Nothing But Thieves [Interview]

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Today is a big day for fans of arena-ready rock with a twist. Nothing But Thieves have just released their eponymous debut album – and it is an absolute banger. Having been blown away by said album and raved about it in this review, TMMP talks to Nothing But Thieves frontman Conor Mason about Nothing But Thieves, supporting Muse, bad stage dives, and the future…

Your debut album is due out this month. What thoughts and feelings are going through your minds right now?

If I’m honest, I can’t quite believe it. We’ve all been in bands since we were kids. To have a debut album coming out on a major record label is quite ridiculous.

How did NBT come to be? What’s your origin story?

Story starts with Joe and I meeting at school. He was a couple years older, and we started a band together when we were kids.

Dom joined our school to do music; Phil is Dom’s cousin; and Price used to play in bands supporting us in Southend. So we nabbed him…

What’s your earliest musical memory?

Singing I Believe I Can Fly in the shower with my mum. Weird aye. What’s weirder is my memory span only stretches a couple years back.

If you had to pick just one moment as a highlight of your journey so far, which would it be and why?

I would have to say playing with Muse to 40,000 people. We may never do that again?! So we relished it.

How have you grown as a band, as musicians, and as people over the course of putting this album together?

It’s like anything – you practice and get better. Our songwriting has got better, our live shows have got better, we’re better at our instruments. I think and hope it’s something that always grows and continues.

What’s your creative process like? How does a Nothing But Thieves track go from idea to reality?

Simply out of trial and error. We’re not good enough to have a formula. We start on an idea, whether it’s a riff, melody or lyric and build on it and see what happens. Trust me, we have hundreds of tracks that didn’t make the cut…

You’re spending the next couple of months touring the UK. What’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened at one of your shows?

About 6 months ago I parted the Red Sea. When I say the Red Sea, I mean the crowd. I went for a stage dive at the end of a great gig with an amazing crowd. It didn’t end too well – I still have back problems.

Do you get stage fright or nerves? If so, how do you deal with it?

Not at all. We used to. I use the nerves now to channel a little buzz and end up just getting so excited to go on stage.

What’s the most difficult thing about being a musician?

I guess being away from home for so long gets to me the most. But it’s okay; you figure a way to balance life.

What keeps you motivated?

For me personally it’s seeing your family proud of you and also having internal peace and happiness. Until those two things diminish I’ll keep on going!

Beyond the album release and UK tour dates, what does the future hold?

More tours next year! We’ll be constantly writing album two and making traction. No rest for the wicked!

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Posted on 16 October 2015