The Heartbreaks (Interview)

The Heartbreaks – They came, they played, and they’ll conquer…

The next big thing on the Manchester music scene is actually four lads from Morecambe. Singer Matt Whitehouse, Drummer Joe Kondras, guitarist Ryan Wallace and bass player Deakin, who together go by the name The Heartbreaks, are a relatively new band, and are even newer to the Manchester music scene. Despite this, however, they have already made quite a name for themselves around here, and have, in their own words, developed “a good solid fan base.”

With Matt, Joe and Ryan already having been in bands from a young age, The Heartbreaks represents their decision to really make a serious go at the music industry. “Us three had been in shockingly bad music outfits since we were twelve and it just got to the point where we wanted to get more serious. So in March this year, we just thought, ‘shall we be in a band?’”

The band, however, were still missing a vital ingredient; a bass player. Step forward Deakin. “I met them through another band called Orphan Boy who I went around with a lot. They introduced us and we had a lot in common music wise, with very similar influences, from old mod stuff like The Jam and Elvis Costello to The Smiths, Orange Juice and The Buzzcocks.”

Now a complete band, The Heartbreaks began to play gigs together in Morecambe, but soon felt that they had achieved everything they could in their home town. “When we really first started, there weren’t many people who listened to the same music and wore the same clothes as us in Morecambe. We learnt our craft there, and how to play under the influence! It was fun, but we’d done pretty much everything we could do at home, and didn’t have anywhere decent to practice there or anything.”
It was then, around September 2009, that they decided to make the move to Manchester. “Manchester’s like a home from home for us really, as we had been here by train most weekends to gig. We’ve already got quite a good solid fan-base here just from going out and playing.”

Manchester certainly is a great starting point for new bands, with a great musical heritage and a variety of live music venues, which perhaps some Manchester bands don’t fully appreciate. “Bands in Manchester have got it good with so many good local music venues. We were very hard done to!” The band joke as they continue. “For a long time, we weren’t getting lifts to the venues, but to the train station so we could get to the venues, which we did week after week, trying to afford the train. But you do it and you get there, getting a trolley from Piccadilly for all your equipment!”

The band certainly are dedicated. “We started playing larger music venues when we were sixteen, but our favourites really are places like The Ruby Lounge, which is always decent with good sound, although there’s always the danger of falling off stage there. We also supported The View at Academy 1, which was a bit out of the ordinary, it’s not an every day gig, and it’s good to play to a larger crowd when you’ve been used to playing small clubs. We also like Lost and Found, and The Deaf Institute has always been good; we’ve had some good times there!”

Not content with just playing the gigs, the band have also recently organised their own night. “We put on our own night at Night and Day on July 10th, and we filled that. In fact, we’d like to do it again because it went so well. We had our mates’ bands supporting us, and also had a nice piece in the Manchester Evening News about that too, which really made us feel that everything was coming together; we’ve reached a certain level now and we’re going to step it up.”

And step it up they have. With their first gig down south under their belts recently at London’s Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen, the band have just played another gig at Soho for Clash Magazine. The next step on their agenda now is to release a single. “We want to release something soon as a mark of where we are at the moment, but we’d like to do it with a label behind us, although we could probably do it ourselves at a push.”

“We use a recording studio in Preston called West Orange, and we have a good relationship with the guy there. He knows what we want to do, and he’s a bit crazy too, which is good. We just record one song a day, and we just record as much as we can afford. We write frequently, but would like to record more, and that’s why a record deal would be so good, because they can promote you too. It’s just a case of not being rubbish I suppose, and we’ve actually had quite a bit of interest; we were playing to a lot of industry people in London, and some spoke to our manager, Nian.”

Nian, the band’s manager, first saw the band when they were sixteen and has stuck with them ever since. “He’s been looking out for us for a long time. He’s got loads of contacts because he used to be in quite a successful band, so he gets us gigs and does fliers. He does his best for us. And he looks like a manager too, with a bag and sandals!”

The band are lively and humorous, so I find it hard to believe them when singer Matt tells us, “I’m afraid we’re exceedingly boring! Getting a bit too drunk before playing led to a bit of anger and frustration, so I’ve reined it in now; fun doesn’t happen to us!” I for one don’t doubt that lots is going to happen to this band, and a lot of it is going to be fun!

With individuality and talent, The Heartbreaks have achieved a great sound which seems to have the spirit of their coastal heritage at its heart, from songs which give to the sea, like the respectful ‘Elegy On The Sea’, to songs which take from the sea, such as ‘Jealous, Don’t You Know’, which may not have the sea as its subject, but seems to draw great inspiration from its heart.

See what you think; The Heartbreaks play Strangerways at Joshua Brooks on 14th November

http://www.myspace.com/heartbreaksband

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