Sticking close to home (for us, anyway) with today’s Band of the Day. Take it away, She Burns Red…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We are from Central Scotland, with from Fife, Livingston and Ayrshire.
How did you meet?
Some of us knew each other from being in other local bands and eventually we came together when we decided to try something new.
How long have you been playing as a band?
We have been playing together for around a year or so, but a little longer as different incarnations of the band.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
The name kind of appeared out of thin air after brainstorming and tossing around ideas to try come up with something catchy but unique. Our bass player writes comic books so is used to trying to grab your attention with words, he came in one day and blurted out “She Burns Red, we should call the band She Burns Red” and it was a name that just had a bit of mysticism and ambiguity around it. You can’t pin down what its supposed to mean and you aren’t supposed to.
What are your influences?
Our influences range from old school thrash metal and 80s rock right through to some Britrock stuff and even soul music. We’re all big fans of bands like Foo Fighters, Metallica, Deftones and The Wildhearts. In fact all four have quite different tastes when it comes to music ,which we’ve found helps when coming up with song ideas.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We feel if Metallica were to have a baby with the Foo Fighters you might get close to the sound we are aiming for with the band. The two lead vocalists definitely set us apart as well and offers something a little unique and different as both of the singers in our band have their own way of approaching things and that means it keeps things fresh as we can change things up vocal wise from song to song.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
I think the lyrical themes of our songs come about from whatever situation they are born out of, be it love, loss, frustration or isolation. It’s hard to pinpoint a reoccurring theme.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Our live show is always full-bore and full of adrenaline but we always find time for a bit of on-stage banter, whether it be between band or people in the crowd. Put it this way you’ll never be bored at one of our shows!
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
There… Are… So… Many…
The time our bassist/vocalist James got so drunk before we played and for some reason felt the need to say our bands name constantly between every song… Like, every song, like, 15 times between every song… And also kept bumping and knocking into our guitarist/vocalist Andy, to the point where he was ready to explode! Ah fun times, brings it all rushing back…
Or the time where we headlined the unsigned stage at a massive tribute festival and had to endure seeing middle-aged men dressed like of the Spice Girls and Abba all day! There were also a lot of pirates too for, some reason…
Or the time a multi band gig we were booked on was nearly cancelled due to an electrical fault on stage which was causing the PA to blow and our guitarist Craig (who’s an electrician) had to diagnose and fix the fault to save all 4 bands heading home without having played a note.
We could go on… But we won’t!
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
- Gibson and Fender guitars/basses.
- Marshall amplifiers and cabs for guitars.
- Ampeg amplifiers and Trace Elliot cabinets for bass.
- Various Line 6, Boss and Korg effects processors and pedals.
- Mapex drums with Zildjian cymbals.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
We have just released our second single “Interstellar” and an accompanying video which is available to stream and buy from all major online outlets. We poured blood, sweat and tears into the making of both the single and the video but the results far outweighed what we expected. We had a great team around us for this one and we are ecstatic at how it’s all turned out.
Needless to say you really need to check it out.
What are your plans for 2019?
We plan to gig as much as is humanly possible in 2019, hopefully including a few summer festivals and European dates along the way. We also plan to squeeze in a few recording sessions in the studio in between all that with the aim to have some new music out soon.
You should also look out for our limited edition double-A side CD featuring both of our single releases on a physical format for the first time ever. It’ll be available to buy from our Bandcamp page.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be ing and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
We are all massive fans of The Wildhearts so to them would be a dream come true for us. If we had to choose an opening band for the bill I think we would all go with Glasgow rockers Black King Cobra who play the most amazing music and are some of the nicest guys you could hope to meet.
From previous Band of the Day, Dying Awkward Angel: Is there a different kind of music, very far from your genre, which mostly influenced your taste, and so your style?
Soul music is a big influence within the band, I think when you’re looking to incorporate a certain groove within your songs there’s no better place to start really. Prince and Charles Bradley are go-to favourites.
From another BotD, cleopatrick: What is the one thing you wish every venue had?
I think every gigging musician really looks for only 3 things when arriving at a venue: A single level load in, clean and working toilets and lastly: a decent chippy right outside!
And from Deathflux: If you could be a celebrity for a day, who would you be?
If we could, we would turn one of us into Chad Kroeger of Nickleback fame then the rest of us could lock him in a wooden box, put him in the boot of our van, drive hours from civilisation and bury him in an unnamed forest so that none of us ever have to put up with his shit ever again.
You’re welcome…
She Burns Red: facebook | twitter | bandcamp | soundcloud | spotify
