Miss Vincent [Interview]
With Takedown Festival commencing in approximately 24 hours, Guildfordian punk upstarts Miss Vincent got talking to TMMP about Takedown, the time their vocalist fell offstage, and the meaning of punk…
What are your earliest musical memories?
Alex: That’s a tough one. I remember watching this film called That Thing You Do in about 1996 – it was written by and starring Tom Hanks, and the main character is a drummer. But, for some reason, it made me want to play guitar so, so bad. I found an old classical guitar hidden away in my parents attic soon after, learned 3 chords and never looked back. I probably haven’t improved much since…
How did Miss Vincent come to be?
Lawrie: It was a pretty long process. Alex and I met on the internet on a site made specifically to help people find or start a band. We sent some demos back and forth, met for a chat and it all went from there really.
We had a lot of similar ideas when it came to writing and we just kinda clicked pretty early on. We had a bass player, who Alex had known for a while, and after some searching, Jack (drums) found us through an ad I put up at uni. Our bassist left after just a few gigs, but we kept at it as a three-piece with Alex playing bass.
After about 6 months we realised we needed Alex to be back on guitar so we started looking for a new bassist. We found Owain a couple of months after that, he played his first show with us on Valentines Day and that was that. Romantic, right?
What is punk?
Alex: “Punk” is pretty undefinable.
For me, it’s something like four leather jackets and a brick wall four doors from the corner of Bowery and 2nd. Four chords and three minutes of exorcising. It’s “all I know is that I don’t know nothin”. It’s that feeling I got when I first picked up a copy of “The Process Of Belief” that never went away. I think it means something slightly different to everyone.
You’re set to play Takedown Festival this weekend. How’re you feeling about it?
Lawrie: We’re stoked that Fearless Vampire Killers asked us to play on their stage, and to be on the same bill as so many bands that we admire, as well as some friends of ours is really cool.
We’re gonna be opening up the Obsidian Stage with a bang and warming everyone up for an awesome day of music. It’s our first time at the festival too, so we’re looking forward to making our Takedown debut!
What’s your favourite thing about playing live?
Alex: I don’t think I can really isolate one thing that’s my favourite… I’d say it’s a combination of the rush you get from playing fast punk rock songs and really letting rip, and the amazing feeling that you get when you’re really making a connection with a crowd. It genuinely feels like you’re playing to every single person in the room individually which is amazing.
Oh, and the sensation of thrashing my beloved Les Paul, feeling like I could knock down a wall with the sound. And making loads of new friends from playing shows is so cool too. Oh man, there’s too much to pick one thing! I’d fail on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire if that came up.
What is the funniest thing that’s ever happened at a Miss Vincent show?
Lawrie: I think it’s something which has probably happened to too many lead singers… Alex just fell off stage one night. He picked up the mic stand to move it and the legs just turned to jelly and it wouldn’t stand up straight, he was busy trying to sort it out and just stepped forward straight off the stage. Totally stacked it. My night was made!
Performing live can be pretty nerve-wracking. Do you get stage fright? If so, how do you combat it?
Alex: I don’t really get super stage shy to be honest. I think if I stopped to think about what I was about to do, I’d probably be shit scared, but I’m so excited to play every single show that the nerves sort of take care of themselves.
It’s part of the excitement to be a little nervous, but I find that focussing on getting up there and having a good time and playing music because you love it definitely helps. They never go away completely, but I don’t think I’d want them to. If you’re not a little bit nervous and excited, it’s time to call it quits.
What does 2015 hold for you beyond this weekend’s festival?
Lawrie: We have our new EP coming out soon, so as soon as that happens the plan is pretty simple – tour, tour, tour. We’ve been working on it for so long now that we’re just eager to finally release it. It smashes the shit out of our first EP (we think, anyway!). But we’re super proud of it and we can’t wait to see what people think.
Links
Miss Vincent on Facebook and Twitter.
Takedown Festival official website.
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