Interview with… Dead Natives // 26.11.17

I managed to have a quick chat with lead guitarist and singer of Dead Natives, Liam Dutch. Here’s what he had to say about the upcoming EP, tour goals and the importance of fans.

Q: How did you all meet?

A: Adam (bass) and I had a lot of mutual friends so we kind of met through that – Robbie (guitar) found us online and Colin (drums) joined us in the Summer.

Q: When you’re not making music, what do you do? Hobbies? Jobs?

A: In some ways I think the creative process is full time in terms of coming up with ideas and melodies / words. I think it’s a part of you, so you’re always switched on. The aim for us as a band is to be able to do this for a living and travel around playing our music, but yeah for now - we all work and study.

Q: Where did the idea of the band name come from?

A: Well firstly - it sounds good, but it kinda stemmed from the idea that you can be born into an area or something that you might feel alienated from.

Q: Where do you think you fit in with the current music scene?

A: I think we’ve got something quite unique - I mean of course we absorb elements of guitar music that we listen to and love but I think we’re kind of putting our own spin on it.

Q: You’ve received great reactions for your new singles, ‘I Got Menace’ and ‘Dreaming Like You Do’, what made you choose these as singles?

A: I think it just made sense - Menace was a perfect reintroduction for us because we hadn’t released anything since January, and Dreaming Like You Do just has the qualities a single needs.

Q: Are you working on an album?

A: At the moment the focus is recording and releasing singles - we’ve got another which is due out in February. It’s this big kind of anthem track with a crazy catchy riff so we can’t wait. I think the plan is to release an EP next summer - we’ve got a lot of material and we’re always writing, so it’s gonna be great to get those songs down.

Q: If you could tour with anyone, who would it be?

A: Probably Arctic Monkeys, Blossoms, The Stone Roses, Blur - These are all the bands we love so naturally - that would be pretty epic, wouldn’t it?

Q: Where does the inspiration come from for your lyrics?

A: Everyday stuff you know - people, their relationships, what’s happening and how you feel about it. They aren’t always personal to me but it could be real to someone else - it’s about telling a story sometimes.

Q: You have a strong social media presence - frequently replying and retweeting fans on Twitter - do you think this is important in building up your career?

A: Yeah absolutely - we’re trying to build something and we want everyone to be a part of it - we’re just normal lads. There’s nothing worse than bands (around our level) not chatting or engaging with fans - they’re the ones that are listening to your music.

Q: Do you have any plans to have a headline tour?

A: Oh absolutely - When the time is right. We’re supporting a band called Of Empires on their tour in early March - Manchester, Brighton, London and hopefully Bristol.

Q: What’s one place you’d love to tour?

A: America would be great - all these cool places like Pappy & Harriets in Pioneertown. But there’s always such a charm about British venues like Shepherds Bush Empire etc. 

Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

A: Hopefully taking over.