OFF THE GRID WITH THE BACK PAGES

With a massive 9 gigs already in the bag for Glasgow‘s Off The Grid, this weekend brings two of the strongest line-ups yet. On Friday night, B12 Entertainment‘s month-long series hit the stages of both Sauchiehall Street’s The Garage Attic and the East End’s Drygate Brewery.

For the next stop in our Off The Grid interview series, we turn our attention to Drygate, which will host Pedalo, The Rants, Sidewalk and Glasgow Southside band The Back Pages. Ahead of the show, we caught up with The Back Pages to learn more about how the band came together, the ups and downs of gigging, and what to expect from the show on Friday.

To kick things off: for anyone new to The Back Pages, where did it all start, where are you from, and who’s in the room today?

The Back Pages, as a concept, started way back in early high school. Daniel and Thomas met each other in high school through their joint love for music and decided to make a band. Then, years later, in February 2024, they decided to make it happen. Jonny was introduced as a friend of Daniel’s, as we knew he shared the passion for music and was a drummer. Last (and definitely not least) was Kael, who was found through a mutual friend and became the final piece of the puzzle as our bassist. We’re all based around the southside of Glasgow and have gigged across the city centre in our two years of gigging so far.

You’re all still relatively young, but was there a specific moment where you stopped just jamming as mates and decided to turn this into a proper band?

We decided very early to get out there and start gigging. Once Kael had joined the band, we really tightened up and, not long after, played our first gig, which went really well. 

Playing live always comes with chaos. Have you had any proper disaster moments on stage yet?

We’ve had plenty of musical disasters: “the fire alarm” night at Room 2 (can guess that one) and for our upcoming gig our singer/rhythm guitarist, Daniel, broke his hand on holiday, meaning we’ve had a very last-minute setlist change. Although we definitely bring high energy and some chaos, last year we played a costume party gig where, for the last song, we played ‘One Step Beyond’ and had everyone rush the stage; it was one of our best live moments and was a completely unforgettable experience.

Your debut single ‘Thread’ dropped last year; does that track still represent where your sound is heading, and can we expect new music before the year is out?

‘Thread’ was a proud moment for us getting something out; reflecting back, we learned a lot on writing, recording and releasing. We have definitely changed with our newest originals, bringing a higher energy more developed sound. I don’t think it’ll be out before the years out as we’re trying to build a good repertoire of our own music, but you never know.

The Off The Grid bill at Drygate is shaping up to be one of the strongest of the festival. When you want to get the room moving, which track in your set do you pull out?

We’re very excited and bringing a great setlist. Due to Daniel breaking his hand, we’re reduced to one guitar, but he’ll be on keys, so we’ve got access to new sounds and new songs. Sadly, this means we can’t play our latest originals, but we’re bringing a strong, bouncy, lively and energetic set. As a band, we try to focus on bringing high energy to every song at every gig. We’ve got some covers that have really taken off: ‘One Step Beyond’, ‘Chelsea Dagger,‘ ‘Take Me Out’… and many more. Of course you’ll need to come along to see what we play at Drygate, but we’ve got some great high energy tunes.

A local music scene only works when bands actually back each other. What’s top-tier community etiquette in your eyes, and what gives you an instant “gig ick”?

As a band, we don’t like to take ourselves too seriously and always enjoy chatting to other people. Hearing about other bands’ experiences is always great; sharing stories of venues, different gigs, bands, successes and catastrophes is always great before the gig. 

Looking across the wider Off The Grid lineup, if you were buying a ticket as a fan to any other show, who are you heading to see?

Our good friends Haircut Overdose were playing on the 11th; we played one of our best gigs ever with HCOD and they always bring some great tunes. We’re very excited to see the other bands that’ll be playing at Drygate with us. We’ve not played with any of them before, so it’ll be great to meet new people and hear each band play. 

The Back Pages will play Drygate on Friday 18th September alongside The Rants, Pedalo and Sidewalk. Tickets are on sale now for a mere £12 (+ £1 booking fee) from B12 Entertainment.