James And The Cold Gun – Interview Q&A

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Hello hello! Alright lads how’s it going? Thank you ever so much for chatting with us - we really appreciate you taking the time out of your schedule! To start us off, would you mind introducing yourselves to our readers? Perhaps describing how you found each other, and what each of your roles are in the band?

In terms of the band name, I found myself introduced to a track I had previously never heard by esteemed (and recently very popular again) singer, songwriter, and all round witchy woman, Kate Bush. I was wondering what led you to take on the name “James and The Cold Gun”, was it the wild west references in the lyrics of Bush’s track, the classic guitar riff of its intro? Are you just massive Kate Bush fans? Or is it something totally and entirely different?

Let’s get into the music! Your first single “She Moves” was released back in 2019, and it is heavy, man! There’s a bit of exposition for sure, but ultimately listeners are launched into a world of crashing cymbals and gritty guitar from the get-go, and it absolutely lives up to the phrase “South Wales’ Loudest”. Firstly, I wondered if this was a self-prescribed review of your music, or if the neighbours had dubbed you as such when you were playing in Biss’ mam’s garage?

On the subject of these garage gigs, I had a little wander through your Bandcamp, and was totally stoked to find there are a couple of tracks there that don’t feature on Spotify! Such as “Alone Again” which was recorded live during lockdown, “Cheating on the Sun”, and “Two Day Wish” all from 2020. Now, the wonderful thing about this website as it lists the lyrics, and when listening to your tracks I was totally swept up in the beautiful noise you guys are generating, so being able to read the lyrics was fascinating… as these words are proper poetry. I found this most significantly in “Two Day Wish” where the energy of the guitar stands in stark contrast to the lethargy of the chorus lyrics “I’m on the floor / to waste away again” or the sixth verse “I haven’t left these sheets for days” – the veiled vocals really help drive this sense of hopelessness home. And with the context of when this song was written I reckon we can all relate to these words. Could you talk us through how this track came to be, and perhaps a little more generally about how you write lyrics? Like, is it a lengthy process of trial and error or is it more a burst of inspiration?

Something else that piqued my interest when scrolling through your Bandcamp was the common thread running through all your single covers… I’m a sucker for a theme. I was wondering, where do you guys find the inspiration for your album artwork, who, if anyone, puts them together for you? And are there any album/single covers (or visual artists) out there in the world that you’re particularly fond of?

April 29th of this year marks the release of your first album titled “False Start”, which while available online also has 500 copies available on green (green!) vinyl, and up for purchase on your Bandcamp. Exciting stuff, but quickly, before we get into the nitty gritty of this release, the cover layout was done by Alex Basovskiy (@alexbnyc on Instagram) who has also done work for some seriously heavy New York bands like “Only Sibling”, “Combust NYHC”, and “ Heroes”, the latter of which have a fantastic Instagram bio, (I would encourage a visit). What drew you to Basovskiy’s work, and how did you guys get in touch with each other?

The album itself begins with the track “Seven”, which has an absolute mind scrambler of an intro, which I unashamedly played on repeat while crafting this question, and is certainly the perfect way to kick off this collation of 5 super-fast and super-heavy tracks. How did you choose which tunes from your catalogue to include in this release? Was there any specific criteria that you wanted to hit or was it just what felt right?

The second to last track on this album is titled “It’s Mutual”, which not only had a play on Iggy Confidential, but much like the others on this collection it comes complete with its own music video. And as someone who spent many of their Sundays as a teenager watching Kerrang, and MTV Rocks, I have a total soft spot for music videos, and the one for “It’s Mutual” took me back! It was directed by Harry Steel (@hauntedmattress) who also directed the video for “Seven”. How did you guys get in touch and come up with the concept for this one?

I’ll try not to give too much away as I want people to go watch this (it’s on Youtube along with the others!), but I was curious about the couple of CDs at the beginning, Hot Fuss, RHCP Greatest Hits, Songs for the Deaf, a solid collection, and I wondered what lead you to choose these in particular for this track?

Overall, how do you find the process of creating videos, do you have one so far you feel really showcases you energy as a band? And is it something you guys enjoy and will do more of in the future? (Also, as a side note, I have to ask because it’s bugging me, is the music video for “Cheating On The Sun” filmed down in Penarth?)

How are you feeling so far about the release of the album?

As I was having a deep dive into your Spotify, I noticed not only do you have an incredibly solid bio, but you’ve also created some super cool playlists. Conveniently for anyone who was wondering what inspired you guys, you have one titled “ Cold Gun Influences” which is this stunning balance between aggressively moody tracks like mewithoutyou’s “Red Cow” and “Would?” by Alice in Chains, massively energetic tracks like The Hives’ “Hate to Say I Told You So”, and classic punk tunes like The Clash’s “Stay Free”. I was totally enamoured by this little collection of old favourite and new staples, and was wondering what draws you to the tracks on this playlist? What is about this variety of hefty genres that intrigues and inspires you so?

Speaking of The Clash, I was reading your interview with Underground, and as someone who’s long loved creepers, I have to ask whether you got a sneaky discount on some shoes?

In the interview, I noted that you didn’t necessarily identify your music as punk in genre, but the ethos of DIY that runs through the scene is something you guys have embraced wholeheartedly, such as doing shows at grassroots welsh venues in support of the Music Venue Trust! Which places are on the list for this little tour? And furthermore, I was wondering if you could tell us a little about how you guys have been embracing the Joe Strummer quote “without people, you’re nothing” that you cited in this Underground interview?

Another band that features on your influences playlist is Pearl Jam, with their song “Corduroy” from the 1995 live in Seattle album, and recently you guys have signed to Loosegroove Records, which happens to be owned by Pearl Jam’s own Steve Gossard! How does it feel to be signed to Loosegroove, and what are you guys hoping to achieve in this new chapter?

Regarding Pearl Jam, I mentioned earlier you guys played on the bill with them at BST in Hyde Park this year alongside another Loosegroove band, Brighton based Tigercub! The line up in general was mad though, featuring Pixies, The Murder Capital, welsh icons The Stereophonics, and Johnny Marr to name a few, how did you find the experience overall? Do you remember much of it or was it a totally wild and wonderful adrenaline fuelled blur? And finally, did you get any down time to chat to other bands playing or catch any of their sets?

With regards to live music I have one more slightly left field question, it’s about Hobos in Bridgend. You guys mentioned in an interview that the promoter who works there used to bring in bands over from the States, and funnily enough I remember my sister going along a couple of years ago and chatting with a band from Canada who were playing, but I cannot for the life of me remember who they were! So I was wondering, what your favourite gig you saw there was, and who was the most unexpected band you got to see in Bridgend?

Since starting James and The Cold Gun a couple years back, how do you guys feel, if at all, that you’ve changed or progressed? Do you have any idea what the future will bring?

I want to ask how you found your time over the blank year that was 2020. It seems from the number of singles you generated it was pretty productive, but in your experience - how did you find being creative without being able to perform/tour/record in a conventional manner?

Alright I think those are all the questions I have for you guys, they were pretty chunky paragraphs this time round so many thank yous again for answering them! Is there anything I’ve missed you would like to mention here? If not, it is the perfect opportunity to shamelessly plug any upcoming gigs, releases, merch, or general things you’re excited about in life!

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