25 March 2024
Every Monday I will be bringing you an interview with an independent band, duo or music artist. This week, I caught up with Hawkesbury Upton artist Alex Comaish to find out more…
Where are you from and how did you first get into music?
I’m from a small village in South Gloucestershire called Hawkesbury Upton. I think I’d always been into music, but I didn’t really pick up a guitar till year 8 – my friends had a band without a bass player and I was desperately keen to join, so I told them I could play that and went home and googled how to. Skip forward nearly 10 years and I found myself in a band that seemed to have run its course. We’d played a lot of great shows and we had some good tunes, but we never got the timing right, so I decided to start playing solo and here we are.
Who were your musical influences when you were growing up and who are your influences now?
As a kid the CDs we had in the car was stuff like KT Tunstall, The Monkees, John Mayer’s Live Album and Jack Johnson. Dad showed me Zeppelin and AC/DC, Mum countered with The Cars and Crowded House. The single most important musical inspiration though, has to be Frank Turner. When I was 13 or 14 I saw him at the O2 Arena in London with my Dad. He held an entire arena in the palm of his hand with a single guitar. I was completely hooked.
How would you describe your sound?
This is always such a tough question – I like jangly guitars, I like nicely layered vocal harmonies and speedy, tumbling lyrics. I’d be tempted to say indie-folk with an edge for some, and pop rock for others.
What is your latest release called and what was the influence behind it?
The latest single is called Brother. It’s an indie rock/folk ballad I wrote for (you guessed it!) my brother. Specifically, it’s about the time that I left my passport in my uni halls in Durham, and only realised this at 11pm the night before my flight. My brother told me to jump in the car and we drove over 400 miles roundtrip so I could make the flight in time. I wrote the lyrics down on the coach to the airport. I suppose it’s a love song in a way – I’m not always great at saying it to the people in my life, so this was my way of doing it for my brother.
The track was recorded in a single day at the studio in the music department at the University of the West of England with the help of producer Finn, and drummer Jake.
What’s your local music scene like?
My local scene consists mostly of cows – there’s one pub in the village and that’s normally closed by 10. I venture to Bristol as often as I can, but public transport is seriously limited. The underground scene there is great – I’ve seen some amazing bands recently in some tiny rooms. Everyone seems to be in it together, and it feels more like a community than the London scene.
What do you have planned for the next 12 months?
I’ve got a string of new singles leading up to an EP, so that’s exciting! I’ve also got some tiny little festivals booked, and shows wherever I can get them! The aim is to gig as often as is physically possible. I’m not the most comfortable on social media, though I’m learning and pushing myself, but I am comfortable on stage and when people come and see me live I think they get it more.
Is there anyone you’d love to collaborate with?
I’d adore collaborating with Frank Turner or KT Tunstall, Maisie Peters would be fun (been loving her stuff recently). I’ve got a friend who’s in an (I want to say) 8 piece funk band called King Cerulean (check them out they’re awesome) so that could be really interesting.
Any funny stories surrounding your live performances?
I did once play a show in London, a friend of mine who’s a comic and a writer came down for the first time, and I played a song I have called All Mouth (No Trousers). Now, I wasn’t aware that half my peers don’t know this is a fairly common saying, it’s definitely a thing! Anyway, my friend started laughing uncontrollably, which caused me to start giggling – I tried to keep it in and got through the song somehow. It turns out he thought the song was A LOT dirtier than simply chatting bollocks, he thought it was related to, well, you know… Now I hear it every time I play it which is a nightmare.
What is the one thing that you want readers to know about you?
I suppose I’d want them to know that this is all I really want to do, and I think I’m quite good at it, so if they like any of it they should come along for the ride!
You can find out more about Alex via Apple Music, Facebook, Instagram, Linktree, Spotify, Threads, TikTok or YouTube.
UPDATE: Alex is now based in London.
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