Interview with 'Legion' 28 Jan 2010
You first formed in Anno '07, how did you all meet, and what was the first initial rehearsals like ?
Maisey: Back then it was just 3 college kids in a bedroom. I just wanted to be in a Goth band so I could pretend to be Porn King. I started learning bass the day I decided to start a band - I ended up singing even though I couldn't, all of the demos from back then sound truly terrible. To be honest it didn't really kick off till late 2008 when Shelley (Keyboards) and myself moved to Leeds. We put a live band together, a few different people played with us for a little while, but it didn't really click until we got together with Natasha.
Natasha: Maisey had never heard me play guitar when he first approached me. It was a request based on our friendship and shared passion for the music we listened to more than anything - which in terms of making a band together can be either a very good move or a catastrophic one! And I think it has been bits of both along the way, but it's difficult to be passionate about what you're doing or attached to what you're writing without a few clashes.
How would you describe, your place within the modern scene, do you have any particular niche ?
Maisey: For the last year we've definitely been the newcomers. Being a bit younger than many bands doing similar things to us has meant we've been attracting some extra attention. I'd like think that we were straight up Goth Rock enough to please even the purists, but bring enough passion and fresh perspectives to it so as to be more a breath of fresh air than floggers of the proverbial dead horse.
Also, we get on really well with many of the bands on the current scene. I personally own records by most of what are now coming to be called. The New Wave Of British Gothic Rock. It's a lucky position to be both a fan and a friend of the bands around you. Special mention has to go to Rhombus, who have given us a massive leg up on many, many occasions. Everything from lending us kit to giving us good advice. Other bands I love that we've had the privilege to work with include Vendemmian, Grooving In Green (Tron especially is a good mate and we've had many a grand adventure together) and The Eden House.
Natasha: And I personally steal copies of records by most of The New Wave of British Gothic Rock from Maisey! But in all seriousness we have had a lot of support, that was at first musically unconditional - in that people were encouraging and helpful even when we were less musically proficient. As Maisey has mentioned, we have an added bonus of the fact that we stand out as a younger generation keeping the faith. We could have walked a fine line between being young and enthusiastic and being arrogant young upstarts, but judging by the friends we have been lucky enough to make, it's less of the latter.
What would you say are your main influences, and do your lyrics follow a particular path ?
Maisey: As I said before - I started this because I wanted to be Rosetta Stone! Personally I find 1990's UK Goth Rock (Rosetta, Stun, Vendemmian etc.) to be one of the most inspiring musical movements ever. It was all a bit before my time (I was born in 1989!) but it has a massive retrospective romance and allure for me. Despite this, loads of different stuff goes into the musical melting pot that is my influences, as I'm sure you can imagine. In terms of the lyrics on The Hereafter EP, the lyrical theme is hinted at in the cover art and inside sleeve. I try and combine the twin factors of being able to believe in what I'm singing and making them sound good.
Natasha: I am a little more from the 80s school of thought in terms of my goth leanings, but in terms of guitar playing my influences are a mixed bag. I am an acoustic guitarist naturally, with a soft spot for spangley, celtic sounding riffs. But with a little patience and a lot of playing around with effects we have made that sound suitably goth!
With your early material, how were the first initial reactions, and were you happy with the feedback ?
Maisey: I think the less said about the very early stuff the better! Suffice to say that enough people heard enough potential so that they often gave us a chance to try and prove ourselves. I think that in the last year and a half its been our activity on the live circuit that has gained us more positive attention than any of our demos; we always aim to improve every time we play. We hope The Hereafter EP will help to bring our recorded side up to par. We've been lucky because many people have been free with both positive feedback and constructive criticism. With one hand they giveth, with the other they taketh away - but in the end that's what helps you improve.
Natasha: We're still in a position, I feel, where our live performance sounds better than our recorded but that's perhaps a symptom of the fact that every time we write a couple of new songs we improve. Or rather, I feel it gets closer to what I have in my head. So an EP of old work will always feel, to me, overshadowed by the latest performance.
As a new band, how have you found the live circuit ?
Maisey: For me it's what makes it all worth while. I love performing and love watching other bands. It's one of my chief pleasures in life. Being active on the live scene has meant I've been able to go all over the country indulging this love. Many of the bands on the circuit are great to work with and people the it things can have a fairly brotherly atmosphere at times. A lot of what makes the current live circuit what it is is down to the sheer hard work and deep down passion of a fairly small group of promoters, anyone with an ear to the ground will quickly work out who these people are. In terms of our own back yard I think it worth giving a mention The Sheepish Goth nights in Leeds, who have not only given Legion a massive leg up on numerous occasions, but are also the most frequent (although certainly not the only) importers of the quality live dark alternative music in the area.
Natasha: For me, the experience of making music with other people is what really drives me so I am not as exorcised about sizes of gigs or how many people we are playing to. I just love to play, and if it can give other people some enjoyment that is a massive bonus (however this position may be born partly of my nervousness about performing)
What can we expect to see on stage, from the 'Legion', live show ?
Maisey: Not a lot! We use as much smoke as we can get away with, whenever we can get away with it. We're just starting to experiment with bringing own back lighting on tour with us as well.
Natasha: Me standing very still! See aforementioned nerves! Maisey approaches me sometimes during songs to try and create some showmanship with me - or maybe he's just checking I'm still alive...
Your debut MLP, 'Hereafter', is released shortly, how did things go for you, and did you find any great learning curves ?
Maisey: We were unhappy with the production and playing on our previous demos, so we wanted to get The Hereafter EP right. We defiantly feel that we've made some steps towards this, although we always want to improve things. We've spent a lot of time learning how to get the sound we want live but we're only just beginning to learn how to put it on record. Because we're all students everything has to be a bit D.I.Y. None the less, a few people have given us some vital support that has helped keep things moving. The CD was produced by Mark Driezehn of Alice Moving Under Skies in his own studio - without his input of time and skill we'd never have been able to put this CD out. Our driver and photographer Pyromancer often puts great amounts of his own time and energy into making sure we can do as many gigs as we can. On top of this, our manager & roadie Stella has given us loads of invaluable behind the scenes support, which has had countless benefits for the Legion.
Natasha: I am a perfectionist, who lacks any great knowledge of the more technical aspects of the recording process - in short, a nightmare (so special thanks to Mark)!! We will get closer and closer to the sound we want with every recording opportunity I feel. And I cannot agree enough with the thanks to Pyromancer and Stella. They have shown undwindling faith in us.
Thanks for your time, and I wish the best of LUCK... Looking forward to seeing you at GOTHAM II..
Maisey: We look forward to seeing you there! We'll buy you a pint of snakebite and if you can build the best human pyramid of the night.
Natasha: I'd hate to see what Maisey looks like on any promoter's Risk Assessment forms!
Any last words.... ?
Maisey: Keep The Faith. The UK is one of the most exciting places to be in the entire world if you want quality live music, and the Goth scene is no exception.
Natasha: Last word in the English dictionary "zyzzyva (noun) - any of various South American weevils, often destructive to plants" (you don't have to put this in :P)
{ Ooooh But I do, I'm the evil Editor }
For further information, and music purchase.
http://www.myspace.com/legionleeds
www.legion-music.co.uk/shop.html
info@legion-music.co.uk
You first formed in Anno '07, how did you all meet, and what was the first initial rehearsals like ?
Maisey: Back then it was just 3 college kids in a bedroom. I just wanted to be in a Goth band so I could pretend to be Porn King. I started learning bass the day I decided to start a band - I ended up singing even though I couldn't, all of the demos from back then sound truly terrible. To be honest it didn't really kick off till late 2008 when Shelley (Keyboards) and myself moved to Leeds. We put a live band together, a few different people played with us for a little while, but it didn't really click until we got together with Natasha.
Natasha: Maisey had never heard me play guitar when he first approached me. It was a request based on our friendship and shared passion for the music we listened to more than anything - which in terms of making a band together can be either a very good move or a catastrophic one! And I think it has been bits of both along the way, but it's difficult to be passionate about what you're doing or attached to what you're writing without a few clashes.
How would you describe, your place within the modern scene, do you have any particular niche ?
Maisey: For the last year we've definitely been the newcomers. Being a bit younger than many bands doing similar things to us has meant we've been attracting some extra attention. I'd like think that we were straight up Goth Rock enough to please even the purists, but bring enough passion and fresh perspectives to it so as to be more a breath of fresh air than floggers of the proverbial dead horse.
Also, we get on really well with many of the bands on the current scene. I personally own records by most of what are now coming to be called. The New Wave Of British Gothic Rock. It's a lucky position to be both a fan and a friend of the bands around you. Special mention has to go to Rhombus, who have given us a massive leg up on many, many occasions. Everything from lending us kit to giving us good advice. Other bands I love that we've had the privilege to work with include Vendemmian, Grooving In Green (Tron especially is a good mate and we've had many a grand adventure together) and The Eden House.
Natasha: And I personally steal copies of records by most of The New Wave of British Gothic Rock from Maisey! But in all seriousness we have had a lot of support, that was at first musically unconditional - in that people were encouraging and helpful even when we were less musically proficient. As Maisey has mentioned, we have an added bonus of the fact that we stand out as a younger generation keeping the faith. We could have walked a fine line between being young and enthusiastic and being arrogant young upstarts, but judging by the friends we have been lucky enough to make, it's less of the latter.
What would you say are your main influences, and do your lyrics follow a particular path ?
Maisey: As I said before - I started this because I wanted to be Rosetta Stone! Personally I find 1990's UK Goth Rock (Rosetta, Stun, Vendemmian etc.) to be one of the most inspiring musical movements ever. It was all a bit before my time (I was born in 1989!) but it has a massive retrospective romance and allure for me. Despite this, loads of different stuff goes into the musical melting pot that is my influences, as I'm sure you can imagine. In terms of the lyrics on The Hereafter EP, the lyrical theme is hinted at in the cover art and inside sleeve. I try and combine the twin factors of being able to believe in what I'm singing and making them sound good.
Natasha: I am a little more from the 80s school of thought in terms of my goth leanings, but in terms of guitar playing my influences are a mixed bag. I am an acoustic guitarist naturally, with a soft spot for spangley, celtic sounding riffs. But with a little patience and a lot of playing around with effects we have made that sound suitably goth!
With your early material, how were the first initial reactions, and were you happy with the feedback ?
Maisey: I think the less said about the very early stuff the better! Suffice to say that enough people heard enough potential so that they often gave us a chance to try and prove ourselves. I think that in the last year and a half its been our activity on the live circuit that has gained us more positive attention than any of our demos; we always aim to improve every time we play. We hope The Hereafter EP will help to bring our recorded side up to par. We've been lucky because many people have been free with both positive feedback and constructive criticism. With one hand they giveth, with the other they taketh away - but in the end that's what helps you improve.
Natasha: We're still in a position, I feel, where our live performance sounds better than our recorded but that's perhaps a symptom of the fact that every time we write a couple of new songs we improve. Or rather, I feel it gets closer to what I have in my head. So an EP of old work will always feel, to me, overshadowed by the latest performance.
As a new band, how have you found the live circuit ?
Maisey: For me it's what makes it all worth while. I love performing and love watching other bands. It's one of my chief pleasures in life. Being active on the live scene has meant I've been able to go all over the country indulging this love. Many of the bands on the circuit are great to work with and people the it things can have a fairly brotherly atmosphere at times. A lot of what makes the current live circuit what it is is down to the sheer hard work and deep down passion of a fairly small group of promoters, anyone with an ear to the ground will quickly work out who these people are. In terms of our own back yard I think it worth giving a mention The Sheepish Goth nights in Leeds, who have not only given Legion a massive leg up on numerous occasions, but are also the most frequent (although certainly not the only) importers of the quality live dark alternative music in the area.
Natasha: For me, the experience of making music with other people is what really drives me so I am not as exorcised about sizes of gigs or how many people we are playing to. I just love to play, and if it can give other people some enjoyment that is a massive bonus (however this position may be born partly of my nervousness about performing)
What can we expect to see on stage, from the 'Legion', live show ?
Maisey: Not a lot! We use as much smoke as we can get away with, whenever we can get away with it. We're just starting to experiment with bringing own back lighting on tour with us as well.
Natasha: Me standing very still! See aforementioned nerves! Maisey approaches me sometimes during songs to try and create some showmanship with me - or maybe he's just checking I'm still alive...
Your debut MLP, 'Hereafter', is released shortly, how did things go for you, and did you find any great learning curves ?
Maisey: We were unhappy with the production and playing on our previous demos, so we wanted to get The Hereafter EP right. We defiantly feel that we've made some steps towards this, although we always want to improve things. We've spent a lot of time learning how to get the sound we want live but we're only just beginning to learn how to put it on record. Because we're all students everything has to be a bit D.I.Y. None the less, a few people have given us some vital support that has helped keep things moving. The CD was produced by Mark Driezehn of Alice Moving Under Skies in his own studio - without his input of time and skill we'd never have been able to put this CD out. Our driver and photographer Pyromancer often puts great amounts of his own time and energy into making sure we can do as many gigs as we can. On top of this, our manager & roadie Stella has given us loads of invaluable behind the scenes support, which has had countless benefits for the Legion.
Natasha: I am a perfectionist, who lacks any great knowledge of the more technical aspects of the recording process - in short, a nightmare (so special thanks to Mark)!! We will get closer and closer to the sound we want with every recording opportunity I feel. And I cannot agree enough with the thanks to Pyromancer and Stella. They have shown undwindling faith in us.
Thanks for your time, and I wish the best of LUCK... Looking forward to seeing you at GOTHAM II..
Maisey: We look forward to seeing you there! We'll buy you a pint of snakebite and if you can build the best human pyramid of the night.
Natasha: I'd hate to see what Maisey looks like on any promoter's Risk Assessment forms!
Any last words.... ?
Maisey: Keep The Faith. The UK is one of the most exciting places to be in the entire world if you want quality live music, and the Goth scene is no exception.
Natasha: Last word in the English dictionary "zyzzyva (noun) - any of various South American weevils, often destructive to plants" (you don't have to put this in :P)
{ Ooooh But I do, I'm the evil Editor }
For further information, and music purchase.
http://www.myspace.com/legionleeds
www.legion-music.co.uk/shop.html
info@legion-music.co.uk
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