Social whirl

TYNESIDE’S Detroit Social Club release their debut album, Existence, on May 31 with a single, Prophecy, due out on May 24 and a tour taking in Newcastle’s Academy 2 on Tuesday. The band has also been booked for the Isle of Wight Festival, June 12; Glastonbury on June 25; Scotland’s T In The Park on July 11 and Cumbria’s Cockermouth Festival on July 17.

The band consists of: David Burn, vocals, guitar, bass, production/songs; Dale Knight, keys, guitar, bass, harmonica, vocals; David Welsh, guitar, percussion, bass; Johnny Bond, guitars, sitar, noises, vocals; Chris McCourtie, bass, guitars, percussion, vocals and David Green, drums, percussion, keys, vocals.

detroitsocialclub.net Frontman David Burn agreed to answer a few questions starting with how excited he is about the band’s lift-off this spring and summer.

“Aye! It’s exciting, but there’s a lot of apprehension and nervousness too.

It’s something we’ve worked so long and hard on, and now it’s all finished.

Releasing music is like wrapping a present and handing it over to someone. It’s done, and now we have to wait for people to praise it or slag it off. Part of it is like drawing a line under it. I’ve made the choices and decisions to get here, and it doesn’t really matter what other people think. Obviously, you hope people will like it, and see in it the things you like yourself,” he says.

Is it true some of the songs date back to 2007?

“Yes. What happened was I was working in a factory in Sunderland, but left that to set up my own studio in Newcastle. I started experimenting with sounds and noises when I was working there, producing other people’s records as well. At the time, I’d just been over to New York, and had recently got into people like Neil Young, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits, so that was a big influence as well.”

How old were you then?

“I was 26 or 27 when I started the studio. I’d really settled into working there, recording other bands. It was ironic that it was the first time I’ve not tried to get anywhere with bands and my music.”

What are your feelings about the band’s success now that you’re older?

“I am much more settled now than I was. I’ve got a little daughter. I love music and I want to have this as a living, but at the same time, I’m more comfortable in my own skin and I’m much more relaxed about everything.

You see a lot of young bands and they just want to be the biggest band, or be the ’new whoever’ or just get on the radio.”

The first singles were released over a year ago. Why has it taken so long to produce an album?

“We haven’t done things the traditional way. We didn’t just go into the studio with a producer, record the songs and get it out. We did a lot of the basis of the album when we didn’t have a studio, and did most of it ourselves. We all had a massive part in that. Plus it took a long time to sort out our record deal, and it took a lot of time before we were comfortable enough as a band to make our debut album.”

Were there are worries that you might have missed the boat?

“No. It’s true we were getting an underground following, but I don’t think people hear a single, and then never listen to you again because you don’t follow it up with an album straight away. If our music’s good enough then fans will be coming to our gigs again.”

How hard was it to form the band after you’d written most of the songs?

“I was very lucky from the job that I was doing that I knew loads of local musicians. I’d recorded a lot of them at the studio. I was told that if I wanted to take my music further, I needed to find musicians, so I cherry picked the best. Because I was so careful with who I chose, it was really easy to gel and get along. Sometimes it doesn’t feel right in bands, but with us, it was right from the off, and we had our first gig about five weeks after getting together.”

Is the band democratic with its choice of music?

“It is. But we would have made an album a year earlier if things had been different. The way it was, we were so far ahead. Before the band had formed, I had record labels interested and a manager. We didn’t want to make the album too soon because the band needed to catch up with that. They are my songs and I started the band, so it won’t seem like a democracy, but there’s always that in a band. And I don’t want to seem like this authoritative figure. Like any creative job, you can only do it when you’re liberated, and that’s how the guys in the band have to feel.”