I caught up with Tina and Simon from Oh! Gunquit before they embark on their mini-tour of Scotland this weekend...

DS: You’ve been playing together for around 5 years now, with a couple of singles and your first album Eat Yuppies And Dance released in March this year. How did you feel about the wide positive reaction you’ve received to the album, and the radio play?

Well we're very happy that people are getting vibes from it. We feel sometimes we're in this funny place where we're too 'retro' for some and not 'retro' enough for others, which I guess we don't really mind at all...ha-ha. And it's always great to hear your music on the radio!!

DS: I’ve read about how you guys formed the band (being neighbours and visiting the same vinyl-only club in London), but can you tell me what your biggest musical influences are; and what was it that you had in common that really made you click and decide to go for it?

Simon: We started listening to lots more early '60s gritty r'n'b, girl groups, garage-punk, early surf instrumental bands, exotica & rockabilly records. I think the one idea was to really delve deeper into the older music but not try and sound like any one genre and lyrically make it relevant to today and also our sense of fun & imagination.

Tina: I used to work at this pub called The Constitution up in Camden and quickly came across a few people who were into good music including the Nitty Gritty crew (who still run a monthly night there) and a London-BlackCab Driver named Bob who I rented a room from. He was an avid Soul, Ska, R'n'B, collector and would also buy a lot of the ACE records reissue compilations. I remember that he had that album we instantly loved called Intoxica with lots of great 'strange & sleazy instrumental sounds', I think this was one of the reasons for deciding to get a saxophone in the band.

Simon: We wouldn't say we had any one specific single musical influence when we started; it was more of a mix of stuff that we were getting more and more into at the time and wanted to do a bastardised version of. As soon as we wrote our first song just for some drunken fun it clicked very naturally, there was no pressure to 'be a group' it was purely just for the buzz of playing without any plan. It also worked well in a way I think that Tina hadn't been in a band before, so she didn't have preconceived ideas about writing songs, singing, and performing, just pure gut instinct and good taste!

DS: Were either of you in bands previously?

Tina: I used to help run a warehouse venue in Denver US with some friends and put on touring punk bands, but my only other experience is playing trumpet in a marching band!

Simon: I had played previously in a sort of post-punk group who were into The Fall, Talking Heads, Liquid Liquid, Devo, etc. and also with Tina previously being a Crass-loving 'Crusty Punk-Rocker' we brought a little of these things into it too I guess...

DS: ..and have you met any of your musical heroes?

We've been lucky enough to meet Dick Dale, Wanda Jackson, Wayne Kramer, Penny Rimbaud, Viv Albertine, Ari Up, Davy Graham, Ray Davies, Mick Jones, Sky Saxon, Terry Hall and of course Adam Ant!

DS: Cool. What do you like the most about performing live, and what inspires you to keep playing?

The buzz of playing live is always addictive and I think that's where we really thrive best. It's a bit like Sex, eating your favourite food, and getting high all at the same time. To get a room to freak-out, howl, and get lost in some noise with us is fantastic fun. Life can be difficult, stressful, and full of pain and bullshit so you need to get your (high?) kicks when you can and when we all jump on a little weird juiced-up-octane trip together for a while it makes all the other crap you have to put up with bearable.

DS: The band are currently signed to infamous garage-punk rock n roll label Dirty Water Records, and have been embraced by that scene in general; playing the likes of Weirdsville, Hipsville, and the upcoming gig at the Franklin Rock ‘n’ Roll Club in Edinburgh. How does that feel; were any of you part of that scene previously?

It feels like a big kinda community or a large dysfunctional B-movie family which is great! It really becomes apparent when you play more of these events and nights etc. Other bands/promoters in that scene really help each other out and we have made some good friends from hanging out with all the assorted reprobates. We both went to the Dirty Water Club before the band started although not regulars and would cross over at certain specific gigs and nights. We briefly did a club at The Lock Tavern booking bands from that scene and we just got more & more immersed in the joy of it.

DS: What is next for the band?

We've just recorded 4 new tracks with Jim Diamond which was a treat to do and we hope to put out soon. We're putting out a small release in the US, a new EP, & working on the next album. We're also looking to do a new video this month and playing more shows outside London with Spain and France in the calendar for next year so far....and always up for more, because as they say 'you're a long time dead!'...

Thank you so much to Tina and Simon for taking some time out to chat with us. There is a lot to look forward to!

You can catch Oh! Gunquit at The Franklin Rock n Roll Club in Edinburgh at 8pm on Friday 13th (wooooooo!!) November, only £6.00 on the door - you'd be mad to miss it, but if you do, they are playing for free! at McChuill's in Glasgow, 8pm on Saturday 14th November. Support for both shows is provided by The Black Needles, psychotic rock n roll from Sao Paulo, our recent interview with whom can be found here.

But follow it it did. On balance it probably actually even surpassed it, a feat in no way thought possible a mere 24 hours before.

Newcastle’s Ferriday Fireballs started us off tonight with their stripped back and primitive (lap steel guitar aside) rock ‘n’ roll. Clear winners in the least amount of drumkit stakes they pounded their way through recent single ‘Your Love Must Be Destroyed’ and plenty of other original material along with The Damned’s ‘I Feel Alright’ and Bo Diddley’s ‘Who Do You Love?’, a tune fast becoming ubiquitous this weekend. Well received by those sensible enough to be in a the start of the night theirs was a pithy reminder of the basics required to whip up a crowd.

Next up was an act that, for a few of us, were practically a litmus test of the whole event. Having seen The Baron Four just a couple of months ago at Cosmic Trip and been pretty underwhelmed (not that they were too pleased with the set up themselves) their performance here had a lot riding on it. What followed was like the difference between black and white. In intimate surroundings and with practically perfect sound to boot they were little short of wonderful. On record their commitment to authenticity clearly belies the fact that they can thrash it out and leave a crowd breathless when playing live.

Described later by one festival goer as almost a “religious experience” their interpretation of Swingin’ Blue Jeans numbers as well as their own recent single on State Records and many more originals, Mole being a highly entertaining drummer to watch and Mike Whittaker getting in amongst the audience elevated this to one of the finest performances I’ve seen at home or abroad in the last few years. Incendiary is probably the best way to sum it up in a single word.

Following this was always going to be difficult but Hipbone Slim & The Kneetremblers, providing Bruce Brand with his third stint of the weekend behind the drums, were on hand to give it as good a try as possible. Opting for the jumping on the table method Sir Bald Diddley managed to create some excitement at the risk of personal injury (it wasn’t a large table) and as with the opening night it was good to see an upright bass being put to good use. They inspired plenty of dancing and upcoming single ‘You Ain’t Got A Leg To Stand On’ shows they’re not slacking off in terms of new product.

The penultimate act tonight were what passes for a supergroup in the confines of the UK garage scene, featuring as it does a Thane, a Masonic & a Milkshake. The Wildebeests combine that wealth of experience and musical knowledge into a package that sees them time and again play as both the utmost covers band and one with at least as many classic originals as they’ve been part of in their day jobs. At times there’s almost telepathy going on as they joke, heckle each other and hammer their way through a set that proves, by dint of the lateness of the hour, too short but which nevertheless once more boiled the audience to a frenzy.

A state that was further improved upon by closing act The Shook Ups! Playing like men running out of time the Wigan sextet invaded the crowd, surfed atop it, tried to kiss it, had more exits than your average shopping centre and generally entertained with a level of theatricality seen nowhere else over the previous two days. Larger than life and with a comic book-like aura provided by their all black attire & singer Dan Coyote's exuberant persona they were definitely the right band in the right place tonight. A highlight at Hipsville in 2013, in the enclosed atmosphere of the Franklin they were like a controlled detonation from 1967 only now being felt in its entirety. “Mental” was the thought that kept occurring as they sweated and pounded to a close (helped in no small measure by some of Cornwall’s finest fortified alcoholic export) and they could no doubt have gone on for a few numbers more had the bar not had to shut. Amazing stuff and a glorious finale to an exceptional event. 

Angus, Calvin, Colin & the rest of the team behind putting the festival on can all feel justifiably pleased with themselves as it did exactly what it said on the tin. A thoroughly entertaining few nights of top class music and performances from some of the best acts of their kind that the UK has to offer. The future is bright, the future is Franklin.