Nexus Meets… Artist – CAVALCADE

Having featured CAVALCADE recently on Nexus for their latest track ‘Anita‘. We wanted to catch up with the four-piece from Barking to see how their Camden Rocks set went, how things are looking for their Isle of Wight appearance and what else is in the pipeline!

Be sure to check the band out if you haven’t already!

What are your earliest memories in regards to music?

Jack: Mine is a little random, but I vividly remember being in the car with my parents when I was about 1 and a half/2 years old and trying to sing along to ‘Under The Bridge’ by the Chilli Peppers. My parents were really shocked that I was pretty much nailing all the lyrics despite being so young!

Connor: I remember having a cassette of ‘Clint Eastwood’ by Gorillaz that I used to listen to on loop when I was about 6 years old. I still listen to that first album on repeat. Got some really filthy dub on it, it’s great. Damon Albarn is a god among men. I’ve also got a really clear memory of seeing the video of ‘Virtual Insanity’ for the first time and it blew my mind.

Steve: I started to learn the guitar when I was around 8. However, it didn’t continue for too long. Then a friend started learning the drums, I had a go and was hooked! Nearly 13 years later I’m more hooked than ever and loving playing music all the time!

What made you want to be in a band?

Jack: Listening to Nirvana and idolising Kurt Cobain from an early age made me want to learn the guitar, but I think it was the Arctic Monkeys who made me want to be in a band. Seeing normal lads in Adidas polos with guitars just says that if we can do it, you can do it too.

Tom: Yeah Arctic Monkeys had a huge influence on me. Seeing the I bet you look good on the dancefloor video on TMF (old Freeview channel) for the first time really made me realise – I want a piece of that!

Steve: There’s also something about playing with other musicians that is unlike anything else. You can express yourself and communicate in a way like no other, and together you can create something that inspires, influences mood and sounds absolutely killer!

What do you think you’ve gained from being in a band?

Jack: We’ve just had a laugh and a fucking good time man! I don’t think we take ourselves too seriously at all, we just enjoy the ride. What started as a hobby with my best mates has become something which is a big part of our lives and brings us such euphoria. I could literally talk about the band and our music all day long!

Connor: Feels great being part of a little club. There are great bands from every corner of the country that we’ve had the opportunity of partying with. Feels like we’re all pushing for the return of this sound that’s been lying dormant for a few years. It’s fucking exciting! There’s free beer sometimes as well.

What influences have contributed towards your current sound?

Jack: A big mix actually – I’d say Arctic Monkeys and Oasis will always be core inspirations to our music, but Catfish & The Bottlemen, DMA’s and JAWS definitely played a part in the lead up to the new tunes we’ve written. There’s also some up and coming bands who inspire us, particularly SHEAFS, we’re big fans of those boys and their style of music.

Connor: To second what Jack said the big bands that everyone is influenced by are obviously the cornerstone of why we play what we do but it’s the unsigned bands that we’ve played alongside that continue to give us fresh outlooks on how we perform and the kind of tunes we write. It feels like there’s a new sound emerging.

How did your performance at Camden Rocks go?

Jack: Yeah good mate! Drew a decent crowd in and had our friends and family there which is always nice.

Steve: Overall, very well. We had a last minute panic as a couple of pieces of equipment broke but once we got playing we had a blast. We got to play a new song for the first time too which was great!

How would you describe the experience to other artists that might be thinking of playing Camden Rocks in the future?

Jack: It’s a great day out, there’s live music everywhere you look and there’s some fantastic up and coming bands out there to discover.

Tom: I think everyone should go at least once – it’s such a laugh! Camden, sun, bands what more could a man want.

Connor: I love Camden Rocks. It feels like the town takes off into space for a day. I lost my mind a bit this year…

Did you manage to catch any other artists whilst you were at Camden Rocks?

Jack: We saw a fair few actually – I’d say False Heads were one to note, they literally blew us away and they’re absolutely lovely lads too. Me and Tom went to see The Kings Parade whilst everyone else rushed to see the main headliners and we’re glad we did, they’re an incredible band and so, so tight live – the lead singers vocals are unbelievable.

Tom: Yeah False Heads! Mate, that was mental.

We see you’ve got Isle of Wight Festival coming up! Talk to us a bit about that!

Jack: Ah its madness mate, we’re so excited for it! We’ve been a band for just over a year and a half, but we’ve only been together with this current line-up for 8 months so it’s crazy that we’ve been asked to play the Isle of Wight already. We’re playing the Thursday evening at 18:50 on the This Feeling w/ Pirate Studios and Pretty Green stage. This Feeling have been really good to us actually, we only played our first gig with them in February I think… But they’ve really taken a shine to us and given us some huge support slots and now this. Absolute legends.

Steve: We’re pumped! We can’t wait to take our sound to this festival. When thinking about songs and live sets we try to think about what the audience would enjoy. We want them to have a good time, get energetic and enjoy the journey of our set with us.

Connor: It’s an excuse to buy a new shirt. I’ve only got two.

Have you got any plans for more releases throughout the year?

Jack: We’ve got some big plans behind the scenes right now! We’re just planning things with our manager and taking our time. We want the next release to take us to the next level so we don’t want to rush things, but we are going into the studio next month I believe so keep your eyes and ears out.

What advice would you give to emerging artists looking to get onto festival line-ups?

Jack: I was about to say just blag it haha but it’s not really about that. I’d genuinely say believe in yourself. A lot of promoters will only really put you on the bill if you’ve got a certain amount of Facebook likes or a solid fan base, but if you really push your music and believe in your tunes and your band and show that on and off the stage you’ll stand out 100%. Last year we’d only done a few gigs and had fuck all likes on our social media, but we still managed to get a festival slot at Camden Rocks because we really pushed the tunes and showed our belief in our band. Now a year later we’re playing the Isle of Wight… Anything is possible if you believe in yourself enough.

Tom: If you can’t believe in yourself, who can you believe in – am I right?

Connor: To follow those two cringeworthy answers: Get yourself about. Go to gigs, have a pint with the others bands and let someone responsible (not me) be in charge of the emails.