Upcoming Leeds band Marsicans played an incredible set at Northumbria Institute with their upbeat indie-pop vibes and charismatic energy when supporting Fickle Friends. The four Leeds lads were so full of enthusiasm, ambition and friendship. Their solidarity truly transforms their set which is rooted in their musical compactness and powerful vocal harmonies. They are one to watch.
How is the tour going so far with Fickle Friends?
James (lead vocals): Great, apart from the one we haven’t done which is being rescheduled. They’ve all been really good! We kind of didn’t know what to expect, you never do coming into a tour.
Rob (bass and keys): Yeah really nice, the fans are really nice. They’ve all been busy gigs. It’s everything you want from a support tour really.
James: Here we go! Nothing’s gone horribly wrong yet.
Oli (guitar): The lead up to the tour, the week before the tour, everything stopped working.
James: We all had something major that broke.
Rob: Horrendous gear disasters, but we got through it.
James: But we’re all here in Newcastle.
Which has been your favourite venue to play in so far on the tour?
Unanimously: SHEPERD’S BUSH!
James: It’s just a pretty iconic venue. You’re backstage and there are posters of David Bowie playing there, and everyone’s played there. It’s just a beautiful venue. Looking out when you’re on stage, you’re like “wow,” it’s pretty cool.
Rob: It’s just all the balconies and things.
Oli: It’s just a nice room, you don’t often still get venues of that size that still have a personal character. The purpose built-type O2 academies, they don’t differ too much when you go around the country.
James: It stands out doesn’t it?
Which of your songs gets the best reaction from the crowd?
James: That varies quite a lot, I’d say.
Oli: I always feel that ‘Too Good’ does well because it’s a good sing-along.
Rob: We do this thing where we do like an acapella chorus of ‘Too Good’ before we play the song which usually goes down quite well. ‘Friends’ seems to go down kind of well, doesn’t it?
James: ‘Absence.’
Rob: It depends on how good you think it’s going, you just project it out onto the audience if you’re enjoying it.
Are you working on anything new after the tour?
James: There is new music, no EP in the immediate future.
Rob: I think you can always kind of expect new music from us, we kind of just have it ready to go and put it out.
James: And after this tour, we’ll just be burying ourselves away and writing. There’s going to be lots of new music. When that’ll be available for everyone… we don’t really know yet. There’s going to be a steady flow.
We noticed that your new single ‘Suburbs’ was recently played on Made in Chelsea, what was the inspiration behind the song?
James: Being bored everywhere you are really. You always want something else. You’re never quite settled and the first line of it came from I saw someone mowing the grass outside and it’s a very mundane thing.
Oli: Suburban life.
Rob: People who are content with suburban life.
James: Which is a great thing, I’m kind of envious of it. Then we went from there really.
How did you feel about Made in Chelsea playing your song?
Oli: They’ve played quite a few songs so we’re always happy about it, I used to watch it. I don’t anymore because…
James: Because Lucy Watson left!
Oli: I’m watching heavy stuff now, stuff that challenges me a bit more.
Rob: Making a Murderer documentary.
James: X Files.
Oli: Anything cultural really.
Rob: Egyptian pyramid, crazy electricity crack-pot conspiracy theories.
Oli: I go to rehearsal and tell everyone, and they just make me feel stupid.
James: We didn’t make you feel stupid, he did that to himself. We didn’t know ‘Suburbs’ was going to be on that night and we got a few people messaging us: ‘I think I just heard you on Made in Chelsea,’ my Aunty included. My Aunty Barbara watches it now, she watched one episode when we knew we were going to get played on it and ever since, she’s hooked. Absolutely hooked on it.
Is there another platform like a TV programme or radio show that you would like your music to be played on?
Rob: I want to be on Sunday Brunch, it’s like my biggest dream in the world because I just think that Simon Rimmer is brilliant, and I really want to be third arbitrary male in the Simon Rimmer cooking and lasagne experience. Then we could do an acoustic set at the end. It just looks like fun. I watch it every week.
James: I’d go on Jools Holland, that’s your classic.
Oli: I’d like to be one whatever Zane Lowe’s doing these days, probably on Beats. That guy makes you feel like everything’s going really well.
James: I’m sure young Cale over here would like to be on Soccer AM, mainly for the trying to kick the ball through the hole thing.
Cale (drums): There’s a team one now, where everyone has a shot through the goal, so we’d all have to be involved with that one.
If you could time travel to watch any gig or festival, which would it be?
Rob: Beatles, Shea Stadium.
Cale: An old Woodstock in America.
Oli: I’d go to Guns N’ Roses, the early ones where they were touring around and sleeping on floors.
James: I’m going to go with Jimi Hendrix, Isle of Wight.
Follow Marsicians on their supporting tour: http://www.marsicans.co.uk/