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Stolen Souls are planning to carry out a full frontal assault on the Scottish music scene in 2012. With various band members hailing from Wishaw and Bellshill they are indeed “from the far corners of Lanarkshire”, as they describe on their Facebook profile. I caught up with the band for a chat about their plans for the coming year.
To set the scene for those unfamiliar with Stolen Souls I asked how they came to form. Craig said “We’re all studying music at Motherwell College, we were kind of flung together. The name came from a song our guitarist Ryan wrote before Stolen Souls existed.” The band consists of Kayleigh Innes on lead vocals; Jamie Innes on lead guitar; Ryan Tyler on rhythm guitar; bassist James Weir; Craig McDonagh on keys; and last but by no means least drummer Martin Muir.
Each member of Stolen Souls brings their own influences to bear upon their trademark sound. Craig’s biggest influences with regards to lyric-writing are definitely Kyle Falconer, Scott Hutchison and Kurt Cobain. Martin said “At the moment? I have got to say musically hands down it would be Darwin Deez, he really influences my solo project (Martin Muir - Alien girl E.P) but for my band? I try to lay down the best drum track I possibly can and always start with fresh ideas. Playing drums makes it all too easy to fall into a particular pattern so if I do look for inspiration I always check out the drum tracks in the latest tunes and go in the opposite direction.”
James said “Travis Barker, Noel Gallagher and Slash are my main influences.”
Ryan loves Aerosmith, the Rolling Stones and Guns n Roses, explaining “They have a way of writing music/performing which can connect with such various people across the world. They really know how to work a stage at any given venue and make their shows all the worthwhile, something I never got the chance to witness but hope The Stolen Souls can recreate.”
Jamie concurs with Ryan, saying “Definitely Slash!”
Craig however is at pains to add “I don’t think our music is directly influenced by anyone.”
Kayleigh is a breath of fresh air from the boys, with Beyonce being her main influence.
This melding of influences results in Stolen Souls having a very different sound to much of the local bands out there. Craig says “We’re all incredibly different with regards to musical taste and personal style, but we gel brilliantly and I think it results in music that is definitely different from anything we know. The addition of keyboards and R&B-esque vocals really set us apart from a lot of other local bands.”
Stolen Souls have lots of irons in the fire and are bound to be busy, what with the forthcoming release of their single and accompanying video for “Worth a Try”. Craig said “The single will be released online on 1st of February.”
Craig says their main plans for 2012 are “to let as many people hear our songs as possible, to put on awesome gigs, and to, one day, hopefully, be able to live off of the music we love making.”
Stolen Souls are relatively new on the music scene and so don’t have much to draw on when I asked them about their best and worst gigs. Craig said “At the moment we have only played two gigs and an acoustic gig so to pick a best and worst at this time is quite hard. We did play a gig at Hamilton UC where the monitors and amps were producing feedback throughout the entire gig which was horrible to us. I don't know what the crowd heard but at all but all things considered they still seemed to enjoy it and that made us feel better about the whole situation. Our best gig will be at Stairway, Glasgow on the 21st of this month!”
I’m always interested in finding out about what bands are on musicians’ iPods at the moment and I asked Stolen Souls what bands they are excited about at the moment. You can often get some gems straight from the horse's mouth, as it were. Stolen Souls are fans of quite a few Lanarkshire and Glaswegian bands.
Craig said Steel Train are playing as I’m speaking to you! The View are always on the most played list along with a Nirvana, Frightened Rabbit, Jamie T and Alice in Chains. I’m really excited about the LaFontaines, their songs are brilliant and they are unbelievable live! I really like Admiral Fallow too, they’re going places. Scotland is hoachin’ with the best talent in the world right now!”
James answered my question with “I like Ruff Angel. They’re a local Glasgow band and it’s sort of indie type stuff they play. I will always support my cousin in his endeavours with The Last Clap.”
Ryan also loves the Lafontaines, saying “they have a great vibe about them and are one of the best bands I've seen performing live.”
Martin stuck with the self-promotion, saying “Right now I’m excited about us! And my solo E.P Alien Girl!” Get in there Martin!
Watch out for Stolen Souls in 2012, they are going to be the name on everyone’s lips. Their release Worth a Try comes out digitally on 1st February. Watch out for details of how to purchase on their Facebook page, which can be found at www.facebook.com/thestolensouls.
Stolen Souls will also be performing on 21st January at Glasgow’s Stairway venue, which is becoming renowned for its bookings of local unsigned bands. Tickets are a mere £5, contact the band via their Facebook page if you would like a ticket.
