2014 was an amazing year for UK artists in the heat of the buzzing music industry; artist’s such as Ed Sheeran, Jessie J, Sam Smith, George Ezra and even Mark Ronson all made their mark on 2014 and the standard we expect from them for 2015 is incredibly high but I have no doubt they will either meet our expectations or exceed them. For unsigned bands however their progress is not always recognized publicly but for the Brighton based band The RPMs they have sure had an exciting year and 2015 can only get better for the hard-working lads. The RPMs for those who don’t know are a Brighton based band made up of three young musicians, Jack Valero (Rhythm Guitarist and Lead Vocals), Miguel Matins (Bass Guitarist and Backing Vocalist) and Callum Allner (Drums).
They have been heavily influenced by the 1960s-1970s era of music having been inspired by the likes of The Ramones, The Who and Tom Petty. The RPMs sure catch that nostalgic sound within their own music. Songs such as ‘I Wanna Work (In Abercrombie and Finch)’, ‘Sunday Girl’ and ‘I’m Sticking Around’ are guaranteed to transport listeners to a time when Rock n Roll was at its peak whilst still maintaining a current sound that even listeners today will undoubtedly find enjoyable.
I have been lucky enough to be able to interview front man Jack Valero on the year that The RPMs have had:
What would you say was the highlight of the bands 2014 musically? Well that’s easy, the definite highlight of 2014 for us was supporting The Beat on their UK tour. It was a fantastic and memorable experience and some of the best fun we’ve had as a band.
How did that priceless opportunity come about for The RPMs? Well, my mum has been in he music industry for little over thirty years now and was hugely involved in ‘Two Tone’ when it was around as the manager of ‘The Selecter’. So she happened to be speaking to someone who mentioned that ‘The Beat needed a support band and hey presto!
What would you say were the top three gig locations whilst touring with The Beat and why were they extra special for you? Top three would have to be Southend, Falmouth and London. Southend was great because it was a small venue and the bar was directly opposite the stage so the crowd come right up the front with no escape, and it was a full house too. Falmouth was good because even though it was a great big hallway with lots of dark corners to hide in and the bar being in the other room, the audience still came right up to the front when we started playing. And London was great also because it was full of drunken University students and they’re always good fun.
Did any members of The Beat give you and the boys any advice about your music or your musical direction?
Yes, they all were incredibly supportive; particularly Ranking Roger (Front-Man) whom always had great advice for us before and after shows and really took us under his wing.
Whilst touring you were picked up by The Brighton Argus ‘On the radar’, how did it feel to have been noticed for the public to see?
Well not to brag, but it wasn’t the first time we’d made an appearance in a local newspaper or something. However, this was special to us as it was the first time we’d been properly noticed in Brighton, not to mention having a whole page to ourselves. So it felt really great as it made us feel like we where establishing a foot hold here.
For the full Brighton Argus ‘On the radar’ article please follow the link below: ‘On The Radar’ Article
Are you currently in the process of writing any new music for The RPMs for the adventures ahead?
Yes of course, we’re always coming up with new ideas for songs. We actually often end up having too many ideas and so start to not really focusing on any of them.
Do you enjoy the writing process? Yes and no. Yes, because there’s no better feeling in the world than when you pick up a great idea and run with it. No, because there’s nothing more demoralizing than being stuck on an idea that just won’t work. How do you approach writing new music? Do you write the music by yourself or is the music written as a band? Both, I will often send little recordings of ideas to the others and ask what they think. I usually get a good response…. usually. And then we’ll meet up for our weekly practice and try it out, that’s often the place where an idea is scrapped. However, whilst we jam an idea together the others will make suggestions and put in their own creative ideas of what their own instruments should be doing and more often than not create something better than what I had in my head originally.
Are you currently working on any exciting projects for your fans to enjoy? Well we have just put out a music video for our track Sunday Girl, which was filmed by Pete Dunwell and edited by myself, with more to come. We’ll also be back in the studio again soon to lay down some more storming tracks. There is also talk of us working with The Beat again this year. So watch this space!
Would you say 2015 could potentially be more positively eventful than 2014? I hope so; we’re doing something wrong otherwise.
Where do you see The RPMs in five years time? Under a huge pile of beautiful ladies!! Just kidding, well I would like to get to a point where we are an efficient band unit and have a solid fan base to be efficient with.
Given the opportunity whom would The RPMs like to be supporting in 2015? I have no idea; you never really choose these things. They just sort of appear. Like I never thought we’d ever be supporting The Beat, that wasn’t part of the plan and yet here we are. But things change, especially in this industry, so you’ve gotta role with it and make it part of your plan. If I had to choose then, Nicki Minaj. Just kidding, Tom Petty would be my dream supporting show I think. But the others would probably want the Foo Fighters, which would of course be awesome too.
Do you see The RPMs leading their own tours by 2020? I bloody hope so.
The RPMs have always been heavily influenced by 1960’s-1970’s era; Do you see The RPMs sound and influences changing over time? Yes I think so. It’s always morphing into something slowly, but surely. As we are very influenced by that time, we’re also very aware of what time we live in and not to confine ourselves to just our influences. What we’re trying to achieve is music that is for the 21st Century kid, but has the soul and spirit of a time when music mattered, like really mattered, you have to see this band or you’ll die mattered. Because I think things come far too easy in today’s fiber optic world. But I think we’re getting closer to it every day.
So as we set off to begin the New Year, we shall dust off our instruments after the Christmas period and we can only hope that 2015 will grow to become an even bigger party than 2014 was. So plug in your instruments and get playing because everybody need’s a little music in their lives…
To find out more about The RPMs and their future gigs, follow the links below and keep yourselves updated on their progress in 2015:
The RPMs Website The RPMs Facebook Page The RPMs Twitter The RPMs SoundCloud
Written By: Samantha McQueeney
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