Interview: The Slow Reader's Club

When Xpress belled me for an impromptu interview with this band, I was a little nervous. With three searing albums, their latest being Build a Tower, holding hits like ‘On  the Tv’ and ‘You Opened Up My Heart’, and well earned spot on the BBC Top 20 UK Albums playlist,  plus over a decade of music making, Aaron, Kurtis, James and David, aka The Slow Reader’s Club, are not small potatoes. The four piece has a powerful alternative-indie rock sound, ripe anthemic lyrics - another quality band generated from the sonic powerhouse that is the Manchester indie/alt rock scene. 

To say I was relaxed waiting for Aaron outside The Fleece on that sunny, Bristolian Tuesday would have been a lie. But my meeting with The Readers was brilliant. Not only did they welcome me and Abbey (my forever +1 to Xpress gigs) the minute we set foot in The Fleece’s low ceilinged attic, offering us drinks, snacks from the abundantly stocked fridge, they even let us sit in on their soundcheck mid interview! It was a real groupie moment and it felt fantastic! Experiencing time with such an established, quality band was brilliant and to see their sound spread wider and wider across the globe. 

S: Thanks for meeting with me today guys! First off, your name reminded me of a catch-up group at my infant school called the Early Bird’s Club. This got me thinking perhaps the name sends a message not to underestimate the underdog – does this idea strike a chord with you?

A: That’s exactly right. Don’t doubt the underdog!

 

S: It’s great to see you guys touring all around the country! When playing, do you prefer performing at a large venue, or a more intimate gig?

K: It doesn’t really matter to me, I like both. Both have their merits, the larger venues are more like, afterwards you’ll think like, f*cking hell just played to The Apollo, but then the intimate venues, where we played previously, it’s really close up and you can see the whites of your fan’s eyes and they’re absolutely buzzing.

 

S: That must be an amazing feeling! If you could see any deceased or split musician(s) from the past, who would it be, and why?

A: John Lennon, probably. Just because he is probably the biggest influence on me and my brother, as a writer. Bowie is another one, but if I had to pick, it would be Lennon. He was a great pop writer for The Beatles, and then when he went solo, he did a lot of challenging stuff. Quiet, autobiographical, personal stuff.

 

S: Yeah, I find that with your music definitely. ‘On the TV’ is anthemic, yet personal enough to reach lots of people for different reasons. There’s a Dave Grohl quote that sticks with me – “you’ll sing a song to eight thousand people and they’ll sing it back for eight thousand reasons”

A: I absolutely agree with that. That’s what I’ve experienced afterwards, when you speak to fans after a show, and they tell you how they interpret a song or different ways of looking at it – it’s cool.

 

S: 2018 was a big year for you guys! Playing The Apollo and having your music on XS Manchester and BBC must have felt brilliant! What would you like to achieve this coming year?

A: This year is the first year of us going full time, so we’ve got 48 dates across the UK and Europe. More European festivals than we’ve ever done before – we’re doing Mad Cool Festival in Madrid, Rockweltcher in Belgium, it’s going to be cool, and very busy hopefully! I want us to get Apollo level, like three thousand people, all across the country. That’s the mission anyway.

 

S: Is there a part of you that feels especially uplifted playing in Manchester?

A: Yeah, it’s our home ground, and there is a sense of ownership from the crowd, like ‘yeah these are our boys’ kinda thing. And obviously, there’s people that travel from all over the globe. There’s a lady from Germany following us for our upcoming show dates!

 

S: That’s dedication! If you could collaborate with anybody, who would it be and why?

A: Arcade Fire, there’s a really inventive album of theirs called Funeral which is a favourite of mine. LCD Soundsystem would be another one, on the more electronic end.

 

S: The Slow Reader’s Club has been creating for a long time now – is there a piece of advice you would give someone who wants to enter the industry?

A: One thing we’ve learnt is to have a bit of a release strategy – if you’re going to put a single out there, know what you’re going to follow it up with, or some tour dates around it, otherwise you might get some attention and it might go away again.

S: Are they any do’s and don’ts when it comes to making music for you guys, or does it depend on the individual vibe and tone?

J: Write something you like. If you don’t like it, you’re not gonna play it are ya? When we write and practice, we’ll come up with a riff or a tune and then if we all join in and carry on playing it, then you tend to think ‘ah everyone must like this one’ whereas if everyone starts looking at the floor you tend to get a bit of a vibe! But luckily, we like the same sort of thing, so when one of us plays something, someone else picks up on it, and then we all start running with it.

K: Lucky for us, we all have an input, and like the same kind of stuff, so that’s good.

 

S: Last question guys! Is there something particular you guys want to take forward as your careers continue through 2019, and beyond?

A: The main stage performances at festivals last year, and trying to win over a crowd that isn’t necessarily a fan of yours already, that’s the most exciting thing. It’s a great opportunity to win people over and stay in the business. I want to take that excitement forward. 

K: For a band like us who don’t get a lot of radio play, rocking up at a big festival,  unloading your gear all by yourselves, set everything up yourselves. You get thirty five minutes. You walk on, blitz it, and hope you’ve won people over. By the end you can see people dancing or cheering. Festivals for us are massively important.

A: Most of the time our Twitter responses are – “I’ve never heard of you guys but you’re brilliant!” Which we love. And to just keep enjoying ourselves and doing what we’re doing!