Northern Irish quartet from Castlerock, Brand New Friend, fronted by siblings Taylor and Lauren Johnson, stsrg 2019 with a new single and massive UK tour. Newly released ‘I Was An Astronaut’ is accompanied by a video shot on Downhill Beach near Castlerock – better known as Dragonstone on the TV show Game of Thrones. Live, they kick off the year with a sold out three night residency at Belfast’s The American Bar on January 24 - 26.
Who are you?
Hey! I'm Taylor, I play guitar and sing for Band New Friend. Lauren is our frontwoman and synth player, Aaron tickles the bass and Luke provides the beats.
Tell us something about yourself and how you came to be where you are today.
Well, Lauren and I are from a tiny coastal village called Castlerock, where if you don't like either old people or the beach, you're not gonna be happy. Thankfully, we liked both those things, but we loved music even more and spent every moment we could together growing up singing along to our Granda's country music collection (shout out Steve Earl). Our coolest story is Brand New Friend's first-ever gig was supporting Aaron and Luke's band at a gig. A year or two later they joined our band! Scenes.
Give us an idea of your musical style and influences.
It's a safe space for lads in Adidas tracksuits to have a cry. Or for emo kids to let off a flare and enjoy themselves. It's indie-pop, with a heart.
Explain the production and writing process behind your songs.
It's just really how we're feeling. That's maybe a bit of a cop-out answer, but every song is a true story, based on real people and real emotions. We hope that honesty resonates with people.
Tell us a little about your new single.
Our new single is actually our oldest song! We wrote it a few years ago about a girl I loved who moved away to London to be an artist and go to uni and just generally kick the world's ass. Which is exactly what she's doing. She's class.
Can we catch up with you at any forthcoming live shows?
Heck yeah, we're playing all across the UK with our label mate Sean McGowan in February, we've a headline tour to come which starts in Belfast very soon and will see us head back to some of our favorite venues. Stay tuned!
UK tour (with Seán McGowan)
FEBRUARY
07 Brighton, Hope & Ruin
08 Bristol, Louisiana
09 Manchester, Star & Garter
10 Birmingham, Sunflower Lounge
13 Leicester, Soundhouse
14 Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach
16 Oxford, Jericho Tavern
17 Guildford, Boiler Room
19 Norwich, Bermuda Bob’s Rum Shack & HiFi
20 Cambridge, Portland Arms
21 Swindon, Level 3
22 Leeds, Hyde Park Book Club
23 Newcastle, Underground
24 Glasgow, Hug & Pint
25 Edinburgh, Sneaky Pete’s
27 St Albans, The Horn
28 Nottingham, The Bodega
MARCH
1 Bedford, Esquires
2 London, Borderline
3 Bournemouth, Anvil
How's the year looking, plans-wise?
Our most important plan is to get a new record out. We've written hundreds of songs and we just want people to enjoy them. We've learned how to be a band now. That sounds stupid, but we've all lost our jobs, risked getting kicked out of uni, had to sell our car (in Aaron's case) and just generally given up everything to keep Brand New Friend alive. So we're planning for more of that and even less of the small social lives we have left. We're playing with Snow Patrol again at Ward Park too, so that'll be a nice day out for the family. A chance to thank them for all they sacrifice for us too.
Where can we hear more of your music?
Check out Soundcloud for new song demos and let us know what you like! If you like it we'll keep it, if you're not into it we'll chuck it.
What social media platforms can we find you on?
Twitter // Facebook // Instagram
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