In a quiet, cosy flat in East Tilbury, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Steve Weston and Lee Yates, the two members of Local Essex Band High/Low.
Two friends talking about, Music, Idols, Their current E.P, Coffee, Pot Noodle, Nada Surf and more.
So, why the new band?
Steve: ‘Erm…. Is that one for me to answer? It was just time to start a fresh really, cut all those loose ends of the old band and yeah just start a fresh really…. No boundaries.’
Lee: …….. ‘No drummers.’
Steve: ‘Thats always going to be the case.’
What is the meaning behind the name?
Lee: ‘I never know if I’m saying the right thing or not, its a band called Nada Surf, and there album is called High/Low. And I’ve always liked the way its written down.’
Steve: ‘Its also sort of somes up the other bands, that…. High,Low mood.’
Lee: ‘Not just cos of Nada Surf.’
Steve: …. ‘Inspired by Nada Surf.’
Lee: ‘Yeah the way it looked….. It looked good.’
What makes High/Low different to The Nurse Who Loved Me?
Lee: ‘Thats for you to answer.’
Steve: [laughs] ‘I suppose its a lot more straighter, where nurser was trying to be a bit more complicated…. A bit more experimental, it was a bit dark, Nurse.
I think were it had so many different members over the Six Years or whatever, it was never one sound concentrated on, it was kind of, anything went.’
Lee: ‘See, thats a good answer. And this is more Raw as well.’
Where do you see High/Low going? Further than Nurse?
Steve: ‘Erm, its quiet open at the moment. From the feedback we’ve had so far, its been really interesting actually, considering we’ve been doing it for our own benefit really, for fun. We’ve had some really good feedback so far. We’ll do a bit more recording, and just see what happens really.’
Who are your main influences?
Steve: ‘Alot of nineties rock bands, its hard to pin point just one but, obviously Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Dinosaur Jr…. Erm Weezer, and stuff that we always go back to like The Beach Boys, and The Police… stuff like that, stuff I grew up listening to. Thats always going to be in there.’
Lee: ‘Same as what he said, its exactly the same.’ [Laughs]
You can’t get away with just saying ‘Yeah what he said.’
Lee: ‘Its exactly the same bands, thats why we ended up doing it together anyway, we love the same music, we spoke about it the other day, if i say to him ‘Have a listen to this band,’ he will defiantly listen. And if he says the same to me, I will defiantly listen cos I know I’m going to love it.’
A lot of people who have listened to you have said you’ve got a very early Feeder sound as well.
Steve: ‘I think when Feeder came out they sound alot like the bands we liked before, like The Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana and stuff and obviously they weren’t doing much at the time. I think they were influenced by the same bands as we are influenced by. There are alot of similarities.’
Lee: ‘Yeah.. ‘
Fav song of the E.P?
Lee: ‘Ooh, mines Spy Eye.’
Steve: ‘Yeah defiantly Spy Eye.’
What about In Flight? Thats my favourite song.
Steve: ‘Yeah, honestly i do like all of them, very happy with how they’ve all come out.’
Theres just something about In Flight that I like. Its hard to explain.
Lee: ‘Yeah, I mean Forty and Spy Eye are the first demos Steve sent me, the first ones that really caught my attention. Thats why I go back to those when I think of the E.P. I think of those two songs.’
Lee: ‘But they’re all amazing.’
Steve: ‘I think they just summarise the sort of thing we do.’
Fav song of all time?
[Lee and Steve laugh]
Lee: ‘What the Fuck? Thats a hard question. And its not What What in your butt.’
Steve: [Laughs] ‘Erm……..’
Alright then, what is the song, when you put your iPod on, the one song you would automatically search for?
Lee: ‘Jesus Christ!’
Steve: …. ‘That is tough’….
Lee: ‘Thats a really tough question. Erm…. Its not a favourite song of all time but something that would make me think ‘I wanna listen to that’ is ‘Dinosaur Jr – Get Me’ it always makes me wanna have a little dance.’
Steve: [laughs]… ‘Always like abit of old school Foo Fighters, when something like Weenie Beenie comes on, that little bit heavier than usual, that usually gets me excited.’
Ideas for songs/lyrics?
Lee: ‘Do you want me to answer that?’
Steve: ‘You can answer that yeah.’
Lee: [laughs] ‘I don’t know.’
Steve: ‘Erm… Sometimes you just hear them in your head, when you hear the music you just start, just, picturing the rough idea of the words.
Sometimes you might have a story in your head, that you wanna put into the music. But usually we just go on the feel of something. and if we planned something we think ‘Yeah, I can see this going somewhere.”
Steve: ‘We usually try and see every idea through dont we?’
Lee: ‘Oh yeah, definatly, until the bitter end, the we decide if its, you know.’
Steve: ‘If it gets scrapped or not.’
Lee: ‘Yeah, exactly.’
Best thing about being in High/Low?
Steve: ‘Its just so, its nice cos we can be quiet natural about it, I think we can be not compromising, cos previously I think we was.’
Lee: ‘Oh yeah, we defiantly compromise loads.’
Steve: ‘Just get on with what we wanna do, no pressure.’
I think its quite good as well, like were you’ve been together for so long, you know each others likes and dislikes. You’ve not just been pushed into a band, you know each others style.
Lee: ‘Its not pushed, we always get drawn back together, no matter what happens cos I know he’s gonna write something I’m going to love, so I automatically go back.’
Worst thing about High/Low?
Steve: ‘Erm…. Prob living so far apart.’
Lee: ‘Thats exactly what I was going to say…. The distance.’
Steve: ‘The distance so we cant,’
Lee: ‘Do it everyday?’
Steve: ‘Do it as much as we want to.’
Lee: ‘We probably would do it everyday if we could.’
Steve: ‘Yeah, exactly.’
Lee: ‘If he lived round the corner I would not be able to resist going round and mixing another song.’
What made you want to do Sofa Sessions?
Steve: ‘Erm i think it quiet nice that some songs might start written on an acoustic or some songs they just sound stripped down.
Obviously when we record we have alot of layers and stuff going on and you know the volume and density of everything on a recording, when you strip it down to an acoustic and pretty much minimal performance, you get such a different version of the song.’
How would you describe your sound?
Lee: ‘Fuzzy.’
Steve: ‘Yep, Fuzzy, its defiantly got that kind of old school, nineties, rock feel to it. Some of the stuff is a little bit tongue in cheek.’
Lee: ‘Goony! Goony is the word you’re looking for there.’
Steve: [Laughs] ‘Yeah, there is defiantly a nineties rock, is prob the closest kinda thing.’
If you could re-work any song in your style, what would it be?
Lee: ‘You better answer this right.’
Steve: ‘Erm… was is Sugar?’
Lee: ‘No’
Steve: ‘Oh?’
Lee: ‘What song have we spoke about doing?’
Steve: ‘Oh!’ [Laughs]
Steve: ‘I don’t know if I can put that down on tape…. Thats ridiculous.’
Lee: [Laughs] ‘Ok, well what would you wanna re-work?’
Steve: ‘Erm…. Thats a tough one, Beach Boys or The Police.’
Fav moment/achievment so far?
Steve: ‘Doing that video was quiet an achivement… For us. That was alot of work.’
Lee: ‘A lot of work! Defiantly.’
Steve: ‘Doing the E.P was alot of work aswell. Thats almost 6months work. I think that was quiet an achievement.’
Lee: ‘Yeah, I feel like I’m just saying Yeah.’
Steve: ‘You can have an opinion.’
Lee: ‘I just agree with you, its true. Its all an achivement really init?’
Steve: ‘True.’
Lee: ‘The whole thing.’
Steve: ‘Yeah getting off our arses and doing it really. Thats an achievement.’
[Both laugh]
Lee: ‘Getting the train, making the train is an achievement.’
What makes you different to other bands?
Steve: ‘There are a lot of bands out there now doing it for the fame I suppose, were we are more doing more exactly what we grew up listening to and really enjoy playing. I think alot of bands compromise doing stuff like that, they’ll probibly sell out alot quicker as soon as they get a hint of something like management and money or that someone tells them to like something. In the right places, fine. But I’ve seen a lot of bands locally that are doing something they don’t like doing just to get somewhere.’
I think I like they fact that, were you guys put so much time and effort and every into it, like recording and things like that. And the fact you do it all yourselves too.
Lee: ‘Steve works harder than me, he knows what he’s doing with all the recording and things. Art work and things like that.’
You get other bands and they don’t have much input, its all done for them and they just go into a studio and do it and someone else does the rest.
Steve: ‘Some bands do their own art work and stuff and work hard promoting it, but yeah we do alot of stuff ourselves which is quiet amazing really that we do manage to pull most of it off. ‘
What is a typical day in the studio for you guys?
Steve: ‘If we’re doing guitars or something like that, abit of bass, we usually spend alot of time doing that, listening though the tracks, working out what ones to work on next. We’ve got abit of a back log of them at te moment, about 25/30 songs, something stupid like that.’
Lee: ‘We drink alot of coffee,’
Steve: ‘Drink alot of coffee, listen to alot of other music like Dinosaur Jr or something and have a laugh.
Steve: Alot of stuff, usually talking about music aswell, inbetween doing stuff, sharing other music to each other, what we might not of heard of.’
Lee: ‘Sounds like a day in the studio to me.’
Steve: ‘Eat Pot Noodle.’
Lee: ‘We eat a Pot Noodle and drink coffee.’
Steve: Sometimes pizza.
Lee: ‘Sometimes pizza, sometimes you make dinner. Sometimes we dont eat at all…’
Finally, have you got a message for your fans or anyone reading this?
Lee: ‘Jesus, I’m so shit at this.’
Steve: ‘Well i’d love for them to have a listen and let us know what they think. Good or Bad, let us know. It would be interesting to hear peoples opinions on it.’
Lee: ‘Have listen, pass it around, tell us what you think.’
Well not pass it around, buy your own copy.
Lee: ‘Well yeah, it would be nice if they could donate abit of money, but as long as they listen we’re happy.’
And thats it.
Lee: ‘Thats it Daddy.’
Steve: ‘Nice one. Cheers.’
So there you have it, two top blokes enjoying the band life style and enjoying what they’re doing.
High/Low’s second E.P is due release in October.
You can check them out here:
Go check them out at:
http://www.facebook.com/wearehighlow
http://www.youtube.com/wearehighlow
