and how we write.

[P] None of you ave actually answered the question. It is like a cross between Fergie and Jesus.

[J] We have been known to actually take the form of unicorns when we play...

When writing, and producing music, where do you take your inspiration from? What is the process?

[A] Pete writes a lot of stuff. More often than not, he'll bring a song to us and it'll change over time but more or less stay the same. I'm a perfectionist in all the bad ways. 

[P] I think we all write about different things, so I take experience from situations that I have witnessed as a third party, friends going through hard times etc. It helps me keep my own emotional connections out of it. Part of me would hate to write a song about myself and for someone to go 'dude that sucks'... like come on man that's my heart back off it.

[L] I personally take pride in ripping songs apart and putting them back together with my own influence. It means I don't have to write, but I am still a writer.

[J] ... I am just the drummer. 

Tea or coffee?

[L] TEA.

[A] It's usually coffee.

[J] I don't like either.

[P] Believe it or not. I agree with Jordan on this one.

Do you have a favourite gig you have played?

[A] We played Festive-All in 2015 and it was the first time I'd ever seen anyone wear one of my band's shirts, which was mad. The fact that I kept seeing different people in one of our shirts throughout the festival was really cool for me. People knew who we were, knew the words to songs and I just felt like we were actually going somewhere.

[L] Our third gig was in Cheltenham and Pete broke his leg. That was my favourite. 

[P] Is it your favourite because I broke my leg? Or because we played well?

[L] It's mainly cause of the leg incident.

[J] I wasn't in Cheltenham at that show but I did hear about it, didn't you steal some students potato waffles from the freezer because you couldn't find any ice for it?

[P] Yeah that happened. That wasn't my best show. It really hurt. For me it was London on the first night of tour. Was just a busy night with old friends and new friends and walking on stage that night was pretty special for me. 

[J] Birmingham... It's the only one I've played as the official drummer.

Do you have any fun facts and/or secret talents?

[A] Pound for pound, cats are the most efficient land predator.

[P] Pound for pound is a pointless but very effective trade to may with someone... 

[L] Pizza was introduced to England from a man born in Peterborough which is a fun fact.

[J] I can play Stormzy- Shut Up on guitar

[P] Which is why he is still the drummer.  

If you could write with anyone, who would it be and why?

[P] JK Rowling.

[J] Probably some metal band.

[A] Sensible answer from me here... Dan Campbell from the wonder years.

[L] Frank Turner... Obviously. 

What is your favourite pun?

[A] I love every pun equally.

[J] Did you hear about the man whose whole left side got cut off? He's all right now.

[P] I don't tell jokes.

[L] That is the biggest lie I've ever heard. You can't go an hour without telling a damn stupid joke that nobody finds funny. Pete you would be the worst person to go on a long walk with because you'd make a pun about literally anything you could see.

[A] Thank God he didn't have to take the ring to Morder, even The Hobbits would have got woundup.

[P] Lord of the Rings reference! That's what I'm Tolkein about.

[L] SEE.

[J] That was quite good actually.

When and how did you start getting into music?

[J] I took up the drums 4/5 years ago. But I think music is something you don't just get into. Everyone listens to music pretty much, we are all into it. It's just whether you want to be a listener or a creater. 

[P] Or both...

[J] Or both yes.

Have you got any funny band stories or fan experiences?

[A] #PeteLeak

[P] As if...

[A] Every time we are on the road we try and leak a picture of Pete coming out of the shower...

[J] On tour we beat our tour pals in a game of Fifa in the van, and then made them apologise on stage.

[L] Pete broke his leg... Did I mention that already?

[P] Introducing Stacey's Mom by asking if there was a fit Mum in the crowd, and in Manchester there actually was. Then I nailed that solo, caught her eye, and then never spoke to her.

[A] Did you wink at her?

[P] No but I sort of wish I had. Who knows what would have happened.

[J] Her husband that was with her all night would have broken your other leg...?

[L] That would have been good because that would be another story to tell.

What is the future of Photo Finish? 

[A]... January 2017... That's all any of us are saying.

I would like to thank Photo Finish for partaking in this interview and how humble each of them are. If you would like to check out their social media and their EP, here is all you need to know:

Twitter: @PhotoFinishBand 
Instagram: @photofinishband

(More EP information on their pinned tweet!)

Twitter: @m_b2707
Instagram: @m.brown199

Megan x












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