The Uncarved Block

ANDY - That certainly comes across in your live performances. You have sculpted a unique sound to your songs, but what or who are your musical influences?

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ALICE - Oh! So many! We all grew up in the 90s so we have been strongly influenced by metal music in all its shades, and grunge, but we also share a passion for Queen (in their early years especially) and 70s rock.

 

ANDY - Yes, I can hear the Queen influence in your last single release, Brian's Tale. It has a progressive feel, with lots of dynamics. How do you go about writing new material – is there a main songwriter, or is it more of a band effort?

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ALICE - It varies, there are songs I have written myself and then arranged all together in the studio, and others which started as a jam. I write all the lyrics and melodies, Dan is the guitar master! He can do anything he wants with it and he’s always able to write the perfect arrangement/riff for a song. Jon binds it all together beautifully; he always has great ideas, having had so much experience playing many different genres, he can really make each song sound cool! 

 

ANDY - Well, it certainly shows, as you are so well rehearsed on stage. How often do you manage to practice?

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ALICE - We normally rehearse once a week, we have our own studio so luckily if we need extra practice or we are working on new material, we can go more often.

 

ANDY - Where can I come and see you next? What gigs do you have coming up

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ALICE - We have gigs planned up to June for now: April 15th (New Cross Inn), May 7th (Tooting Tram and Social), May 30th (Bird’s Nest, Deptford) and June 18th (Unicorn, Camden), all in London. Unfortunately we are in the middle of a pandemic so we cannot guarantee they will, in fact, take place.  (*** As we publish this, the UK has been advised to obey "Social Distancing"  and all venues have been closed, due to the Coronavirus outbreak ***)

 

ANDY - The majority of your gigs are based in London, so how do you feel about the current music scene in the capital?

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ALICE - We think it’s absolutely brilliant. There are so many talented musicians out there, and we are very happy to be part of such a bubbling scene. There are bands which are doing very well for themselves and luckily there are lots of opportunities for emerging acts to make their music heard thanks to the digital world. Nevertheless, the music business is still an unforgiving world, the industry is very shady these days, but very much part of the game. 

We have seen a transition happening throughout the years, we are familiar with how it used to work, so we try to use the new tools that come available, keeping in mind that, in many ways, certain mechanisms are still very much out of our hands. Having said that, we are sure that if we keep going steady and keep focus on our target, we’ll definitely get there.

 

ANDY - I understand, because I also spent a few years in oblivion, and since returning back to the music scene last year, I have been impressed with the exciting new music being produced. In your opinion, what can we all do to help further improve this exciting underground scene?

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ALICE - I think that bands and artists in general are very closed in their own world. I know this is absolutely normal, I was exactly like this years ago and I am not suggesting this isn't good to a certain extent. Being focused on your own project is vital for nourishing it, making it perfect, for progressing, for internal bonding (in case of bands) and to become more professional. But in my own view it does lead to self isolation and doesn’t show the bigger picture. I learned this the hard way, meaning that if it crumbles, you crumble with it and it is a devastating experience. I think that artists should support each other more, share this journey with fellow musicians which are going through the same things, most likely having the same fears, problems, and of course excitement and drive. We try to go and see as many gigs as possible, whenever we can. This enriches you as a musician and performer, it is inspiring and it helps everybody involved in the industry. I think if the scene was seen as less of a competition, this ride would be more friendly and the scene would improve a lot.

 

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