Interview: Morning Parade

Not heard of Morning Parade yet? You soon will. This hotly tipped Essex band took some time out during their headline UK tour to chat to Maria Loupa as they ventured to the Toon for the very first time.

Frontman Steve Sparrow was friendly, approachable and modest when asked about the band’s work – at first glance, he didn’t give the same impression as his passionate on-stage persona.

So… why “Morning Parade”?

A lot of reasons! We wanted something to symbolize a fresh start – we all came from different bands and this was kind of a clean slate for everyone, and “morning” has this fresh meaning that we were going for. It also stands for all the early mornings we have to get up and travel to go to work, like we were joining the labour queue or something.

Would you say that you are a rock band?

Well, we are definitely a rock band but we don’t play classic rock. We use elements of electronic, dance and cinematic music. We experiment with different sounds and rhythms, anything from Daft Punk to Radiohead.  We base our songs on lyrics and melody, but we also use layering techniques to achieve the result we want.

How long have you been together?

About four years. I’ve known Phil since I was 11; he was the one who taught me how to play the guitar and I turned out to be better, so he switched to playing the bass!

With Chad we were together in college, Ben and Andrew came later. We decided to get together and started jamming on Saturdays and stuff. Our music at the time was rubbish, our songs were 20 minutes long!

What inspires you?

Our inspirations are always changing.. We are inspired by what we see around us, you are always introduced to a different eye. I think our music is quite reflecting, our first single is a proof of that.

In what way is the new single, ‘Us and Ourselves’ reflecting?

We all try to get somewhere in life; no matter what we are doing, we are in a single journey, all in this together. It’s about looking to yourself and the world around us, like a universal kind of thing. Unfortunately some people don’t get our message, but that’s a risk you have to take; if you don’t get your feet in the challenge, you might as well say nothing.

How was the experience of performing in all these high profile support slots?

I don’t know how it came to be, we’ve been offered gigs from The Wombats, and it kind of spiraled from there. We’ve played with The Kooks, The Wombats, 30 Seconds to Mars. It was a great experience because we had the chance to play for a huge crowd. With 30 seconds to Mars in Switzerland there was 20,000 people , and with The Kooks about 10,000 a night in the UK.

We’ ve been touring a lot this year in the UK and mainland Europe ; Holland, Germany, Belgium, Russia.

What are your future plans?

Our main focus is on the album coming out on the first week of March and we’re really excited about it. These days, the way the world – and television – works, bands are not necessarily in the singles market; the album is what counts.

Having our own headline tour is amazing, and we’re looking forward to hitting the rest of the UK venues on our list. After the album is released, there’s going to be a lot of touring in the UK and the US next year.

I can’t do one, but can you give us your best Geordie accent?

I can’t even do it, and I’m from the South East!

*As published inhttp://thecourieronline.co.uk/2011/12/interview-morning-parade/

M.L.

Live Review: Morning Parade

O2 Academy2 – 22nd November

The upcoming Indie/Alt Rockers from Essex filled out Academy2 last week after the release of their first single.

The gig opened with support band Echohead, a bunch of fresh, enthusiastic lads with an unexpected amount of stage presence for their age. The mostly played songs from their demo; with the exception of some enjoyable jamming moments, which was interesting but not memorable. The lyrics struggled to get through and were often suffocated by the powerful music.

Nonetheless, they prepared the crowd for what was coming. At this point I have to admit that I hadn’t heard any of Morning Parade’s music until that night, but I was pleasantly surprised. After the first few moments of their performance, the comparison was inevitably in my head: these two bands are like a before and after shot. The young newcomers and the professionals, with Morning Parade being the latter of course. It wasn’t a matter of age, but a matter of musical ‘maturity’; Echohead were like an unripened fruit, not quite ready to harvest yet.

With their passionate, energetic performance, and the frontman’s standout vocals, it was hard not to parade with them; the connection with the audience was immediate. A combination of their 90s dance anthem influenced tunes combined with euphoric beats was enough to find myself dancing along. Swapping from electric/indie Muse-like sounds to more melodic and acoustic ones, like ‘Half Litre Bottle’, they owned the stage.

The gig only lasted for about an hour, which included singles  such as the popular ‘Under The Stars’ and the recently released ‘Us And Ourselves’. In songs like ‘Headlights’ and ‘A&E’ the synth parts with the distinct rhythms and layered grooves portrayed a togethered, in total control band.

‘Speechless’, ‘Carousel’, and ‘Running Down The Aisle’ were just some more of the songs performed that complete the impression of a polished, well rehearsed band. An honest and straight forward band whose music comes from the heart with clear influences from Elbow and Delphic. It’s real and down to Earth like they are; of which their fan time after the show is proof. A band with a plan, firm believers in ‘the more you do the more you get offered’, they delivered a captivating show, with the crowd’s dedicating hands waving almost all the way through.

Are they are doing something original? No. I don’t believe there can be a virgin birth in the music industry anymore.
Have I heard people saying that they are yet another teenage rock band? Yes. But so what?
Their lyrics might be predictable at times but that also makes them memorable, and that’s what makes their music contagious. I don’t know if they will stand the test of time, all I know is that I came here ignorant and left humming their songs.

* As published inhttp://thecourieronline.co.uk/2011/11/live-review-morning-parade/ M.L.