Article For Interview
This August sees the Comfort in Sound NI tour showcasing some of the best new local Christian bands playing at various locations across Northern Ireland – Article For, Capture Crossfire and Tom McConnell. They’ll be playing at the Atlantic Bar Portrush on August 9th, Sandios Café Londonderry on August 11th, Lavery’s Bunker Belfast on August 12th, and Willie Ramblers Enniskillen on August 15th.
First off, who makes up the band?
Article For is comprised of 5 guys, Alan (Keys/Synth, Vocals), Steven (Guitar), Jonny (Guitar), Adam (Bass) and Skip (Drums). Age range is 17 to 20 I think. Maybe 21.
Any interesting/quirky/annoyin
Haha, Jonny has loads of excuses, Steven hates being told what to do, Skip can’t remember anything from a previous practice, Adam thinks the world should only make bass sounds, and Alan is perfect. Good thing I’m writing this :)!
When did you get together?
About 4 or 5 years ago, we started as a church praise band. Then, over time, God opens new paths, and we stopped playing in church but continued on ourselves with worship songs, then got a few worship gigs around the country. We started writing a few of our own songs (first one we wrote was ‘Whatever Happens In Summer’), and gradually felt that we were being called to move away from worship. Our first performance gig was in Exodus Lisburn last October, and since have played about 12 more times, so we are happy with how things are going 🙂 I have to say it’s weird looking back and seeing how things have worked out, I would never have guessed we would be doing what we are doing now, but thats how God works I suppose.
You’ve been together for a while now – how have you grown/matured as a band?
We have grown in a number of ways. As we have been together so long, we have grown as friends, and gelled as a band, everyone has their own role and everyone contributes. Musically, of course, and we have all helped each other grow in our faith. Also, but accepting basically any opportunity that appears, we still get to play some worship nights, kids camps along with other random nights. It’s great bant!
How would you describe your sound? And how do others describe it?
We don’t really describe our sound as anything. In our last EP, nearly every song was different, from acoustic with violin and piano to fast guitar and heavy synth. This year, our style has changed to more of an alternative rock thing.. I’m not too good at describing it! I guess we could be compared to Jimmy Eat World or Billy Clyro or something.. but we are different than them both for some reason or another. So I don’t know really! A review of us said we have an ‘alternative rock feel … with almost 80’s-ish sounding synth’… But then again, that’s only one song…
What artists have had an influence on you as a band?
Steven, Adam and myself are most infulenced by Underoath, a christian metal band (who are amazing). Personally, I love their music, and how at nearly every show that make it clear that they are Christians who love God. We try to make this message clear at our own shows too, to let people in pubs and bars see that Christians don’t have to be sitting in church all the time, and can have fun too, so hopefully someone can take something from it, however small. There are too many other bands we like to name though!
What is your favourite song of your own material and why?
Lol! Everyone likes different songs actually…! The one we might all agree on and that we haven’t got bored of yet is one we wrote recently, which hasn’t been named. We just like it because it’s like, I dunno, we just do. It sounds nice, like tea and biscuits. So come to a show and hear it!
Where do you get your inspiration for your lyrics from?
Jonny gives me pages and pages of lyrics, which I then make into songs. I’m hopeless at writing lyrics. Basically all of our songs are about God, about losing him, about a relationship with him, about life with him. If you read them or listen you might see what I’m singing about. Or maybe it’s just me!
What can people expect from a live performance?
An absolutely fantastic performance that will have your ears ringing and you’ll be singing our songs for the next week.
Truthful answer – Skip to drop his sticks, Alan to screw up a few loops on his laptop, a lot of wrong notes and everyone to forget what the heck happens next. Well, it’s not quite as bad as that! I’d like to think we give a not too serious performance filled with banter, but come to a show and make your own decision! 🙂
Finally – is there anywhere people can get hold of your music yet?
Yeah, but you probably don’t want to! Our current EP (recorded this time last year) sounds pretty bad, but you can pick a copy up for free now from us at any show. We are about to start recording a new EP in the next week or so, and will maybe launch it in September. Once I tell the guys that that’s what we are doing, it should happen! Meanwhile, check us out at www.myspace.com/articlefor