We caught up with caught up with 5 piece pop rock outfit, Dancing On Tables to see how they’ve been spending their time during lockdown, what it was like supporting Catfish and the Bottlemen and of the course the release of their brand new single, Losing It which comes out tomorrow!!
Have a read below now…
How have you guys been spending your time during the lockdown? We have been writing non-stop since lockdown started. We were half way through our biggest tour yet when we had to go home, so needed to make sure we kept ourselves occupied. It’s actually quite fun getting used to a whole new way of writing. There is a weekly zoom games night that we play as well, which has turned incredibly competitive.
Last year, you supported Catfish and The Bottlemen on a couple of their arena tour dates – what was it like supporting one of the biggest bands in Britain today? It was so much fun. We didn’t know about it till the week before, so it was all hands on deck to get things prepared. The fans were amazing and up for a good time which always helps. Playing the two biggest arenas in Scotland was a definite tick off the bucket list as well.
Do you guys have a pre-ritual before doing a gig? It’s changed a lot over the years. We now do warm ups before shows as we realise it actually helps a lot. We always go for a meal together beforehand and usually play some games, before someone chooses a playlist to listen to before we go on. Callum and I also drink whisky instead of beer before shows now as it helps the throat, but I’m still getting used to the measures…
How would you describe the Scottish music scene and what local bands are you currently digging? Scotland is producing a lot of top music at the moment. The focus from elsewhere seems to be on the thriving Glasgow / punk scene, but there’s a lot going on outside of that too. In no particular order: Swim School, The Snuts, Declan Welsh & the Decadent West and Retro Video Club are ones to check out
Your latest release, ‘Losing It’ is due to be released on the 22nd May – what was the creative process behind the single and was there a particular meaning that you wanted to represent throughout the song? When we first wrote the song, we played with this idea of someone who is on a downwards spiral after being forced to be apart from someone, and looked into the self-damaging ways they would deal with it. When lockdown started, we had a chat about what music we want to put out and looked at the lyrics of ‘Losing It’ and realised that it applies to a lot of people in this current situation. People are being forced to stay away from loved ones, thrown into a completely unknown and challenging environment and, collectively, are losing it.
Pre-save the track here: tonetree.ffm.to/losingit
You have recently rescheduled your headliner at the legendary king tuts for September – what can fans expect who have bought tickets? By then we will have released a lot of the music that we think is our best work yet, so it will be the first chance people will have to hear it live. It’s such an iconic venue, and one I think people naturally step their game up for, so we really can’t wait. It’ll also be our first show in five months which is the longest we’ve waited since we began.
My favourite song of yours is Body … what was the influence behind the lyrics? Body actually started by talking about the night before the track was written. It’s about being carefree and having nothing to tie you down and just living every night as it comes (which we weren’t able to do as we had a whole week in a studio planned).
Do you guys have a specific songwriting process? Is there a particular place you go to write or is it something that just comes naturally? Callum and I will get together with some ideas that we have and work out the words and the general feel of the song. We then get together with the rest of the boys and everybody helps take the song from this basic idea. into a Dancing On Tables track. There is a studio in a really remote part of Scotland that we love going to, as you can lock yourself away and have no input from the outside world, but we usually spend so much time together that it happens wherever we get the chance.
What advice would you give to bands / musicians starting out in the industry? Be patient. You need to put in the work with the shit slots and empty venues to help you develop as an artist / performer and it will teach you a lot of lessons (we were quite bad at the start.) Also, it helps if you’re a nice person, as getting to know the right people can open a lot of doors.
What are the band’s aims and ambitions after the lockdown?
We just want to get out playing again, as it’s our favourite thing. There is still a long way to go before that is a reality, but we are going to keep releasing new music and will be playing it live as soon as we’re allowed to.
KEEP UP TO DATE WITH THE BAND VIA THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA BELOW…
Website: dancingontables.co.uk
Facebook: facebook.com/dancingontablesmusic
Twitter: twitter.com/dancingontables
YouTube: youtube.com/dancingontables
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/dancingontables
The Music Files 