Band of the month - October 2009

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Weekend Schemers

Our interview with the band

Young indie band, Weekend Schemers, has been rising steadily recently, with a series of well played shows, some thumpingly ear pleasing songs and the beginnings of a charismatic stage presence. They came second in the finals of the Winner Takes All competition at the Shed, with a star quality performance that suggests they could become the next Heroes. If the finals had been judged, they would certainly have got a strong response. As it was they were narrowly beaten into second position by another young superband, White Ashes.

See our review of the Schemer's peformance at the Mandarin Lounge

The Weekend Schemers are

James Hazell, 19, (singer/guitarist),

Connor Evans, 16, (lead guitar),

Harry Radburn, 16, (drums)

and Joe Doyle, 16, (bass)

Sorry for the mistake Joe!

The Artsin interview with Weekend Schemers

How did Weekend Schemers get started?

We first started playing in November after Harry and I (Conor) both friends from St Pauls school, asked James to come along to a rehearsal session. However it took over 4 months as a band to write our first 2 songs, "10 more steps" and "Little too late". As wierd as it sounds Harry and Conor contacted james on the internet. (To any children we would not recommend this, you should always take an adult when meeting strangers you have found online! ;) ) The newest member of the band, Joe Doyle joined us after our first few gigs in June of this year. The band comes from all over Leicestershire, with Conor and Harry from Evington, James from Mount Sorrell and Joe from New Parks.

So when did the band play its first gig?

The first gig we played was at the Pavilion on Victoria Park, which was the 29th of May. We got the gig through our promoter BIG WILL! Playing in front of a packed out Pavillion of school friends, with no gig experience for both Conor and Harry was a little daunting. Needless to say we pulled it off with a few glitches along the way and we received a great reception from the boys and girls who attended.
The final gig of the Pavilion “Battle of the Bands”, stands out as our most successful performance to date; winning £800 in prize money and a recording session at Paddocks Studios. Last night’s gig (3rd October) at The Shed also was a very lively affair with a large crowd dancing away, which made the performance even more special as we were no longer, just playing to friends and family but were being appreciated by the public.

How do you guys compose your songs?

As a band we all go away and write our separate songs and lyrics and then compromise at rehearsals and see how it goes from there.
As a band we have many influences Joe and Harry are heavily influenced by the Arctic Monkeys, where as James is into let’s say, more softer sounds (Mcfly) and Conor is into his classic Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Killers.

Which bands have you played with?

We have already played with many well known acts in and around Leicester such as, Razmataz and are looking forward to playing with The Dobson’s and The Heroes at the end of the month, at the grand re-opening of the Charlotte (22nd of October) (First 14+ Night) and at The Half time orange (31st of October), hope to see you there. [Certainly will be! - ed]

What do you think of the live music scene in Leicester?

The music scene in Leicester is growing rapidly with a lot of fresh new stuff hitting the scene and looking to put their new stuff out there, as we were in the same position last year, we wish them success and would recommend getting yourself involved in free gigs and competitions.

Where would the band like to be in say, a years time?

As a band in a year’s time we hope to have released our first album and still be gigging in around and around the region.

What do you think of Kasabian?

We think that Kasabian are the inspiration to many young bands of Leicester as they have shown that with the talent you can make it out of Leicester.

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).

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