Interviews: Garrow Hill

On this new occasion, we had the opportunity to interview the Heavy Rock band Garrow Hill 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, did you plan it or did it just come out like that?

PG Branton: We wanted something that was a bit different and not necessarily an obvious name for a Metal/Dark Rock band. I was having a bit of a love affair with place names and was going for a Cypress Hill thing when Garrow Hill came up. It's actually a place in York that has a grisly past, being the site of public gallows during the 16th century, so we liked the history and the crime that went with the title!

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

PG Branton: We grew up with quite a lot of music around us from an early age, our parents were definitely influences on that. Stew and I had a serendipitous moment at school when we bonded over Iron Maiden and the rest is history. There is something about the tone, the style and the atmosphere of alternative/heavy music that's just infectious. That and rebellion!!

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

PG Branton: Yeah, we’ve been together before music, but it was Iron Maiden, particularly their Mascot Eddie, that kicked it off. It was about 1990, we were in science class together, we never knew each other before then, Stew was drawing these Eddies, and I was just mesmerized by them. I knew about Iron Maiden already but never listened to them before then. That was the beginning. It's dark thinking our friendship is based on the image of a manic wielding an axe over someone he’s just slain! Teenagers!!

4. Each band member's favourite band?

PG Branton: Well, there are only two of us, so we are going to pick 2 each and we can discount Iron Maiden as we’ve established that we’re big fans! Picking two is hard, now I’d say Avenged Sevenfold and Bring Me the Horizon are consistently around for me. Stew: Two bands is tough, taking away Maiden obviously, I guess Ghost is an influence, and you can insert Guns 'N' Roses in there too. They had a big part of my attention, especially from playing guitar.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Stew: I think the biggest inspiration is life really! The challenges, relationships, the ups and downs, it all helps feed the creativity. Sometimes a film, a book, or art can spark an idea too. We often work on ideas freely, for example, when Phil (PG Branton) has written lyrics, I can get a feel of the type of style/nuance and riffs we may want to use for that song.

6. Where was your last gig?

PG Branton: Our last gig was at a local Festival a couple of years ago. We got a great slot playing to about 2 thousand people. We’d made a conscious decision to put playing live on hiatus just before this show and drafted in a good friend to play Bass for us. We were originally a four piece but made the decision to concentrate on being a collaborative duo. We are working hard to bring a brand new, exciting live set back out there very soon!

7. Where would you like to play?

PG Branton: There are quite a lot of really good venues in the north of England in cities such as Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Liverpool. Venues such as Satan's Hollows, Think Tank?, EBGBS, Brudenell etc. Would be our intended destination. We would obviously love to be playing some bigger venues, like arenas in the UK, but our holy Grail must be Download Festival.

8. Who would you like to support?

Stew: Anyone really, especially from the rock and metal world. An obvious answer would be Iron Maiden of course, but no one knows how long they have left! We would settle for appearing at Download or Leeds fest lol! Maybe we could cite some local up and coming festivals/bands here?

9. Who not?

PG Branton: I don't think there's anything off the table when we think of our potential in a live setting. We have quite big ambitions, and ideas of how we would like to do things. I think there is some amazing talent out there and as long as we could get along and profit from a mutual tour, there isn't anyone we wouldn't want to. Although saying that, I don't think we would go down all that well at an EDM festival!

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

Stew: I always suffer from stage fright to a certain degree – I think it makes you sharper ultimately, but you do have to try and control it! A couple of pints helps or something to focus your mind on, like getting outside for a few minutes or scrolling on your phone! I'm struggling for advice here!!

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

PG Branton: Any band that has success probably has had to work really hard to get it. There are those that are lucky, right place, at the right time, etc, but in the main, it's really hard to write music and be successful and have fans. If they've got that far, we respect that a lot. That inspires us. We are fans of 90’s, NWOBHM, Nu Metal, Post Punk, Metalcore, Grunge, Alt Rock, Heavy metal and Thrash. You can imagine the names of the bands we’re thinking of right now.

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

Stew: Not so weird but I was once asked for guitar lessons at a gig one time but according to my wife the fan in question was actually chatting me up – I was completely oblivious!

13. What do you think of your fans?

PG Branton: They are wonderful human beings! We are genuinely very grateful for all the support we get. We are a small band with a relatively small following but all the people who have been at shows, written about us, listened to the songs, and been there in the background have all our time and respect.

14. What do you think of our site?

PG Branton: Very impressive. As a band, running a website, writing music, looking after social media, booking shows, etc, we know how time-consuming making quality content can be. We are very passionate about grassroots pioneers, and for you guys, running a site with interviews, blogs, reviews, and so on, we know how hard it is! Very impressed with the content and the professional presentation. Keep up the good work!

15. Something to add?

Stew: Just want to say that we really appreciate your time and for having us feature on your site. Thank you.