The Hiding Place released their EP, So This Is Home, on 1st September. Offering up a layer cake of ideas, ambition and thumping conviction, it is a positively widescreen presentation; brimming with sumptuous melodies and brazen guitar attacks, the quintet cleverly intersperse their post-hardcore with twinkling moments of downbeat ambience. “We wanted to write something that we felt sounded like ‘us’,” remarks Vocalist Webber; “Something personal that didn’t feel like it was confined to a particular genre. It feels as though we have drawn a line under our previous releases, as if they were merely us warming up: now we have refined our sound to reach this point.” They also recently release the video for single Guts, which can be found here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ba-7rz9ieE
Here the Midlands, UK quintet answer the A-Z Interview…
A Song Which Made You Want To Make Music:
When I was a kid, the first time I ever heard the full version of Bat Out Of Hell by Meat Loaf it blew my mind. So much going on, telling this dark epic story in such a theatrical way. It always made me want to be a singer in a band.
Best Album Ever Written:
Argh tough one! I can never really narrow it down to just one, but since it’s a grey, miserable day outside let’s go with The Cure-Disintegration. The album just rolls over you like a brooding gothic wave! Even though i’ve heard it so many times, I still find new things in it every time I listen.
Craziest Moment You’ve Experienced In The Band:
We once played a festival where there entire audience was made up of topless men with no shoes on who all lay on the floor in front of the stage and were bicycle kicking their legs in the air. We never really found out why.
Deepest Lyrics One Of Your Songs Features:
The whole world is ending in my head (from the song of the same name)
Easiest Song You Wrote:
Probably Barfly – we do have a tendency to over-think songs some times, changing things up a lot and reworking them, but for Barfly we kind of wanted to just write a balls-to-the-wall punk rock tune, and it came together real quickly.
Favourite Show You’ve Ever Played:
It sounds corny, but any show where you play and you really make a connection with the audience. It isn’t always the really busy ones – sometimes you can play a show to hardly any people, but something about it just feels right, and everyone has a really great time and leaves feeling buzzed.
Guest You’d Most Like To Feature On A Your Record:
Kelsey Grammar from Frasier obviously. Every time I hear him sing the end credits to that programme I get chills.
Happiest Moment In You’ve Experienced In The Band:
Last week we held a big launch party in our hometown to celebrate the release of our new EP. It meant so much to us that so many people turned out, and the fact that people already knew the words to the songs and were screaming them back at us. It was a great night and felt like all our hardwork over the past few months had really paid off!
Interesting Fact About One Of Your Members:
Our guitarist Phil has Tourettes Syndrome!
Jokes You Have In The Band:
It’s fair to say that we do like to bully our guitarist Jon quite a lot. He once drank an energy drink that had been open in our practice room for about 2 months. It was full of lumps – which we have come to assume must have been bugs. It has lead to us writing a song that you will never hear called ‘Jon Drank Bugs’
Kicking Off Your Set Is Best With Which Song:
We’ve actually just finished writing a new song that is so far untitled, but we’ve started playing that at the beginning of our set – so far people have really been digging it!
Longest Distance You’ve Travelled To Play A Show:
I’m not sure on specifics, but I do know that on this tour we’re about to set off on that due to some unfortunate routing and gigs being rescheduled etc we’re zig-zagging all over the country putting in well over 1000 miles across the week.
Most Inspiring Musician You’ve Ever Experienced:
We once supported letlive and got to hang out with their singer, Jason Aalon Butler, after the show. He had some really great words of advice and support for our band and he helped encourage us to push ourselves harder at doing something we loved.
New Band You’d Recommend:
Weak Nerves! Go get your grunge on.
Opening For This Band Would Be Ideal:
We’ve always said one of the main bands we’d absolutely love to open for would be He Is Legend as they have been a big influence on us over the years – but we’ve actually just been asked to support them when they play in Stoke on October 29th, so we can cross that one off the bucket list!
Place You’d Most Like To Tour:
I’m sure its a common answer – but the US. Touring over there just seems other level, due to the sheer size of the place.
Quote That You’d Like To Pass On To Readers:
“That’s what she said” – Michael Scott.
Reason For The Title Of Your Recent/Forthcoming Release:
The EP is called ‘So This Is Home’ which is actually the chorus lyric to the lead single ‘Guts’. It’s basically a reference to how we feel being in The Hiding Place, making music and playing shows is really the only thing we all feel happy doing.
See Us Live At:
We’re off on tour in the morning for the week, but will be back when this goes up – so catch us at The Intake in Mansfield on October 25th supporting Giants, and at The Underground in Stoke on October 29th supporting He Is Legend!
The Old Days Of Music Were Better Than Those Current, do
you agree:
No way – just different. Don’t get me wrong, I love all kinds of music and a lot of my favourite albums are over 20 years old – but that doesn’t mean you should just write off new music like some people do! There’s nothing wrong with having one foot in the past, as long as you keep the other in the present, facing forward.
Unusual Merchandise:
We really have all the typical stuff: CDs, t-shirts, patches, art prints. Maybe we’ll do something weird like THP mouse-mats or something. Do people still use mouse-mats?
Variations You’d Like To Do On Any Of Your Songs:
I think any of our songs would be better if they were Rush songs.
What Bands Have You Seen Live and Regretted:
Probably any band who use the on-stage banter of ‘Are You Ready To Rock??’ and other such cringey phrases in between their songs.
X-rays or any other treatments needed for band related in juries:
Once whilst we were rehearsing I sung so hard that I got a shooting pain at the back of my head. The hospital thought i’d given myself a brain haemorrhage. After a couple of days of scans and needles in my spine they changed their mind and sent me home. We never did find out what i’d done!
You could have written any song in history, which would you pick:
The entire Coldplay discography. That way I could make the choice to not release those horrors onto the world. Failing that I’d probably pick Tiny Dancer by Elton John.
Zoo animal that best describes the personality of your band:
An Aye-Aye (Google it!)
