Welcome back home slices,

Tonight you get to read the fun interview where I, Beth, get interviewed by the most wonderful Max from The Rattlebacks.

So let me start by talking about The Rattlebacks. I love these boys. I’m so very, very proud of them as a band. When we first met, they hadn’t released their EP yet. Now, they have been played over 10,000 times. Not only that, they are some of the most lovely pains in the asses I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. These hurricanes bowled into my life and turned it upside down. Some of the most wonderful, supportive people and they have kept me going when I wanted to quit my writing.

Now I have to talk about Max as a person. Coming into my life simply asking me to write about his band and now he is one of my closest friends. Someone who gives me more support than I could have ever of asked for and someone who helps me and gives me advice. Sometimes people come into your life and make more of an impact than you can believe. Max is one of those people for me. I’m lucky and honoured to call him a friend.

You can check out the pieces I’ve written about The Rattlebacks here, here and here.

You can find them on Instagram here, Facebook here and Spotify here!

*WARNING – I RUIN MY BAD BITCH IMAGE IN THIS BECAUSE I GET ALL WHOLESOME AND SHIT* *THERE IS ALSO SWEARING*

So let me set the scene for this interview, we are in a pub garden in Brighton. I’m half cut, which is an advantage because I babble when drinking. Cigarettes and my phone recording… below is the beautiful outcome of Max interviewing me.

Max is in bold. I’ve given up my boldness for Max. My answers are below each question. So let’s do this, time to get to know me via someone else.

So first question; what gave you the idea to start writing about music and supporting local artists in and around the south?

I just like music and no-one was supporting my band the way I thought they should, so I started supporting other bands the way I thought they should be supported. So, I just started supporting people in a way that would actually help instead of people turning up to shows.. maybe. So I started turning up to shows, writing and buying merch, so I support the people I believe in. That kinda what I do. Ahhh… I hate this.

So it’s like you guys (The Rattlebacks) and Fred Irwin, I’ll support you to the ends of the earth. I’ll buy all your fucking merch.

At this point I agreed to buy a Rattlewrap for £1.

So you’re doing something with labels at the moment… if you can, tell me a bit about that.

I can’t. I can’t at the moment.

Not even your own plans?

Nope. It’s all so up in the air and in planning so, nope!

In terms of all you do for music, where would you like to see you and your blog in a years time?

I guess, doing what I am doing now. I go to a lot of gigs and I meet a lot of people. I guess if people wanted to pay me to do that, that would be nice. Otherwise, just still writing. I only discovered I liked writing last year, so the blog is still less than a year old. The music pieces are still in their infancy. So still writing, going to gigs, still supporting. Growing a bigger fan base. I’m quite lucky with my fan base at the moment, people message me saying they love my stuff. The bands I work with, they are very appreciative of what I do and it’s weird for me.

Part of the question, because the blog has two sides, would you consider splitting it off to have an obvious gap?

No, it’s Kiss of Beth’s. It’s a cluster fuck of my mind. It’s what it does.

That’s cool though, it gives something for everyone. Not just music people or mental health people. So next question, top 5 gigs you’ve been too?

Ok. Top 5. I’m not going to rank them.

So you guys (The Rattlebacks) you guys were insane. Your EP launch was insane. Probs because I caught someone fucking in the toilet.

Iron Maiden at the 02 with my best friend Oliver.

Dave McPherson, at Basingstoke. I met Fred there. Fred was insane, which I think sparked my love for him. That’s the gig that made me go to fucking too many of his gigs and write about him. Dave was insane. Snowball is one of my all time favourite songs. Same with Before I Even Had You, which he doesn’t play enough.

Since this interview I’ve had Snowball tattooed on my leg

Gogol Bordello at Boomtown. They were insane.

Paramore, with Henry. We got tickets on the same day and it was insane.

Create your ideal gig, of localish bands. You have control over everything, venue, running order everything. Who would you pick?

Fred Irwin hands down. Love him with all my heart, he is one of the best fucking artists I’ve ever seen. Mowzer, who are an Irish folk band who I love dearly. The Rattlebacks obviously, I love you guys. One more, Tirade, because they are just so nice and good.

So running order it would have to go; Mowzer, Tirade, Fred, The Rattlebacks. I mean thats a fucked up line up. You don’t match musically at all. Where? I guess at the Joiners or the Boileroom.. or the Alton Commi. A small venue that I have supported since a teen. The lady who runs it is sick, she actually cares about music and artists. I love those guys.

You answered that surprisingly easily. You’re throwing a dinner party, your friends are already going to be there… so who would your three ideal dinner party guest be?

Brody Dalle. I am in love with her. She is my lady crush. I love her on a level that I properly shouldn’t. Maybe idolise.

Frank Turner because the man is amazing. Insanely amazing. What a song writer. I’d love to pick that mind.

Mmmkay 

I’d probs invite David LaChapelle, who is an incredible photographer. He’s an insane photographer and I love my photographs.

If there was an extra hour in each day, how would you spend it? and why?

Probs writing. I love writing. It’s a thing I didn’t realise I could do until I was 27. Which is probs a bit too late to work out it was something I was good at. It’s become a complete passion. I spend my time doing what I want to do anyway because I am a rebel without a cause. I spend my life working, drumming, photographing or writing. I do what I want to do, I see the people I want to see, I hang out with the people I want to hang out with. I’m very lucky in the fact that I just do what I want to do.

I was expecting something a little more sex, drugs and rock and roll. So you’ve just won the lottery… I’m talking 400 million euros, roll over, big time. First 5 things you buy and why? 

I would buy myself an office for the blog and decorate it just fucking crazy. I would put a recording booth in there, so the bands I love can go and record for free because I know how expensive it can be. Fred, Solve the Nodus, Scott Freeman for example can just go record for free.

Second thing is a house, in Wokingham because I love that place. There are SO MANY PUBS. Such a good music scene there.

Third, I’d buy myself a music venue. It would be a place that people could go and play and I wouldn’t charge on the door. It sucks if you can’t go see your favourite band because you can’t afford the ticket, music should be accessible to everyone. I would also pay the bands decently. I mean it’s a poor business model.

Tattoos. Jme from the Freak Show in Newbury. I’d get him to tattoo WAY more on me. He’s very good and I live for him and everyone should go to him. He’s very good. He is an angel on this earth. You can check Jme out here.

I would donate a good million to the Guildford rape and abuse support centre. Its a huge thing for me. Domestic abuse is fucking shit. I would give a fuck ton of money to them.

I’ll let you have that one for free because thats a donation. So one more thing…

A holiday.

To Bora Bora.

What are your three desert island items and why?

1. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. It’s one of my favourite books. I’ve read it 9 million hundred times. It’s an incredible book that everyone should read once.
2. A BBQ.
3. Someone I loved because I am not good at being on my own.

 

So I don’t know if you noticed, but the last few questions have tried to get your readers to know a little more about you. The next couple are the same. So you go in the loft, find a lamp, give it a rub… genie pops out gives you three wishes. You cant wish for infinite wishes and you just won the lottery so not money. What would you wish for?

1. I’d wish for eternal life for my grandparents and health. My two remaining grandparents are my kings, my world and my life. The world needs them. I love those two men I love with all my heart. I’d want them to be around and healthy forever. Doesn’t matter if I died, as long as they were around, the world needs them.
2. The dreams to come true of all my friends because they are all important too me. Their dreams, life choices and goals are all important to me. As long as they were happy, I’d be happy. That’s the most important thing for me.
3. For both of my parents to find true happiness. They bought me into this world, so they deserve it. They bought this hurricane into the world so they deserve some happiness.

Inspired by Friends this one, which 5 celebrities are on your freebie list? 

1. Brody Dalle. I love her. 10/10. Would do things.
2. Joel Kinnerman. He’s so beautiful.
3. Hopper from Stranger Things. I’m not even sorry about it.
4. Ashnikko. Fuck me, she’s incredible. I would be her wife.
5. Lewis Capaldi, I like a weird looking man.

 

So we come to the last one… I feel like you’re going to give me an answer thats not the actual answer…

I promise I will give you the actual answer.

Whats the most embarrassing thing you can actually remember happening to you / someone has told you has happened to you?

I mean drunk or sober?

Anything.

Because drunk it would be falling off a bench in Alton and pretending to be a porn star on the floor. We were basically moving from one pub to another and were waiting for someone to get cash out.. I fell off the bench, didn’t know what to do so started pretending to be a porn star. I was like 18 I think?

Sober was falling off the back of a stage I threw my drum stick up, hit myself in the head after trying to catch it. Got caught in the curtain. Awful. Don’t tend to throw my drum sticks now. Just spin them. It actually stopped me performing for like ten years.

Well thank you for that Max. That was fun. 

Any other bands want to take on the challenge of interviewing me? Hit me up, let’s do this.