Where can we find you right now and what are you up to?
Firstly, thank you for wanting to interview me. Currently, we are busy finalising the mixes for the new album. We have a few shows left to do this year and lots of planning for next year. You can find out all about the band on our website along with tour dates at www.bigwolfband.com, Facebook and all the usual social media site.
Tell us a bit about your influences.
I think my music influences really came from going through my dad’s album collection. That then spawned my own interest in different genres of music. My early influences include Jimi Hendrix, Free, Eric Clapton, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac and many more. I then started down the rabbit hole that is the Blues. I loved the feel and the freedom of expression. Blues is a universal language that we all understand and have experienced at some point in our lives. The players mentioned above plus other like SRV, BB King, Albert King, Freddie King, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, all those old cats and trail blazers influence me greatly. I also enjoy the guys carrying the torch today like Joe Bonamassa, Josh Smith, Kirk Fletcher, Matt Schofield, King Fish, Samantha Fish, Joanne Shaw Taylor and Eric Gales. There are so many more I could list obviously but I must also mention the legend that is Walter Trout.
How did you start?
My dad had an old battered Spanish guitar that had rusty strings with two missing as well. He said if you can play a tune I recognize then I will buy you an acoustic guitar. I managed to play badly “Smoke on The Water” by Deep Purple. That resulted in him buying me a second-hand Yamaha acoustic guitar, which I still have. I started playing around 10 years of age and after learning and playing with people in my early years I formed the Big Wolf Band in 2014 with founding member Mick Jeynes as an outlet for my original music.
What obstacles does an emerging artist have to face in our time?
This is a difficult question. Money is a big one, life is so expensive now. New gear, software, instruments, everything is going up. Rehearsals, petrol and travel to gigs, internet, food, you name it, they have all risen massively. The only thing that doesn’t match inflation is the money you receive from paid gigs. I think this is why so many talented musicians are forming tribute acts or party bands because that is where you can demand higher fees. If you choose the path of original music, it is very, very difficult.
What worked for you marketing-wise? What advice or tips would you give to new artists?
My advice would be to first make sure your product is good. Do you have strong songs, is the band lineup and direction you are looking to go in right? If you are a band or solo artist and can afford to save your gig fees up into a band account, then do it. That helps with the costs of making sure your product is strong. This includes stuff like getting a good logo designed, easy to read and recognizable. Make sure you network, going to other bands' shows, see what works, learn all the time, build links, and put names to faces. Also, research is so important. Know your scene! Build a database of promoters, venues, festivals, radio shows/presenters and research as much as possible. This comes in handy down the line. Obviously social media is so powerful. You can reach so many people and new lovers of your music if you use social media correctly. I am still learning continuous content I don’t know how people record so much content to promote their stuff lol.
What are your goals? Where do you see yourself in five years?
Hopefully retired on a warm beach …... I would like to think I am still out there making my own music, performing and continuing to build on our fanbase. I take nothing for granted these days so take each year as it comes. I would really love to tour more but I have a connective tissue disease called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (HEDS) which makes normal every day stuff challenging but as long as my body holds up and I can keep a good balance and not overdo it then I will continue to record albums and perform live.
Tell us about your latest or upcoming release.
We have our new album coming out in February. Rebel’s Journey will be the second instalment of the Rebel’s trilogy of albums. It is a 14-track album mainly in the blues rock genre with the odd curve ball. The album has been recorded and produced by Mark Stuart and Sheena Sear at M2 Studios, like our previous albums. Mark and Sheena have been massive in the bands development and are always a pleasure to work with. We are very excited about this album and can’t wait to release it.
@bigwolfband