We had the absolute pleasure of catching up with The Phantoms ahead of their headline show at Broadcast for This Feeling! Read below as we talk new music, This Feeling, the bands origin and a square go incident…
Hi Guys!
What made you want to pursue a career in music? How did The Phantoms come to be?
Colin: So I went to see Oasis in 2009 and surprise surprise it made me want to be in a band. The big sound and that made me want to get a guitar, I told my mum I was buying a guitar and she told me I wasn’t and my gran was like he’s buying a guitar. My mum gave me three weeks and I’m still playing it now. So aye I was so into it, loved everything about music. I played football and the time, I quit that and then started a band.
Euan: The Archives…
Colin: I was in a band called The Archives at the time, actually he (Euan) spat on my then drummer. We used to play in little pubs and clubs and he spat on my drummer
Euan: To be fair he did start it
*Laughter*
Euan: He did start a square go outside and it was only Andy, who sometimes does our tech, who walked over and he’s about six foot nine
Colin: Yeah he’s like chewbacca
Euan: Yeah he walked over and was like are we alright here and his drummer (Colin’s) fucked off and fucked off with the money from that gig so I’ve heard.
Colin: Yeah he fucked off with about £400, I’ve never forgiven him for that, never seen him again mind you
Euan: But aye he started it
Colin: Aye I started The Archives
Zach: A rather long winded answer to a straightforward question!
So how are you guys feeling about starting your gig year off with a sold out headline gig at Broadcast for This Feeling?
Euan: Fuck Yeah!
Colin: Nah it’s just mega, these guys what they are doing is just mega! They support all new music and the opportunities that you can get through them and it’s not just in Glasgow or Edinburgh, it’s up and down the country. Festival slots, gigs, radio, it’s endless what they can do for you.
Zach: To be the headline band on this particular line-up because it’s such a strong line-up, all the bands are really really good and we’ve seen them all pretty much and we’re into them all so to be asked to be the headline of a bill like this is pretty humbling.
Colin: I think as well through This Feeling you meet so many new people and so many new bands like we met Moonlight Zoo at the Isle of Wight through This Feeling. You meet loads of new people because it’s not just a gig or a club night.
Euan: I don’t think I was in the band when you first started working with This Feeling but coming from me having worked in other bands, This Feeling really look after their artists
Colin: Aye I like the ethics of it. I think it teaches you the ethics to support everyone around you.
So you’re releasing your new single ‘Shadows’ on the 21st of April, what can fans anticipate from it?
Colin: Well it got its first play on Radio X and we’re in the process of building up the hype which starts with tonight
Zach: It was exciting getting our first play on Radio X though!
Colin: We’re excited about this release to be honest, it’s a wee bit different from other stuff we’ve done. I think the whole way we’ve done the production with the guys at Rocket Science and we’ve taken a different approach. I think for us though before we brought Zach and Euan into the band we had a very set way we recorded and released things and I think that we had to find a new approach, we had new people so yeah I think this release definitely takes a different approach from others. The way we’ve gone about it is completely new and it’s fresh, it’s fresh to us and we tried to capture that with this single. It was us exploring new avenues. I’m excited to see how it does!
What was a standout moment from last year?
Colin: Bringing Euan in to the band!
Euan: YEEESSS! I knew I was definitely going to be a turning point!
*Laughter*
Colin: Isle of Wight was the moment last year because it was the end of a chapter with Colin and we also knew then where we were heading with the band, we had Euan coming in. There was a moment where we were all standing there at the Isle of Wight and Colin went like that “Right I’m away, thank you very much for everything see you later” and then me and Blair kinda stood there and thought you know this is kinda exciting. That was the moment of last year to be honest, (to Euan) We’d already been practising with you hadn’t we?
Euan: Yeah we had been
Colin: So we’d already heard what was going to come of The Phantoms, it was nice to just kind of put that part with Colin to rest and start on something new.
Euan: I tell you my turning point/moment from last year was the first gig we did supporting Alabama 3 and it was the first time I’d played live with The Phantoms and I looked over at Zach and he gave me this look and it was kinda like Ah Fuck!
Colin: You’re smashing this
Euan; Yeah it was definitely Ah Fuck! in a good way
Zach: I was just giving you my sexy eyes man!
What can fans expect in the next six months?
Colin: Bigger gigs!
Zach: We’ll hopefully have a new song out again in the next six months
Colin: In the next six months we’re going to go back into the studio and write more tunes, we want to expand our fan base, we want to be all over the UK.
Euan: I think we’re pushing the live shows a lot more, each of us push more with each gig we do!
Colin: In the next six months we want to be up and down the country, we want to be everywhere.
Zach: Europe would be nice too!
Euan: I’ve never played outside of Scotland!
Colin: Have you never…
Quickfire!
The first gig you ever went to?
Colin: Oasis!
Zach: Eminem with Cypress Hill and Xzibit…
Euan: Muse with The Big Pink opening
If you could have written any song ever which one would it be?
Zach: I’d go for a David Bowie song, I love all of his stuff. Like maybe Heroes or something. I mean that’s a hard question, you can’t just throw that at me man!
*Laughter*
Colin: I should of said that in the email, prewarn us of the questions
Euan: I’d have to go with my favourite song ever both lyrically and musically which is Living is a problem because everything dies by Biffy Clyro. That is an amazing song! or anything by Bon Iver
Colin: Catfish and the Bottlemen – Cocoon. I wish I’d wrote that. See that bridge, see the first time I heard that I was like where is that sound coming from. It’s just so big
Euan: I wish I’d could hold Van McCann’s hand just so I could absorb some of that talent.
Describe The Phantoms in three words?
Euan: Big Dick Central
*Laughter*
Colin: We’re going to get so many birds coming to the shows now
Euan: You can’t actually put that on can you?
Yes we can!
Colin: Soaring, Anthemic, Brit-pop. Those are my three words
Euan: Can I change mine now?
Colin: Nope!
Yeah sorry no!
Zach: Massive, Stadium, Rock
Euan: Can I do Blair’s then?
Colin: No cause he’s not here
Your dream support slot?
Zach: U2 man! For me anyway
Euan: Does it have to be with The Phantoms?
It doesn’t matter if you fit, it can be anyone…
Zach: Fuck it then, Jimi Hendrix too. I’ve got loads of answers
Colin: Aye well you just keep going then till we can think of one!
Zach: Aye I’ll just keep giving you’s ideas then
Colin: Oasis would definitely be in there, Catfish as well. I’d love to do Led Zeppelin for some weird reason, I just think they would be cool to tour with like with the way they approach gigs and stuff
Euan: Personally, like myself I think Bon Iver would be the most amazing experience of your life but with The Phantoms I think like Kasabian or something
Colin: Aw Kasabian would be really cool!
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