Tell me a bit about yourselves, what have you been up to over the past 12 months?
The past 12 months, just basically writing a lot, playing a lot, we've in the studio quite a lot recording and stuff. We need to release stuff basically, because we've played loads and loads of gigs so there feels like there's a lot of eyes on us, but we need to release stuff while we've got eyes on us. So we're looking at releasing an EP maybe sometime this year.
Where did your bands name come from/how did the band form?
So originally we were called the The Haze which in hindsight was a terrible name. I think one day we heard 'Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!' by The Beatles and then it kind of came from there. So we formed in 2017 when myself, the lead vocalist, and the lead guitarist sat next to me; we met at university, started writing songs, and thought that we should get a drummer and bassist. Then Kites was formed.
What is your earliest memory of music?
I can't really remember, obviously as a baby you're introduced to music. But for me I don't have a particular memory that sticks out. It was probably my Mum to be honest, because my mum was a piano teacher like ages and ages ago. So I was probably always exposed to that as a kid, she would always just be playing in the house so it's probably gone from there really. Everyone's is probably different.
Mines just listening to songs in my dad's car. Well my dad sings, he is in a wedding band.
What are some of your main musical influences?
We are all a bit different. There is probably like a level of heaviness to lightness. Lewis the bassist probably likes the heaviest music, really into his grunge/Nirvana kind of stuff. Then it's probably Kane next, another step down. Then it's probably Harry another step down from that. And then I'm the lightest, I'm trained as a jazz drummer so I'm originally the lightest.
If you could have any celebrity to star in your music video, who would it be?
Pedro Pascal.
Who's that?
Yeah, who's that?
How do you not know who that is, The Mandalorian? The last of us?
I've not seen him, I've not seen either of those.
Love that man.
Or Keanu Reeves, yeah Pedro Pascal or Keanu Reeves.
Bob Ross
What bands are you listening to at the moment and who do you think is going to be the next big thing?
Vice Killer, they're a good local band, up the Vice Killer.
Wunderhorse.
Harry thinks Wunderhorse.
But I think Wunderhorse have already kind of made it, well they're going to be bigger than they already are.
What's the funniest thing that has happened whilst performing?
One time, about four or five people started throwing bras at my head.
Yeah that was good, that was at our headline at Bobiks, got a couple of bras thrown at us.
Successfully dodged them all.
If you had the opportunity to support any band on tour who would it be?
Jaws, its got to be Jaws.
Jaws would be sick.
Wunderhorse again would be good.
Are we talking about any band ever, alive or dead, what scale?
Definitely Oasis.
If you had the privilege of booking this years Glastonbury lineup, who would be headlining?
Kites, yeah ourselves.
Sam Fender but he already headlines festivals.
We saw him at Truck last year, we did a band festival trip.
Night Café, final answer.
What's next for you?
EP. We've got to release something, anything. Try and get out in Newcastle a bit more. Playing the SU. Just growing further afield, releasing stuff, getting some new fans, moving away from Newcastle so we can play some different gigs. We've got a massive backlog of songs just written on a document, there is like 30 we just need to get an album out. So that's the plan.
By - Katie Graham
Photo - Rebecca Wharton
Comments