Interview by Graham Finney
10 questions with …. AS SIRENS FALL
Hi, could you give us a quick introduction to your band?
We are As Sirens Fall. We like to play music, put on great shows and we want to spread a message of mental health, hope and positivity as far as we can.
Complete the sentence: You’ll love our band if you’re a fan of …
Ridiculously lively stage performances, being part of an ever-growing and ever-inclusive family, and hair dye.
Where can people hear your music?
We’re everywhere; search As Sirens Fall on Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, Amazon MP3, Google Play, Deezer, the works.
How did you get involved in #360RAW? And how does it feel to be involved in the opening night?
It was great to be asked to be a part of it. We love playing the 360 Club and Alan Raw’s involvement is fantastic. It’s great to be asked to help launch #360RAW and hopefully it can become just as amazing.
Nights like #360RAW show that the music scene for new talent is thriving across Yorkshire. What are your thoughts on that scene?
The music scene in Yorkshire is awesome. We’re lucky to come from here, being surrounded by so many great bands and great venues. It takes nights like #360RAW to help give every up and coming artist a chance and ensure that no-one slips through the cracks. The talent in our area is fantastic.
What are the ups and downs of being in a young band trying to make a breakthrough?
In order to get to where we are at now, we have all had to simply live the band. We love it. Every spare second is spent writing, rehearsing, building, hustling, learning and trying to progress. The best parts are playing the shows that make everything worth it. The worst, but in many ways essential, parts are being shot down when you try to make something happen.
Trying and failing is an important part of life; not just being in a band. It just makes us more determined, and we are as determined as ever to build our weird little family and to spread our music and our message, and nothing will stop us from doing everything we can to make that happen. It’s important to not just rely on the classic mentality of being in the ‘right place right time’ in order to find success – you make your own luck.
What are your goals for the next 12 months and beyond?
We have a lot of plans that I can’t talk about yet, but this year will be our biggest yet. We’re heading out on our first European tour; we’re playing festivals we haven’t played before and we’re honoured to be a part of; and we’ll certainly be heading back out across the UK. And there is new music coming.
Do you have any good – or bad – stories from playing gigs across Yorkshire?
When we started out, we would often play shows to few or no people, but they were still great shows. We learned who we were as a band and figured out our stage dynamic. Now that more people come to see us play, a ‘bad’ show now would have been our best show ever back then. Every show we play in Yorkshire now seems to be incredible. Our fans here are awesome.
We saw someone at Leeds Festival in a T-shirt that said DON’T MESS WITH YORKSHIRE on the front – what would you have printed on the back?
… or we’ll send you our weather …
Thanks for your time. Is there anything you want to say ahead of the gig at #360RAW?
We’re really happy to be a part of what is sure to be a great night and we’re looking forward, as ever, to coming back to play where we’re from.
