Band of the month - November 2009

Our band of the month for November 2009 is from Leicester:

astromaniacs band

The band now has three musicians, one having left the band earlier this year. Nick Sharma is lead vocalist and guitarist, Ryan Scott is guitar/vocalist and Dan Stokes plays the drums.

Forming early in 2008 as a four piecem, having met at Countesthorpe College, AstroManiacs is now a three piece band from Leicester. A change to the line up in the form of Dan Stokes the drummer took place in December, after splitting with their bassist, AstroManiacs have continue to grow from strength to strength. They band played its first gig on 27th September 2008. They have supported the Screening, Exit Avenue, Autohype and Razmataz. They got through to the finals of the Winner Takes All competition and played to a crowd of 4,000 at the Glebe Garden Centre in November this year. At the Walkers Stadium they entertained a crowd of 300.

Young and energetic, the trio aim to create a local fanbase and have been in the recording studio, laying down some new tracks.

Nik does most of the songwriting, and is getting better by the second, Ryan does all the computer work - from designing flyers, to the layout of the MySpace page. Dan is the roadie, and for a small person, his energy seems endless! Somehow, it works. It just does.

Reviews: Wednesday 21st October and 10th August and 10th July

Our interview with AstroManiacs

Artsin: When and how did AstroManiacs get together?

Astros: We formed January 2008 as a four-piece line-up, we got together through Ryan, individually knowing us all and then bringing us together. After a few line-up changes, we are now a three-piece! (Looking for a bassist, know any, give us a shout!?)

Artsin: Of the gigs you have played so far, which do you remember most?

Astros: Personally, for me its the 10th August this year, the crowd were amazing, we thought we jammed out pretty well, and to top it off, we played with our good friends, Razmataz & Pickpockets. Ryan thinks the same, however he really liked playing at Glebe Garden Center on the Bonfire Night. The amount of people there made the atmosphere really mad, but was an awesome experience!

Artsin: How do you go about winning new fans?

Astros: We try and write songs that cross a lot of genres - that way you appeal to more people.

Artsin: What bands influence you most as a band?

Astros: As a band, we dont have influences. It's mainly individual influences that pack a punch in our music overall. We try to create a variation of sounds ranging from Rock to Indie to Alternative pop, and if that doesn't tickle your fancy and your a bit on the soft side, we have a range of acoustic melodies that hopefully you'll like.

Artsin: What plans does the band have for the future?

Astros: We would like to create an initial fanbase for starters and try and get the most exposure we can for the band, maybe get some away gigs, a tour of the U.K, and a late E.P. release maybe next year? We are taking small steps at a time and we hope hope hope that soon it will all come together and pay off!

Artsin: Which of the Leicester venues do you like the most?

Astros: Personally, for all of us, we see The Shed as a home, the staff there mainly all being great as well, but sound-wise, we would go for SUMO, it's an amazing place to play at! If only the stage was higher though! The Charlotte was a good venue when Andy ran it, but I don't think it's got the same feel about it now.

Artsin: If you could play support with any band, which one would it be?

Astros: Oasis (might not be too likely though being as they aren't together anymore), Kasabian, The Kooks & Canterbury.

Artsin: What do you think of Kasabian?

Well, as we did form at Countesthorpe College (which me and Ryan are still at now) where Kasabian formed, we do have a huge love for Kasabian, they are our idols and we dream about stepping in their shoes in the future. In fact, Ryan's major influence is Kasabian, so that just goes to show, what Kasabian means to us.

Previous Bands of the Month

The Manhattan Project, Backline, Messini Assault, Beat Club, The Utopians, Breek, Subdude, Full Circle, Forty More Autumns, Razmataz, Smoking the Profit, The Heroes, The Truth, The Chairmen (Oct 08), Kids in Cars (Nov 08), Formal Warning (Dec 08), The Steptoos (January 09), The Pennyhangers (February 09), Project Notion (March 09). Skam# (April 09), Shortwave Fade (May 09), The Waits (June 09), Kill The Batman (July 09), The Fazed (August 09), Autohype (Sept 09), Weekend Schemers (Oct 09)

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