EXCLUSIVE QUICK FIRE INTERVIEW | ON THE ROAD WITH STONE

Before taking to the stage for the biggest headline show outside their hometown of Liverpool, Holly caught up with STONE at their Manchester leg of their UK tour to grab an insight into what is going on with with the band at the moment.

Holly: ‘Academy 2, a pretty big Manchester venue for a band from Liverpool. How excited are you to be playing it tonight?’

Fin: ‘I’ve actually dreamed of selling this venue out for a long time. I used to watch like No Hat Ashes play here and like 5 or 6 years ago I was like I want to sell this venue out one day.’

Elliot: ‘It’s just really nice to get a sell-out in Manchester, especially because they get behind the bands more than anyone.’

Fin: ‘I think just it being a 1000 cap venue and a fucking sell-out in Manchester is great.’

Holly: ‘I’ve seen you now support the likes of The Blinders at Albert Hall and Inhaler at Academy 1 now, how important is it to finally have your own headline here of this size?’

Fin: ‘It’s amazing. We haven’t had our own headline in Manchester for about 2 years. It’s the biggest headline show we’ve done outside Liverpool – so it’s like huge for us – a fucking big step up for us too.’

Elliot: ‘It’s really cool though – like the band culture in this city, so many references to Factory Records and like The Smiths.’

Fin: ‘I do love Manchester. You get behind the bands and I take my hat off to you.’

Holly: ‘Shall we talk about Punkadonk?’

Elliot: ‘Yeah, I mean it was so cool to broaden the pallet with both Punkadonk 1 and 2. I think Punkadonk 1 had a lot of left-turns with like the D&B and grime influences, but then I think its dead funny that If You Wanna is more on the poppy side – which is sort of our own version of a left-turn in a way. It’s just really cool that we’ve got places to pivot to creatively whilst also keeping them core Stone tenants alive. Keeping it Scouse.’

Holly: ‘How are you finding it being back on the road?’

Fin: ‘Haha fucking difficult, I’m fucking tired. I think last night I didn’t get to bed until like 3am and then woke up at like 7 today because I was so excited for this. You know, I’ve barley slept.’

Elliot: ‘I think I’m comfortably at the point where when I get home for like more than 2 weeks, I think I’m weirdly at my best on tour – so I’m buzzing to be back.’

Holly: ‘Is it important for you as a band to be on tour spending time together like this?’

Fin: ‘We spend time together constantly, we’ve been playing together for 9 years haha.’

Elliot: ‘Yeah but you learn a lot about each other, just like being in a tin can for 8 hours a day.’

Fin: ‘We haven’t been on the road that much though, I’ve done it mostly by train. Glasgow is the only journey I think I’ve done with everyone as a band.’

Holly: ‘Where can you see yourselves in 5 years?’

Fin: ‘Wherever the tide takes us I think. But you know, I can see us with maybe 3 albums under our belt, a nice little catalogue you know. I think I’m kind of done with expectations of myself – I’m just really enjoying what we’re doing. Just making good music, that’s the plan for me. It’s always music first.’

Elliot: ‘Yeah I think a cool catalogue of work, and hopefully a lot more guitars haha.’

Holly: ‘Who can you see yourself potentially on a tour with?’

Elliot: ‘Hopefully Shame 100%, they’re really nice lads and the music is sick.’

Holly: ‘Who would get more crowd surfs though, Charlie Steen or Fin?’

Elliot: ‘I think a tour with Shame is worth it for that alone haha, just to see who could crowd surf more.’

Fin: ‘You should’ve seen them at that gig at Victorious Festival. We were on before them and I crowd surfed to their show and they just didn’t put me down for about 5 minutes. So I flipped Charlie Steen off as a joke, it was good fun.’

Holly: ‘Who are the ones influencing you the most at the moment?’

Fin: ‘I’m influenced by everyone, I’m influenced by everything. Especially Nas the American rapper. A lot of hiphop – very Ice Cubey. It’s not very rock but.’

Elliot: ‘In the last two weeks we met this band in Vermont called Thus Love – I’ve been rinsing them, so like right now that’s what’s getting me.’

Holly: ‘Debut album – anything to say?’

Fin: ‘It’s coming, its coming hahaha. We’ve got some stuff ready for 2024 so you’ll see, you’ll see.’    

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