Manchesters Cola Bay was formed online through a forum and are creating a name for themselves on the local live circuit.
Latest release 'Break Like Glass' is out now.
We chatted with Andy recently about all things music!!
Hi Andy, thanks for chatting to us today.
What was the last song you listened to?
I just finished listening to the album “In Times New Roman” by Queens
of the Stone Age for the umpteenth time since it was released, so the
last song I listened to was “Straight Jacket Fitting”. Big bluesy
riffs, haunting vocals, swelling string interludes, great stuff. It’s
a hell of a track to finish an album on.
Do you listen to your own songs when you’re driving or working out?
I only listen to our tracks as a means of critique. What came out well
in the studio? What can we build on? What worked (and more importantly
what didn’t)? It’s important to reflect on your own music. How else do
you grow as a writer or a performer?
You’re in a club or venue and one of your tracks comes on
what do you do?
I’d be hyped! We’re always trying to get our music out there, to know
it had spread to a venue would be incredible. Despite getting listens
all over the world, it would make it all feel so much more concrete.
Venues, get us on your playlists!
What were you listening to when you were 13?
I was just getting into modern rock music having grown up around my
parents who were more into classic rock. I remember listening to the
Kerrang compilations on repeat. Sum 41, Papa Roach, Foo Fighters,
Wheatus, Nirvana, Green Day; I was dipping my toes into the subculture
and suddenly my pocket money was all spent on CDs, baggy jeans, and
skateboard parts. I was that kid.
What are you listening to at the moment that we should check out?
I’ve been dipping back into some older albums lately. If you’re a fan
of big meaty alternative rock with scratchy vocals “Naked & Red” by
Colour Revolt is one hell of a track and the album “Plunder, Beg, And
Curse” is worth a good few listens. It’s criminally underrated.
What one song instantly makes you smile when you hear it?
“September” by Earth, Wind & Fire. It’s just filled with so much joy
and life. I hope one day I can write a song that happy but still
completely lacking in cheesy clichés. I love how every chorus the
instrumentation just keeps getting better and better with the rising
brass section and vocal layering. It’s a masterpiece.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Musically, Electric Six. I know the lyrics are ridiculous. I know it’s
not high art. I just can’t resist that mix of disco and rock and Dick
Valentine's ugly, crooning vocals. They don’t take themselves too
seriously and they always sound like they’re having a good time. It’s
important to remember that music isn’t all about groundbreaking chord
progressions, technical ability or writing the next big thing, it’s
just as much about enjoying yourself and letting your hair down. I let
my hair down to Electric Six.
What album do you always listen to all the way through?
“Electro-Shock Blues” by Eels. It’s this beautiful, melancholy album
about loss, mental illness, and living despite the cruelty of the
world. Based on that description, it probably sounds like a slog to
listen to but it’s definitely not. It fluctuates between friendly
acoustic tracks, big noisy blues numbers, and catchy alternative rock
bangers. The lyrics and the theme hold it all together perfectly and
by the end you feel like you’ve been on a journey into the darker
parts of life but reassured that everything will turn out fine in the
end.
What track would you like to cover?
We’ve been debating a good track to cover for years now, but never
quite found the right fit. You have to cover something that hasn’t
already been covered in your style that you feel you can add your own
spin to. We’re currently trying to write a grungy cover of “Sway” by
Dean Martin. Imagine those Latin sounding guitar solos but with a good
level of distortion and a heavier swing. I reckon it’s going to turn
out really well, watch this space!
What track do you wish you had written?
“Duet” by Everything Everything. It’s a song about watching the world
end with someone you love. There’s something amazing about that, of
being able to consider the absolute worst thing, but to be glad you
have the right people by your side. The line “You can be my wonder in
my time of woe” just speaks to me. The whole thing is accompanied by
this huge orchestra that keeps building and makes the whole thing
sound enormous. I’m incredibly jealous of all the steps it takes to
write such a work of art, and yes, I wish I’d written it. I guess I’ll
just have to write my own showstopper one of these days!
Thanks for chatting to us Andy.
Find Cola Bay online:
Check out the video for 'Break Like Glass'
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