Words: Linn Branson
So, you know that thing, when you hear a band for the first time and you immediately think, "Wow! Yeah! Fuck, I like this!" - or similar expletives that happen to be in your vocabulary - well, that was pretty much the case with Casual Drag.
Casual? Hah, not by a long chalk. This Scottish three-piece are upping the ante in loud and garage-rocky vibes, that grab yer by the lugholes. There is so far not much on their CV, having formed just this year, bar two tracks online, 'Bleach Head' and 'Out Of Sight', and two gigs under their belt, but so impressed were we (and so too are others, it appears) that earlier this week we tracked them down in the wee hours of the morning and said we wanted to take down their particulars (music ones, oh you all with dirty minds).
Casual Drag are: Richard Clarke - vocals, guitar; Dominic MacInnes - bass; Christian Werner - drums
So, Casual Drag were a new name to me - as I am sure will also be to many others - let's start by telling us a little about how and when you started up.
Richard: Dom and I used to work together and bonded over a shared love for the Amazing Snakeheads, PJ Harvey and Jack White - we always talked about doing something together musically and started jamming late last year. We managed to track our German comrade Christian down via Gumtree, and from our first rehearsal we knew we had something good.
What was the idea behind the choice of band name, Casual Drag, and how does that represent your style - if it even does! Maybe you just liked the sound of it?
Dom: We like that it is open to interpretation and inclusive, and I think that matches our music style too. Whether it’s the drag of life, the drag of smoke or the drag of queens - it means whatever you think it does. Most importantly it sounds and looks great.
Christian: We had been working on material under the name Bleach Heads for a long time, but we had to realise that there were various other bad ‘heads’ names around (including Beach Heads) so we changed it very recently. The Beatles changed their name a couple times so that gave us confidence.
So far we just have two tracks from you online. These are still just...demos? Or tracks just uploaded? Tell us something about both of them, in their musical style and lyrical inspiration.
Dom: They are just promos - watch this space for an official release! We share certain similarities in our tastes, but we have broadly different influences so our sound is a wild garage-punk-rock crossover.
Richard: We like to keep it as raw and loud as possible. All our music is inspired by the same feelings: isolation, dissatisfaction with modern life, regret, lust, hate. People can take what they want from it.
You are based in Edinburgh, and that city, like Glasgow and many others in Scotland seem to have really been on the money other the last couple of years in producing some fine bands. Do you think there is an identity that defines Scottish acts, much like the current scene in Ireland?
Richard: Maybe it’s the Celtic spirit, the Scots and Irish tend to live our lives like an open wound which makes for good art. Edinburgh is strongly considered Glasgow’s little brother in terms of musical output, but we’d like to change that. There are great pockets of music in the city and Sneaky Pete’s (our favourite venue) was voted the best grassroots venue in the UK, it’s always a very satisfying playing there.
Dom: I guess our own identity has been defined by our desire to fill the gap in the Edinburgh scene for loud dirty music. We wanted to set ourselves apart from the wider Edinburgh scene which is underdeveloped compared to Glasgow and we really want to exploit that and occupy our own space.
You played your first two gigs last month, what kind of crowd reception did you get?
Richard: Yeah, our debut show at Sneaky’s was packed - and nice and sweaty! It was a great release for us, we’ve been making noise in a little rehearsal room for months and to get some affirmation for our songs was a relief.
Dom: We got a great reception for a debut gig on a scorching hot day, so it was a huge confidence boost. We've all played in bands for years ranging from punk to rockabilly to metal.
Any other dates on the cards?
Richard: We’ve got some pretty interesting support slots lined up which we’ll hopefully announce shortly! We will be launching our debut single in the coming months too, with a few dates across Scotland. We’d like to spread our wings and head down south with some shows in England - London would be ace.
For a band with just a couple of gigs under their belt and no single releases, you seem to already be picking up some interest? Is that word of mouth, down to the gigs, or heavy PR?
Richard: We’re not sure what to make of it! We’re happy with the response so far and we plan to just keep going: we want as many people to hear our music as possible.
How do you find that aspect, aside from the music itself, of trying to get the band off the ground, get gigs, get noticed, and presumably, still holding down day jobs as well, and no doubt on limited resources?
Dom: Like anything worth doing, it is a lot of hard work to get good. But we all love it, so we bring our A game as much as possible and that allows us to make progress. We plan our upcoming activity in detail and are always looking for the next opportunity.
Richard: Sometimes it all feels like a big hustle, but I think you need a degree of luck in this game. It’s hard not to get cynical about the way the industry works, which is very much image based. We all have jobs and dedicate a lot of time to our music but we love it. This is definitely the most satisfying band I’ve ever been in.
Do you have a plan drawn up for what you hope to achieve in the rest of the year?
Christian: Panic shopping to be prepped for Brexit!
Name three important things we should know about Casual Drag.
Richard likes Fat White Family, Dom likes Idles and Christian likes Sleaford Mods.
Apart from yourselves, what other Scottish bands are you rating?
Richard: Young Fathers from our city, Edinburgh, are amazing live. Glasgow bands like Future Glue, Sweaty Palms, the Animal Mothers and the Kidney Flowers are all making great garage-punk. Cheap Teeth, another Edinburgh band, are very good too.
Dom: I like Loki and a lot of Scottish hop-hop. In terms of his honesty and depiction of modern life, I'd say he is an accidental influence.
And there you have it. Keep Casual Drag on your radar. We know one band who they may be supporting before the end of the year, and we are very excited about that! Plus, they have already sparked the interest of one big UK promoter on our verbal recommendation. So, definitely - watch this band's space.
Find Casual Drag on:
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Sick!!
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