Taunton Indie rockers The Winters recently released their latest single We’re Still Kids. Have a read of our conversation here:
Tell us a bit about the band. Where are you from? How did you all meet?
We’re a 3-piece indie band from sleepy Taunton in Somerset, with myself (Joe) on lead vocals and guitar, Matt on bass guitar and BVs and Sam on drums and BVs.
We actually first met about 5 years ago when I got a job at a local school as a music technician where Matt and Sam were still studying music. Matt and I then bumped into each other again a couple of years ago, we got talking about starting a band and I asked if he knew a decent drummer. He said ‘no’, but that he was still in touch with Sam, so we made do with him (only joking Sam, it’s ok!)
If you had to sum up your style in three words, what would you say?
Indie Alt-Rock.
You recently released your latest single We’re Still Kids. What do you think of the song?
We’re Still Kids is a high energy, fun song which mixes a sense of nostalgia with a recognition of our complete incompetence as adults. It came together quickly just before heading into the studio, which meant our parts were partly improvised and the lyrics to the 2nd verse even changed on the day of recording! But I think that gave the track a rawness that really added to the final recording, which we’re really happy with!
Is this a hint at more new music on the way?
Absolutely! Our next single Dream of Me is slightly heavier and a little more serious, but has the same high energy feel to it with plenty of guitar and vocal layers.
Who produced this? Have you worked with them before? How was it working with them?
We worked with producer Joe Marsh who’s also based in Somerset. I did a lot of research before heading into the studio and Joe really stood out. His attention to detail, passion and incredible knowledge really brought the best out of each of our tracks and we’re looking forward to working with him again soon.
Where do you look for and find inspiration for your music?
The best song-writing sessions for me happen when I’m locked in a room by myself with a guitar, where no one can hear me. I play around with some chords until I find something I like and then begin to sing a melody on top of it. The general theme of the song often becomes obvious quite quickly, based on the feel of the music – whether that’s something personal to me, or a story to tell. Then the actual lyrics gradually replace the humming of the melody, until eventually a song is born.
Pre-lockdown, did you get to play many gigs? What were some of your best memories?
We’ve been really focussed on writing and recording our upcoming EP over the last few months, but just before lockdown we did get a couple of gigs in. Our last pre-lockdown gig in Bristol was a great night. We were playing as support and got shouts for more at the end of our set, which was really lovely to hear. As the support band we politely declined though, of course.
How have you been keeping yourself busy during lockdown?
I’ve been spending most of my time working on The Winters – writing and promotion, which has been great! When I’m not doing that, I’ve been playing too many video games, binge-watching too many box sets and eating too many takeaways. We’re Still Kids is embarrassingly auto-biographical.
Any plans to play anywhere when we are allowed back out?
Definitely! We’ve got some headline gigs pencilled in already and as soon as all this is over and we know they’ll definitely be going ahead, we’ll release some more details via our social media pages and website.
What artists are currently on your radar?
Some bands that I’m really enjoying listen to at the moment are Myriad, Quorum and Armstrong. We’re hoping to organise some sort of online gig with these guys soon and they’re all producing some great music at the moment!
Where can we find out more about you?
We’re very active on our Facebook (www.facebook.com/thewintersband) and Instagram (www.facebook.com/thewintersband) pages. We really love receiving messages from people, so feel free to drop us a message!
Anything you would like to tell us?
To celebrate our new single Dream of Me, we’re currently running a free t-shirt giveaway competition (they also work really well as tea towels). So if you’d like to get involved just head over to www.thewintersmusic.co.uk, pre-save the song and you’ll be entered into the draw! Other than that, just thanks so much for having us! 🙂
I’d like to thank Joe for answering my questions and wish him and the rest of the band the best of luck for the next year, and I hope to catch them at a gig when this is all over
TrueStyleMusic 