I caught Norwich's alt-rock band Read The Room at The Smokehouse back in May where they put on a great show with their punchy, energy-laden take on the pop-punk and emo genres. Lead vocalist Alana took some time to answer some queries for BBMATB on the band, recording and writing and their future plans. Be sure to catch them live if you are in Lowestoft next Saturday (17th August) or Norwich on the 27th September - new single due too!
Read The Room are Alana Beardsley-Best (Vocals), Adam Hearth (Guitar), Alex London (Guitar), Dan Dawson (Bass) and Elle Steele (Drums / Vocals)
EP 'A Place Like No Other' and single 'Jade' are available on all the major digital platforms while a CD version of the EP can be picked up from the band. Catch them live at 'The Stanford Arms' in Lowestoft on the 17th August and 'Voodoo Daddy's Showroom' in Norwich on the 27th September for a single launch gig.
Hi Guys, thanks for taking some time to answer a few questions for Ballroom Blitz's
Man At The Back'. First off, for those readers who may not be familiar with Read The
Room, could you give a short history of the band?
Read The Room are a pop-punk-rock-emo-ish alt rock band centred in Norwich UK, but
hail from around the county. No tale of fate pulling us together for our formation I'm
afraid, this is mostly an online affair. Since we joined forces, we have bonded over our
love of emo music, created an EP together, and been smashing out as many gigs as we
can!
And who would you say were the main influences on Read The Room?
Our influences include Paramore, Biffy Clyro, Blink 182, Don Broco, and Fall Out Boy.
You released an EP 'A Place Like No Other' last year; where did you record the EP -
somewhere you've recorded before? And do you have a sense of how the EP is doing
out in the 'big wide world'?
We had the privilege of recording with ‘Meld Audio’ which happens to be Dan’s (our bass
player) very well-equipped home studio. We are very familiar recording there and it’s a
real treat to be able to take our time recording tracks.
Our first single had a fantastic reaction and the hype of us being a new band struck a lot
of interest and curiosity. The excitement in the big wide world fizzled slightly as we
released our EP, as to be expected - but we still feel very lucky to have attracted the
listeners that have discovered our music.
Do you have a favourite track from the EP and if so why?
We LOVE ‘Jade’. It’s a bop that is guaranteed to get stuck in your head. It’s fun, its
catchy and it makes you want to move!
Are there any songs written since the EP that you're looking forward to record and 'getting out there'?
Absolutely, we are currently going ham on our writing sessions! Keep an eye out towards
the end of summer for all the exciting things to come.
What is the writing process within Read The Room? Does somebody come in with a
strong idea of how the song should go or do they come out of a more 'jamming
scenario'?
Originally, we would sift through old demos that various members of the band had
created, pick out some parts we thought had great potential and record all the parts, with
the melody and lyrics to be added after. However, we are now trialling a new writing technique. We are smashing out sending shorter demos, and seeing if we think it has potential to add some cool sounding melodies, then adding more substance afterwards.
Do you have any upcoming shows you can tell us about? And has there been
anything come out of your BBC Music Introducing session you played earlier this year?
We are performing at the Stanford Arms on 17th August (Lowestoft), and a few more to be announced! Although we haven’t had any bookings come from our BBC live session, we’ve had lots of really wonderful feedback.
Are there any shows you've played that particularly stand out for you? Are there any
venues / festivals locally that you would really like to play?
We recently performed at the great Voodoo Daddy’s Showroom (Norwich) for international woman’s day. The room was absolutely buzzing with incredible energy. We had the luxury of having our first ‘Green Room’ experience where we could enjoy drinks, snacks and hype up time before the gig!
Favourite part of gigging? And least favourite part?
We absolutely love seeing a crowd let loose from listening to our music, with
headbanging and even mosh pits. It’s an adrenaline rush and huge sense of
achievement that you can’t achieve in any other way.
Our least favourite part is most definitely packing down our equipment. It’s the end
of the night, you start to crash and having to load up the van is a bit of a chore. Bring on
the roadies!
Do you think there is a healthy original rock / indie scene in Norwich at present? Any
bands from the Norwich area you'd recommend to readers?
We’ve been seeing a great variety of bands in Norwich that often deserves more
recognition and attendances than they get. The rock/indie scene may not be the most
popular genre out there right now, which makes us even more appreciative for the
people that come to support the local bands. Some bands that we have become big fans consist of Takeda and UFO Rodeo.
And finally, what plans for Read The Room going forward into 2024 and 2025?
As mentioned before, we are busy doing lots of writing sessions... which means new
music!! We have lots of exciting gigs to look forward to in the upcoming months and
more to be booked in, I’m sure. But most definitely keep your eyes peeled and ears
open, brand new Read The Room music to be released very soon!
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