Post by Josh McLaughlin on Oct 12, 2011 23:58:42 GMT -5
Two years can seem like a long time, but for July Days, i'm certain that it's blown by in an instant! Since blasting into Melbourne's music scene, the band has unleashed their brand of rock, inspired by bands like Oasis and are starting to reap the rewards from their hard work! Whether sharing stages with some of the country's biggest bands, playing festivals, racking up thousands upon thousands of YouTube hits or taking their shows around the country and the world; they have definitely been keeping busy!
Lawrence Henry, singer and guitarist of July Days has graciously taken time out of his busy schedule to chat to us about the band's most recent EP, influences, the band's journey and their future! Check it out!
Hey Lawrence, how are you going?
Hey man, going well!
That's good! Your band July Days are renowned for awesome live performances. Who are the frontmen you most look up to and admire, and have used to help you find your onstage energy?
Liam Gallagher (Oasis) and Bernard Fanning (Powderfinger) were the first two guys I really looked towards for inspiration! Consciously I was looking at them as inspirations and influences for my writing, but I think their onstage presence and persona definitely made an influence on me as an artist. The attitude and invincible arrogance of Liam was a mesmerizing finish to masterful song writing, and Bernard's vocal perfection and energy was just brilliant, he always makes slight melodical changes to his songs singing them live and thats definitely something i've taken on, i've gave me a sense i was hearing songs I had never heard before but I could still sing along. That's the kind of experience I want my audience to have! If you like JULY DAYS records, I want you to walk away from a JULY DAYS show feeling like you've heard more than a live version of the record. I think both Liam and Bernard give the audience something you dont get from the records; that's a good front man! Beyond those two I love watching live footage of The Beatles, Kasabian, Coldplay and Jet, who are all wonderful bands with strong song-writing frontmen.
You released your debut EP with July Days in June this year, titled "Light Bulb Moment", which contained the hit single "Electric Love", which has amassed an impressive 20,800+ hits on YouTube. What was it like, as a band, to know you are taking great strides forward in such a short time?
It's just a relief, more than anything haha. As a band and song writing team it can be really hard to see the songs from an objective point of view. We write and play the kind of music we want to hear, songs we think Oasis, or The Beatles, or Powderfinger would have written or wanted to listen to. When you realize that you got it right and people are enjoying your songs and taking something from your writing, it's a really nice moment! It's motivating and really gives you the confidence to trust your writing instincts. We have our heads down working so hard most of the time that we don't pay much attention to how far we have developed or what we've achieved, every now and then we chat about some of the cool things we've done in the past two years and i'm sure at some point in the future we will be in a more relaxed place to reflect on what i'm sure will have been the time of our lives. I think reflecting on what you've achieved in the past year is a great way of focusing your goals for the next year, it certainly keeps us moving forward!
You mentioned that you feel that you made songs that your idols and inspirations would like, but what song from July Days' "Light Bulb Moment" release is your personal favourite and why?
I think from a technical point of view, "Electric Love" is great! I think every part compliments the complete song. It was written quickly at a rehearsal with great contribution from the whole band and has beautifully obvious tributes to our influences. At the moment I think it's the song that defines our sound, where we have come from and where we are going, and we are all happy with that. I feel like my influences would have been happy with it so we're all really happy with it too. It may make our first record and we are all pretty excited to have a fresh recording of the song to be able to measure the difference in the way we play the song since the EP was recorded. "Rock 'n' Rolla" also has great nostalgic value for me, since I wrote it about a chance meeting I had with Noel Gallagher and Oasis in a Liverpool Pub! It reminds me of who I am and where music is taking me, and I 'spose hearing that song reminds me to keep working hard to make sure I get what I want. Saying that, though, my favorite JULY DAYS songs will be on the next record! We are all so excited to get our new tunes down!
And I'm excited to hear them! Despite only being in existence for a year or two, July Days have had a successful UK tour including shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as well as having played great shows around Australia; including a spot on the mainstage for the St Kilda Festival 2011, and sharing the stage with such artists as Tim Finn and Jebediah. What's next for the band?
Oh man, all those experiences have been amazing! touring the UK felt like going home in a way, we really felt like the people there got it and we cant wait to go back! The St Kilda Festival has been brilliant for us, playing such a big stage with some great bands was bloody wonderful. We are so thrilled with getting those gigs but we still just view them as part of the journey, we all really want a life in music and these experiences are just part of the foundation that will make it happen for us. We are looking towards our first album now, we are really excited about the new songs and how they will sound and be received. JULY DAYS will be touring Australian in the summer and hopefully head back to the UK really soon! Apart from that, we have a bunch of shows in Melbourne happening and we are working real hard to keep pumping out new tunes. You can stay updated by checking out our Facebook page (linked at bottom of the page).
Thank you for your time, Lawrence, very much appreciated. Best of luck in the future! Can't wait to hear some more awesome tunes!
Thanks for listening to all my blah blah jibba jabba, man!
___________
Check out the band and keep updated by liking them on:
www.facebook.com/julydaysband
or visit their official site:
julydays.com.au/
Lawrence Henry, singer and guitarist of July Days has graciously taken time out of his busy schedule to chat to us about the band's most recent EP, influences, the band's journey and their future! Check it out!
Hey Lawrence, how are you going?
Hey man, going well!
That's good! Your band July Days are renowned for awesome live performances. Who are the frontmen you most look up to and admire, and have used to help you find your onstage energy?
Liam Gallagher (Oasis) and Bernard Fanning (Powderfinger) were the first two guys I really looked towards for inspiration! Consciously I was looking at them as inspirations and influences for my writing, but I think their onstage presence and persona definitely made an influence on me as an artist. The attitude and invincible arrogance of Liam was a mesmerizing finish to masterful song writing, and Bernard's vocal perfection and energy was just brilliant, he always makes slight melodical changes to his songs singing them live and thats definitely something i've taken on, i've gave me a sense i was hearing songs I had never heard before but I could still sing along. That's the kind of experience I want my audience to have! If you like JULY DAYS records, I want you to walk away from a JULY DAYS show feeling like you've heard more than a live version of the record. I think both Liam and Bernard give the audience something you dont get from the records; that's a good front man! Beyond those two I love watching live footage of The Beatles, Kasabian, Coldplay and Jet, who are all wonderful bands with strong song-writing frontmen.
You released your debut EP with July Days in June this year, titled "Light Bulb Moment", which contained the hit single "Electric Love", which has amassed an impressive 20,800+ hits on YouTube. What was it like, as a band, to know you are taking great strides forward in such a short time?
It's just a relief, more than anything haha. As a band and song writing team it can be really hard to see the songs from an objective point of view. We write and play the kind of music we want to hear, songs we think Oasis, or The Beatles, or Powderfinger would have written or wanted to listen to. When you realize that you got it right and people are enjoying your songs and taking something from your writing, it's a really nice moment! It's motivating and really gives you the confidence to trust your writing instincts. We have our heads down working so hard most of the time that we don't pay much attention to how far we have developed or what we've achieved, every now and then we chat about some of the cool things we've done in the past two years and i'm sure at some point in the future we will be in a more relaxed place to reflect on what i'm sure will have been the time of our lives. I think reflecting on what you've achieved in the past year is a great way of focusing your goals for the next year, it certainly keeps us moving forward!
You mentioned that you feel that you made songs that your idols and inspirations would like, but what song from July Days' "Light Bulb Moment" release is your personal favourite and why?
I think from a technical point of view, "Electric Love" is great! I think every part compliments the complete song. It was written quickly at a rehearsal with great contribution from the whole band and has beautifully obvious tributes to our influences. At the moment I think it's the song that defines our sound, where we have come from and where we are going, and we are all happy with that. I feel like my influences would have been happy with it so we're all really happy with it too. It may make our first record and we are all pretty excited to have a fresh recording of the song to be able to measure the difference in the way we play the song since the EP was recorded. "Rock 'n' Rolla" also has great nostalgic value for me, since I wrote it about a chance meeting I had with Noel Gallagher and Oasis in a Liverpool Pub! It reminds me of who I am and where music is taking me, and I 'spose hearing that song reminds me to keep working hard to make sure I get what I want. Saying that, though, my favorite JULY DAYS songs will be on the next record! We are all so excited to get our new tunes down!
And I'm excited to hear them! Despite only being in existence for a year or two, July Days have had a successful UK tour including shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as well as having played great shows around Australia; including a spot on the mainstage for the St Kilda Festival 2011, and sharing the stage with such artists as Tim Finn and Jebediah. What's next for the band?
Oh man, all those experiences have been amazing! touring the UK felt like going home in a way, we really felt like the people there got it and we cant wait to go back! The St Kilda Festival has been brilliant for us, playing such a big stage with some great bands was bloody wonderful. We are so thrilled with getting those gigs but we still just view them as part of the journey, we all really want a life in music and these experiences are just part of the foundation that will make it happen for us. We are looking towards our first album now, we are really excited about the new songs and how they will sound and be received. JULY DAYS will be touring Australian in the summer and hopefully head back to the UK really soon! Apart from that, we have a bunch of shows in Melbourne happening and we are working real hard to keep pumping out new tunes. You can stay updated by checking out our Facebook page (linked at bottom of the page).
Thank you for your time, Lawrence, very much appreciated. Best of luck in the future! Can't wait to hear some more awesome tunes!
Thanks for listening to all my blah blah jibba jabba, man!
___________
Check out the band and keep updated by liking them on:
www.facebook.com/julydaysband
or visit their official site:
julydays.com.au/