Interviews: Gwailo

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Hard Rock band Gwailo 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 did it just come out like that?

The idea for the name Gwailo came from Gary, our former vocalist. When we first started to think of names, we had loads of ideas but it's more difficult than people think because this name will stick with you. After a while Gary mentioned a story from when he visited China the locals would call him "gwailo". We thought it was a cool story, so we kept that but spelled it differently.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

Rock n Roll and hard Rock is the band’s genre, and we just wanted to play music that we loved. It was a simple decision we didn't even have to talk about, Rock n Roll is our lives.

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

David, our lead guitarist, knows Kyle, our rhythm guitarist from school, so they have a history of jamming from then, but the other guys Steve, Michael, and Adrian got in contact online when the band needed new members.

4. Each band member's favorite band?

David's favorite band has always been Guns N Roses. Adrian's is tied between Saxon and Judas Priest. Steve loves Oasis. Michael is a vocalist Queen, one of the best singers ever. Kyle's favourite has been ACDC since he was young listening to his dad's CDs.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Musically the inspiration for writing comes mainly from listening to music and that can spark something. Other times you can be trying to figure a song out on guitar but end up writing something new or you can be noodling on guitar and discover a cool riff. Primarily my own experiences. Anything from funny stories about friends or events in my life, to deeper hardships an audience can relate to. Or sometimes I just write something I think sounds cool.

6. Where was your last gig?

Our last gig was at the Harley Davidson dealership in Gateshead. It was their birthday bash, so we had the opportunity to play a couple of sets during the day. It was an awesome day and being a crowd of bikers, they love Rock music.

7. Where would you like to play?

We aspire to play loads of incredible venues, we could name arenas all day but to play Download festival would be a dream come true. So many great artists have played and it's one of the biggest rock festivals.

8. Who would you like to support?

There are so many awesome bands it's hard to name just one. We have influences going back to the 70s so some bands don't tour anymore but supporting bands like Guns N Roses, Aerosmith, and AC/DC, you can't get any better than that.

9. Who not?

We’d probably support anyone because we love to play.

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

Everyone gets some sort of nervous before going on stage. I think the best way to overcome stage fright would be to rehearse as much as you can. If you can play the songs without thinking, you'll be fine.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

I think Guns N Roses have been a huge influence in the music and Slash as a musician with all his projects you just can't beat some of his riffs. After that, it's a big mixture because people hear different bands' sounds in our music and taking a little bit of influence from a range of bands makes for more interesting music. It's allowed our songs to be different from one to the next and keep away from every song sounding similar.

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

We were playing a local gig once and this one dude was mortal with his top off, so we all signed his chest.

13. What do you think of your fans?

Our fans are awesome! Everyone who takes the time to listen to our music online, watch a video, or come to a show, we appreciate it so much and we are so happy people love what we do.

14. What do you think of our site?

The site is great. It's so easy to navigate and to discover new bands. We love how you can filter the genre and even the country.

15. Something to add?

Everyone keep in touch with us on our social media, check out YouTube, and let us know what you think. We'll be around your town at some point so keep an eye on the tour dates on our website and we'll see you on the road.