Interview with BLOCKADE

March 11, 2024

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

There were a few key moments from what I can remember, listening to old tapes with everything from folk and classical orchestral works in the car during family holidays and then three Christmas’ running, my big brother got CDs entitled the ‘best air guitar album in the world’ that Bryan May of Queen fame had compiled from a plethora of great rock bands. These CDs really sparked my interest and from then seeing footage of bands like Queen and Iron Maiden perform live… Here’s me aged five or six mind blown and totally in awe. I knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my life. I wanted a piece of whatever it was they had. If I wasn’t doing music I’d probably be rolling around in the dirt somewhere…

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

When I’m not playing music I like to box, go for long walks or at cook at home. All of these things bring me peace. Much like music, the discipline required to box or to cook often requires being alone and grinding over and over again doing variations on similar things in order to progress and become a greater person than you were yesterday.

How long has your band been around? Also, please tell me about the dynamic of the band of what brought you all together.

We have been around for almost a year now. I think June will mark our one year active anniversary. In all honesty I think it is just a love of music, as cliched as it sounds, we’re all very different people with very different backgrounds and musical tastes. Don’t know what it is but we just have something and it works for some reason.

Where are you based and how did that influence your music?

We are all based in different places but use London as our main spot to deliver high voltage rock to the masses because it’s one of the biggest and most famous cities in the world. We’ve all come here, like so many others because of the limitless amount of opportunities it provides and for a better life.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

You’ll have to ask Jack (guitarist) on this one as he was the mind who penned it. However what it means to me is similar to its dictionary definition: ‘an act or means of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from leaving or entering’. Although aggressive in sound, we are in fact exactly that. Whilst all are welcome to our shows, once you enter, you aren’t gonna wanna leave. We all bust our ass to make sure each show is exciting and adrenaline filled and that our audiences leaving feeling emotionally, physically and spiritually nourished. The ‘Blockade’ is a prevention of whatever negative stuff is going on in our lives. Our shows can help us forget that even for the brief moments we are on stage rocking out.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

For me the most memorable show would have to be our first ever one we ever played as a band. This was part of a great series of events known as the London Music Showcase where loads of different bands from across London perform a quite wide array of music. You never know what to expect, one of these shows had a guy singing about a duck and then later in the bill you’ve got us trying to incite a circle pit. Yet at our very first show it was I think June or July 2023 and honestly the hottest I’ve ever been. And I’ve been to the tropics in a few different countries and even the Sahara desert and this wee basement gig in London was the hottest I’ve ever been. I think I’ve honestly had dryer baths. Everyone was pure dripping. We had so many of our friends and family come to support us for our first gig and the reception was incredible. The room was jam packed and you couldn't move nor see. Having only recently released our first single ‘Mess You Made’ a few weeks prior, we were really excited to perform it. I will always remember and cherish the first drop in that song where the chorus begins ‘I told my mother, that I’d hold on…’ and hearing the crowd singing it back us. Even thinking about it now makes me well up.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

Every venue we play at has its own quirks and interesting things about them that make each one unique and special. Narrowing it down to only is too difficult; too many happy memories to choose from. Regarding where would we want to play oh I dunno… everywhere! There are so many amazing venues up and down the country not to mention the rest of the world we’d all be game as a boar to play at.

Everything from your grottiest underground bars to your biggest stadiums, trust me, we wanna do ‘em all.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

Jack and Jack would almost certainly say Limp Bizkit hahahaha. I’d be happy to play with almost anyone but if I had to pick something slightly more suitable and epic in equal measure I think a gig in Spain opening for La Raíz would a dream come true.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

Get over your fears of rejection. Get used to being the worst in the room. It sucks but that’s how you learn and become better. Never stop learning and never ever ever give up. Your biggest break could be right round the corner and you may never realise it. Think about what really matters to you and have your end goal as your main focus always. Sacrifice much and do away with the things and people that bring you down. Stick it to the man.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

This is a difficult one. We have so many unreleased songs and so many that are in the workings, each one has a special place in my heart because of the unique relationship that I have with them. That being said though out of the ones that are released I would have to say ‘Better Off Without’. Even though ‘Mess You Made’ holds a significant and very special place in my heart as it was our first ever song released and I love the wee bass intro ;) ‘Better Off Without’ is special. It makes you feel good when you listen to it or play it. It’s about getting rid of vices and doing away with negativity in your life and our music video for it is epic. We needed a bunch of extras for the video and so we asked our friends. They were amazing, seriously professional on the day, and came from far and wide. We had friends organise child care, change shifts and auditions, friends who’d travelled across London, from different cities, up north and even from abroad to come and support us. This was the most humbling feeling ever because the love of our friends it just embedded how much they also want us to succeed. Now Blockade and our friends are immortalised forever.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

‘Mess You Made’ probably gets requested the most just because its the one folks have heard the most simply because it’s been out the longest so has the greatest frame of reference for people. I do personally love playing it live because the beat down is just pure aggression and I genuinely feel like I’m a warrior smashing through an enemy shield wall every time we play it.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

Initially we started out with Jack (guitarist) jamming a few riffs/chord progressions as the ‘skeleton’ of a song and then Jack (drummer) would lay down some tasty beats and I’d throw down some bass licks. Then Oli would cast his magic with lyrics and vocal melodies et voila we’d have some tunes after reworking things a lot either in the studio of Jack’s bedroom in Basingstoke. Nowadays we all write together a lot more which makes me really excited about what is on the horizon for more Blockade tunes.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

I think this one depends, we’re not huge on the whole social message thing and don’t try and make our shows about preaching to the crowd. We just wanna have a good time, all the time.

Do you have any new singles, videos, or albums out that you would like to tell me and your fans about?

‘Better Off Without’ is out on all streaming platforms NOW! Music video is dropping or will have dropped by the time this comes to fruition so please please please check it out, support and show love. Or hate even, either way still getting those streams babyyyyyyy! ;)

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

We all want to make Blockade our full time shebang. I’m sure I speak on behalf of everyone when I say, we all dreamt of this since we able to articulate it so. We’ve all been in so many bands, orchestras, ensembles, you name it, we’ve done it. Now we’re in a great of lads who are all striving for the same goal and will not stop until we’re up there to where we wanna be. More tunes, more hell raising live shows, more videos, more everything. Hopefully get on some tours and festivals this summer too, please stay choooooned.

How can your fans best keep up to date with you, any socials you want people to check out?

Please check out our socials, Blockadebanduk. If there’s a social media platform worth knowing we’re on it. Peace and love always

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