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I got the chance to speak with up and coming Indie Rock band Taxi With Strangers all about their journey as performers so far. While they may only be at the start of their success, the group have already caused a stir in their home town of Lancaster, with plenty of locals coming to their gigs and becoming totally immersed in their high-spirited Arctic Monkeys’ covers and their cool and dynamic original material. The three-piece let me in on all they’ve endeavoured so far in their career as musicians from experiences working in a recording studio, how their confidence has grown in their songwriting and who they’d love to share a taxi with…
Tell us a bit about how the band formed and how your confidence in songwriting has developed over time?
Jake formed the band with Adam (who is no longer in the band) and put an advert out for a drummer (Toby) and then his school mate, who'd just graduated uni, moved back home and joined up as bassist eventually working his way up to lead singer. At the start we wrote some poor songs, hindsights 2020 and we can say that they were really poor. However, with ‘Green Jacket’ we knew we had something and our songwriting has just snowballed from there! Every-time we get back in the studio, our producer Andris is like “whoa these are better than the last ones!”
Were you all on the same page as to what style and sound the band initially wanted to play?
We were, we knew we wanted indie rock/pop, it's ultimately the reason us and Adam parted ways. We had musical differences at heart.
I really like the cover for your new single ‘Time’, can you tell us the story behind it?
There wasn’t really that much of a story behind it to be honest. Jake was out in Lancaster and on the way back to the car saw the Town Hall with the clock face and blue sky and thought it would be the perfect shot for the cover and after a few effects (but not too many), you have what you see today!
Has your Northern roots influenced your music and was your family supportive of getting things off the ground?
Our families have been nothing but supportive! Don’t think we’d be where we are now without them that’s for sure. We love the north, I think it has influenced our style, we’re definitely no nonsense. A lot of great bands come from the north and we’re very proud to be part of it.
You do a lot of covers in your live sets, which ones are the best crowd pleasers?
Any arctic monkeys ‘Last Nite’ by The Strokes and Oasis' ‘Supersonic’ always goes down a treat as well. But to be fair the best crowd pleaser so far has been our debut single Green Jacket.
Do you all often find time to get out and see live bands and if so, are there any new ones you would recommend?
When we have the time, which is rare, we love to go see live bands! Some favourites of ours are Sports Team, Easy Life, Foals and Circa Waves. Although we have never had a chance to see them, some upcoming bands we love are RIVVER, Gloria, Mosa Wild and lostboy.
How did you find the experience at Heavy Rain studios, did things click into place straight away and did you record any future tracks that haven’t been released yet?
We work really well with Andris in Heavy Rain, things clicked straight away! We have tried other studios that try to force you to record a certain way, even ones that bad mouth you behind your back (long story). Andris is a great producer and top bloke to go with it. Of course we have more music that hasn't been released, some cracking tracks in the works that we can’t wait to show you!
‘TIME’ is the new single that you have recently released, could you tell us more about the songwriting process, is it a group effort or is it usually left down to one member?
For us it's a group effort usually, Jake came up with a guitar riff, followed up with the ticking drum beat and Dave applied a melodic bassline. Sometimes it’s just a case of jamming and finding something great! We all have our part to play whether its lyrics or music (or lyrics & music!).
When was the last time you said to yourself ‘never again’?
When we last played the first ever tune we wrote!
If you weren’t getting a taxi with a stranger, who would you like to get a taxi with and why?
Dave - Alex Rice, frontman for Sports Team, his delivery in their music and movement on stage are an inspiration.
Jake - Keith Richards, one of the best musicians of all time and an overall legend, what else can I say?
Toby - Matt Helders because he’s a legend and dabbles in wizardry.
Taxi With Strangers have only just started and they don’t plan on stopping any time soon. Make sure to check out their new single ‘Time’ and go to one of their gigs if you get the chance. If you’re into The Strokes and have a thing for Brit Pop, then this band is for you!
Article By Holly Turner
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