TICP: OPINIONS #2 - Stephen Holt

Over 30 years ago a young lad set out to become the lead singer of a rock band, founding Inspiral Carpets and The Rainkings in the process, Stephen Holt has had an illustrious career in the music business. The Manchester legend answered a few questions for The Indie Cassette Player this week:

Is The Rainkings' name a reference to Manchester being the city that always rains?

Ha Ha, no, the name was taken from one of my favourite books ‘Henderson the Rain King’ by Saul Bellow. There’s also a link to Sonic Youth’s ‘Rain King’ as they were one of our favourite bands at the time and a huge influence on us. 

How did fans of Inspiral Carpets react to your new band when you first formed the band?

I’d say not very well really and that affected our overall lack of success then and still now. I think the way it was portrayed that I had left the band and then formed The Rainkings made people take sides and the Inspirals had and still have a really loyal following.

There was never any real animosity between me and the rest of the Inspirals, it just wasn’t right for me at the time and I should have just taken a break rather than leave if possible. But, as the band was really on the rise I don’t think this would have been possible.

I know they were disappointed by my decision though and felt that I really let them down. I’m trying to make up for this now though and feel really privileged to have been given a second chance.

What's the biggest difference between being in The Rainkings and Inspiral Carpets, if there is any? 

I had been with the Inspirals for about 4/5 years when I left and we had sort of grown up together. I was really close to Graham and we used to play football, cricket and go to gigs etc. all the time. So, even though I still had Swifty with me, who was a longtime close friend, it was really strange getting to know 2 new members and getting used to new ways of writing songs, rehearsing etc. 

One thing I loved about The Rainkings though was getting our autonomy back, it was our band and we made all the decisions. We used to have that in the early days with the Inspirals but as you get bigger more things get taken over by agents, managers etc. etc.

I suppose the other difference about being in the Rainkings was that I returned to being a ‘nobody’ again, which I quite liked as I’m not a natural for being in the spotlight. Even though it was fairly small time I used to get recognised quite a lot as well as being given free records and clothes etc. Some of this was quite nice but not always. Being in the Rainkings and leaving the Inspirals though, this stopped overnight!  

Noel Gallagher talks fondly of being a roadie for the Inspiral Carpets - what were you doing before you knew you wanted to be in a band?

I think I was in nappies before wanting to be in a band. I was brought up around music, singing and always saw myself in a band of some description.





The X-Factor continues to fill the UK charts - should we be worried?

Yes!

I've been to quite a lot of venues in Manchester, and I always find the smaller venues to be the best. What's it like from a bands' perspective?

I think Manchester venues are on the rise again, especially the smaller ones which is great for new, upcoming bands. When we started off with the Inspirals we were quite lucky as there were a number of smaller venues like The Boardwalk, The Venue, Pierots etc. where you could always get a gig. This seemed to stop for a whle and it’s great to see a lot of new/smaller venues popping up again and giving upcoming bands a chance.

Last but not least, United or City? (or an entirely different team?)

City til I Die! X
Stephen

by The Indie Cassette Player

TICP: OPINIONS #1 - EvanIvan

In our first edition of 'Opinions', we caught up with Canadian singer-songwriter EvanIvan. The talented musician has featured on both compilation albums of The Indie Cassette Player. The caring, charitable man opens up to TICP and gives us his opinions on some random topics.

Calgary Music

Calgary is a great place for music.  There’s the obvious Country-Western scene, as well as a somewhat large scene for Hip-Hop and Pop-Punk music.  Though there isn't much in the way of Pop, Folk or Electronic music yet, there seems to be a growth in the Calgary music industry that seems hopeful!  After playing a few shows at different venues around the city, I really saw how enthusiastic Calgarians are about music.  I’d love to go back and play some more shows!

EvanIvan

EvanIvan is my most recent music project, and it began when I moved from Calgary to Vancouver.  I've released two EP’s under that name, and I've started to perform the songs live with the help of some amazing musicians.  My hope is that we can collaborate and release some killer tunes in the future!

Europe

The majority of my extended family lives in Dublin, so I've spent some time in Europe, and I love it.  It’s very different from North America, particularly Calgary, which might be why I enjoyed being there so much.  I would love to do some writing and recording in London at some point. There seems to be a music industry there unlike any other in the world.  It’s also a dream of mine to do a tour of Europe.
  
Touring vs. Studio Time

I have never had the opportunity to do a tour, though I'm working hard so I can.  I would love to take the songs from the EP’s on the road, starting with a tour of Western Canada.  As for studio time, recording has been a passion of mine for years.  I've studied Audio Engineering at three different schools (one in Dublin), and I feel most at home when I'm working on a track in the studio. 

The best thing about being a musician

My favorite thing about being a musician is being told that someone has related with the lyrics I've  written.  I've written a lot of songs that are deeply personal, especially on my first EP, and hearing that someone else has had the same experiences as me, or can understand where I'm coming from, is great.
  
The EP ‘I Am’

‘I Am’ is the first EP I released under the name EvanIvan.  The songs were recorded as I attended the Nimbus School of Recording Arts in Vancouver.  Some of the songs were written while I was in a relationship, and others were written as the relationship was ending.  It chronicles my journey through that time, which was a hard one. 

The Internet & how it's helped your career

Without the Internet, my music would have not reached a fraction of the people it has.  It has helped me earn fans from around the world, and got my music to DJ’s who have played it on radio stations in Calgary, Vancouver, London, Dublin and France.   Up until now, it’s been the major platform for releasing my music. 

You can find EvanIvan here:

Facebook

Bandcamp
Twitter

by Indie Cassette Player