A Interview with:

I dunno if there's much more I can say about The Reverends that I haven't said before, their New Addicted album gets played at least once a day in the wolf den. It's that sort of album, totally infectious; a short sharp shock to the system of street Punk'n'Roll, songs from the heart that speak a truth. These guys are the real deal, and they mean it maaan! Wanting to know a bit more about what made The Reverends tick as a band, it was time to ask a few questions. Here's what they had to say.

Have you played in bands before?

Me (Phil) & Mick have been in various bands together over the last 20 odd years but none of them really did much. Frank was in a band years ago but has spent most of his time as a solo performer/writer. This is the first band Gaz has been in but again he has done solo stuff.

What are your musical influences?

All sorts of influences, a lot of old school type punk (obviously) but there's also influences from Anarcho through to Blues, Rock, Indie; between us we have a pretty diverse taste in music.

Favourite album/book/film?

Phil - Rattus Norvegicus, not really got a favourite book or film.

Mick – The Wonderful & Frightening World of…. The Fall/Any book about

bands/Dead Man’s Shoes

Gaz – Surfa Rosa – The Pixies/Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy/The Big Lebowski

Frank – World Of David Bowie/Down & Out in London & Paris/The Red Balloon

Best band you've seen live?

Phil – SLF (also one of the worst I’ve seen!)

Gaz - Iron Maiden at Leeds Festival 2005 I laughed my tits off.

Rock'nRoll, it's in the reverends blood.

Mick – Dunno probably the Fall

Frank – The Clash

Interests other than the band?

Phil - Other bands

Gaz - Yes

Mick - Knitting

Frank – Fucking about

Are you playing at any of the 'major Punk Festivals ' this year? (If No, why the fuck not!)

This old chestnut..... The answer is no we're not. As for why not, you'd have to ask the organisers but we can say it's not for the lack of trying; we've put bids in for loads of festivals but so far no takers. You could probably ask the same question of loads of bands who aren't on at any festivals and I guess, there's only so many bands that a festival can put on & far more bands that want to play.

Three words to describe the state of Britain in 2013? (You can use more than three words if you like.)

We only need 3 - "Fucked under Tories"

What's life like in Derby?

For its size it gets plenty of gigs & is close enough to bigger cities that any bands that don't come to Derby you can still get to see and it's obviously better for having us around! All in all Derby's a pretty good place to be.

What has the reaction to the album been like?

We thought we'd done something that was pretty good (but then we would wouldn't we) but the response has been far better than we ever dreamed of, pretty much all reviews & people’s comments have been nothing but positive.

What comes first music or lyrics?

Both. Gaz writes most of the music & usually has some sort of idea for the lyrics which between us we then turn into something approaching a song or totally destroy!!

What inspires the lyrics?

Our own lives and what we see happening around us.

What is The Reverends message to the people? (The Gospel according to The Reverends if you like)

Enjoy life, support real live music played by real live bands and BUY OUR ALBUM!

Plans for the future? When you gonna gig 'down south'?

We're hoping/planning to do another album sometime this year or early next if we can scrape enough cash together and pay off what we owe on the last one. As for gigging down south we've just confirmed our first London gig (18th May @ The Pipeline with The Hookers & Zooparty) and one in Bristol on May 3rd and there’s talk of Hastings in May. To be honest we get asked a lot when we're gonna play outside the Midlands and the answer is as soon as someone will take the chance & put us on.

Right then, there you have it that was The Reverends. All that's left to be said is Thanx to Gaz, Frank, Phil, and Mick  for taking the time to answer the questions, but more importantly for releasing a fucking great album. The New Addicted is available from their web site.