Interviews: Idle Crooks & Englishmen

In this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Rock band Idle Crooks & Englishmen from the UK. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1.     Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

We wanted to have a long band name like Catfish & The Bottlemen. I think we were interested in the ‘& Englishmen’ at the end of the name so once we had that the rest fell into place. It was easier then we thought to come up with the name, luckily we didn’t spend months coming up with lots of dodgy ideas. It worked out well.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

Playing rock and heavy music has always been really fun. We grew up together and always tried to cover our favourite bands at the time so it been part of us for a long time. We settled on the genre Dirty Rock a while ago which is an appealing name to us. It’s good escapism going crazy on stage with your mates.  

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Yes, we’ve actually known each other all our lives. We grew up in the same town, going to similar/the same schools and basically learning our instruments together. Which has been a blessing with shaping our sound and progressing musically.

4. Each band members favourite band?

Joe – The Smashing Pumpkins Adam – Demob Happy or Dinosaur Pile-Up Tom – Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Josh – The Beatles Who or what inspires you to write songs? There are some songs I hear that immediately makes me want to write a song. I’m not sure exactly what it is but, there is something about when it’s done right or when its working well, that gives a certain satisfaction and always strives you to create the best you can. After finishing a song or finishing recording a song it is very rewarding to us.

6. Where was your last gig?

Brighton, The Komedia, supporting Honeybadger.

7. Where would you like to play?

We’ve seen many of our favourite bands at the Brighton Dome and Brighton Centre such as Jack White, Noel Gallagher and The Last Shadow Puppets so if we got to play there it would be surreal for us. Hopefully, we can get on a support slot for one of those venues.

8. Who would you like to support?

We would love to support any of our favourite bands. We would love to tour with a band internationally. Joe just needs to get a passport first! We are really keen to get into local and larger festival scenes to expand our network of bands and audiences.

9. Who not?

No band, in particular, we’ve played great shows with loads of cool bands. I’m sure we’ve had the show that didn’t go to quite to plan but we’re very easy going and will get on with anyone!

10. Any of you have ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

The best way to get past stage fright is to take your mind off the thing that scares you the most. For example, if it’s the time just before performing that makes you scared, go for a short run or a jog to get your blood pumping and energy running. Keep focused on what you play and enjoy the experience with your bandmates. That way, performing to the rest of the crowd becomes an extension of the fun you share with your band.

11. What bands have inspired you most?

Joes writing inspirations mainly come from artists of the ’70s like The Eagles and Stevie Wonder and bands that helped cement the grunge scene like Smashing Pumpkins and Alice in Chains, and key guitar players of the 20th century such as Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Tom loves Jeff Buckley, Radiohead and The Cure. Adam has been inspired mainly by Dave Grohl and Chad Smith, by playing hard with a strong beat.

12. What’s the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

Our good mate and fan Joe asked to join the band and the rest is history...

13. What do you think of your fans?

We’re lucky that lots of our close friends and our family hugely support us. We wouldn’t be able to do it like we do without them. It’s nice when we meet new people and especially get on with other bands at shows and they dig our live set, that’s what it’s all about really.

14. What do you think of our site?

The Breathing The Core site looks great! There’s a lot of content on there which shows a passion for promoting new music. It’s a great way to discover new bands. There’s a huge variety of metal genres on there that we will definitely check out before shows to get us pumped up. I’m sure we’ll find a lot of music that we love.

15. Something to add?

Idle Crooks & Englishmen will be touring late October into early November. We are playing main cities such as London, Manchester Bristol so check out a gig! Also, our next single ‘Criminal Song’ will be out on the 13th of September on all major music platforms. Thank you!