WHO ARE YOU?!
Band name:
Sonic Vultures
What do you play?
High Energy, Dance Friendly Covers
Is there a story behind the band name?
Al (our bass player) thought of it in Maplins.
WHERE DID IT ALL BEGIN?!
How long have you been playing?
Various timescales, but I guess we all started in our teens, as you do, dreaming of stardom………..never happened.
How long has the band been together?
In the current form, 2 years-ish now, but it took a while to get here. I’ve always thought that putting bands together is hard. You have to find (let’s say) 4 people, who don’t hate each other, all have similar ability, similar tastes, similar work ethic, and similar ambitions……. based on that, putting a band together, and KEEPING it together is hard!
How did the band get together?
Musical Tinder (it’s like musical chairs but you get to sit on each others laps when the music stops)
HAVE YOU PLAYED THE CROOKED CROW?
Did you play before lockdown?
Yes
What was it like?
Great fun at a great venue, with a proper music crowd…….and so much stage space! Easily enough room to swing many cats.
Did you play a gig under the Tier restrictions?
Yes, outdoor only…….can’t tell you how much we miss gigs.
What was it like?
Distinctly average with a very cautious audience!
HOWS THE LOCKDOWN BEEN?
Have you gigged at all?
Not since last summer
Have you written any lockdown songs?
Yes, well, does stealing one count?? We wrote a version of the undeniable classic Rhinestone Cowboy, that we named Lockdown Cowboy, and even created our own lockdown video to accompany it. We were unashamedly pointing at all the idiots who couldn’t get with the program. We did a couple of other videos as well, just for new songs we were adding to the set. Haven’t decided yet if Lockdown Cowboy becomes part of the set………it may do… ……there’s a chance it could be a right old sing-a-long!
All our videos are on our YouTube Channel if you have time to waste.
How tough has the lockdown been on the music industry?
Well, we aren’t in the real muck and bullets of it, but echoing the sentiments of many musicians like us, it’s just our hobby, we do it for fun, and it doesn’t need to pay the rent. But there are so many who don’t have that luxury, and I know have struggled. Not everyone can diversify their talents and it’s just so unclear when things will get going properly again. I really feel for anyone in any industry that’s had the rug pulled through no fault of their own.
Do you think the lockdown will have changed the industry… if so how?
When I look at a place like the Crooked Crow, I know you’ll bounce back quickly, but there are so many bars and venues that will be slower to put bands back on because it wasn’t their core reason to exist. I fear that’ll mean less gigs for all of us at a local level. But, perhaps people will have a renewed appreciation for going out to see a band after all this, and may hanker for more entertainment, and want to support their local venues……..hope so.
THE JUICY BITS
What’s your favourite song in your set and why?
Personally, if I have to pick just one, its Reef/Place Your Hands……love playing it, and it gets a great reaction. But it’s all about the reaction, and so that favourite changes from gig to gig if I’m honest. Oooh Bohemian Like You too……..see, changed already!
What song would you love to cover but as yet don’t?
Well, we’ve used some of lockdown to add new songs in to the set so really looking forward to giving those an airing……like, When You Were Young, Town Called Malice, Zombie, Moving To New York, Dreaming Of You…….something for everyone there hopefully.
Is there a song that either sums up your experience of the Crooked Crow… if so what?
It has to be Start Wearing Purple
Is there a song in your set that goes down better at The Crooked Crow than perhaps it would at other venues?
Start Wearing Purple……..it doesn’t matter if you’ve never heard of us, didn’t like anything in our set, never heard gypsy punk, and you never dance, ever………..you’ll be arm in arm
having a knees up to Purple.
What’s your best or most embarrassing band story?
Well, there was this one time, at band camp…………..someone (let’s say for the sake of argument that was our bass player Al) was trying to cram too many of Dan’s drums into his car, so thought he’s put his bass on the roof while he loaded up. What followed was then a short term memory lapse, a soft gig bag, the A6 towards Bedford, a roundabout, many many other cars, and a resulting bag of bits (RIP see pic). He took it very well, and the gig was still a good one with a spare…..all things considered.
What’s your worst gig (performing or viewing) & why?
I’ll opt for viewing…….it’s less mentally scaring…….a recent one actually, Kings of Leon, Hyde Park a few years ago. They couldn’t have been more disinterested to play to 60,000 people if they tried.
GENERAL INFO
What’s your favourite joke?
A Frankie Boyle line “I’m very old now and I’ve got a body like a dropped lasagne. Women now look at my naked body in the same fearful way that pensioners look at snow.”
Who is the singer you would most like to punch in the face?
Yeah I have names, but, in defence of singers, everyone is watching them and listening to them, it’s a tough job and I genuinely take my hat off to them. I mean there’s no TV program called the Masked Rhythm Guitarist, and there’s good reason for that.
If you could play anywhere and anything, where/what would it be?
OK, this’ll have to be my personal (somewhat over-romanticised) answer and probably not a band opinion, but playing a version of Heroes in one of the big rooms at Hansa Studios in Berlin would tick a box.
Who would win in a fight, a gnome with a machete or a badger with num-chuks?
I think it would go the distance and end in a draw, with The Badger winning the rematch.
WHATS THE FUTURE HOLD?
Plans for after lockdown?
Let’s just get back in a room, see if we all still like each other (referring to one of my earlier answers), and then play some gigs and get back to flying by the seat of our pants in public again.
Longer term aspirations for the band?
Infamy
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