Interview: Light You Up
Published on October 8th, 2012 | Jonny Abrams
Birmingham rockers Light You Up are set to release their debut EP Broken Jaw, so we fired some questions over to the band to find out a little bit more about how they operate…
What’s the line-up of the band? How did you all meet, and how long has the band been going for?
Our line up is:
Tom Napier- Vocals
Tom Hill – Bass/Vocals
Drew Masters – Guitar/Vocals
Rob Taylor – Guitar/Vocals
Joe Garey – Drums
Four of us have been playing music together for a few years now, and this year we recruited Tom Napier as lead singer and it finally feels like we have the perfect formula, and we are all super excited about playing music together.
How would you describe your music, if pushed?
It’s melodic rock, somewhere between pop punk and just flat out rock. Its like the love child of The Starting Line, The Ataris and Foo Fighters.
Where are you based, and what do you use to record with?
We are based in Birmingham and we recorded our EP at Long Wave Studios in Cardiff, with Romesh Dodengoda (Lostprophets, Kids In Glass Houses, Funeral For A Friend). He’s the best.
Are you signed to a label? If so, how did you come to their attention?
We are signed to Great Escape Records/Hang Tight Records in the UK and Ice Grills Records in Japan. We’ve been working hard and managed to get the attention of a few UK labels which is great, and this summer, I was tour managing A Loss For Words on Warped tour and I met Mizuki, the owner of Ice Grills records, and he loved our EP and decided to sign us in Japan which is great.
Is there a full album in the works? If so, what can you tell us about it? (Feel free to be as abstract as you like…)
We are recording our debut album in the summer of 2013, so it should be released in the fall of 2013. We haven’t even released the EP yet, and we are already writing for the full-length. We have all grown up loving music and playing music and our collective dream has been to write and record a full-length album as a band. Regardless of where this band goes, we will put our heart and soul into the album, and I hope it is something we will always be proud of.
Where can we hear your music online?
You can hear our music on Youtube, or on Facebook, and you can buy our EP Broken Jaw from iTunes from 15th October!
Which have been your most exciting gigs and/or overall moments so far?
I can’t talk for the other guys, but my personal favourite moment was walking out to a sold out show in Birmingham, our hometown, while on tour with Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. It was a really special show for us, and I think it was great for our families to see us playing that size of show.
Got any more coming up? (Gigs, that is…)
We are touring with A Loss For Words, Save Your Breath and Decade in October, November. It’s going to be an awesome tour! Here are the dates:
26 Oct – Birmingham The Asylum
27 Oct – Kingston Fighting Cocks
28 Oct – Norwich Waterfront
29 Oct – Nottingham Rock City
30 Oct – Leeds The Cockpit
31 Oct – Glasgow Ivory Blacks
01 Nov – Manchester Star & Garter
02 Nov – Bristol The Croft
03 Nov – Southampton Joiners
Are there any obscure and/or up-and-coming acts that you’d like to recommend or give a shout-out to?
I’d recommend our buddies in Verses. They have an EP coming out very soon that will blow your mind! Also our UK pop punk buddies in Decade and Save Your Breath. Flying the flag for the UK!
Finally, if you were forced to spend the rest of your days in solitary confinement, but were allowed to bring the entire works of five different artists along to tide you over, whose would you choose?
1. The Beatles
2. The Beach Boys
3. Foo Fighters
4. Jimmy Eat World
5. Stevie Wonder
Light You Up, thank you.
For more information, please visit lightyouup.tumblr.com