Tantrum

What's the name of the band, and how did you come up with the name? TANTRUM. The name was found by taking some Green Day lyrics, and pointing to a word with eyes shut. TANTRUM was that word.

What are the individual members names and what do they play?

John Gillies - Guitar, Vocals

(Neil Brown - Recently departed - Guitar, Vocals)

Ian Boddy - Bass, Mandolin

Tom Thursfield - Drums

How did you meet? John has small crappy band, asks Neil to join. 1 week before first gig, John's other members leave. Therefore Tom + Ian are drafted in at short notice (friends of Neil). That's the way it has been ever since. (Until Neil left!)

How long have you been together? 2 years in October 2000

Where is the band based? West Tanfield, a little peasant village near Ripon, near Harrogate (N. Yorkshire)

Who or what inspired you to become a musician? What bands are you listening to at the moment? (John) - I don't know about the others, but when my brother started playing instruments, I wanted to as well. I thought the guitar was cool.

I am currently listening to; The deftones, Korn, George Formby, the Mamas + papas, Skunk Ardusie. What are some of your favourite songs? Imagine (Lennon), Bus Stop (Hollies), Bored (Deftones), Grassman (Dodgy), Magic (Ben Foldsfire)

Do you prefer to play in the studio or live gigs? The studio is always a fun time, but you can't beat live shows. When the crowd are up for it, you get that buzz. You need a good atmosphere though, or you won't enjoy it. You can't lose your voice either.

Describe your sound. Funk punk rock n' roll, Indie, ska, + love songs ... + jazz [nice!].

Where can people come and see you play? We play around Harrogate, Ripon, Bedale areas. Also Hartlepool, Richmond now + again.

What do you like about being a part of 25 Records? We can tell everyone that we have a label, and are on a compilation CD. The publicity would also be good.

What are most of your songs about? Let me give you some themes: love, fear, hate, life. Humour - carrots, bunnies, tea, not being able to write songs.

Give us an interesting story that happened either at a gig, or while writing or recording a song. The tale of the evil guitar. Once we played in a place in South Shields called The Vic. We hadn't a spare guitar, so we borrowed Neil's sister's. it looked evil. It was black + spikey.

It cursed us that night. Due to this guitar, the p.a. system nearly blew up, we snapped a couple of strings, we played awfully. Neil's guitar sounded awfully out of tune, and even Ian's bass went out of tune. We never played there again, and the evil guitar is now lurking in the corner of woe at a mate's house.

Do you play any weird or unusual instruments? Ian plays Mandolin, John tries to play mouth organ. Tom likes his cowbell. The dog howls. We get my dad (John) to play the bagpipes at some gigs.

Do you have any interesting stories involving the police or breaking the law? (That we can post on the site) Yes, Neil was out one night in Northallerton with his friend, Danny. Danny, as a joke, decided it would be amusing to pick some flowers outside Tesco. A policeman saw him + arrested him. He was chucked in a cell for a few hours.

The following Monday, Neil, as a gesture, presented Danny with some daffodils. Neil had picked those outside his college. He was seen by someone and that night he was done for the same thing by the police, as it was reported to them.

Does anyone in the band have any strange or unusual habits or superstitions? Ian likes dissecting alive flies. He also likes air conditioning units, and collects fridges.

Please list 10 bands that sound something like you or fans of that band would like you. Lemonheads, Muse, Radiohead, Nirvana, The Kinks, Donovan, Silverchair, Nofx, Nick Cave + The Bad Seeds, David Bowie.