Red House Glory - Interview

Red House Glory are bringing back rock music! Combining progressive indie melodies with the heart and spirit of rock, the band have released a series of live videos to accompany the studio recorded tracks to a positive fan response!

Front man Lewis talks to us about the start of Red House Glory, performing live and what the band hope to achieve in the near future!

CM: How are you?
Lewis: I'm good thanks, man. Cold, but good.

CM: Cold? Where are you? 
Lewis: I'm in Stanford at the moment. I'm doing a film shoot today.

CM: Am I right in believing you're filming with youth production company SBTV? 
Lewis: Yeah, I work for their YouTube channel and do work for a couple of other YouTube channels. It's all music-based and visual film things. 

CM: Wow, that sounds interesting. Because you're an up and coming band, would you mind briefly describing how the band formed? 
Lewis: We started officially a year ago when Jonny (bassist) joined the band. Me and Theo (drummer) have been friends since we were about ten and played together in our very first band. Nathan (guitarist) is Theo's brother and Jonny asked if he could join the band. Since then we've just been writing, recording and have got to where we are now, which is Red House Glory as it is.

CM: In terms of the band's name, is there any relation to the Jimi Hendrix song 'Red House'?
Lewis: There definitely was a bit of inspiration just in terms of being a big fan of Jimi Hendrix and his songs and stuff. 

CM: Are there any other artists that specifically inspired you?
Lewis: Yeah, I mean, Jimi Hendrix, I love Bruce Springsteen - he's a big inspiration to me live-wise. Been to see him live quite a few times but apart from that I guess there's like Nirvana and things we were listening to when we were growing up. Older stuff as well, I guess, from my parents' generation like Rolling Stones and people like that.

CM: So a lot of rock influences. It seems indie music has dominated the industry in recent years so it's nice to hear a slightly heavier sound from Red House Glory. Do you feel this will help you stand out in the industry or do you fear that it will eliminate some opportunities for you?
Lewis: I think our music has some indie influences but I think rock music is definitely in our hearts. In a way, I think that's something you want to focus on more because there's less of it at the moment. There's a lot of indie stuff going around which is cool, it's got nice melodies and stuff, but we want to come out of the industry with a good, old school rock vibe but with newer updates.

CM: A lot of music today is industrialised. What's your stance on the music industry?
Lewis: I agree. We try not to get too bogged down with the whole industry stuff; we tend to just write and make the music we want to listen to and play. We try not to be too over-produced and stuff. The live EP stuff we're putting out at the moment is to kind of showcase that and show that we're a live band, that's what we do, we make music and we want to play it at gigs, more than spend hours and hours in the studio trying to perfect every little note and everything. Just trying to get back to the old school way of recording rock music really.

CM: What was the last album that you bought?
Lewis: The last album I bought? Well, I download quite a lot of music but I shouldn't be saying that [Laughs]. I think 'bought' was Alt-J's new album. I guess that's quite indie I suppose but I do quite like that kind of stuff as well. That's a good album.

CM: Do you feel you have enough material to start approaching the thought of releasing an album?
Lewis: Yeah! I mean, we've got a fair few songs really but the sound we have now and are showcasing in the live sessions is the way we're moving forward. I guess we'll see how it goes really to see where the industry takes us. 

CM: How have you found the writing process? 
Lewis: We tend to just have jam sessions; I guess the live EP reflects that. We just went into a studio and recorded five tracks live and that's how we write, by coming up with stuff, having some jams and then thinking of vocals and melodies on the spot. We try and perfect our songs as we rehearse them more. It's fairly organic and nothing too contrived. 

CM: You've recently released a couple of live videos which seem to be very independent. How have you found the video making process? 
Lewis: It's been fun! It was kind of unexpected. We went to our friend's studio and brought our mate along with a camera to film it. We did it all with only one or two takes of each track and filmed every one so we could document that we were doing it live. It's good fun, man; we want to do it again at some point. It would be nice to do a whole album like that. 

CM: At the moment you seem to be very independent and doing things yourself, would you like to see yourself getting support from a record label? 
Lewis: To be honest, we haven't really been that worried about it. We've just been putting our stuff out there on a good platform like YouTube and the internet to see if people like it and respond to it well. We'll see what happens. 

CM: You currently have 'Fever', 'Lonely' and 'A Saviour' released on your YouTube account. Are these songs a fair reflection of other songs you've written? 
Lewis: I think that's definitely Red House Glory, it's an introduction to Red House Glory. We've got quite a few more things in the pipeline but its all rock orientated. 

CM: By the looks of the live videos, you obviously enjoy performing live; what was it like performing at Camden's Barfly? 
Lewis: It was really good! We had quite a few people turn up for that which was good. We've played there a couple of times but last month was definitely the best time. 

CM: After the success of that show are you hoping to tour in the near future?  
Lewis: Yeah! We love playing live shows so the more the merrier! 

CM: You mentioned seeing Bruce Springsteen, who was the last artist you saw live? 
Lewis: I try to get to as many gigs as possible. I went to see a band called Beasts who are one of my mate's bands, they're up and coming and pretty good! I go to as many as I can really! 

CM: You mentioned your mate's band, is there a community within music where you can progress through and with other bands? 
Lewis: Yeah, in London especially! We end up going to and playing gigs with the same bands that end up being our friends. Especially with rock music because there are a few bands that are doing the rock thing at the moment so you rock out and support each other. 

CM: Are there any artists or producers who you aspire to work with? 
Lewis: We haven't given that too much thought. A band we love and would love to work with would have to be the Pixies who are making a comeback at the moment. 

CM: Bands often discuss difficulties with finances; have you found that money is an issue as an up and coming band? 
Lewis: We try to do everything as cheap as possible. We got the studio as a favour to do the live sessions. We all work so we squeeze it in around our work. It doesn't feel like work so we did it whenever we can. 

CM: Is music something you would want to pursue as a career? 
Lewis: I think that's something that we're definitely aiming at. Just to be able to do music all the time would be the best thing in the world so if we can manage that, it would be amazing. 

CM: So you mentioned noticing a fan base forming at your latest shows, what's it felt like to see people enjoying your music. 
Lewis: Usually, it's just our friends and friends of friends but now there are people we don't even know down at the front which is always good! Online as well, we started off with a few YouTube views online and at out latest gig at the Barfly we had quite a few people turning up who we'd never seen before. 

CM:  So when you're not working on the band, what are you likely to be doing? 
Lewis:  I kind of do it without even meaning to, I'm always playing music and my guitar whenever I can. Apart from that I'm working on filming and music videos - it's all kind of music-related, my life. 

CM: Do you feel you can promote your music via sources like SBTV and other YouTube channels you're involved with?
Lewis: Yeah, obviously it depends on the demographics of the channel but there's definitely a great scope of promotion on these YouTube channels. It definitely helps bands get to places they wouldn't usually. 

CM: Even in your career you're orientated around music. Has your work influenced your music? 
Lewis: Yeah, definitely. I'm always filming live sessions and different acoustic tracks so it's good fun. I get to do music all the time which is nice. 

CM: With your camera skills have you considered directing your own music videos? 
Lewis: Yeah, in a way that would be great really. It's good to have creative control, especially at this stage. 

CM: Looking into the future, what are you dreams and goals? 
Lewis: We kind of just want to travel the world and get our music to every little corner of the Earth so everyone can enjoy it. 

CM: Thanks for speaking with us and best of luck with your future! 

Harry Hawcroft