Swine Tax

Back again with the British bands! This time I've had the honors of interviewing Swine Tax, a Newcastle indie band consisting of Vince (guitar and vocals), Tom (bass), Charlie (drums) and their newest member Euan (synth and guitar, sadly not included in the pictures). The band only released six singles, but they sure aren't done yet. Swine Tax will not rest until they have tasted all the food in Europe.

2019 has just ended, what was your highlight of last year?

We went on tour to the Netherlands and Germany, that was probably the best bit. The best gig was probably the one in Rotterdam we played at Motel Mozaïque festival. It was a really sunny day, and we got nice hotel rooms. That was really nice.

What's your favorite aspect of touring?

How much we can eat. Eating in restaurants every night is quite nice. Playing the music is good, but eating the food just tops it. And meeting new people is up there as well.

Do you have any glittering plans for 2020?

We're gonna record a lot. We're busy writing and we're much more productive than normal. We're hopefully going to record it all, and if it's well received, then hopefully tour again. We'd come back to the Netherlands and Germany again. See what food they have to offer.

Any plans for an album or an EP?

I think probably an EP. Normally we record songs one at a time, but this time we're looking forward to recording kind of a lot at once so we can get a bit more of a coherent overall sound. But it'll be fun to experiment in the studio as well.

I saw you're gonna play some music with Bigfatbig, how did this collaboration come about?

They're like a really new and exciting band. It's not so much a collaboration, we're both playing extended sets. Normally it's thirty minute sets, but there's this new venue independent venue 'Bobiks' which lets you play longer. But we're not actually playing together necessarily, it's just two bands playing.

Who do you look up to at the moment?

Like musically? Do they have to be still going? No they can be dead or alive. Well we really like the The Fall. Bands like that who just really do their own thing, I find that quite inspiring. We like The Clash as well, they don't do just one thing. Not like they come forward in one neat category, just like experimenting loads. We like bands that do that I suppose. Some other bands we like... Black Midi, we played before them in Rotterdam. Who else... Bodega. We just like bands who do their own thing. I'd say the creativity of others inspires us, and we just like to explore sounds and ideas for a long period of time.

Looking back, in what aspect do you guys have developed most as a band?

I mean my singing has improved. I'd also say performance, we're not as awkward. We've been playing together for a long time now. Also the way we write songs. At first we just had a bit of a song and we'd just jam it for maybe ten minutes, just to explore where to go with it. Then we'd kind of orchestrate where to go with it next and pick out new ideas. But I think we just got a lot better at the jamming bit, not sounding like people playing three different songs. So I think we've got a better chemistry of what the song should sound like, instead of going in three different directions with it.

Would you like to be extremely famous?

Eh... yeah? We'd give it a try, as long as we can turn it off if we don't like it. And if we could get the money as well. If the money is there we don't care. We don't wanna be still poor though.

What's the golden tip for aspiring musicians?

Write loads and loads of music until you get better at it, and don't be scared to write lots of shit songs. And don't be scared to experiment with different sounds, genres and instruments. Don't be afraid of putting yourself out there and play in front of people. It's like the best way to push yourself forward and getting less awkward. And enjoy it. Definitely don't do it if you don't enjoy it. And play with your friends.