1. Thanks for your time, could you give us a quick introduction to Sir Curse?
Thanks for having us. We are Lyndsay (vocals), Ellen (keys), Henry (Drums), Eric (Bass), Bill (Guitar) and Joe (Trumpet). We make up Sir Curse, and we play spooky rock music with a theatrical twist!
2. Part theatre, part rock … how did you guys come together and how did the concept come about?
Ellen and Lyndsay started writing creepy music in their second year of University and felt like they were onto something pretty special. They were both into TV shows and movies with dark themes, as well as books and fairy tales, and wanted to make music that felt equally dark. Eric and Henry were both friends of Ellen and Lyndsay’s at University, and they all met Bill and Joe after graduating before forming Sir Curse as we know them today.
3. You’re playing #360RAW9 in a few weeks; what can we expect from your set?
A bit of horror, a bit of laughter, and a whole bunch of good tunes! We’ve got a new song in the works that we’re hoping to have finished in time for the show, so if you’re lucky (and really nice to us) we might just unveil that too!
4. How did you get involved with #360RAW9 and how important are gigs like these for rising bands?
We played a show at the 360 Club last September, and the promoter really liked what he saw! He said he really wanted to have us back, and came back to us earlier this year with the mysterious offer of “a special gig”. Shows like this are crazy exciting; to have a big crowd, and big names coming to see us. You never know who’s in the audience that might want to work with you.
5. Theatrically, how would you like to see your show develop?
We’d love to outfit stages or whole venues a little more, to really push the visual element of being at a creepy circus. Maybe hire some actors to be part of the audience and to choreograph actions to particular songs and moments. Jugglers, acrobats, dancers, wild animals, fire eaters, magicians; if you can see it at the circus, we want to include it!
6. Musically, you’ve been described as sounding like Kate Bush and System of a Down if they were to join the circus together; how would you yourselves describe your sound?
We’re a blend of jumping drums and bass with knee slapping keys, crunchy guitar, smooth trumpet and sinister vocals for the cherry on top. If Eton Mess was a style of music, it’d be us.
It’s definitely theatrical and has a running story theme throughout.
7. You’ve previously done a UK tour; how did that go and what sort of people come to see Sir Curse?
You get all sorts that turn up to a Sir Curse show. Of course, there’s our friends and families that come along, but those that haven’t seen us before are the most exciting. We come on stage and they have no idea what they’re in for, and by the time we’ve finished the first song, they’re cheering and clapping louder than anyone.
8. What about the West Yorkshire music scene, have they been supportive of Sir Curse?
The scene in West Yorkshire is great – we get so many people along to our gigs who tell us that they’ve never seen anything like what we do, and that they loved the show. To get so much great feedback is really humbling and it makes us feel so happy to play here.
9. Curveball question: if you could put a curse on a celebrity who would you choose and what would that curse be?
Good question! We’d make Piers Morgan have to slap every meal with all his strength before eating it.
10. Apart from #360RAW9 and Boomtown – what does the rest of the year hold in store for the band?
More gigs! We want to get a bit further afield, get ourselves to new venues in new cities, playing with new bands, in front of new audiences. We’re also starting to record a brand new single (and hopefully a video too) which will hopefully be released by the end of summer. It’s the most recent song we’ve written, and we’re all really pleased with it.
