Band Interview: Static Satellites

Tell me about yourselves? How did you all meet? Where are you all from?
Ciaran – Ross and Sam have known each other since they were in school and Ally and I are sort of cousins. I say sort of because it is an ongoing debate whether we are or not, basically my great aunt is his grans sister, so if we are related it’s pretty distant. I got to know Ross when playing in the backing band for a singer/songwriter and when that fell through we stayed in touch and tried to make a band work. After lots of different lineup changes we were beginning to give up. Sam joined at just the right moment and then not long after that we managed to recruit Ally after a band he and I were playing in fell through. It’s been a long process getting this line up together and frankly it’s criminal it didn’t happen sooner than it did.

What are your names and what position do you have in the band?
Ross – I’m Ross and I play rhythm guitar and sing.
Ciaran – I’m Ciaran and I play drums and do some backing vocals.

What if anything does your band name mean/Why are you called that?
Ross – We spent months trying to come up with a name and went through 2 or three different options with Satellites in it. We narrowed that down to two and when I ran both past my mum, she said static satellites had more of a ring to it. I think we had a discussion at the next practice and decided we would go with that. It doesn’t really mean much. But it’s handy because we’re the first result on Google.
Ciaran – Trying to find a name that everyone liked and agreed on was always going to be hard which is why Ross’ mum made the final decision. We quickly realized that the name really doesn’t matter that much as long as people like the sound you’re making. 

Describe your music to someone who has never heard you before?
Ross – Indie Rock/Indie Pop. Some of our songs are a bit heavier, some of them are quite soft so it swings between the two I’d say.
Ciaran – We’ve been likened to The National, The Strokes and Biffy Clyro. Not entirely sure if that is accurate but I’m pretty happy with it!

What song(s) do you remember most from your childhood?
Ross – Many Men, 50 cent. What a blast.
Ciaran – I’ve got a really early memory of listening to Losing My Religion by REM in my Dad’s car. It was from an old mix cassette he used to play that also had Rock The Casbah by The Clash on it. Funnily enough The Clash and REM are now two of my all-time favourite bands so it’s quite clear where I got that influence from!

Do you have a process for writing your songs?
Ross – I usually just write them in the house and send them in the group chat to see what the boys think we can work with. Most start out on the guitar with a riff or pattern. Others start out with a lyric and some with just a random vocal melody. Usually if I have something to write about, it goes a lot smoother and it doesn’t take as long to get a rough idea of where the songs going. It does all sound better in the shower though.

Have you released any music yet, and if so how has it been received?
Ciaran – Back in May we released our debut single ‘Spin’. The track is about the difficult yet ever increasing issue of mental health which is why when we released it, we decided to use the song as a tool to raise money for Samaritans. We set a £100 target and smashed it within 2 months of the song being released which we were absolutely thrilled about. We have also had some pretty good write ups in the Evening Times and a couple of notable blogs which we were also really happy about. It’s all been positive so far!

Are you planning any music releases for the near future?
Ross – Peepers peeled.
Ciaran – Yeah we have a few exciting things planned for later on in the year. Not the time to go into too much detail but we’re looking forward to getting some new tunes out soon.

If you have released music, where can fans to be find it?
Ciaran – You can listen to our debut single ‘Spin’ on Spotify and download it from iTunes and our own Bandcamp page.

Do you have social media for the band and if so please provide links?
Ciaran – You can find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Where have you performed? What are your favourite and least favourite venues?
Ross – King Tuts was probably our best gig to date.  I always thought that If I could play there then I’d be happy regardless of what happens past that.  To see the names on the steps as you go in and know that all your heroes have played on it is really crazy stuff.  Hearing the crowd singing along to our songs was just another level.
Ciaran – We’ve been lucky enough to play at some really great venues across Glasgow that I’ve been going to for years to see different bands. King Tut’s is clearly the highlight so far, we headlined that night and packed it out and to hear the crowd sing back ‘Spin’ to us was out of this world. Ross and I played an acoustic gig at Edinburgh Beer Factory which I enjoyed mainly because we were playing in a brewery and the beer on tap was gorgeous! 

Do you have any gigs in the near future, and if so where and when?
Ross – 11th of October at the Dreadnought in Bathgate is sure to be a big one. It’s a brilliant venue and ran by really sound people. It’s a local gig for myself and Sam so we’re hoping to fill it out as much as possible. We’re having some local boys support us as well. Ewan Butler, who is an amazing songwriter and storyteller equipped with the voice of an angel, Gunnison, who are a criminally underrated two piece with the richest harmonies and amazing songs to back it all up, and The Volts, who are an up and coming highly energetic  band to watch out for, the lads are already writing anthems and are sure to get the place going. We’re all buzzing for it.
Ciaran – We’re headlining Flying Duck in Glasgow on Saturday 24th August. We’ve got a London based singer songwriter called Visa Baby supporting us whose songs sound like a mash up on Edwyn Collins and Television, he’s really good. We also have an up and coming singer called Alice Faye Niel playing who I’m also really looking forward to seeing. We got some other cool stuff planned for October, so watch this space!

How do you balance your music with other obligations?
Ciaran – Sometimes work and other things get in the way but so far it hasn’t been too much of a hindrance. I’d say we are all pretty good at making time for rehearsals and gigs are planned so well in advance, it’s easy to work around them. I think it’s a really positive sign that we are willing to make time for the band, it’s a change from other bands I’ve played in where you can’t help but get the feeling that nobody else can be bothered.

Following on from that question, what has been your biggest challenge as a band and have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so then how?
Ross – Probably overcoming gigs that you we didn’t feel went that  good. That can be a major knock on the confidence. But by the time we’re clearing off, we’ve usually had a laugh about it. We’re pretty easy going so we never really give each other a hard time if we haven’t played the best show. I think it’s important that we know we’re all on the same side. Bands can be intense situations otherwise.

And let’s end with something a little different…Which famous person, living or dead, would you have dinner with and why?
Ross – Matt Berry, his voice is the greatest. Anything he says is gold.
Ciaran – I’ll go to any dinner party that Matt Berry is at. I’d probably invite John Lydon, he can be controversial at times and can say the wrong thing but I think it’s hard not to admit he would be an interesting person to talk to.

First Published on: https://offtherecordblog.org/

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