The Jellycats
Currently working at making a name for themselves, Essex-based The Jellycats have caught our eye recently. The band answered a few of our questions on who they are and where they want to go.
-How would you describe your sound?
Probably pop/ska/punk - Like Blink 182 & Lily Allen at a Madness concert.
-Who are your main influences?
We love loads of different music styles but we’ve all grown up loving a bit of pop/punk so that’s probably our strongest influence.
Some of the bands that influence us are No Doubt, Jamie T, Blink 182, The Specials, Green Day, The Clash, Sex Pistols, Madness, Paramore.
-Are you finding it hard, as an unsigned band, to get established?
It’s definitely hard starting out, unless you have money you’re at the bottom of the pile and you really have to work hard to get people to listen to you.
Everything from getting songs recorded to getting gigs is relying on favours and sweet talking. You have to have a lot of commitment and passion to get people to pay attention and stand out from the crowd.
-What's the best way for fans to support you at the moment?
We are really thankful to have had such great support from fans so far.
Coming down to our gigs and supporting us there, spreading the word to their friends and getting them to check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube etc. and get them to do the same, are all great ways they can help and support us in getting The Jellycats out there!
-Are you currently touring, or just playing local shows?
So far we’ve only been playing shows around Essex/London but we are starting to look at branching out so watch this space. We try and update our gig listing’s on our Myspace asap so that’s a good place to look.
-What have you been most proud of so far?
Ha! At this early stage I'd say it was probably finding Rob! We had such a hard time finding a bass player, we went through loads before Rob, purely because it seem's no-one wants to play bass!
Everyone wants to play guitar. In fact all the bass players we had before were originally guitarists who said they would play bass for us, but then when it came down to it they didn't want to let go of the guitar.
It was looking pretty grim for us and we couldn't really be a band without a bass player. But then Rob came along! He showed commitment and dedication from day one!
Felt really good to have finally found someone who got what we were doing and were as up for it as we were. And the rest is history...
-How does the songwriting process work for the band?
At the moment Ollie writes most of the music and Ollie and I (Emma) do the words. Not to say thats how it'll always be, that's just how it is at the moment.
The more we gel as a band I think the more will start to do it together.
-There's a clear ska influence on your music. What do you think of the ska scene?
It’s something we’ve all been interested in growing up and are loving it’s influence on our music. Kinda punky with a good bit of brass.
We saw Madness play recently and the whole crowd from 6-60 where dancing about and loving it. It’s upbeat and fun and that’s what we love about it.
It's just music that makes you want to smile, which is pritty much what The Jellycats are all about!
-Do you think that side of the music, and the style of the vocals, will let you overcome the typical automatic comparisons to other female-fronted bands?
We are definitely something different and that’s what we are most proud of. We just do our own thing and be ourselves and that automatically makes you unique.
There are probly many bands that you could compare us too just because we have a girl singing, but if you listen to us, you'll find it hard to find an actual band that is just like us.
This wasnt intentional thow, we never set out to be different, we just set out to be us!
-Who would you like to tour with, given the chance?
Theres so many bands we'd love to tour with. An obvious one would be Blink 182 as there back now! But we love to tour with Madness and No Doubt as they have a come back on the cards too!
They all are very unrealistic though. At this moment in time we wouldn't mind touring with any band if they'll have us!
-Do you have any planned releases?
We're currently working on our first album. We haven't thought about release dates or anything yet, just taking it one step at a time. But as soon as we do we'll let you know!
-What's next for The Jellycats?
Ha! World domination! And our own brand of latex products! No, we don't know really, people who have heard us really seem to be liking it.
So, I guess just carry on doing what we're doing, finishing our album and playing live as much as possible and just getting the name out there more.
Basically just building as much as we can on what we already have.
Female First - Alistair McGeorge