TRASH

‘It’s teenage pop,’ says TRASH frontman Daniel Longmore. ‘That’s what we’re calling it.’ And if you’re wondering just what that sounds like, dear reader, then imagine four adolescents peddling a peppy, reverb-soaked sound that inspires summery imaginings of afternoons spent dipping toes at Chatsworth over a few tinnies.
Got it?
Grand.

So, nestled in rather festive fashion inside a public house snug, the lads from Chesterfield – Daniel, Evan, Tom and Brad – settled down for an interview after spending the preceding couple of hours locked away in Tufty’s studio recording December’s Exposed Session.

How was that? Sweaty?
Brad: It was very warm, but good still.
Tom: Pretty tiring.
Dan: We didn’t get in ‘til three last night.

Oh yeah, you supported the Ordinary Boys. How did that go?
Dan: It was a bit strange. There were quite a few older ladies there that I think turned out for Preston. We enjoyed it though.
Tom: The drummer for The Cribs bought one of our EPs, which was nice.

Maybe the unusual merch stand [an empty pizza box with CDs inside] swayed him?
Dan: Yep, I bought a 12-inch margherita before the gig, which as well as being tasty, provided somewhere to store our merch.

Genius. How was Preston? Any words of advice?
Tom: He was actually really nice. Surprisingly pleasant.

You know when people say: ‘Don’t meet your heroes, ‘cos they might be bellends’? Maybe it works the other way?
Brad: And the bellends turn out to be sound? Maybe that’s it.
Dan: At the end of the night he was trying to get directions for his hotel. I think he ended up walking off with a satnav in his hand, completely lost and pissed up.

So, going back to the session today, you originally had a Christmas cover lined up. What happened there?
Dan: It was going to be a song by Tim Wheeler and Emmy the Great – ‘Christmas Day (I Wish I Was Surfing)’.
Tom: I think we’ll still end up covering it at some point, just for a laugh.
Dan: The problem was I didn’t really know the lyrics.
Ev: Which is one of the main things to get your head around if you’re covering a song.

The big question: What’s your favourite Christmas song?
Ev: Simply Having a Wonderful Christmastime.
Tom: Fairytale of New York.
Dan: Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.
Brad: We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

All solid choices. Fair play.
Dan: Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree just makes me feel so good; the woman has such an attractive voice. I bet she’s really nice.

But if TRASH were to write a Christmas song, what would it be called?
Tom: Probably something like, ‘Christmas (I Wanna Be at Maccies)’. We love brackets – and Maccies.
Dan: Something food-related. If I wrote one it’d be called ‘Christmas (There’s Not Enough Stuffing)’. Stuffing is literally my favourite food – it’s SO good.

How has 2015 been for the band? Signing to Clue Records must have been a highlight.
Dan: Yeah, signing to Clue Records was a massive highlight for us as they’ve got some great bands on the label. We played live with AllUsOnDrugs before, which was huge because we’re all big fans, and now, a year later, we’re sharing a label. It’s a bit strange really.
Tom: And playing YNot Festival and Tramlines was awesome, so it’s been a good year overall.

Prior to this interview, I spoke to a few people on the Sheffield music scene who are familiar with you, and one word kept cropping up. Do you want to guess what it was?
Tom: Shit?
Ev: Is it queef? We say that a lot.
Dan: Slacker? Surf? Knobs?

Nope. It’s ‘cheeky’.
Tom: Yeah, we get ‘cheeky chappies’ a lot. I guess it’s better than being called slackers – or shit.
Dan: I think people like that we have a bit of personality and don’t take things too seriously. We mess around a lot on social media and have a laugh. We don’t like getting all formal and boring with people.

You’ve played alongside some good bands over the last few months: JAWS, Ratboy, Nai Harvest and, (more randomly), CAST.
Tom: Yeah, CAST was a bit of a random one, but we just thought, ‘Oh, this will be a laugh.’
Dan: I think you’ve just got to take opportunities to get out there and play live, even it is a bit random. There were a lot of people in that room, and a lot of people with nice things to say at the end. You don’t want to overthink it or take it too seriously.

Which naturally leads me to ask, what’s your dream live collaboration?
Tom: I think, for all of us, it would be R Kelly. We’d definitely be up for him coming in on one of our tracks.
Ev: But is R Kelly cheeky enough for us? That’s the question.
Dan: Oh, he is. We’ll have him coming in with a few bars. I’ve already emailed him.

Complete this sentence: ‘All TRASH want for Christmas is…?’
Dan: Maccies. *Rest of band nod in agreement*

I’m sensing a band love for McDonald’s here?
Tom: It’s because we are literally always eating it. I get vouchers from college. in fact, here you go… *pulls out £1.99 Big Mac voucher and hands it over* You can have that.
Dan: We do eat a stupid amount. Evan’s not bad because he’s veggie.
Ev: The band will end the day these three drop dead from McDonald’s overdose.
Tom: Yeah, if we ever do get famous we won’t do drugs; just Maccies.
Dan: Snorting burger sauce.

Getting back to music, who’s been your band of the year for 2015?
Dan: It’s difficult when you’re put on the spot. I can see Evan already having a nervous breakdown ‘cos he loves music too much. Erm, based on their latest album, I’d probably go for FIDLAR.
Tom: Spector. For me, Moth Boys is the album of the year; the lyrics are incredible.
Dan: Yeah, Fred’s an absolute genius.
Brad: I’m going for Foals. Love their new album.
Ev: There’s a band from Newcastle called Plaza, they’re mates of ours and they’ve got cool, chimey guitars. I’ll go for them.

What about plans to follow up the EP with more releases?
Tom: Over Christmas we’ll be having a bit of a break from shows to work on more music.
Dan: We’ve got stuff recorded, and there will be a single release at some point. Oh, and we’ve got a video for our track, ‘Sad Boys (All I Wanna Do)’, that should be released by the time this interview goes out.

How about New Year’s resolutions?
Brad: Probably less Maccies.
Tom: In all seriousness, that’s not a bad shout.
Brad: We don’t want to become a ‘fat band’, like Bowling For Soup or something.
Dan: I need to stop watching so much indecent material on the internet.
Ev: Maybe I’ll start a family.

I think that’s a nice place to leave it.

Words: @JosephFood
Pics: Marc Barker