Friday night saw Baby Strange return to their home stage and perform a sold out show in Stereo. Witnessing the Glaswegians take to the stage in a manner not too dissimilar to the archival footage found in old black and white documentaries.
Iconic in demeanour, their teasingly seductive riffs and catchy chorus lines lure you in only for the intensity of their set to sink in and tear you apart limb from limb. Beer soaked and bruised, in both mind and body the crowd and performers alike are so deeply immersed in the music unfolding and the usual primal instinct that envelopes your being during a Baby Strange gig takes over. The only forgiving portion of the evening being a brief pull of the plug in a failed bid to remove stage invaders. Soul tearing instrumentals during old favourites such as California Sun and Pleasure City make for a nostalgia trip alongside lyrics destined to be screamed no matter how brutally honest. They offer a revival in spirit and resuscitation to the music scene in its entirety.
On this night I also spoke with Johnny from the band, ahead of their co-headline UK tour with WHITE, though concise, we cover everything from their parents record collection to news of their album release:
TOUR:
Tour starts this week, how are you feeling?
We can’t wait for tour, especially to be going away with our mates, WHITE, who we’ve known for years, it’ll be a really really cool tour.
We can’t wait for tour, especially to be going away with our mates, WHITE, who we’ve known for years, it’ll be a really really cool tour.
How did the co-headline with WHITE come about?
We just though it made sense, we’re both upcoming bands from Glasgow and we thought it would be good to switch it up every night in England.
Do you have any apprehensions going into it?
Nah, it’s just going to be mental I think.
Are there any home comforts you miss when you’re away on tour?
Having a shower. during can be pretty minging when you’re playing smaller venues, so yeah being clean is probably the thing we miss most.
Any pre-gig rituals?
Nah, but before every gig I like to warm up my voice and I think the band spending time together before the gig is always important. There’s been a few times in the past where we’ve not really been around each other and then we meet just before we play and the vibe’s not there so it’s just being in each other’s company for a while, that’s it!
What can be expected from this tour?
Just high energy, it’s gonna be crazy we’re planning on playing a long set, the longest we’ve played so far and we’re working on a secret cover.
NEW SINGLE:
What can you tell me about your new single, “Pure Evil”?
The song’s about being tired of night life and club culture but also with yourself for being caught up in it, going to the same places every weekend and, you know, being a complete idiot, pretty much.
What can you tell me about your new single, “Pure Evil”?
The song’s about being tired of night life and club culture but also with yourself for being caught up in it, going to the same places every weekend and, you know, being a complete idiot, pretty much.
You released the video for it a few days ago, what’s the message behind it?
We just thought the video would look great, we found some footage online and seen all those people dancing with our song in the background made us laugh, in a nice way, so we thought we would just go all out and do it.
We just thought the video would look great, we found some footage online and seen all those people dancing with our song in the background made us laugh, in a nice way, so we thought we would just go all out and do it.
ALBUM:
Any news on the album?
Yes. Coming out towards the end of the year, can’t really tell when or which month but we’ve finished recording it and in the middle of mixing it just now, and it’s sounding amazing. We’re thinking about a name but can’t really say anything yet, we have a few ideas.
THE CLUB NIGHT:
So Club Sabbath, how did that come about?
We used to go to that pub, just to drink in and we got pally with the guy that runs it, and I think he saw that a lot of our friends, and other bands started going to his pub because we went there and then he was just like why don’t we make this a thing, you can just do a night here, and it’s been so fun to do.
Do you have any hopes to expand on it?
Well, it started off as a monthly thing and now we do it every two weeks because more people are coming and maybe in the Summer we’ll do it once every week or something, if folk like it and want to come then we’ll just keep on doing it.
Is it a side of music you’re looking to grow and make a part of what you do?
It’s fun to do on the side of this band you know, it’s been nice seeing behind the scenes because we’re so used to being on stage so it’s been nice to book bands and make sure they’re looked after and make sure it’s all ok!
FESTIVAL SEASON:
Festival season’s coming up, you ready?
Can’t wait, aye!
How does your set translate on different stages?
Actually really well I think, because as much as it may be quite underground, quite raw sounding, I think because our songs are quite pop-y and quite catchy when we play bigger stages our songwriting comes across more but when we play a little basement it’s more about the vibe.
What can we expect for the end of the year, post festival season?
Just putting out the album and we’ll be on tour loads!
Can’t wait, aye!
How does your set translate on different stages?
Actually really well I think, because as much as it may be quite underground, quite raw sounding, I think because our songs are quite pop-y and quite catchy when we play bigger stages our songwriting comes across more but when we play a little basement it’s more about the vibe.
What can we expect for the end of the year, post festival season?
Just putting out the album and we’ll be on tour loads!
GLASGOW:
What are your thoughts on the local music scene at the moment?
I think it’s amazing at the minute, probably the best it’s been in years bands like The Lapelles, Halfrican, Declan Welsh, Mark McGowan all of these singer songwriters are killing it and bands are all great and so many producers and it’s just a really sound place to be!
Do you feel like your Glasgow identity is restricting you any as a band?
There have been people when we’ve gone away on tour that we met and didn't even know we were from Scotland, going down to places like Manchester, Leeds and we’ll speak to them afterwards and they thought we’d be from London or Sheffield or something which is cool I suppose because it means we don’t sound like a Scottish band, there are a lot of bands from Glasgow who have a real distinct Scottish sound and I don’t feel like we’ve got that which is probably a good thing.
What are your thoughts on the local music scene at the moment?
I think it’s amazing at the minute, probably the best it’s been in years bands like The Lapelles, Halfrican, Declan Welsh, Mark McGowan all of these singer songwriters are killing it and bands are all great and so many producers and it’s just a really sound place to be!
Do you feel like your Glasgow identity is restricting you any as a band?
There have been people when we’ve gone away on tour that we met and didn't even know we were from Scotland, going down to places like Manchester, Leeds and we’ll speak to them afterwards and they thought we’d be from London or Sheffield or something which is cool I suppose because it means we don’t sound like a Scottish band, there are a lot of bands from Glasgow who have a real distinct Scottish sound and I don’t feel like we’ve got that which is probably a good thing.
Do you feel like Scottish acts are being fairly represented elsewhere?
There is something great happening but I don’t think it gets looked up that much, I think more people should be paying attention, I mean it’s good the way it is but it always can be better!
There is something great happening but I don’t think it gets looked up that much, I think more people should be paying attention, I mean it’s good the way it is but it always can be better!
STYLE & INFLUENCES:
Do you agree with being called a punk band?
Yeah, I guess, we like the whole idea of punk, we don’t really like considering ourselves as a genre, it’s more just about what that whole attitude represents and we love the whole freeness of it, we don’t like to be bogged down with you can do this or you can’t do this, we just want to do what we want really.
Do you feel like it’s an overused term?
Yeah, but if you want to stick labels on something then fine do what you want I wouldn't care.
You’ve got quite an old eclectic music taste, you reference bands like The Damned, The Clash where has this originated with you?
Through our parents probably, well parents and family members, looking through their record collections and stuff.
Would you say you’re influenced more by older music and do you feel like new music can still hold the authenticity of older music?
We probably sway more to older music yeah, but definitely, I think we have it in us a little bit, that wee streak of oldness yet still sound like a relatively new band there are loads of bands nowadays that sound like they were born in ’77 or something!
What are you influences outside of music?
That’s a difficult one, this is going to sound weird but because i’m in a band and when i’m not in the band we’re doing a club night or something and it just seems like all the things I do that make me happy all revolve around music so I couldn’t even think of anything outside of music!
Was it difficult getting to the stage where music could be your life?
Yeah, there have been times we’ve been like why the f*ck are we even doing this but if you just stick at it you know and folk start coming to see you and they start learning your lyrics and wearing your T-shirts and that and it’s quite a nice feeling!
You’re quite a visual band is that important to you?
Well yeah, we do all that stuff ourselves, we do our own posters our own videos our own artwork, record our own songs, well, now we can go and record with some other people but yeah I think all that stuff is important and the fact that we have total control of all of that is a good thing.
That’s a difficult one, this is going to sound weird but because i’m in a band and when i’m not in the band we’re doing a club night or something and it just seems like all the things I do that make me happy all revolve around music so I couldn’t even think of anything outside of music!
Was it difficult getting to the stage where music could be your life?
Yeah, there have been times we’ve been like why the f*ck are we even doing this but if you just stick at it you know and folk start coming to see you and they start learning your lyrics and wearing your T-shirts and that and it’s quite a nice feeling!
You’re quite a visual band is that important to you?
Well yeah, we do all that stuff ourselves, we do our own posters our own videos our own artwork, record our own songs, well, now we can go and record with some other people but yeah I think all that stuff is important and the fact that we have total control of all of that is a good thing.
What do you enjoy listening to pre-gig?
Probably a bit of The Clash, just depends what we’ve got, I think playing ones that people in the crowd know, Rock The Casbah or something that people can get warmed up listening to, might play New Rose by The Damned, probably a bit of Palma Violets wee bit of Slaves and some other bands that we’ve supported.
Twitter: @BABYSTRANGEX
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