THE JACK Rocks This Feeling stage made its first appearance at Leeds Festival this year, and rock ‘n’ roll band The Strawberries found themselves worthy of a slot. Our reporter Abi White sat down with the band to discuss their journey to the stage and their plans for the future…
“Tape does not fix this s**t,” was muttered moments before the interview began.
“The mud has splashed everywhere up my docs – bad idea.”
That quote could not sum up everyone’s Leeds Festival experience better in one sentence…
“We turned up this morning feeling a little bit fresh, that can no longer be said I don’t think,” they admitted.
With it being the both the band’s and stage’s debut at the Festival, there was a little confusion regarding the name of the stage from the band.
“We just played This Feeling Jack stage about an hour ago… Jack Rocks This Feeling, yeah that’s the one, we will get there in the end!” they laughed. “That’s the wrong way around, but the right way?”
Despite only forming around nine months ago, the band admitted they had known each other a lot longer than before they become the outfit that is now The Strawberries.
“We were just four people that became a band. We got our s**t together about nine months ago,” the quartet explained.
“It just clicked really, we were jamming around for about three months before we became a band, and then one day we found our sound – before that it was so much more casual.”
When asked about what inspired their style, they replied: “It’s really just one big f*****g mixing pot of what we all like.
“Everyone has very different influences,” they continued.
“We’ve got obvious ones like The Staves and The Beatles and stuff like that, but we also listen to stuff like Mac Demarco, Tame Impala and The Strokes – a varied amount really.
“When we come together it makes something entirely different! No one really has any real control, in a way the music controls us really.”
Appearing on the bill alongside a superb Sunday line up at Leeds Festival, it was interesting to discover who The Strawberries were looking forward to seeing play live.
“Hopefully we’re going to go and see King Gizzard and Fat White Family,” they said.
“We really want to see King Gizzard though, and Bang Bang Romeo and Paves too.”
With the highly anticipated headliners, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, also performing on the same day as the band, would the Leeds lads be amongst the packed crowd for that set?
“We will see where the day takes us,” they acknowledged. “But we may go and see them.”
But Leeds Festival is now over and it is that daunting prospect of the future the band had one eye on while sat in the press tent.
“We’ve already released our single, ‘Laburnum House’ but we’re going on tour after this between September and October.”
And given the electric reaction the band received at their hometown show at Leeds Festival 2016, the band is certainly one to catch on a tour at a venue near you.
By Abi White
@AbigailWhiteUOS
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