Interviews: All For Jolly

On this new occasion, we had the opportunity to interview the Folk Punk band All For Joly 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?

Originally we were called ‘JollyRoger’ and our motto was “All For Jolly & Jolly For All”, because we have an inclusive approach, love getting our fans involved and it is also a nod to our heritage as the Cornish motto is ‘Onen hag Oll - One and All’. We felt that this really captured our community-based spirit. The two parts of the saying represent us (the band) and our fan base/music community. We also used to be more influenced by the pirate theme but with our new lineup, sound, and additional influences, we felt that it just didn't completely represent us properly anymore (it also didn't help that no one could spell our name properly haha). Of course, there will always be nautical and pirate themes sprinkled throughout our music, it's in our souls. But with the new sound, new line, and new outlook, we decided to change our name to All For Jolly.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

Being from the Celtic nation of Cornwall, I feel that this genre is our blood and heritage. We are a Celtic Folk band at the core but very much influenced by other genres that we love too.

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

Me and Jae are siblings and grew up together in Penzance, we have always got on really well and I absolutely love sharing the stage with my brother, it is an honour. We met Steve on a night out in Plymouth; a few years later he happened to be living in the same house as our drummer at the time so when we found ourselves needing a guitarist, we asked Steve. We met Pete in 2022 when we first supported Mad Dog Mcrea, as he was their drummer. As soon as we announced that the two members left at the beginning of 2024, Nay messaged the band page asking if she could audition to be our bassist (we hadn’t even advertised for the role yet). We loved her attitude and when we met her we all got on so well. She was in.

4. Each band member's favorite band?

Sammantha Hannah: Lady of the Sea - Green Day

Jae Alice - Captain: Good Charlotte

Steve Sampson: Shipwreck - Electric Callboy

Pete Chart: Chart Attack - Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Nay J: Nay-Vee

Jones: Opeth 

As you can see, we have a massive range of influences in this band, and I love that each genre can shine through depending on the song.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

So many things have inspired our songs, it's hard to “put it into words’ really” If you’ll pardon my pun haha. The short answer is that each song kind of has its own journey. Usually, me or Jae will present a song idea and everyone adds thoughts and parts and we develop it from there. Thanks to my ADHD, I fall into times of hyperfocus and side quests. I was supposed to be writing 50-word descriptions of each of the upcoming album tracks the other week and I ended up writing a 20,000-word short ‘behind the songs on the album’ story. This gives insight into the details of how each of the songs from the All For Jolly album came to fruition. If you are interested in finding out more, we are currently setting up a Patreon page to help us continue to fund this DIY dream musical journey and I think the plan is to release a chapter a month on that (in text and audio format).

6. Where was your last gig?

Our last band gig was our End of Year Party at The Cornish Bank venue in Falmouth, Cornwall, with support from Yellow Car. It was a fantastic evening and we shall be doing that gig again at the end of this year, hopefully see you there? We love playing in Cornwall.

7. Where would you like to play?

All the biggest rock and metal festivals in the world please, plus the pyramid stage and also The Flogging Molly Cruise. Most of us go to the ‘Download Festival’ every year, and it's safe to say that is probably at the top of all of our bucket lists. Rock am Ring would also be very high on our list of dream gigs, along with Hell Fest and Bloodstook Festival.

8. Who would you like to support? 

There are a few bands that we would love to support, these include; Dropkick Murphys, Royal Republic, Flogging Molly (please book us for your cruise), and The Struts to name a few.

9. Who not?

No one in particular, howeve,r if we didn't fit the bill and would take away from the experience of the headliners fans, we wouldn't want to play.

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

I think that everyone has suffered with stage fright at least once and most people have suffered with it every time. All I can say is, the more you do it, the less you feel it. It starts to turn from fright to excitement, and even on a bad day, after a few songs, you start to feel at home on stage and enjoy your time there. Keep at it!

11. What bands have inspired you the most? 

We have so many! Some influence our sound, some our performance, some our song structures, some our lyrics. It would be interesting to hear what you can hear in our music. Here are a few - Dropkick Murphys, Green Day, Royal Republic, Good Charlotte, Billy Talent, Foo Fighters, System of a Down, The Offspring, and our good friends Mad Dog Mcrea (check them out).

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

I remember someone asking the whole band in turn the question ‘Where did you get your shoes?’ once. However, Dr. Martens, if you are reading, we would love you to sponsor us, thank you haha.

13. What do you think of your fans?

We feel so lucky for anyone to enjoy our music and we have met so many amazing people in the ‘All For Jolly’ Journey, many have become very good friends. So many of our influences show through our music and in doing so, have created this random assortment of people that have found and resonated with us, from intense metal heads to festival folks, pop punk and emo kids, to dad rockers. We have a collection of all the best people from all the best fandoms and we love them all! We couldn’t have achieved much of what we have achieved without our fans, this new album was possible because they helped us succeed in our Kickstarter campaign last year! Thank you all!

14. What do you think of our site?

It is awesome. We love meeting new people who are passionate about music and who are supporting the live music scene. Thank you so much for including us and having us!

15. Something to add?

Thank you so much for chatting with us and helping us spread the word of ‘All For Jolly’. We have our first full headline-ticketed UK tour coming up in April and May 2025! It starts on 4th April (which is also album launch day!). We are also doing a little European tour in March. Our main support for these gigs will be our good friend James Spencer who fuses country, folk, and rock. We are so excited to go out and show the world our new sound and plan our first tour with our new lineup and can’t wait to see what 2025 brings! You can find tour dates and info on our website www.allforjolly.com , if you can, please grab tickets in advance to help our grassroots venues stay alive and also to lower my anxiety. It’s going to be GREAT!

x All For Jolly & Jolly For All x