Interviewing Purple dots: Perserverance and Dreaming Big
What would you say has been the biggest challenge that you have faced starting out in music?
I had an accident at work which left me with severed tendons in my fretting hand and because I’ve been playing guitar since I was really young, it was hard overcoming the setback that this accident had caused. It stopped me in my tracks and the road to recovery, to be able to play guitar to the standard that I used to before, was a long one. It’s been equally the worst thing that’s happened to me and the best - it’s made me extremely determined because anytime I don’t feel like playing I look at the scar on my hand and am reminded not to take it for granted. I’ve got a very strange relationship with music, it’s very much love and hate - I’m completely consumed by it, it’s brought me a lot of joy but also a lot of pain/stress. To get anywhere in this business you’ve got to be obsessed, you need that drive because talent will only get you so far.
What is your earliest memory of music?
I think my earliest memory would have to be when I was very young - around 3 or 4 years old - my stepmother was very much into music and I remember she had loads of vinyls. She would put on David Bowie and it had such a weird effect on me, I’d sit cross-legged and rock backwards and forwards. No one knew what I was doing, I was just rolling about the floor listening to Bowie.
Can you walk me through your creative process for songwriting?
I’ve been doing this for so long and songs come to me in very different ways - sometimes in dreams I can hear a song and when I wake up it's still in my head. Sometimes, the ideas for a song just fall out - the lyrics, the melody. I will just hear a beat and need to pick up my guitar to figure out the sound. Alternatively, there’s a song that I’ve just finished which I’ve been writing since I was 16 years old - I’ve rewritten and rejigged it so many times but I think it might be finally finished. I like to write poetry too - well, I don’t know if I’d call myself a poet but - I’ve got books with reams and reams of ideas.
Sometimes I go off for a long walk choosing not to take my phone. Once whilst I was walking an idea popped into my head - the line of the start of a song. The walk was about an hour and a half long, I spent the whole time repeating this line in my head. At the end of the hour and a half I’d repeated this line and kept adding to it so much that I’d written this entire song in my head, by the end of the walk I was running home in an attempt to not forget it and write it down. It’s a weird thing - does a songwriter write a song, or do they discover them? It feels to me that they are ideas waiting to be plucked.
Is there a specific instrument that is significant to your work?
The flugelhorn - no, only joking. Definitely, the guitar is the most significant to my work - I’ve been playing it for such a long time, since I was a kid.
If you could own any one guitar, what would you choose?
This list is long but if I had to pick only one it would be linked to an early music memory of mine. When I was younger I worked at a guitar shop in Doncaster called Music Ground - loads of pop stars would come and buy things there. When I worked there, the manager there was John Squire’s guitar technician - he’d just bought a 1959 Gibson Les Paul and I had a go on it which was great. I’d love to own that guitar.
Who are some of the main artists/acts that you draw inspiration from?
Miles Davis, Stone Roses, Oasis, I love classical music - I like Beethoven. I think I have a lot of weird, obscure musical influences but also a lot of mainstream influences such as the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix. If I had to say one, and it isn’t very far out, but I’d say I’ve been inspired by the Beatles. The Beatles were so prolific in their songwriting, it’s all good vibes - I don’t think there’s any cynicism to their music, it’s all about having fun and playing tunes.
What has been your favourite venue that you have played so far in your career?
I would say the Greystones in Sheffield. I sent the promoter Chris Wilson a copy of my songs and he said to me that he loved them so I asked about potential gigs. I was asked if I wanted to do a gig supporting an international touring artist - a Swedish band called Baskery.
How do you define success as an artist?
Something that really resonated with me was something that was said to me by a friend - the fact that I’ve come back from the accident with my arm is enough of a success. Obviously, I’d love a superyacht, a rolls royce and a mansion but just the fact that I’m still playing is enough for now.
Can you tell us what you are working on at the minute? When can our audience expect to see more work by you?
I’m working on my album at the moment, with a single coming out on the 7th March which I’m really excited for. I’m excited to make more and more, an album then another album - hopefully, after that I’ll be touring the world, playing Madison Square Garden and buying that mansion I mentioned earlier!
