Moles has a queue that stretches around the corner tonight and that's all because of the homecoming of one of the area's freshest young rock and roll acts Blackbud. They're a young, serious threesome, oozing motivation and drive and raring to go, especially tonight! The band consists of Joe Taylor who lends his vocal and guitaring mastery to the sound, Adam Newton, the fresh-faced bassist who bears an uncanny resemblance to Wiley Wiggins of 'Dazed and Confused' fame and Sam Nadel the drummer weaving intricate beats to keep it all together.
The R13 interview is being squeezed in between a TV interview and one for radio... We take a quick aside in the tour van, it has a plush showbiz interior whilst being virtually unnoticeable on the outside, Joe and Sam are sat round the luxury table with beers, whilst Adam's outside being held up by endless fans and all the troubles good-looking bassists have to put up with... the interview starts:
R13: A local gig tonight, excited? Is it more special when you're nearer home?
JT: Well, we've been on a long tour all around the UK, we've had some great ones and not so great ones and some real highlights, like London was great, but we just know tonight's going to be pretty cool, we haven't been in Bath for ages and loads of people have seen us before and I predict a good crowd.
R13: What's been the highlight of your tour so far?
SN: Camden Barfly, we played there last Tuesday and it was great, for some reason whenever you go to London it's always so much more intense and there's more people, and we sold it out, so yeah it was cool... Anyone who's a musician knows that for some performances you put loads of pressure on yourself to make them good, and we were putting a lot of pressure on ourselves and it's just happened, it was really good...
The door opens and Adam clambers in shouting 'Hello', beers are then sorted out and after that all's ready to recommence ...
R13: 'Heartbeat' was Zane Lowe's single of the week a little while ago, how have you reacted to that?
JT: It was a really amazing thing and a big compliment for us as he's definitely a guy who champions new bands, I think he's really into it, which is a really positive step...
AN: And we all really respect Zane Lowe, he's one of the main guys that's around at the moment...
SN: He's one of the only guys I listen to on the radio because of his taste and the fact he chooses his own music too, we were in Canada at the time that we found out, recording our album... we were actually recording that song which was weird, we were re-recording it for the album, so suddenly we were all like: 'yeah, this is the single of the week, let's make it a little bit better...'
R13: Did you ever watch the TV show Heartbeat?
Blackbud Oh yeah!! (laughing...)
JT: That's what inspired the song... sarcastically in brackets... (more laughter)
R13: So you're recording your album in Canada, how's it all going, are you there yet?
SN: Well, we haven't finished yet, we're going back on Tuesday, to record some vocals, mainly...
AN: Yeah, do all the overdubs, hopefully some strings will feature on the album, we're really lucky we've the opportunity to experiment with some things like that...
JT Yeah, it's quite an inspiring process, being in the studio and having to realise something that's hopefully going to last forever, you have to be quite tuned into it, be in the right mood, we've done some good work so far and now just have to add the finishing touches...
R13: You probably get this one all the time, but where exactly did the name of your band come from?
JT: The name, hmm...
SN: Joe, Joe, you say.. keep it short but sweet.
JT: OK, there were two donkeys walking down the street, one was called Black and one was called Bud, and that's it...
SN: The moral of the story is; never... um...
JT: Never ride two donkeys at the same time...
SN: ...because one gets jealous. And that's the origin of our name...
R13: OK, so Bud was the jealous one and that's why he came behind?
SN: Yeah, yee-ea-ah...
JT: Yes! That's good...
R13: You're currently rising through the ranks of recognition, do you see it as a good thing; not having to play Freshers Week gigs anymore and so on... or are you already worried about what detrimental effects these dizzy heights of fame may take on you?
AN: The best thing is just having people who have come to see you, because they've seen you before and they enjoyed it, it's not just playing to randoms who never know what to make of it, you can actually get a crowd response from people who are there to get involved in the music, which is the best part of playing live really...
We've had gigs where we've played at places and no one in the venue's ever heard us before, and they've been great, but it's such a cool energy when you play somewhere and there's clearly a load of people there to see you, it's really enjoyable and it's just easy to get the vibe going...
R13: Where do you hope to be this time next year?
SN: In this van, outside Moles. So many people in the street, like there's a street party and everybody's fighting trying to get in...
AN: Yes, that would be awesome!
JT: If we're coming back to Bath I'd like to sell out maybe The Pavilion or something...
SN: The Bath Arena!
JT: I guess all of us dream to make our amazing album and have loads of people enjoy it, and that's it really, that would be the best thing...
R13: So, who are the biggest influences on your sound?
JT: Well, we've all got our own individual influences and musical loves and dislikes, and I guess, to the sound of the band, you can say it was spawned from Jimi Hendrix who inspired the spirit, I don't want to sound cheesy, everyone mentions Jeff Buckley, but he was a great great musician and a great singer and he's been an inspiration to us...
SN: I think when we started out, playing things like Hendrix and Zeppelin and Bob Marley a lot more, that's where came from definitely, playing covers, we never covered stuff like Radiohead and Jeff Buckley, the kind of stuff we're compared to now, just because they're such good song-writers...
JT: It's like if you ever try to sing one of their songs you're not going to live up to it, so you've got to do your own thing and let out your own feelings rather than someone else's feelings.
R13: That leads me on to my next question; are you tiring of the comparisons to Jeff Buckley or do you find them flattering?
JT: I don't really mind, you can't lie about it, he was a great musician and great artist... we've got a huge amount of influences and he's one of the important ones for us...
R13: Do you have a chock-a-block schedule from here on out, or will you be able to find some time for Christmas shopping?
SN: We're literally stuck in the middle of a chock-a-block schedule right now...
AN: Yeah, we're about to end our tour, and then we're going to Canada for two weeks as we've said, to finish the album and then December and the first half of January is sort of chillout time, we've got just a couple of gigs and a bit of practising and getting our lives back together before going back on the road.
SN: Getting the shattered pieces of our lives back together before we go out on the road again...
AN Before we destroy them all over again... haha.
R13: Any hot tips on who will be Christmas number one, and have you ever considered writing a Chrimbo hit?
SN: When you start as a musician, those first chords and a guitar, and the first time you sit down and play the drums and sing, that's really what you're going for, the Christmas number one...
JT: You know that all you have to do is get that hit and you'll be millionaires and you'll never have to work again...
SN: So basically, it's all about the money, all about the fame, we don't care about selling our souls as long as we make a quick buck... And I think the Christmas number one will be Mr. Blobby again.
AN: Mr. Blobby, oh Mr. Blobby, oh Mr. Blobby, we love you...
SN: What was the name of the song?
JT: The Blobby Song...?
R13: You think that will beat Crazy Frog?
JT: I think he's on his way out...
AN Noel Edmonds is coming back into fashion in a special way, I know he's my God...
SN: You need to get rid of your shrine Adam, because Noel Edmunds is just not cool anymore.
And that was that, upon exiting the van the queue had grown to about four times it's original size and there were ecstatic shouts of 'there's the band!' They walked off to mingle with the adoring fans, well on their way to achieving high successes in the music industry. The Heartbeat EP is out now, so get to know it, because this band are on their way up...