Alright? I'm Eliott and I come from Nosebleed. We're releasing our new album soon so Colin has very kindly asked me to provide everyone my top ten biggest punk rock influences. Obviously I had to say yes, so here we are. Are you ready? I'm ready. Here we go!
1. Motörhead
I love Motörhead. I have loved Motörhead for a long long time. Before Lemmy died I was definitely in triple figures seeing Motörhead. One of my early CDs that dad made me buy (dad very much dictated my early musical taste) was a greatest hits of theirs and they were the first band I ever saw live. My friend Smell and I used to follow them around the world to see them. It was a great time in my life, living in the back of a van, hanging out backstage and fangirling over the band. Motörhead are one of those bands that change you profoundly, I think, they are the very essence of rock n roll. There was something for the punks, something for the rockers, something for the metal heads there, a true unifying band. A lot of what I play and how I write music and lyrics comes from Motörhead and I'm real glad when people come up to me after gigs and say they can hear it in Nosebleed's music.
2. The Hives
Obviously, if you've seen Nosebleed, you know where a lot of our sound and style comes from. The Hives are a banging band,and I defy you not to listen to a Hives record without nodding your head. They've got it all – killer sound, killer style, killer show, rock n roll as it should be played. I think a lot of people forget that live music should be a performance, not just playing songs, it should be a panto. The Hives have this down completely and I try and bring this into Nosebleed's live show too.
3. The Greats; Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis And All The Originals
Without these people in the fifties and sixties, there wouldn't be any of the bands I like today. There wouldn't be a Nosebleed, or a DIY punk scene to play in, and I feel it would be a pretty sad state of affairs. Imagine doing a human pyramid to a Vivaldi performance. Pretty grim. There's little that feels better than sticking on a Little Richard LP and dancing round the kitchen while you cook the tea. Good old proper rock n roll.
4. Blink 182
Blink were one of the first bands I got into. My first forays into buying music for myself were shakey to say the least, though to this day So Solid Crew's 21 seconds remains a classic, but Blink 182 were one of the first 'guitar' bands I got into and are the reason I started listening to punk. To this day I have a soft spot for Blink, I think they're one of those bands that you can never be too cool to listen to. Their self-titled 2003 album is an absolute masterpiece – a lot of people disagree with this but you know I'm right.
5. Tyler the Creator & Kendrick Lamar
Aside from rock n roll, I am very much into hip hop. A lot of what I listen to day to day is hip hop, because after constant gigging and watching bands, I like to relax to something different. Of all the hip hop I listen to, I think Tyler the Creator is the best. Very underrated as an artist, he tells very clever, subtle stories in his albums and has created his own worlds within the albums through the use of recurring alter egos. Listen to Wolf, that's his best. In the same way I also massively rate Kendrick Lamar. His storytelling is on point – more serious than Tyler the Creator, Kendrick deals with issues of growing up surrounded by gang culture and the problems faced by African Americans. Listen to good kid, M.A.A.D. City.
6. The Shipping Forecast
So, now some none musical stuff. Radio 4 is great. If you don't listen to it, you should. I will listen to the shipping forecast most nights, it's extremely comforting on long drives home from gigs. It's like a lullaby for adults. When me and my dad went to gigs we always had it on when we were nearly home, so I think that's where my attachment to the shipping forecast has come from.
7. Stephen King
I used to read a lot more than I do now. I don't so much have time for it anymore, but when I do get around to it, you can guarantee I'm reading a Stephen King book. I don't really know what it is about his works – I don't like horror films, I don't like the dark, but I find myself getting really drawn into his books. Best book – IT. Couldn't watch the film, got scared.
8. Art
Bit vague this one, but I didn't really know how to make it less so. I really like art, essentially. Mainly traditional tattoo art. Can't even really explain why, it’s a bit of a shit number 8 is this, I'm sorry. I do a lot of my own drawing and painting and draw a lot of influence from tattoo artists and people of that ilk. My special friend Jaap from Batwolf is an incredible artist, we're constantly sending each other pictures we've drawn and he encourages me a lot. We even collaborated on the cover for Nosebleed's new album
9. Sian
Sian is my fiancé and I like her a lot. She encourages me, and pushes me with the band, and doesn't get mad when I spend too much of our money or forget to cook the tea or put a hole in the bath and then not buy her a new one so she can't have baths anymore and we have to shower really awkwardly to stop the floor getting wet.
10. The UK Punk Scene
I love our scene. I love the people in our scene, making the music they make. It's great. I've friends all over the country as a direct result of playing in a band. Obviously everyone in the scene influences me, but in particular there's my brother Dan (The Franceens/Snakerattlers) who has always pushed me and supported everything I do musically. He did a lot for my old band Segregates and he has done more for Nosebleed than I could ever thank him for. Ben and Dicky of Nosebleed fame, they're alright. I spend too much time with them and we have fights all the time, but I wouldn't spend my weekends with anyone else. Andy, Bev, and the TNS family. Andy and Bev have really got behind Nosebleed and without them and all the TNS bands we wouldn't be where we are today.
So that's me! Ten things! Thanks for listening.
Stream and download Nosebleed's new album Scratching Circles On The Dancefloor here and like Nosebleed on Facebook here.
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