Very cool band to start your weekend off in a dancing mood. No Hot Ashes turn up the funk and even bring a cowbell with it and that is off the charts cool. I like how they incorporate some old and new influences into their own sound. I look forward to hearing more from No Hot Ashes and when their EP comes out, we will be sure to post it here at 50thirdand3rd.
For those unfamiliar with your bands history, can you tell us all how you all met up and decided to start a band?
We are No Hot Ashes, a 4 piece band hailing from a little town called Stockport just outside of Manchester, England. We all met at high school with the exception Jack (bassist) who we met while we were in college.
Who would you list as your musical influence?
There`s a pretty wide spectrum of bands we love to listen to and gain influence but to name a few big ones for us we would have to say the likes of The Doobie Brothers, James Brown, Nile Rodgers, Parliament. There`s a lot of old funk and soul music that influences us but then we like to fuse that with a more indie/rock sound so it’s a cool blend we think.
What’s the coolest thing that’s happened to you as a band since you started up?
Well last year we were really excited to be asked to play our first major festival in the UK. We were added to the Kendal Calling lineup which was really cool. It was our first taste of being a professional band and there were so many huge acts such as The Vaccines, Snoop Dogg, Grandmaster Flash and James playing alongside us. To date that’s probably our coolest experience.
What are your hopes and dreams as a band for the next few years.
Well we all want to be doing band full time, we are all currently in either full-time jobs or university so its kind of hard to manage your time. Basically we all want to quit our jobs and tour as a band, that’s the ultimate goal. Over the next few years hopefully we can get even more backing and get there.
What are some of your favorite albums from the past few years?
That’s a tough one. “Random Access Memories” from Daft Punk has to be a stand out one for us. Nile Rodgers as well as the rest of the band and their collaborations really made a massive album there. We are massive fans of that funky, twangy guitar sound and he nails it on this album. Other albums such as “In Love” by Peace and “What Went Down” by Foals have also inspired us.
Do you see any real use for social media, or is it all just a pain in the ass to keep with?
Social media is huge. Any band who says it isn’t is lying. Besides gigging it’s the only way in which people out there can interact with you and spread your music. We love getting involved with fans on social media and it’s always re-assuring when we get people out there showing love for the music we are making. Everyone has a smartphone nowadays and it takes less than a minute to send a tweet or share a page or whatever. We don’t see it as a chore. It`s also a good way to find new music and keep in touch with fellow bands we have gigged with.
Do you pay attention to reviews or comments from people about your music or do you just turn that noise off.
We`re very critical over the music we write and produce, if anything we would say we don’t get enough criticism or reviews but any that we do get we always read word for word.Someone has taken time out of their day to listen to your track or EP or whatever it may be so you should read into what they think of It and take as much or as little as you want from it.
If you could tour anywhere in the world, where would you want to go.
Anywhere away from home. We love getting out of Manchester and seeing new cities. The ultimate dream would be to get out to other European countries and definitely the US. Once a band conquers the US you know you’ve made it and it’s such a huge place. Most people would hate the touring lifestyle but for us there`s a massive attraction and hunger to get out there and do it one day. The idea of being in a different city each day and meeting new people and playing in different venues is really exciting for us.
Can music save the mortal soul or is just a good backbeat to your life.
Music can influence you in more than just a creative way. It’s pretty much everywhere you look. When you’re celebrating there`s music and when you’re sad or in a s**t mood there is music. We see being musicians as a lifestyle and a journey as oppose to just “making music” so people should really treasure music. We guess now songs are so readily available to anyone in the world and can mostly be listened to for free that people take advantage of that but they should think deeper into the backstory of it. That’s the most exciting part.
Any last thoughts for your fans?
ARE U A COOL CAT?
No Hot Ashes are:
Isaac Taylor
Luigi Di Vuono
Jack Walsh
Matt Buckley
