Uncategorized

1. Your debut album has been greatly received in both UK and  USA. What’s your favourite song to a) play live and b) to listen to?

Joe….Yeah, it’s been great. All the response that we have had over here and in the U.S is awesome. My favourite song to play from the album is Fallen Down: the opening track, but when we play it Live we extend it sort of like The Doors used to do in their shows with the long songs. We close the set with this song also. My favourite song to listen to would ‘Ready To Ride’ from the album as it’s really laid back for me.

Colin….My favourite to play live is probably Fallen Down also. It gives me a chance to take a break from backing vocals, and allows the whole band to really dive into the realm of improvisation, which you don’t see that many groups do outside of jazz or experimental music.

Stefan….All Of The Things We Said: great live set opener, Ready To Ride: mellow tune.

2. How  would you describe your sound?

Colin….Consistantly versatile.

Stefan….It’s up to the listen to form their own opinion, not us!

Joe….Very honest, if I may say so myself. We don’t like to do more of the same. I’m always wanting to do things different.

3. Has your sound changed since 2013?

Joe….Very much so. The first album was really an Introducing to the band with so many different styles of songs on, but now we are a lot heavier with the  new songs that have been written. As always the songs are written on acoustic guitar, so they could have any style if they need to be changed.

Colin….I think the phase that we’re in at the moment can be described as Heavy Pop. This will be the theme of the next album. Hey, the third album might go the opposite way, and end up being totally unplugged like most of Led Zeppelin III. You never know.

4.  You’re set to play the aftershow party for Noel Gallagher and the High Flying Birds. How did you get the gig?

Joe….We got the gig through the promoter’s in London who we have worked with before, this will be our second aftershow party for Noel and we are looking forward to it very much.

5. Are you  a  fan of Noel and Oasis?

Stefan….Nice guitars, cool clothes, not bad hairdo, seems like a nice guy.

Joe….I don’t mind some of their work and i respect what they/he have done but i’m not a massive fan of them if I’m honest.

Colin….A few things here and a few things there, but I wouldn’t say they’re the centre of my own musical universe.

6. Who do you draw influences from?

Colin….Oh, where do I start? My favourite drummers go right across the spectrum. John Densmore, Ringo Starr, all the Funk Brothers’ (Motown) drummers, Hal Blaine, Earl Palmer, Sandy Nelson, Daru Jones, Carla Azar, Bill Bruford, Alan White (Yes, John Lennon), John Bonham, Art Blakey, Jack White (yes, he’s also a drummer), Gene Krupa, Elvin Jones, Ian Paice, Dave Grohl, it goes on and on.

Joe….The Beatles, The Doors, The Velvet Underground, Motown, etc

Stefan….With the melodies of McCartney, the power of Entwhistle, the dirtiness of Lemmy, and the attitude of Paul simmon (The Clash), that’s how I approach the bass.

7.  Is  your new single ‘Things Get Better’ autobiographical?

Joe….No, I was just thinking about someone trying to make things up with a partner who they had let down, but I have had people say that they can relate to the song as they have had the same experience. I think it’s nice that people do listen to the lyrics and can relate to the song.

8.  Is  there another album planned? What can we expect?

Joe….Yes, we start recording the album in April 2016 in Oxford. The album will be so different from our debut album, which we are really looking forward to putting out.

Colin….Heavy pop, like I said before. ; )

Stefan….A few twists and turns.

9.  You’ve shared the stage with Bloc Party, Alt-J and XFM. Who’s next on your wish list?

Colin….Paul McCartney, The Black Keys, Any of Jack White’s ventures, off the top of my head.

Joe….Who knows ? Who ever we can get to play with like the last bands I’ll be happy.

Stefan….You’re about 4-5 decades too late. The Rutles would be nice, though.

10. What is top of your personal playlist this week?

Stefan….Strange Days (The Doors), Birdman soundtrack, and a lot of Classic FM.

Colin….Frank Sinatra, The Police, and Led Zeppelin. That’s what I’ve listened to this week.

Joe….Motown for at the moment. Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’

They’ve Come To Conquer: a review by Monica Brinkman and Kerry Hall of It Matters Radio.

Joe Symes and The Loving Kind’s debut album is a wonderfully eclectic mix of songs. I can hear elements of jazz in some of the songs. The first track is more rock ‘n’ roll influenced, and there are pop and indie-style tunes, too. Although a mix of sounds, the album doesn’t seem disjointed in any way. It’s a quite a mellow record and I enjoyed listening to it. Joe’s voice is perfect for this band’s very original music. My favourite song from the album, at the moment, is the bluesy “A World Out Your Window”.

Hailing from Liverpool there’s no doubt the band will be compared with The Beatles. One thing they definitely have in common is their experimental style. This is a band to watch.

I recently had a chat with Joe Symes (Lead Vocals/Guitar/Harmonica) and Colin White (Drums/Percussion/Backing Vocals).

How did the band get together? Tell us a bit about the band members.

Joe: I was playing acoustic gigs, open mic nights around Liverpool and the North West nearly 7 days a week, sometimes 3 open mic nights on one night. Colin asked me did I want him to play bongos on the gigs I was playing to which I said Yes as it would be great to have him on board; we go back a long way and have the same tastes in music, film, etc. Paul came to the band through a friend who told him we needed a guitarist, and Chris contacted us through an advertisement.

Which bands/musicians would you say have influenced you musically?

Colin: John Densmore from The Doors is the reason I play drums. I think my favourite drummer out now is Daru Jones who plays for Jack White. He’s a power house.

Joe: For me it’s The Beatles, but I listen to a very large range of music, some of which people may not call music? The Beatles were the very reason I wanted to get involved in writing songs and performing.

You released your double-sided single recently “Things Get Better”. Who wrote the songs and what inspired the lyrics?
Joe: I wrote the songs and the lyrics, but overall it’s a team effort. We all work fantastic as a band and get on really well, we work really hard to get things done 🙂

Your debut album was released in 2013. It’s quite diverse in style and has been compared to The Beatles’ White Album. Tell us about the songs on the album and what it was like to write and produce it.

Joe: We are really amazed about the feedback that our debut album has received around the World and in the UK, and on the whole about who has purchased the album including a good few of Hollywood’s finest actors/actresses. Even in the UK a lot of TV Celebs have purchased the album including football players from the premiership. The album was really great to record as we took our time over it and made sure we got everything right, even down to the artwork, everything.

Colin: I can’t wait to do the second album.

I read on your website that you played at Noel Gallagher and The High Flying Birds’ official after-show party. How did that come about and what was it like to play there?

Joe: We were contacted by his promoter asking us would we headline his aftershow party at the 02 Academy 1 in Liverpool to which we said Yes. On the back of that show we got to support Steve Craddock ( Ocean Color Scene/Paul Weller ) at the 02 Academy 2 two months later then support slots with Alt J, Block Party in London. The gigs were awesome and I’m very pleased that we asked to perform at them.

That’s awesome!

What have been some of the other highlights of your time as Joe Symes and the Loving Kind, so far?

Colin: I’m just really proud of the fact that we’re a recognised band worldwide.

Joe: Mine has been touring the UK, meeting very important people in the business and also meeting lots of new people and fans of the band. Their support means so much to us.

You’ve been touring as a band. Do you have any favourite venues that you play?

Joe: The Tabernacle in Wales which is run by Alan McGee (Creation Records Management/Oasis), The Magnet in Liverpool and The Zanzibar, Scala in London, so many venues I just love playing live.

Colin: Yeah, I enjoyed The Tabernacle. The Magnet’s a great venue to play in Liverpool. It has this cool retro vibe to it.

If you could play any venue in the world, which would you choose, and why?

Joe: Wembley Stadium for me 🙂 Madison Square Garden 🙂 So many to mention I’d be here forever.

Colin: Madison Square Garden’s on my list too. I’d also say Red Rocks Stadium.

I understand you’re working on a second album at the moment. How is that going and what can fans expect?

Joe: We have done demos of the new songs at LIPA in Liverpool. the album is complete for songs so we are still in talks about when we are going to release it. “Things Get Better” is the taste of what to expect next from the band, totally different from our debut album, a very heavy sound now as we don’t want to repeat what we did on our debut album.

Colin: Power and volume. Ha! Ha!

Sounds great! I’ll be looking forward to it!

Any tour/gig plans for the rest of 2015?

Colin: Yeah, we’re gonna be mainly in Liverpool for next few months. It’ll give more people here the opportunity to see us instead of travelling.

Joe: Yeah, we are gonna be playing gigs as usual and still promoting the new single which has been greatly received. It was a three week feature on BBC Introducing and was played a few times at Liverpool Football Club’s home games at half time prior to it’s release to over 45,000. Big thanks to George Sephton for the promo.

That’s wonderful promotion!

What are your favourite songs to play live?

Colin: I still love playing “Fallen Down”. It takes on a different vibe live. A new one called “Summer’s Almost Coming” is on the list too, and “Fools Talking” and “Calling Out To You”.

Joe: For me at the moment it’s new songs such as “Long Black Funeral Cars”, “Calling Out To You”, and “Fools Talking”; we have so many songs to choose from.

If you could tour with any other band who would you choose?

Joe: Paul McCartney

Colin: Paul McCartney, The Black Keys, Jack White, The Dead Weather to name a few.

Any other news for your fans?

Joe: You can catch all our up & coming gigs at our website at www.joesymes.co.uk and our band Facebook page . Thank you for all your continued support it means a lot to us.

Thanks, Joe and Colin! Wishing you continued success!

***************************************

You can get the band’s debut album on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/joe-symes-and-the-loving-kind/id676228102

While you’re there, pick up the new single, “Things Get Better”: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/things-get-better-single/id1025664052

Stream their music for free on Spotify