We spoke to Veridian, a six-piece from Reading, about the brilliant new music they’re putting out, how they’re feeling about playing their debut headline show in just over a week, and what we can expect from them.
Hi guys! Firstly, how, when and where did you form? Tell us about the background of the band.
We’re a six piece born of the ashes of two former bands. We were all gigging around Reading at the same time for numerous years, and when the two bands we were in collapsed, Stack and Jonny came to join us (Robbie, Simon, Joe and Zak) to start something new. It was more for financial purposes. We’d spent so much on our equipment over the years we didn’t really have a choice but to start playing music again.
You’ve just released a video for ‘Refuse To Feel’ (which is a fantastic song, by the way). How have you found the reaction to it so far?
Thanks! The feedback has been really positive so far. We were all a bit nervous coming up to the release of the track. We’d put a year into writing and getting everything into place for the launch, so if it went badly we would’ve probably given up straight away. But as soon as we put it up, we immediately started hearing good things. And the good things keep on coming. So we have decided not to pack it in and sell our guitars on Ebay!
How would you describe your sound in general?
We’re firmly set in the alternative rock spectrum. We like to go big instrumentally. We love to make massive sounds, and like to throw out epic bridges and fat riffs. But vocally we soften things up. Poppy hooky choruses and seductive three part harmonies are our vibe, we can’t get enough of them into a song.
Who or what are your influences as a band?
I think we take influence from a lot of music around us. It would be dumb to say we haven’t taken a large amount of it from rock music and most of its sub genres, I mean if I never heard Green Day or Incubus when I was a kid I would’ve never picked up an electric guitar. But I feel sometimes it’s easy to take ‘influence’ too far and end up trying to replicate bands and sounds that have been done before. So when we write we try to do our own thing.
You managed to create a lot of mystery around the band before you even released any music. Where did the idea for the ‘Who are Veridian?’ video clip come from and how did it go down?
We felt like we didn’t know ourselves, you know? So it was more of a comment on our state of emotional health than a PR campaign. How could we expect people to know who we are and what we stand for, when we’re not quite sure ourselves. I think it worked though, we started raking in interest without any music. But I think the lack of photos helped, no mug shots to put off potential fans.
You’ve got your debut headline show coming up on March 10th. How are you feeling about it?
Anxious, nervous, but mostly excited. It’s been far too long since we last graced a stage, and we’re all desperate to get back on it. We’ve worked really hard on our set, and we wrote all the tracks to make sure they translate well live. It’s going to be interesting to see how people react.
How did you find touring in your previous bands? Do you plan to tour much with Veridian after your debut show?
As soon as we hit the road, I don’t think we’re ever coming back. Touring is one of the best bits of being in a band, and all of our previous experiences have been some of the best of our lives. Obviously in these early stages of being in a band there are challenges that can come with touring, especially financially. But when we get to a point where we have a larger following and more chances to hit the road I don’t think we’ll think twice about taking the Vansion out on a road trip.
Do you have any plans to release more music or is it too early to say?
It’s never too early to say. We’re writing non-stop at the moment, and every time we finish a track we want it to be our next single. We can’t get them out quick enough. It’s all really positive on our end, and we want to keep a constant flow of music coming out as opposed to a big release every few months. We’ll be putting out our second single ‘Running Away’ this month, and we’re planning on releasing a video in April at some point for our next single. You won’t be able to take your eyes off us for a second!
What is your ultimate goal for the band? Where would you like to see yourselves in five years’ time?
Five years is an awfully long time, a lot could potentially happen. In a dream world it would be nice to not have to balance a full time job and a full time band any more. Realistically? Hopefully not having to carry our own amps into gigs anymore.
LAIS MW