“Deadweight is based on the Greek myth of King Midas, who is given the power to turn everything to gold with a touch, which then backfires when he turns his daughter into gold. Our adaption of this focuses on struggles of mental health” declares Seven Stories High vocalist Rhys Hyett-Ferrier, speaking of their sophomore EP Deadweight.
Sonically, the band, who are influenced by State Champs, The Wonder Years and Four Year Strong, describe the release as “almost split in two – half follows a fast up-beat pop punk feel, which gets people dancing and jumping around. The other is heavier – fuller sounding and darker in feel, which you can chant and scream along to.” Yet, the EP flows as one piece of music, with each track written to fit the narrative, whilst being open enough to interpretation for listeners to make a personal connection. Following the recent release of the EP, the band take the A-Z interview…
A Song Which Made You Want To Make Music: “Saturday” – Fall Out Boy
Best Album Ever Written: Tokyo Drift Soundtrack – Various Artists (or Worship And Tribute – Glassjaw)
Craziest Moment You’ve Experienced In The Band: Dave decided to jump off the three storey balcony of the log cabin we stayed in whilst recording Deadweight at night. We all thought Dave was dead. All we saw was him disappear into the darkness. Rhys went full dad-mode and ran down the hill in his boxers and trainers to save him and give him a stern telling off.
Deepest Lyrics One Of Your Songs Features: Probably the entirety of “Midas”. We spent months getting it just right.
Easiest Song You Wrote: “Hoax” came to fruition from jamming some new ideas in a practice session.
Favourite Show You’ve Ever Played: Our Deadweight release show in our home-town, Swansea was something special. Rhys didn’t have to sing a word of “Skin Me Alive”. The crowd blew us away.
Guest You’d Most Like To Feature On A Your Record: Jason Butler all day.
Happiest Moment You’ve Experienced In The Band: Probably the first time we hit the road. The sum really is greater than the parts.
Jokes You Have In The Band: Rhys has an ego and is proud of it. Matt’s a hippy. Charlie can’t be much older than nine. Kallum doesn’t understand the concept of time. Dave just sleeps. But together we are men in ven.
Kicking Off Your Set Is Best With Which Song: “Working For Wednesdays” is our go-to opener. If you’ve seen us before, you’ll know why.
Longest Distance You’ve Travelled To Play A Show: Birmingham is the furthest we’ve ventured thus far but watch this space.
Most Inspiring Musician You’ve Ever Experienced: We all agree that Soupy from The Wonder Years is the perfect human being.
New Band You’d Recommend: Dream State. They seem to be taking over the world right now. We’re 98% sure their success is down to Charlotte doing guest vocals on our track “Wait For It”.
Opening For This Band Would Be Ideal: Go West.
Place You’d Most Like To Tour: Japan would be dreamy.
Quote That You’d Like To On To Readers: “He is richest who is content with the least, for contentment is the wealth of nature.” Or alternatively, anything from Hot Fuzz.
Reason For The Title Of Your Recent/Forthcoming Release: Deadweight is about letting go and putting happiness first. Through the medium of the tale of King Midas, it discusses the issues of mental health and how it can change how you see/perceive things.
The Old Days Of Music Were Better Than Those Current, do you agree: I don’t think it’s as black and white as that. Yeah, most older releases that we still hear today are great but only because the bad stuff doesn’t get ed. Bands like Trash Boat and The Wonder Years are at the top of their game. They’re pushing the genre into new pastures. No one’s saying you can’t stick Dookie on and then check out the new Knuckle Puck record.
Unusual Merchandise: We sell our t-shirts out of my grandad’s old suitcase, does that count?
Variations You’d Like To Do On Any Of Your Songs: Our friend Byzanite did a sweet electronic remix of our track “That’s No Moon”. That was a lot of fun. We’re always up for more of that as well as maybe making some of our more up-beat songs moody. The lyrics on Deadweight definitely lend themselves to some heartfelt acoustic versions.
What Bands Have You Seen Live and Regretted: Walk The Moon.
You Could Have Written Any Song In History, Which Would You Pick: “C.R.E.A.M.” – Wu-Tang Clan
Zoo Animal That Best Describes The Personality Of Your Band: Lemurs. We’re so damn clingy.
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