As ever, we’re going to try and cover every single Jäger, New Blood and SOPHIE stage band before Bloodstock kicks off on August 10th. Your chance to check them out and start planning which bands to get there early for! This year we’re also having a word with the acts playing in the VIP area!
Trust us when we tell you that this is bound to result in some frustrating clashes because, as ever, there are some great bands on these three stages.
Our thanks to all the bands for taking the time out to answer our questions!
Noisepicker – Serpent’s Lair VIP stage, Saturday
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Currently we’re stretched out between Hampshire and Manchester. It can make getting together a little tricky, so we tend to block up our email s swapping song ideas back and forth.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
Our first gig was in September 2016, so I guess that’s when we first sprang to life. It’s been a short, brutal existence and we have aged rapidly in the process.
Where does the name of the band come from?
It’s a play on words. People often miss out the “i” in “noise”. Kinda tells you a lot about attention to detail and raises a few smiles! We like to pick our noise and eat it.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We’re a blues band essentially. It’s the origination of heavy and the seed from which all else has grown. Motörhead were a blues band. Black Sabbath were a blues band. Pretty much any band that uses a guitar have been a blues band along the way. We’ve taken that seed and genetically modified it with a touch of punk and a splattering of doom. Tom Waits meets Swans. Howlin’ Wolf meets Serpent Venom. All mixed up with a foot-on-the-floor grove.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
It’ll be a little different to most things you’ll encounter that weekend. Finding ways to blend simplicity into the strange can lead you to unexpected places. There will be two riff-addicted humans, beating the crap out of their chosen instruments for forty minutes or so, telling stories about those who have been twisted and those who have been wronged. Most of these stories are true. Come along and see if you can tell which!
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
Yeah – last time I was there was in 2013. The time before was when it was still indoors. Amazing to see how the event has grown into this behemoth of rock n roll wonderment! And killer to see that it has still kept it’s down-to-earth vibe. It feels more like the European festivals than any of the UK ones I know. Love it!
When/how did you find out you’d been selected to play at Bloodstock?
I ran into the being known as DJ Griz at Desertfest this year. He asked if we were available. I thought he was drunk. Turned out he was, but he meant it anyway! Utterly stoked to be involved so early on in our existence.
What sort of setlist can we expect?
It’ll roar with peaks and troughs, lurching between thrashed out blasting speed and almost inaudible melancholic calm. Depending on how drunk we get the night before. Which is likely to be very. So your guess is as good as mine!
What makes it different playing in the VIP area as opposed to “out front”?
I’m not sure! Don’t think I made it to the VIP area last time. Although I can’t be certain as there are still moments of memory blanks from that weekend! I don’t know what to expect, but I know it’s gonna be crazy!
What are you working on at the moment?
We’re about to start work on the follow up to our Doom/Punk/Blues EP, which looks like it’s gonna be a full length album released in early 2018. Can’t really say too much about that yet, as the details are still being ironed out, but as soon as it’s confirmed we’ll be screaming it from the rooftops!
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
In the past I’ve accidentally pulled down a lighting rig, thrown up over a bouncer and broken a tooth by smacking myself in the mouth with a microphone. That was all in the same night. I’m hoping our Bloodstock appearance goes a touch more smoothly.
Jäger, Hobgoblin Ale, Kraken, Kingstone Press Cider, Kaltenberg Beer or Bulleit Bourbon? And, yes, we’ll be counting all the votes!
All of them. Together. Then the world will know peace!
Freaking awesome, Harry!!! You are a Rock God to me!!! I absolutely can’t wait for the full length, guaranteed to blow my mind!