Exit Calm

Wall of Sound

As I wait with Exit Calm front man Nicky Smith at the bar of The Harley, Sheffield, for guitarist Rob Marshall to arrive for our interview, Nicky confides he's done an interview already today by telephone. He was actually on the loo when the call came through so he ended up doing the entire thing in situ, good acoustics no doubt!

We have no such problems and as Nicky has a quick smoke outside in the drizzle Rob appears straight from his day job, apologetic and friendly. The other two band members Simon Lindley and Scott Pemberton are unavailable, both working.

Getting the history bit over first, three of the band were previously in Lyca Sleep and Rob as explains "Basically that band split and we were looking for a vocalist and found Nicky, with him we were reborn again with about ten times more meaning." Nicky had played with a few local Leeds bands then "went to London for about a year doing the singer songwriter bit" but ended back in Leeds before seeing an ad 'singer wanted for band in Barnsley'. Nicky auditioned and as Rob explains, "we didn't even have a PA. He sang through a tiny guitar amp, what a voice, he sang over the top of all of us, it was unreal."

Their set consists of sonic walls of sound focussed around Rob's amazing guitar work, but how does their creative process work? He explains, "It's mostly formulated though jams, though the last track was a bit different, we started doing that as a jam at sound checks, then Nicky secretly went away and wrote a chorus, but there's no set method really." Nicky continues, "There are different ways for different tunes, you can tell which are from groove based stuff, it would be really handy if we could tape it all (the jams) there's hours of stuff we haven't used." It's very much a band process all doing their individual bits, "no-one tells each other what to do, we trust each other," Nicky says, "there's no other three people I'd rather be in a band with than these guys, we're all mates and it's all complete, sorted."

Asked about influences Nicky bravely says, "One I want to mention specifically is The Verve, I'm not ashamed to be influenced by them. Someone slagged us off for hardly mentioning them. They are a brilliant band and if that's the only band you hear in us then that's cool, but there's hundreds of influences." Robs adds, "We've never claimed to be the most original band around, but the sound we have now is our own."

So how to categorise Exit Calm? I quote them from an earlier interview where the band said their aim is to 'create an atmosphere' Rob explains. "I've been to gigs in cold rooms but when the lights go down and the band comes on you completely forget about your surroundings and the music takes you away into another world, that's what we aim to do."

So how does Rob create this wall of sound? "I don't know I've always stumbled across equipment, never read guitar magazines, I just know what I want to sound like and I've spent enough years so I know how to get it now. Obviously I use feedback control, reverb and delay and that's it." Nicky smiles, "There's always lots of guys stood in front of the stage looking what his equipment is, settings etc, but you can get all the same gear and it won't sound the same." Rob adds, "I hate the boxes where you just buy a sound, better to start with a blank canvas and mess around so you get something that's your own."

I comment that at a lot of the early gigs the band were so focussed on music they faced away from the audience a lot but now the guys face the front a lot more. Nicky jumps in, "It doesn't matter which way you're facing, it's the sound that comes out that's important. I've not really bothered about being a performer, it's about us being together 'cos when we get locked in and its really good the audience have a good time." Rob adds tongue in cheek, "Actually it's all contrived, we thought let's not face the audience so they'll talk about it."

Their limited edition promo earlier this year sold out 350 copies in days and now a debut single 'We're On Our Own' both the original and radio edit, and B side 'Atone', is due out 27th October recorded and produced by Paddy Byrne and mixed by Ulrich Schnauss on the AC 30 label. Their opinion of labels is not good having had many compliments from label reps like 'best gig for a decade' and playing a gig full of industry people who afterwards said it was 'amazing' but didn't follow it up. Frustrating times, they even did an acoustic set for a major at their request, which received much praise to no avail.

I enjoyed their set supporting The Music a few months ago. Rob added, "It was a great tour, I enjoyed Sheffield but Manchester had at least 2,000 people, biggest crowd we'd ever played to, and they didn't know who we were but we got a really good reaction." Now on a headline tour Rob enthuses, "We've got loads of new people coming to watch us with our t-shirts and shit, after playing to The Music's crowd, now people are coming just to see us, it's brilliant."

A great year to date so I raised the point that their manager John Dawkins must be doing a good job getting the band the exposure they need. Nicky confides with a smile, "He's ok, he's like the fifth member." Rob laughs, "No he really is, he likes to get in the photos and was in the last video."

A highpoint of the year, "playing Glastonbury came about from 'In The City' event. Emily Eavis came, liked us and came to another 3 gigs or so over about a year and kept in touch." When Glastonbury announced the line ups they didn't have a slot but contacted Emily and she sorted it and even apologised for the early set time.

So was that the highlight of a good year for the band? Nicky surprisingly says, "I think the new video is a highlight 'cos the last one was crap but this is more in line with the vision we have for ourselves of where we want to be." Rob adds, "To be honest if we've done a good gig it's a buzz to me, that's my highlight."

"Hopefully our album will get out and the right people will hear it, and it's got the money or whatever behind it to get to as many people as it can. We are confident in the music, it's just getting it out there." Rob says, "I think in a few years there may not be any record companies left, who needs 'em anyway." Nicky sums up, "I think that's why the promoters are making all the money, it's all going to be about live music." If that is the case the future's looking good for Exit Calm, without a doubt one of the best live bands around, and don't just take my word for it!

Interview by Sean Bruce
Photography by Mark Tighe

www.myspace.com/exitcalm