Due to the huge number of bands playing at Bloodstock this year, and the fact that our two roving reporters will actually want to watch some of them, we’re doing a little round of pre-festival interviews this year. We’re focussing on the bands playing the Jagermeister and Hobgoblin New Blood Stages so they get a chance to convince you to go and watch them. , these guys and gals are the future of our musical world!
Simple things first – where are you from?
I am from Leicester City.
How long have you been playing as a solo artist?
It’s been about 5 years or so since I started doing Foul Body Autopsy,
But if I am honest I never set out to be a one man band it just came out of necessity, I had just left my old band and I was trying to get a new band together, and for a while I had a trio called Epitaph. But due to reliability problems with band member’s that came in to the project I decided to go it alone. I think the straw that broke the camel’s back was when I got a text from the drummer the morning of our first gig saying he couldn’t make it. It also did not help that the bass player left the band a few days before.
I was promoting the event and I had absolutely no intention of pulling out, luckily I was studying music at the time so I spent the day sorting out a backing track and played the gig solo. Luckily the gig went very well so I decided to stay solo for good, and the rest is history!
Where does the name of the band come from?
Well that is a funny story I was trying to think of a good band name, you know something that makes you think damn that’s a good name for a band. I just happened to be listening to the first Necrophagist album, Onset of Putrefaction and the song “Foul Body Autopsy” came on. Then it just dawned on me, Foul Body Autopsy would make an amazing band name! Simple as that.
What are your influences?
I listen to so much music that I find inspiring that this list could go on for three pages. But some of my biggest metal influences are Behemoth, Napalm Death, Cattle Decapitation, Death, Opeth, Devin Townsend, and Carcass,
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
I don’t consider my music as being completely unique, its just a mix of Death Metal, Grindcore, Black Metal, & Melodic Metal, But somehow it all works rather well together. But at the end of the day I am just a strange guy who makes records on his own in his friend’s studio, so in that way I guess that makes my music somewhat unique.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
I can’t keep track of all the gigs I have played over the years, at a stab in the dark I’d say it’s getting close to 100 now. The live show is kind of simple, with it being just me on stage with my guitar and a microphone. To be honest I just try and play the songs as well as possible, and destroy everyone’s ears… of course
When/how did you find out you’d been selected to play at Bloodstock?
I played the festival back in 2011 and since then I’ve been dying to play for a second time. So a few weeks ago I sent Simon Hall a message asking him if he was looking for bands to play the Jagermeister Stage, he messaged me back saying he was looking at the applicants for that stage and he would see if he could manage to find me a slot. I honestly didn’t think I would get a slot at all, so when I got the message from him saying I could play I was so happy.
What sort of Setlist can we expect?
I am playing 2 songs from the first album, the 2 songs that made up the latest EP, and I am also playing 3 new songs that haven’t been recorded yet.
Which main stage band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?
Well I am kind of lucky on that one because the bands on the Jagermeister Stage play in-between the main stage bands. So on that front am kind of good, also I don’t think I clash with any of the bands I’m desperate to see. But I am hoping that I don’t clash with OAF (Dom Lawson’s band) because I have been wanting to see them for years.
What are you working on at the moment?
At the moment I am working on a new record for Grindscene Records, I have almost finished writing it I just need to finish some lyrics and arrange the last song. My hope is to have some full demos finished by October to send to the producer and the label. Then I go to the studio in December to record it, and with a bit of luck if all goes well it should be released in late February 2016.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done on tour?
Well I was piggy backing on a tour with Cancerous Womb, Desecration, Basement Torture Killings, and Prostitute Disfigurement in May of 2012, and my friend Danowar was giving me a lift from the Bristol gig to his house where all the bands where staying for the night, and on our way to his house we saw a UFO, no shit a fucking UFO.
It was a triangle shape thing with lights on each corner flying very low over the country side. At one point it past over the car and I got a good look at it, and I can tell you it was not an airplane or helicopter, and for the record nether me or Danowar take drugs or drink.
So when I got home I decided to Google what I had saw, just to see if anyone else had seen anything like it, and the exact same UFO had been spotted all over the world.
So yep I saw a fucking UFO!
What advice would you give to a young band just starting out today?
Make music for your friends, because if you’re a musician and your making music and you don’t like it, and your friends don’t like it, no one’s going to like it, so just focus on making music you like and it increases the chance that good things will follow.
If you could be part of any 3-band line-up who else would you have on the bill? One band above you and one below – a chance to plug a smaller, unsigned act!
That’s a hard one, but I think I’d go with Napalm Death for headline band. Because I love them, I think they are amazing, and for the opening band I would go for my friends in Black Skies Burn. I have done loads of gigs with that band over the years, and they are very good mates of mine.
Foul Body Autopsy opens the Jagermeister stage on the Friday.
Foul Body Autopsy: facebook | bandcamp | youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsgGwqDnn2o
