Friends are Friends (née Epic26)

The scene-veteran Edinburgh dance-punk band Epic26 have decided to re-launch the band under the new name Friends are Friends. Is this just a simple rebranding? Or is it a whole new band?

edRock.net contact frontman Nick Paterson for the answers.

edRock.net: Where did the new name come from? Is this just a name change? Or does it mean something specific for the band?

Nick Paterson: We decided we fancied a fresh challenge. We had a lot of amazing times with Epic26, but felt that it was perhaps time to move on to a new project since our sound, and line-up, had evolved so much from when we first started.

The idea of being able to start again was appealing; a chance to change direction and make a fresh start. We'd learnt a lot from being in Epic26, so we know what mistakes not to repeat. We're a bit older and wiser now!

The name Friends Are Friends, I suppose, was inspired by our song Our Friends Are Friends. It means something different to each of us individually and will probably mean something different to everybody who is interested in our music; that’s what we want.

How much of your set now will be Epic26 songs and how much of it is new?

Our current set includes some of our previous tracks like Sorry It Hurts purely because it’s a great live song to play and also, if we never played it, I’m sure we would get some grief. Anyone that has seen us this year will have heard our new tracks like LIDO, Our Friends are Friends [where the new band name comes from] and Losing My Head which are planned for release in the next coming months. So in answer to your question, 50/50, but we're going to be introducing new tracks as much as we can.

Epic26 went through a major change in core sound over the years—what do you attribute this to, and is it changing again with Friends are Friends?

Our sound has developed so much over the years due to developing an appreciation of dance/house music, that and the fact our line up has changed. When Kelvin joined it gave us the opportunity to have a more modern sound and improved us technically. Also, supporting bands like Everything Everything and Fenech Soler have inspired us to write in a more intelligent manner. Our sound seems to be evolving all the time. Expect more melody and generally better crafted songs. We like a good groove these days.

What is the ‘Friends are Friends sound’ in your own words?

Our live sound definitely has a pop feel to it; it’s upbeat, exciting and most importantly, entertaining.

You mentioned a few line-up changes. What is your current line-up and what are the new members bringing to the table?

Our current line up is Allan - bass/synth, Kelvin - guitar/synth/vocals/programming, Euan - drums, myself (Nick) - vocals/guitar/synth. We were all brought up on completely different music but we all appreciate similar modern stuff. It helps when it comes to writing as we're all on the same page. I suppose I bring a pop/R&B sound to the band whereas Kelvin likes alt-dance/ math rock with odd timings and complex arrangements, Allan likes a nice groove and Euan brings a bit of a trad rock feel to our sound. We all enjoy a good beat, a sweet melody and a catchy chorus though.

Epic26 were well known to have a loyal fanbase, what has been their reaction to the rebranding?

So far we have had a good response from our fanbase in regards to our name change. They seem to understand that some things need to change in order to develop and evolve rather than stay the same and they hope things work out for the best. We are happy with the feedback we have had and hope that people will carry on enjoying our music.

What’s next for Friends are Friends? Gigs? Releases?

We are recording as much as we can at the moment. We just released our first track Losing My Head, which you can get if you join our mailing list or you can find it on iTunes etc. We're planning on releasing a few tracks over the next few months two of which will be LIDO and Our Friends Are Friends, and as always anyone on our mailing list will receive it pre-release.

Myke Hall

Ghosts of Progress interview / Resound Scotland

Occasional edRock.net writer Stewart McLachlan is launching a new music blog, Resound Scotland, boasting coverage of "real, honest artists playing all over Scotland, with an emphasis on unsigned and underground acts". To commemorate the blog's launch, Stewart's interview with Montrose garage-rock duo Ghosts of Progress will be split across the two websites. The first part is shown here, for the second part, you'll have to visit Resound Scotland.

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I'm sitting with Ghosts Of Progress in the basement of Elvis Shakespeare on Leith Walk. It's a bookstore. They're about to play a gig in it. But for these guys it's just another gig- the Montrose-based duo have been relentlessly touring up and down Scotland for some time now, racking up an impressive touring schedule. Real rock n' roll bands work hard, and these guys are a real fucking rock n' roll band. Their brutal, blues-tinged sound is instantly recognizable- and don't start with that White Stripes shit. This music is real blues- it's gritty, loud, out of control and hard as nails, songs about whores and whiskey with none of your sugar-coated lyrical pish. But don't just take my word for it- see them live for yourself and you'll be a believer. Singer Lew Palgrave juggles his razor-sharp vocals with slide guitar and drumming (the guy plays a drum kit with his feet; it's as badass as it sounds), whilst Callum Christie adds guitar noise and some impressive riffing. They're a force to be reckoned with, and having recently signed to Belfast-based, respectably bullshit-free garage rock label Motor Sounds, the hard work's paid off and the future's looking pretty sweet.

First of all, congratulations on signing to Motor Sound. How did that even happen?

Lew: We played at a couple single launches they did last year with a band called The Bonnevilles (Ed note: cool band, worth checking out) who're signed to Motor Sound. They've just been in touch ever since, said when we're ready to put stuff out to give them a shout. So that's cool, costs a hell of a lot to properly release stuff, know what I mean? As opposed to just putting it out yourself. They specialize in the kind of music that works with us too, y'know.

Yeah, it's definitely the right label for yous.

Callum: It helps to get us to places we wouldn't have been able to get to ourselves, media-wise and that.

Lew: Aye, it's a good helping hand along the way. We're no gonna give up our day jobs or fuck all (laughs) but it helps to have that on your side, y'know?

Had you just done as much as you could by yourselves or were you waiting for a label that could handle your sound?

Lew: Not really, we're not the kind of band....I mean you get a lot of bands that are determined to make it, but I think we've always been determined *not* to make it in many ways... It's never really been about that, know what I mean? A lot of record labels just want the rights to everything; we were never really keen to do that. The agreement we had [with Motor Sound] had it right: any time in the agreement they could say "fuck off" to us, and we could say "fuck off" to them as well, which is fine. It's not something we went looking for, so to speak- but you know what it's like in a two-piece, you get paid two ways but your petrol costs and that split two ways as well...

Callum: And what we're doing is so different, we've been through a lot of crap to get here. Playing with the wrong bands, the wrong nights, the wrong venues, just trying to get a foot in the door...

Tell us a bit about your background, how G.O.P came together?

Lew: Uh, we were in a four-piece band years ago, but drummers and bassists don't fucking...they're either shite or unreliable, know what I mean? (laughs) It's hard to get a drummer that's reliable, they're a different kinda people from guitarists and whatnot. And nowadays with bassists as well, you get a lot of them that don't really play the bass, they just plug along on the top string...

....just doing what the guitarist does, aye...

Lew: ...aye, just...shite.

Callum: We're from a small town so, there weren't many options kicking about eh. We went from a four-piece to a three-piece until person number three just took off. It hadn't been going too well until that point, then Lew decided to put the two drums together and it just became fun from there onward.

continued on Resound Scotland...

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