Production- Article.

This is my article that I wrote after my interview


We caught up with James and his band Deaf Havana after their sold out headline gig at the Liverpool Masque on October 20th, in a dark, dingy practice room.
       The atmosphere in the room was high, and the band were in high spirits “There’s just no
better feeling that we can get after playing to a sold out venue, it’s just amazing being able to connect and reach people with our music” James explained about the bands spirit. 
       The band have just been touring with You Me At Six and Lower than Atlantis “The You Me At Six tour was amazing, we are good friends, and we just had a great time, we felt honoured to be playing with them”. The large venues are never what the band expected to be playing. Deaf
Havana are a band from a small village near Kings Lynn, Norfolk. “We started out playing in a shed at the bottoms of Ryan Mellors (former front man)’s garden, we then started trying to get more shows, getting more and more tours under our belts” James explained about the band journey into the music industry, since being in the music industry they have released 7 EP’s and 1 album since  2005, however the new album “Fools And Worthless Liars” is going to be Deaf Havana’s debut album as they call it. “We have had to mature as a band and adapt to changes in the band since 2009’s Meet Me Halfway, At Least  and we want people to treat us as a new band”, drummer Tom Ogden
explained. The changes that the band have had to adapt to was the departure of former vocalist and screamer on May 10 2010 due to personal problems, the band reacted as well as they could to this news “We realise its for the best that he went and sorted out his personal problems that made him leave the band and we had to carry on as a 4 piece, we still talk to him and he has been to see us a few times at gigs.” Tom told us. Its refreshing to see a band who are so upbeat about a departure of a member, its even better to see a band who are strong enough to carry on and adapt to a different style of music and not replace the screamer, as this doesn’t happen often. “We decided it was better to not replace him, we saw him leaving as an opportunity for us to change our music style, some people may say that it was a bad decision but we stand by it as the best thing to do for us to become a stronger band”  Lee Wilson, bassist explained. The new music style that Deaf Havana went for was a lighter rock, as James Veck-Gilodi who previously shared guitar duties with Chris Pennells, had to step into the spotlight and become the front man, “Since Ryan left, I have found it a lot harder being the front man , that is never what I wanted to do, never in a million years, I’m so much happier being in the background playing guitar, I’m not used to the attention I get as a front man” James explained. But people clearly love the new, “improved” Deaf Havana, as the gig tonight sold out within a few weeks, “Selling out a venue feels amazing, it feels like all our hard work is paying off and people do appreciate what we do” Lee explained, with a grin across his face.
        In December 2010, last time the band visited the Masque they played a new song called  “Down Syndrome Pigs”, one of the first songs  without Ryan, this song was a sign of things to come, the band were ready to start work on the new album, “Well I never wrote lyrics before in this band or ever, so I wanted to look at experiences  that I’ve had and write the most honest lyrics that I could, plain simple and personal, so people could relate to them” Veck-Gilodi explained when asked about the experience of having to write lyrics for the first time for the new album and for the B-sides released in Spring 2011.  The band say that their main musical influences are Morrissey, Poison The Well, Killswitch Engage and also surprisingly Lady Gaga “Lady Gaga’s album is fantastic, Some of the tunes are so catchy and every song is so different” said Lee, with no hint of shame. A band that takes influence from Lady Gaga, the new album will be different for sure.  It can be argued that Deaf Havana are a band who have changed from a screamo/metal band into a medium/light rock band and if that songs released “I Will Try and Home Sweet Home” are anything to go by, the new album will for sure blow everyones socks off.
       In a few weeks, on November 7th, the debut album “Fools And Worthless Liars” is going to hit the shelves. This album saw Deaf Havana leave A Wolf At Your Door Records and be signed to BMG and work with producer Matt O’Grady who has also worked with You Me At Six.  “It feels a lot better being singed to a major label, we still have the e same amount of say in  what goes into our record, it feels like we’re being welcomed into a new family, it’s what we as a band needed” James explains. The artwork for “F.A.W.L” came out in summer and there were many rumours about who the child was on the front of the album, many fans were claiming it was James in his younger years “ Right no it’s not anyone of us, its about the second track on the album ‘Youth In Retrospect’and  the child has a briefcase to show that one minute you’re young without a care and the next you’re all grown up and in a full time job, and it seems like your life is wasting away before your eyes.” James says, his face breaking out into a smile at his clever idea for the front cover. This was indeed an idea that only a band with this imagination and creativity could come up with. So what can readers expect from what is tipped to be the best rock album of 2011? “Expect  something different to what they have seen before with us, we have matured as a band since the last album (2009’s Meet Me Halfway, At Least). I hope fans like it ,we have tried hard to make a record that will show our fans and new listeners who we really are.” Tom said, brimming with excitement at the thought of the 7th November. Many bands wouldn’t be able to have struggled with the pressures of the music industry, the loss of close friends and family, the loss of a front man and to come out of it stronger and with a bright future in front of them, they are a band for unsigned artists to look to and aspire to be like. So what’s the future through James’ eyes “Getting this album out and hoping for the best, If people appreciate it and we can keep touring and producing more music, who knows we could be the next AC/DC, man lets hope for that” Deaf Havana are a band who is dedicated to getting people to hear their music and reaching people though the power of music. They are constantly touring, the tour that they are on now has just came straight after the You Me At Six tour and saw Deaf Havana’s last headline gig of the year in England before they head off to Ireland, and they most certainly went out on a bang and left the audience wanting more. So when will we see them next in England “We are touring with our good friends Architects in December and then in Spring of next year we have some dates lined up but nothing is confirmed yet” it seems that fans don’t need to wait long to see this band again. Dedicated is the word to describe them.
         After the chat, a few beers and games of twister later, the band begin to pack up, it’s
 midnight and there is still fans waiting outside clutching their posters and tickets to be signed by the band who they have been inspired by. Each member  signs the tickets and merchandise, poses for pictures, the fans look ecstatic and the band look humbled that their music has made an impact on these young people. “Without our fans we wouldn’t be touring, we wouldn’t have the ability to be making money doing what we love doing. We are incredibly lucky to have made it this far, and we thank everyone of our fans for buying tickets, buying a top, coming and telling us that they like our music, you have no idea how much we appreciate it and we love you all” James  says, whilst he holds his three band mates close, the band then get into the van and set off for Ireland to promote the new album
         This is a band who I have a feeling will be the next big thing, they have no idea how good they are and how much people adore their down to earth friendly attitudes. There has not been a band in a while who have appreciated their fans and the chances they have been as much as these guys. I look forward to seeing them headlining Download in a few years.