We're No Heroes Interview

We’re No Heroes formed in Summer 2009 and are based in Cardiff. After establishing themselves in their local music scene, they recorded their debut EP ‘Crossing Over’ which was released for free in February 2010. Their second EP is due to be released later this year. The band consists of Tom Collins, Luke Llewellyn and Michael ‘Dewey’ Owen.

Thanks for taking the time to do this interview, how are you?

Luke: Very well thank you! Its an exciting time for the band at the moment but the real question is how are you?

I'm great thanks! From what I understand the band formed in Chicago, how did that come about?

Dewey: Luke used to live there for a while, he's been back and forth between the US and UK so we went to visit.

Luke: We booked this session in a really cool studio where all these famous artists had recorded. It was in the middle of a fish market and behind a big thick steel down with a peep hole in what looked like a mobster hideout....good times!

Luke, it states on your website that the name We're No Heroes came to you in a dream. Care to give us some information as to what happened in that dream?

Luke: Well...lol. You know when you have one of those dreams of falling? well I was falling off a rather tall building, in fact it was some sky scraper in Chicago called the John Hancock a very tall building. They say if you hit the floor you die in your sleep, weirdly I hit the floor and whilst half asleep woke with a gargantuan headache and wrote 'we're no heroes' down on paper and went back to sleep. Found the paper days later and thought it would be a cool name! Haha!

That sounds awesome! Before the We're No Heroes came to you, what potential band names did you consider?

Tom: We never really brainstormed any ideas, we kind of fell in to WNH, it fit what we wanted to represent in our music.

Dewey: Can't remember any potential names, if we had to rename ourselves I think it would be something one worded...

Luke: Probably something almost like 'Manfeelings' all in one word.

The band has been together since the summer of 2009, over this time what has been the most exciting thing to happen to you in your music careers?

Dewey: Playing with some amazing bands in 2010 and 2011, being signed up with AYOR but mostly being able to record our second EP with Jordan Andrews @ Ripefruit Recordings. He is a very talented producer and musician.

Which artists would you say influence your particular sound?

Tom: We all like different stuff but agree on most stuff. I like a lot of experimental music, Dewey is in the indie crowd and Luke is a total Dance and Hip Hop head...but we all agree on certain things.

Luke: We like to let you listen to it and see if you can pick out where we got our influences from, that's the beauty of music, means different things to different ears.

What are your intentions touring wise? Do you plan to leave Wales and do a UK tour in the foreseeable future?

Dewey: A UK tour would be amazing, depending on how well this EP does will factor if we do a tour with it. But there will be a tour whether it be with this EP or the next.

Your second EP is due to be released later this year, can you confirm a set date of release and the name of the EP for those who don't know?

Tom: our release is on 15th june 2011 all over the net with a limited edition physical download, its going to be titled 'Quiet Colours', there's more details on our website about it all. If you in Cardiff on that day we're doing a show @ Gwdihw Bar so come down.

How does this upcoming EP compare to 'Crossing Over'?

Dewey: It's quite literally 100 times better, for production and songs.

Luke: Yeh, we worked really hard on making sure the songs felt 100% before recording them, but we have a habit of changing stuff all the time. We played them live for almost a year trying to find the best way for them to sound.

Who is mainly responsible for writing the lyrics and the accompanying music or is it a joint effort?

Dewey: I would have to say that the EP as a whole is a collective effort, each song may have more input by one person be it lyrics or melody but the whole thing balances out nicely.

Luke: I agree, that's one of the big differences between our debut EP and 'Quiet Colours'. Before we went away, wrote our parts and made a song. This time its more of a family thing, we won't finish a song until all 3 of us are 100% happy with it.

You're based in Cardiff and have managed to established yourself in the local music scene. What's the best and the worst thing about being a musician in Cardiff?

Dewey: The best thing is that there is such a variety of bands and styles in Cardiff, it's so diverse. But this can sometimes work against you if you're a new band on the scene, you can be put in with bands that are too different to you, as we were at first.

Tom: I'd say that a good thing about Cardiff is that a lot of people are open and willing to give new music a chance.

Luke: I agree, Cardiff is becoming a centre of Art and Music in the UK and it's great, it's all new and fresh and as a city I think we're starting to have a distinguished recognisable element that makes us different from the rest of the UK, some describe it as more of a raw sound.

If you had the opportunity to collaborate with any artist, who would it be?

WNH: Jamie Fox as Ray Charles of course!

How would you describe the other members of the band to people who do not know them personally?

Dewey: Luke is very passionate about what we do, also very humble. Tom is always late, querky sense of humour. But generally all nice lads!

Luke: And Dewey is too modest to say how great he is! Very caring, makes sure we're always on track and doing what we need to do, Dewey's the glue in the band! Haha!

Where do you see We're No Heroes in five years time? How do you plan to accomplish this?

Luke: I see us on everyones ipod hopefully!

Dewey: Doing what we love: Big tours, big festivals, making music and doing gigs that people enjoy, eventually it will pay off!

Tom: A full studio album after making as many EP's as it takes to get there.

Follow We're No Heroes on twitter: @werenoheroes
To find out more about We're No Heroes visit http://www.werenoheroes.com