The South of England is becoming a powerhouse for alternative rock. With bands like Lower Than Atlantis, Don Broco and Decade leading the charge we are seeing a huge wave of bands putting their middle finger up to the notion that guitar music is dead. We sat down with Devon’s own Witterquick who are sitting amongst this crowd to find out their beginings and how they plan to make their mark.
FFO: Lower Than Atlantis, Hildamay and Nothing But Thieves
How are you guys today?
Great actually! Really busy with everything that’s going on, but it’s all very exciting!
Tell us how Witterquick got in to music?
It’s not a choice, you either are or you aren’t! There’s a video of Ollie as a baby, maybe 6 months old, rocking out to Billy Idol’s White Wedding in a highchair. It’s in your blood.
What has been your main influence on your music?
Freedom, for sure. When we started out we didn’t have any bands in mind to emulate, so we didn’t have any limitations. We just wrote songs and actively encouraged the ‘whatever happens, happens’ thing, and it’s that natural writing style and that vibe that holds all of this together. We’re being who we are, and we’re the best at that.
Who would you like to be compared to?
Nobody. We don’t aim to be compared to anyone, in terms of sound and style at least. We want to do for music what Aerosmith, or Pink Floyd, or Guns and Roses did, there isn’t enough individuality around these days.
What has been your wow moment as a band?
Recording our EP with Romesh Dodangoda was an important one for us. We’re a very new band, so when we got the call back from him saying that he’d love to work with us it was a seal of approval, like ok, people are getting on board with this. The other is an ongoing achievement – we had a message from a fan recently saying that in all of the time he’s been into music we’re the most exciting thing he’s ever heard, and that was huge. It’s incredibly grounding to be told that you’re someone’s favourite band, we know what it’s like to be that in to something. It carries a lot of weight.
Where do you you hope to be in the future?
We want new bands to be compared to us.
Are there any bands/acts you’ve been playing with you think we should check out?
We’ve played with Nothing But Theives a few times, they’re great guys, and doing pretty well for themselves. Black Foxxes are just making their mark as well, they’re from Exeter too, like us. There must be something in the water.
Any upcoming events our readers can catch you at?
The UK tour for our first single ‘Soldiers’ starts in October, with the release party at the Exeter Cavern on October 28th. We’ll be keeping the tours up pretty heavily from that point on, so we’re sure we’ll see you somewhere!
Anything you want to plug?
‘Soldiers’, the first single from our EP ‘Beneath the Spinning Lights’, is available for pre-order from October 2nd.