Llanelli Music Scene interviews ‘Band of the Month Launch Night’ performers STAND UP AND SHOUT

Interview questions by Trudi Goldsmith

Can you introduce yourselves and tell us what each person’s role in the band is?

We are Stand Up and Shout, a five piece rock band from the Cwm Gwendraeth area. We have Laurence Lewis on Lead Guitar and Vocals, Rhodri Powell on Rhythm Guitar, Lee Shears on Keyboards, Matthew Clark on Bass and Aidan Kiely on Drums.

Can you tell us how long the band have been together?

Aidan, Laurence and Rhodri have been together as band mates for about 6 years now. Matt and Lee have only recently joined the band but we’ve known them through other bands and are good friend.

How would you describe your music?

We consider ourselves a band with a different combination of genres but we mainly have rock influences. We like to have high energy covers and originals that not only get the crowd pumped, but us as well.

Where do you get your influences for your songs (e.g. lyrics etc)?

Our lead guitarist is a big fan of the likes of Mumford & Sons and Biffy Clyro. Our drummer likes a lot of Paramore or pop-rock bands with similar sounds.

Our guitarist likes everything between Frank Sinatra and Jason Mraz and our bassist enjoys the styles of The Black Keys and U2. Our keyboard player enjoys Small Faces, Tame Impala.

As for lyrics, Aidan and Laurence use their different music influences to combine and create unique lyrics to match the riffs.

What makes you different from other bands?

We feel we have a unique set of originals that can really get a crowd going and we’ve had compliments for our songs being those ones “that you just can’t get out of your head and are singing by the time you get home

You came 3rd in the Llanelli 2012 Battle of the bands competition, and you are in the final for the Betws FC Carmarthenshire 2013 Battle of the bands what would it mean to you to win the competition?

We did indeed. We would love to win the Betws RFC BOTB due to the fact that the winning prize is a guest spot in this year’s Beach Break at Cornwall. We’d love to get our songs out there and get our bands name outside of Wales and spread the Welsh music scene across the border!

Do you plan to enter the Llanelli 2013 Battle of the Bands competition which is scheduled for May 2013?

We’re currently working on an EP/Album at the moment which is quite time consuming. We’ve also got a lot of new material to work on ready for the BOTB and our EP/Album launch! We entered last year and appreciated the turn out and end result!

What’s the best and worst thing about being in a band?

The best thing is how much of a laugh we have as a band in gigs and in practices. We enjoy meeting new people and new bands in new venues.

The worst thing is sometimes getting some awkward landlords and playing some empty gigs, but that’s all about being in a band! We can’t really say that there are many bad things about being in a band.

Do you have any memorable gig stories (good or bad things that stick in your memory)?

We once played a close friend of the band’s joint birthday party dressed up as KISS, got a good few laughs and it was a great gig.

Do you have any advice for people wanting to play in a band – i.e. best way to find band members etc?

Get yourselves out there, find the right venues and make sure you enjoy it. If you get the right group of guys/girls it’s worth it. Locally is best to find band members or through common interests on Facebook pages!

Where can people find out more about the band and how to book you for gigs- e.g. website or Facebook etc?

Find out more about SUAS at www.facebook.com/SUASWales where we make regular band updates including gigs and booking information.

Thanks to Aidan from Stand Up and Shout

Photo by Emma Buckley of Stand up and Shout performing at Llanelli Music Scene’s Band of the month Launch Night 30th March 2013 at the Kilkenny Cat.

Check out Emma Buckley’s photography page on facebookhttp://www.facebook.com/ebphotographyllanelli