Ep7.1 Side A/Side B

Now, Tom, we've been booked to play the UK Blues Challenge in September.

How are you feeling about it? I'm pretty excited about it.

It's going to be at Marshall Studios.

It's a big deal, this, isn't

it? I wanted to ask you what your feelings were on Battle of the Bands type competitions.

Obviously, one of our favourite films, School of Rock, is built around the Battle of the Bands.

Yeah, that's true.

It's such a weird one.

I think the problem is you're turning music into a competition which I don't really like, if I'm being honest.

But then you then look at the flip side of the opportunity and then like the winner of this goes to Memphis and Portugal and I don't know.

Even the fact you're getting to play in front of the certain people that are going to be in that room.

Yeah.

I know there's like a judging panel, but like the people on that panel, there's like Alice Armstrong, Els Bailey.

There's, yeah, UK Blues Fed folk there.

So you can't.

like you've got to appreciate the opportunity but then yeah i think we're gonna try and just see it as go and have fun and have a good time and

yeah

that's that in it

like do you think part of the band's competitions then are quite good for kind of bands to get a foot in the door because they kind of they can turn up as a competitor in a way rather than oh you need to book us because we're uh good enough is it more yeah like oh well you know it's kind of like a free-for-all

Yeah, I think you have just got to turn up with the right attitude towards it.

I think if it becomes too much of a serious competition, then that's never good.

That's never good for the arts and the music and all that.

But it does give people opportunities, doesn't it?

Because a lot of venues, it's kind of what keeps them going financially as well, because it means that they can get people in...

During the Battle of the Bands?