With early March being an incredibly rushed time for The Shrives, we thank them for sparing some time to answer these questions before their Hellcats single launch with INFL on the 3rd and the release of Money Maker – dropping tomorrow!
“There are rushes of power-pop energy and acoustic tracks that fall somewhere between Johnny Cash and Violent Femmes, all served with a vintage punk and new-wave vibe.”
– Kerrang!
“The Shrives are unafraid to experiment, with their music veering from solid indie to pop to punk-funk.”
– NME
The Shrives – the rock ’n’ roll band with an eclectic mix of stratospheric ska, subversive country and visceral punk attitude – are rumbling beneath the rocks with their latest release since their debut album, Back In The Morrow. Due to erupt onto all platforms on March 2nd, keep your eyes and ears peeled for the Money Maker explosion…
– I ask this to every band I interview – describe the most weirdest or awkward gig you guys have ever played.
We played an awkward gig in Ilkeston in a pub and there was about 5 people there spread apart across the place. Songs finished, no sound. Kinda awkward. Plus every single Newark gig we’ve played I’ve found awkward as hell. We were playing in another small pub and Josh had his beer next to him on the table, some random woman came and sat down and started drinking his pint, it was kinda weird cause we didn’t really know what to do as we were in the middle of a song. Don’t do that to a man’s pint. *beats chest*
– The Shrives have been gigging for a while now so with the release of ‘Money Maker’, why have you chosen to launch a single not an ep or album?
We just released our debut album last year and I really want to plan the next record out. Last time, we just grabbed every song we could and threw it all into a big stew. Next time we make an album I want to be a bit more precious about it and make sure everything fits before we head into the studio… it also costs a lot of fucking money.
– You’ve had a rather successful year in 2017. After playing Rock City stage, The Shrives are well known faces in Notts. What’s been your personal highlight?
My personal highlight has got to be recording in London with the boys. It was just so much fun to do and I really felt at peace while doing it, no stress, just complete ease. It made a nice change from the stress of trying to ‘MAKE IT’. It was just great to sit down and focus on the music without any worry who will like it, play it or stuff like that.
Close second is playing Rock City, it’s such an iconic venue.
– ‘Money Maker’ is being released on the 2nd of March alongside a launch gig with INFL on the following Saturday (3rd). Obviously, not many of us have even heard a sample of the song so could you give us a brief summary/description of the single’s vibe and story behind it?
In my mind, it’s a pop song, it’s something you can dance or sing along to. I feel like it’s a progression in the style of the band, we’re only going to take it further in future releases. The lyrics are quite sad because I was going through a break up at the time but it pushed me to write more honestly. I wanted to cut the bullshit and just say what I felt, you can sit for hours trying to think of certain quirky lyrics to impress people, even impress yourself, but at the end of the day all I was trying to say is ‘I want you’ ‘I love you’ and that’s it.
– Apart from sharing ‘Money Maker’ with a crowd, what’s going to be your highlight on the 3rd e.g. support bands?
I’m really looking forward to seeing all the bands that night. George Gadd is a personal fav, we’ve been sending each other new demos recently and it’s really great to talk to a songwriter outside of the band every now and again and get their perspective on the music, he’s got some brilliant new songs on the horizon. I also saw The Chase at the Phlexx records fundraiser back in December and they sounded fuckin great, really great musicianship between them and it’s lovely to hear people click.
I also can’t wait to play an old single that we’ve never played live before.
– You have the benefit of playing one of Hellcats’ favourite intimate venues – Fox Talbots. Do you think these kind of gigs are different to the regular ones?
It’s gonna be a bit different since it’s a coffee shop and a lot smaller than most of the venues we play but it’s still going to be a Shrives party. We’ve played smaller places before like living rooms and sheds, so we’re going to feel right at home.
– Why did you decide to join up with INFL’s targeted under 18 night for you single launch?
Over the years we’ve got loads of youths messaging us asking if they can get in to a gig because they’re under 18 and most of the places we play, they can’t. It’s annoying because it’s only the music they wanna hear. So workin with Hellcats is a way of changing that for them.
– Will we be seeing you guys at any festivals this year?
We’re playing Deerstock and have a few small festivals lined up, we really want to play at Y Not Festival. I hope it happens. We’ll make it happen. It will definitely happen.
– Obviously, we are very excited to be working with you and can’t wait to see where you go from here. What would you like to achieve in the near future and potential venues for you to play in the long run?
We’d like to get an E.P out and then another album. We just wanna take it as far as we can go without dying. Would love to play bigger venues with bigger bands and grow the fanbase out a lot more across the country. We’ve got another two singles lined up after ‘Money Maker’ so anything could happen.
Interview by Natalie Greener
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