INTERVIEW: Fight for Friday — Music Musings & Such

INTERVIEW:

Fight for Friday

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A tremendous band with a new E.P. on the horizon…

it was a great reason to speak with Fight for Friday. Released on 11th May; the band’s sophomore E.P., Someone You Could Trust, promises to be a pretty epic affair. I ask them about the E.P. and the story behind the latest single, Headache. The guys talk about borrowing from The Wonder Years; how Fight for Friday came together; what gigs they have booked – which artists they all grew up on.

I ask what one could expect, were they to attend a Fight for Friday gig; if they get chance to chill away from music; the advice they would give to new artists; whether the North of England gets the credit it deserves – they end the interview by selecting some fantastic songs.

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Hi, guys. How are you? How has your week been?

Sol: Pretty good. It's been super-hectic since we announced the E.P. - but we're just about keeping up.

Matt: Not bad. We’re all feeling pretty snowed-under at the moment but, having just shot a music video, we’re really stoked to show everyone what’s next!

For those new to your music; can you introduce yourselves, please?

We're Fight for Friday and we're a Pop-Punk band from the Lake District; we've been making music together for the best part of five years and we're currently in the process of releasing our second E.P., Someone You Could Trust (out on 11th May).

Members:

Matt (A.K.A. ‘Gee’) - Drums

Lloyd - Lead Guitar

Seb - Vox

Sol – Bass

Someone You Could Trust is your new E.P. How do you think it differs from your debut – in terms of sound and ambition?

Sol: I think all of our earlier releases, so far, were kinda leading up to this one in terms of our sound - and we've really found something we're happy with on this one.

Thematically, it's really representative of the last year or so of our lives, as a band and as individuals.

Matt: We’ve definitely done a lot of growing up for this record. The past few years have been one huge learning curve, not only musically but personally, too; becoming adults and realising that you can’t wait for things to be handed to you on a plate.

We’ve finally reached a point where we really know where we want to go as a band - and you can definitely hear that on the record.

What sort of themes and ideas compelled the songwriting on your latest work?

We definitely looked deeper into the songwriting this time around. Instead of chucking into a song whatever comes into our heads first; we looked back on personal experiences, how we dealt with certain situations; the desire to be something and, in more than one song, the feeling of being used - alongside taking things as they come.

How important is the Wonder Years’ song, where the title comes from, to you and the direction of the E.P.?

Sol: The name was, mostly, a last-minute decision. We were about to start the release campaign for the E.P. and we desperately needed to think of one. I’ve been listening to TWY (The Wonder Years) all winter, so I decided to put on one of their albums for inspiration - and it just kinda came together. It definitely fits the themes of the E.P. - and we think it’s a cool homage to one of our favourite bands.

Do you have a standout song from the E.P.? Which song, to you, defines Someone You Could Trust?

Matt: Honestly, I’m split between Headache and Target Practice. If you want to predict what our future sound is going to be, expect something along these lines! We wanted to take fans on a journey through this E.P., start to finish, and come out of listening to it with a sense of fulfilment. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions through and through but, for me, I think the two tracks I named allow the E.P. to be called 'Someone You Could Trust'. Without them, the record would feel a whole lot different...

If I had to make my mind up; I’d go with Target Practice, as I’ve been psyched about that song from the day we wrote it.

Headache is the lead single. What is the story behind it?

We took heavy inspiration from Chester Bennington's death for this track and used that as a reach into the mental-health aspect of how, when nobody is around, that can seriously affect your positivity and mental-state and, even though you’re not in a good way; there's always someone there for you if you need help. It’s not always a case of you asking for help: more, for someone else to see if you’re alright.

How did Fight for Friday find one another? Can I ask where that name comes from, too?

Lloyd: Gee and I were in a band back in year-seven/eight (2009/2010) at school, which later reformed with Sol and Jake in 2014 (who, later dropped out and doesn't play with us anymore) and, because I didn’t want to sing, I got my friend, Seb, from drama club to join as the singer/frontman - almost a year after the band had started jamming together.

The name came from a conversation at a practice - as we always practised on a Friday night after school. At the time, we said we would “fight through the week for Friday”. But the name, more or less, just happened - and it’s stuck ever since.

You hail from Cumbia and Manchester. Do you think the North, and its music, gets the respect it deserves?

Matt: It’s definitely fair to say that we feel trapped where we come from. Obviously, that’s a cliché in our genre, but there’s literally one road in and the same road out of our town; with it also being forty-five minutes away from the motorway. As you can tell - it isn’t the combo one would hope for. There isn’t a scene for our music round here, which is why we are moving into Manchester the best we can. With Lloyd going to BIMM university; it’s opened a few doors for us to get a following down there.

That said, there's plenty of hidden gems up here waiting to be found; some of which don’t deserve the minimal attention that we get being locked away in our corner.

Which artists did you all grow up around? Who would you count as idols?

Sol: I’ve been into Punk-Rock pretty much since I could choose what I wanted to listen to - bands such as Rancid and The Clash. Then, I got older stuff like No Cash and Choking Victim. I only really got super-into Pop-Punk in my mid-teens when I saw other local acts (and the scene that was growing at the time).

Lloyd: Bands I grew up with are Bon Jovi, McFly, Guns N’ Roses, Whitesnake; Foo Fighters, Metallica; AC/DC…bands that let guitarists express themselves, musically, and inspired generations of guitarists.

Matt: I’ve been into Pop-Punk my entire life - without realising it until I got older. My dad set me up with an iPod and bought me Dookie when I was about five or six, and I couldn’t get enough. Only when I turned sixteen, though, was when I really got into it; starting with Blink-182 as a gateway, then diving into the genre and finding the likes of Neck Deep, ROAM; A Day to Remember, Sum 41 and countless more. Ironically, (these bands are) all of which I have been to see live, aside Green Day - the first Pop-Punk band I ever listened to.

Can we see you tour soon? What gigs do you have coming up?

Sol: We have some plans for a tour in the works for July. We also have a bunch of dates coming up - including a show at the Bobbin in Lancaster and one with Coast to Coast and Catch Fire at Satan's Hollow in Manchester, which we're super-excited about.

If anyone wants to know more, they can check out our Facebook page or Instagram for dates we have coming up. There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff; so make sure you keep an eye out. We have some big gigs T.B.A.!

27th March - Atomic, Wrexham

26th April - Satan’s Hollow, Manchester

1st June - the Salty Dog, Northwich

13th July - The Bobbin, Lancaster

If someone wanted to come and see you play – what could they expect? Does the band have an outrageous rider at all?!

Matt: We like to put on a show.

When we were first starting out, that’s was, easily, one of the things we always worked on as a group - and we love having a high-energy, pumped atmosphere between members. But, we love it when the crowd gets involved, too, and that’s what we always work towards at every show.

Sol: I don't think we've ever been in a position to demand an outrageous rider: free beers and bottled water are always nice.

What do you all hope to achieve in 2018?

It would be nice to have some people listening to and enjoying the music we made. We’ve worked really hard on this E.P., so it would be nice to know that other people like it as much as we do.

Matt: 2018, already, is off to an overwhelming start. The response to Headache has been insane - and it’s only the tip of the iceberg. I’d really like to see people enjoying our music and telling us what it’s done for them. A personal goal would be to get on bigger support slots/tours and, maybe, get a European date?!

Promoters, if you’re out there...you know where to find us!

What advice would you give to new artists coming through?

Keep your chin up high. It’s a very competitive market, so don’t think anything of it when you get rejected for something you wanted...because it literally happens to everyone. Just make sure you’re working the hardest you can and you’ll soon get going in no time.

There’s always another opportunity waiting...

IN THIS IMAGE: The artwork for Wolfpeake's Strings/ART CREDIT: Lucy Ball

Are there any new artists you recommend we check out?

Sol: Our friends in Wolfpeake are doing some really cool stuff right now. They're defo worth checking out.

Do you all get much time to chill away from music? How do you unwind?

I think playing music is how I unwind. Hopefully, that won’t change if things start getting a bit more serious for us.

Matt: Holding up a full-time job alongside this is, honestly, the hard part; so I have to agree with Sol and say this is how I unwind. There's something about playing live shows that you can’t get from anything else - which keeps me on my toes…

Finally, and for being good sports; you can each choose a song and I’ll play it here (not any of your music - I will do that).

Sol: The Wonder Years - When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong