Why 3 is the ‘perfect’ number!
ROB FIDDAMAN TALKS TO CALLUM CARTWRIGHT OF PUNK/ALT ROCK TRIO, THE INTERVENTION, ABOUT THEIR NEW EP AND UPCOMING GIGS... AND FINDS OUT HOW THE BAND GOT THEIR NAME
■ So who’s in the band and what do they play?
Callum Cartwright on the bass with Nathan Williams on the drums and Conor Smith on guitar with vocals.
■ Where are you all from?
We are all born and bred in lovely Stoke-on-trent.
■ When did you form as a band?
Originally formed in 2019 by Conor and Nath, then Cal was introduced as the bass player during lockdown.
■ How did you come up with the name The Intervention?
When Conor was in high school, him and the bass player at the time were struggling during their GCSES and had to go to ‘intervention classes’ and he joked about it with his dad saying that they should name the band The Intervention. It had a ring to it so it ended up sticking.
■ Who would you say the biggest musical influence in your life is?
Dave Grohl for sure. He is such a musical genius with such charisma and energy.
■ Describe your music in four words…
There are a few ways to describe our music, going from emotional and angry; to fast and energetic.
■ What style is your music genre wise?
Our music genre would definitely fall into the more punk/alt rock type of sound.
■ Who is the songwriter?
Conor will write the bulk of the lyrics and a few riffs then he will bring them into band practice every Friday and we will work around it, add our own individual twists to it and just see what works best.
Nathan comes up with his own beat to go behind the riffs and Cal will normally play the same notes as Conor but when it comes to breakdowns towards the end of a few songs he likes to add a few octaves on the bass to spice it up a little.
■ What kind of things do you write about in your music?
A lot of the songs we have made are about witnessed break-ups or events seen in movies but recently Conor has brought the enlightenment aspect of getting out of a bad relationship and friendships.
■ Where do you record / rehearse?
We recorded the latest EP at Sun Street Records just on the outskirts of Hanley. This was with the tech-wiz Mark Eyden. Then every Friday we will head to Riff Factory for our practice sessions. Every second spend at the locations is enjoyed.
How many singles have you released to date?
■
In total on all platforms we have nine songs out. The latest EP being Chapter 1 containing four songs. We have Carbon Copy as a single then the Cyclone EP which was released a couple of years ago, also containing four songs.
■ You’ve just released an EP, does this show you moving in a new direction or does it still have your stand out sound?
We have tried to be different with every song in this EP so that not one of them sound the same as another. They all have a similar vibe about them but they are all unique in themselves as well. Hence why we called the new EP Chapter 1 because everything we have created so far has been leading up to this point and we have all taken it as a learning process to produce the best music we can.
■ What song would you say your most proud of and why?
For us, it’s definitely got to be You. The reason being, it’s the song we struggled with the most out of the bunch as it was rewritten three times over the course of a year. It took Conor to just sit down and force himself to find the perfect chords and melody to fit and as soon as that was done, the lyrics came naturally.
■ When and where can we see you play?
The next show we will be playing is at Captains Bar in Hanley, supporting some of our best mates – Smithpools – for their first headline spot. Hopefully sometime soon we will be playing in Manchester again.
■ Anyone you’d dream of working with in a studio?
Again, we would love to be able to make a song with Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters, the man is a genius, not just lyrically but melodically.
■ If you could have anyone in the world join the band who would it be and why?
Genuinely, nobody else. We are so happy with the sound and dynamics of things right now that we think it’s perfect.
■ Who would you absolutely love to follow you on Instagram?
Flea from Red Hot Chilli Peppers just because his energy and technique when holding the bass guitar is intimate and he is loved by many. So to be followed by him would be an honour.