Industry news & advice blog

Fizzy Blood are a five piece ‘electic musical grenade’ from Leeds who are racing their way through breakthrough act checkpoints. Having only been together since 2014 they have managed to support The Dead Kennedys, become friendly with BBC Introducing, play at Download Festival and embark on a tour of South Korea! Not many bands we know can say they have achieved that in less than a year! 

Their most recent release is EP ‘Feast’ which has received outstanding reviews and a video premiere on Kerrang! We spoke to Benji Inkley and Paul Howells from the band to find out how things have taken off for the band and their advice for acts trying to achieve the same.

 

You all look so young, how old are you?
Cheers, we’ll take that as a compliment! Although comparing us now to pictures that were taken in the beginning we can definitely see the Fizzy lifestyle is taking its toll. I’m (Benji) the oldest at 24, Paul is 23, Tim is 21, whilst Jake and Ciaran are just 20.

How did the band start?
Me and Paul have been in bands with each other for years prior to Fizzy Blood.  The band we were in directly before Fizzy Blood was able to pick up a little momentum before it came to its natural end.  We toured the UK a number of times and were also able to gain experience touring Europe for a few weeks.  The lessons we learnt from being naive in the past when we started a band is one of the main reasons I think we were able to get Fizzy Blood off to such a good start. 

After me and Paul had a short break from being in bands we decided to get the wheels turning again, and because we’re both big Jamie Lenman fans decided to name the band after the first single from his solo album.  Paul was attending Leeds College of Music at the time and we were able to find the rest of the guys by just advertising for the positions we wanted. 

How have you changed since your first gig?
I think our writing style has matured a lot since then. With the inclusion of a fifth member during the first few months of 2015 we’ve become a lot more experimental at times but still try and keep the sleazy hooks that we all love rocking out too. Having a fifth member allows me as a singer to have a lot more freedom whilst performing live, as I can use my hands to make adrenaline fuelled gestures I then regret the next day. It seems to work on the crowd though haha!

Did you ever think you would be doing a bunch of gigs in South Korea when you got together? How did that tour come about and how was it!
When we first got together I think we all wanted to play some shows abroad at some point in the future but wouldn’t have imagined we’d ever be playing to 1000+ people on a massive stage in a main street in Seoul. South Korea was amazing! Both the people and food were a couple of major highlights. The trip to South Korea was a result of an overseas festival exchange programme run by Liverpool Sound City. 


Photography credit: Yuki Wada

What was the turning point for Fizzy Blood, when things started to take off?
I think from day one we were always serious about the band and the goals we set out to achieve. It’s just as with anything, the amount of time you put into something as well as the people working behind the scenes putting the hours in. Bands that were once a more casual project naturally turn into something serious with large amounts of time and money invested into it from all corners.

Has it changed much having a team behind you from being completely independent?
Because of mine and Paul’s links within the industry from experience with previous bands, Fizzy Blood has never really been 100% independent.  We had a small team we began working with at first that helped us gain momentum as a band very quickly. It’s just finding the right people to be a part of your team that’s the hard part. The Fizzy Blood team consists of DMF Digital, a general manager, PR work with Wall Of Sound and booking agent, Live Agency.

What are the benefits of having a team behind you?
The biggest benefit of having a team working alongside you is that it gives the members of the band a lot more time to focus on the music rather than smashing posts on social media into people’s faces.  There are plenty of other benefits too, but giving the band the freedom to do what they want to do is the key one. 

You’re based in Leeds, do you think this has influenced you in anyway?
I wouldn’t say that it has influenced our sound as a band as such.  We’re lucky to be part of such a great scene, in a great city for music. We’ve made friends and toured with so many amazing bands that call Leeds home too, such as Allusondrugs, Forever Cult, Narcs, Trash… I could go on. 

What has been your favourite gig to date and why?
We’ve played so many gigs, and could pick out so many things that would make a case for that being our favourite gig but for just the sheer amount of ‘out of the ordinary-ness’ it would have to be our last show in South Korea when we played Sang Sang Madang.  It’s one of the main music venues in Seoul and was just an insane experience.  Unlike the gig we played in the street, this was a proper venue and by the time we had the riffs going in the second tune we had the entire crowd jumping. There doesn’t seem to be as much insecurity at shows over there and you could tell that people were genuinely just enjoying themselves, which reflected in our performance as a band. 

There’s been a focus recently on successful bands also having to work day jobs. What do you all do outside of Fizzy Blood and how does band life fit in?
The majority of the band still studies, but me and Paul just try to do agency work as and when it comes up. It sort of feels like your life’s on hold because everyone around you is meeting people and accomplishing things in their careers while you’re at home doing nothing in between tours, but we try to remind ourselves that this is just a temporary sacrifice we have to make in order to grow what it is we’re doing and we’ll reap the rewards later. 

Photography credit: Neil McCarty

Do you think it’s easier or more difficult for bands to get noticed today rather than 20 years ago? 
I could be here all day talking about this, but I’ll try and keep it as concise as I can. I think this is because the internet has created a low barrier to entry to music, which is great on one hand because you can get heard with no money or support, but on the other it means that people who aren’t ready or have no business being involved in something creative make things and they’re pushing that out there in the same space as everybody else, sometimes for the wrong reasons, and the whole world has become de-sensitised to all of it. 

The supply/demand balance between people and music has switched and people trying to make a living out of music have slowly been lumped in with pushy salesmen and adverts. The magic’s gone, and it’s a lot harder to create that when your potential audience starts with their eyes shut and their hands over their ears. 

What do you think has made you stand out to the industry over other bands? 
I don’t even know if we do! We don’t try and stand out to ‘the industry’ which I think is a difference between us and a lot of bands at our level. We have a creative vision and we stick to that no matter what anyone else says or does. What I’m trying to say is, I think people who stand out the most and deserve to be pointed out of the crowd are the ones who are focusing on being the best they can be at what they do, rather than trying to get onto the shoulders of someone else to be seen. 

What do you hope to achieve as Fizzy Blood within the next few years?
We want to get out from under our parent’s feet, see more of the world, and make a record that connects with a really large amount of people in a special way that will last a long time. If we can achieve all those things in the next few years, then that’s a good start. 

What's your advice for bands starting out? 
Don’t try and rush into doing everything at once because you see other people doing it, it’s not a race. Focus on your band and make sure you’re good enough and you care enough about it to commit to it before doing anything else. Once you think you’re there, start small (gig with your mates, get to know all the local bands and promoters in your scene and get involved) and work your way up. Things will happen naturally when you’re ready and you are actually good enough. Also, don’t be afraid to be different, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don’t just do things because you think that’s what bands do. Think outside the box! 

Although Fizzy Blood are staying tight lipped on their plans for 2016, we can tell you that they have a free gig at London’s Old Blue Last next week on Monday 18th January. We think you should be there! Check out their latest single ‘Sweat & Sulphur’.

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