Tall Ships are a band who after blowing the heads off music fans in Cornwall, have been snapped up by Big Scary Monsters and have gone from strength to strength since. I caught up with them to dish the dirt on the new EP and all the touring they’ve been doing.

Hello guys, firstly could you introduce yourself and explain
a little about who Tall Ships are and how they came to be?

We are 3 brothers who met at university down in Falmouth and bonded
over our shared love of Cornish pasties and Craig David. We started to
play a bit in this tiny room in Rics house, busting out these pompous
jams for a giggle. Our mate Seany was putting Tubelord on at the University bar and asked if we were up for supporting them to which we said yeah.
So within 2 weeks we kind of had to reel in our extended silly
instrumental ditties into proper songs. Then we played them. And to
our surprise people actually enjoyed the songs as did we performing
them. After that we wanted to play again, and again and again.

You spent a lot of time in Falmouth, gigging around Cornwall, do
you feel your experience within Cornwall has impacted the way you
write, if so, how?

It definitely had a real big impact on how we kind of grew as a band.
Every gig we played was in front of our friends and just loads of fun,
which gave us the chance to figure out what we wanted to do with
it. Falmouth itself is real isolated and full of extremely talented
artists, writers, illustrators, designers and to exist within that
creative bubble was real great. Cornwall as a place is just
completely unlike anywhere else. The attitudes of the people and
general way of life is just so much more friendly, accepting and
relaxed which definitely fed into our music. Although, the 6 hour
drive to play a gig (full backline in a toyota corolla) anywhere else
was a bit of a ball ache.


Big Scary Monsters seemed to take hold of you guys quite
quickly, how important do you feel they have been to your progression
in the industry?

Kev Douche is an absolute legend. One of the nicest guys you'll ever
meet. BSM has released some real amazing stuff before like Tubelord,
Pulled Apart By Horses etc , so it was lovely to have him to release the
first EP. Alongside BSM it was also co-released by the beautiful Simon
Morley AKA Blood and Biscuits whom release Three Trapped Tigers. So
it was great to have two people behind us. As for our 'progression'
within the industry, it meant that we instantly had people who would
listen to the EP purely because it came through these two labels. This
exposure to a new audience was great as we hadn't played many gigs so
it got the name out a bit. It also meant we could play more gigs which
is what we love doing.


You've played with some great bands, including one of my personal
faves Minus The Bear, how has the experience been, have these bands
shaped the music on your new EP in anyway?

Yeah we have been incredibly lucky to play with bands that we have such
as Tubelord, Dananananakroyd, 65DOS, though the Minus The Bear shows
were unlike anything we had ever done before. To be watching a band
that you just absolutely love from the side of stage after having just
played yourself was incredibly humbling and surreal. The crowds were
stupidly big too which was something we had never experienced before.
It definitely made us realise that 'shit this is actually happening'
and our schoolboy fantasies of being in a 'proper' band were starting
to be realised.
With regards to shaping the new EP, Tubelord have
definitely influenced us a great deal. We have played so many shows
with them and they have such interesting ideas musically that the
various jams and discussions we have had whilst on tour definitely
have had an effect. Jamie Field who plays keyboard for them also
recorded and produced the EP so he had a massive effect on the whole
thing.


Your new EP 'There is Nothing But Chemistry Here' contains more
vocally than your previous self-titled effort. Was there a conscious
effort in adding the vocals or did it occur naturally and how do you
feel this has impacted the songs on 'There Is Nothing But Chemistry
Here'?

Vocals were always a funny one for us. When we started we agreed that
we wouldn't sing at all on any of our songs but that just changed. The
addition of more vocals was very much a natural progression for us.
Words are a much more instant way of connecting with an audience and
allow us to express ideas more directly than through just pure sounds.
They also allow for more involvement and exchange with an audience in
a live setting which is really important for us. We want everybody who
comes to our gigs to feel a part of the whole thing rather than just a
spectator and words are the easiest way to connect. But it was also
definitely a confidence thing too. Before, we were nervous and
quite self-conscious when it came to singing but after playing so many
shows and the response to the vocals on the first EP, we just
grew some balls and did it.

With regards to impacting the songs on T.I.N.B.C.H, it definitely ties
them together quite well which is something we felt the first EP didn’t
quite have. They feel like songs which belong together both
thematically and musically; a body of songs which all explore a
similar concept and are vehicles to explore the notions behind the
statement 'There Is Nothing But Chemistry Here'.


You have a tour planned to coincide with the release of the new EP
which sees you play alongside the likes of Tubelord, and also dates in
Europe with 65daysofstatic, how do you prepare for gigs now that they
are getting bigger and what are you most looking forward to in your
tour cycle?

Our preparation is always much the same really. We still very much
feel like we are just inflicting our bedroom hobby upon an audience so
we aim to go out and have some fun and hope that everybody else
watching will to. This rings true in front of 10 people or 1000
really. We are unbelievably excited to be going to Europe with
65daysofstatic. It was one of the things we have dreamed about doing
as a band. To visit a whole host of places we've never been too, get
travel costs covered, play music we enjoy in front of new people we can
hopefully meet, it’s just the best.



After the tour and release of the new EP, what does the future of
Tall Ships consist of?

Well definitely more and more shows. We’re planning a headline tour for
December which is both exciting and scary. We won’t be able to suck off
the popularity of the headline band like the leeches we are but rather
will have to (hopefully) play to people who actually have come to see
us... Apart from that well, we’re going to do a cheeky single sometime soon
and then we shall have to face up to the rather worrying notion of
producing a collection of songs which is longer than 18 minutes.....

Tall Ships second EP ‘There Is Nothing But Chemistry Here’ will be released on October 24th through Big Scary Monsters and Blood And Biscuits.

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