Festival Coverage : HIPSVILLE - The Stags

MG) What inspired you to become The Stags and take on the world?

Spencer) Murdo Gloves, our bass player went to one of the first Wild Weekend festivals more that 12 years ago and came back inspired, with the idea of putting the vibe from that festival into a band. He was a frequent visitor (as was I) to a vinyl record shop in Wigan run by the guitarist in The Stags, Conway Castle. That love of vinyl was our second inspiration and was how we all connected and decided to form the band. Topsy Stag and Kenny Rocquette joined after auditioning and the rest is history.

MG) Can we expect to hear any new material in your set?

Spencer) We may demo one of our new numbers at Hipsville, as we are writing, rehearsing and recording various songs in the run up to the festival. Depends on whether they are finished or whether we can bear dropping one of our other established smashers to make space.

MG) Do you manage to attend festivals as fans or is it usually a case of playing and moving on, like a normal gig?

Spencer) We get enough of our kicks as festival fans just by being a part of the crazy festivals we play at. The organisers are great at matching us to the right crowds too. Thankfully, we get enough invites to satisfy our annual fun demands.

MG) You guys hail from Wigan, possibly better known for Northern Soul when it comes to music but is it a city with a more wide-ranging Sixties scene than people might currently credit it with?

Spencer) Wigan has always had a great music scene and the famous Wigan Casino and Northern Soul genre helped cement that culture in our town. The sixties scene here in Wigan is probably no bigger than that of other similar towns, but Wiganers are definitely motivated by our musical history, and The Stags nod musically to that sound and style.

MG) Are you playing a lot of festivals this year?

Spencer) We aren't yet booked for any more festivals this year (don't rule it out yet though), but we have our usual spread of 'event' appearances, the next being involved (not musically) in presenting Dirtquake 2 in June. I am so looking forward to driving a motorised pie again (see Dirtquake 1).

MG) What have you been listening to and/or reading recently when on the road?

Spencer) On the road, we listen to our influences - lot of sixties garage, library music and working man’s soul. We will read anything 70's entertainment related - just start at Robin Askwith and his contemporaries and you are inside our heads.

MG) Who else on the current scene would you suggest our readers check out?

Spencer) Check out everybody who slogs it out in the same scene as us, everyone has their place and will entertain. My organist roots though can personally recommend a brilliant library covers band from Japan called Les Cappuccino - They have brought back to performance life a highly respected but sometimes forgotten part of British music.

MG) Name one tune (or one each) that is guaranteed to get you on to the dancefloor.

Spencer)This organist will always get up and start dancing poorly when he hears 'I Don't Need No Doctor' by The Village Callers.

MG) Do you find that club DJs tend to play music from the original era rather than the work of new bands, and if so is that something you just have to live with? Do internet radio shows mean that this is less of an issue nowadays, in terms of people getting to know your work?

Spencer) Great questions - A lot of bands probably create a retro sound which, among many other reasons, allows them to fit in to the DJ sets that are regularly focused on showcasing rare and raucous 45's from the past. Internet radio is also superb for enabling our music to be heard literally worldwide and on demand. Of course the other side of it is that every obscure band that ever put a track out in the last 50 years can be included in those playlist options now, so ultimately, this level of rediscovery is making it much more varied than ever. Everyday we discover ace music that 10 years ago we wouldn't have ever had a chance to hear. That accessible variety is definitely a part of The Stags’ musical inspiration.

These answers have been endorsed, via Facebook, by Murdo Gloves.