INTERVIEW: Shane Greenhall – Those Damn Crows
With a speedy rise in the hard rock scene, and taking on huge support from some of the UK’s most wide reaching radio stations, THOSE DAMN CROWS seem to be on the constant rise to bigger things. The South Wales quintet are well versed in the live scene, creating a fanbase from the ground up. Recently the band signed with Earache Records, and with a glossy new release of their debut album Murder and the Motive, we spoke to lead singer Shane Greenhall about what comes next.
How are you feeling for the release of the album Murder and the Motive, it’s been highly anticipated for a while now?
Shane: Yeah, we’re really looking forward to it. There’s a version of it that has been out for a while now, but since signing with Earache [Records] it’s been repackaged and we’ve added a few new tracks on there, so with the help of Earache, we’re hoping for big things.
Excellent, and that’s an international release?
Shane: Yes, that’s right.
Cool. And in terms of when you were writing the album, was the writing process a personal one, or more based on broader emotional themes?
Shane: It’s a tricky one that. There were some tracks that were already there, or nearly there musically, and then I got hold of it lyrically, and you tend to put your own skin on it, your stand point and how you see the world, things that effect you. So, there’s definitely a personal element to it. And then, as a song writer, you tell stories, you know? You can exaggerate things, and make things more interesting, I guess. It’s a mixed bag really across the board.
An as a band, do the songs come from you and things build around that, or is it more a combination of the two?
Shane: Definitely a combination of the two. If one of the boys sends a riff over, and we kind of do the whole format of the song, or Ronnie [Huxford, drummer] has pretty much had the whole song there, and brings it to me, and we put it through the mixer, and there are elements of everyone really, we all equally put our bits in. The lyrics come from me, but it’s a mix. If it comes from a riff, or from me or Ronnie.
There’s a big sound to THOSE DAMN CROWS, and a lot of momentum to it as an album, are there any songs you really enjoy preforming as a group?
Shane: Yeah, the two big ones we love for the crowd participation are Rock and Roll Ain’t Dead and Blink Of An Eye. They really get the crowd going, with the big choruses, and they can’t wait to sing it back to us. It’s just the best feeling ever.
Yeah, I can imagine. And you played at Ramblin’ Man and Steelhouse festivals recently?
Shane: Yeah, Ramblin’ Man was amazing, the tent was rammed. We were lucky really, we were the first band on for the whole weekend, so there was no one else on when we were. The tent was absolutely rammed, and when you looked out into the audience you could see our merch. Things are really gone up a notch since signing with Earache, the fanbase has gotten a lot bigger. And Steelhouse was much the same, only the weather was terrible! It was a real shame, but the people who love their Rock music and stood in the rain and listened us, so it was brilliant at the same time you know?
And are you feeling that audience participation now, with getting a big name for yourselves, getting some promo from Planet Rock and so on?
Shane: Yeah, it all seems to be getting bigger crowds at the shows, and the love from Planet Rock has been amazing, and with John Norman as well. It’s all going up, it’s all getting bigger, it’s exciting.
Definitely! And you’ve a tour coming up in September, could you tell us a little about that?
Shane: Yeah, we’re touring with the boys from THE BAD FLOWERS and FEDERAL CHARM, it’s around eleven or twelve dates, from Newcastle, Glasgow to Birmingham, London. It’s exciting for us because it’s the first little tour we’ve done. We’ve been busy, but as a collective number of dates its going to be great to tour the country and get to as many places as we can.
And obviously, with such a big sound as THOSE DAMN CROWS have, are there any angles that you want to explore when you perform live?
Shane: It’s interesting actually, we’ve just done a YouTube session with Earache, we’ve done the whole album as a live sort of thing, and then we did an acoustic version of some of the songs. And actually, we were really surprised by how well the acoustic songs came out. We are a heavy sounding band, but we were surprised by the dynamics of the songs acoustically. So that’s something we might dabble in a bit more as it worked out so well. And those sessions will be out quite soon. But we were surprised it worked so well!
Excellent, we look forward to hearing those soon then! And as a final point to sign us off, what can new listeners expect from you on the tour when they see you live?
Shane: Nothing but energy really. We haven’t got long, we’re the first band on, so it’ll be a thirty/forty-minute set, but we’ll give it our all. A lot of people who see us live have heard the (previous edition of the) album; We’re a different animal live. It’s a bit more raw, energetic and in your face. We’re heavier live, the two [are] different animals. People love the album, but when they see us live, they get the band. We can’t wait to show people what we can do live because I think that’s where it’s at with us.
That’s really cool. Thank you so much for your time today Shane, and all the best for the best for the tour from Distorted Sound.
Murder at the Motive is set for release October 5th via Earache Records. The band are featured in the latest issue of Distorted Sound, grab yourself a copy here.
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