1. Your band was formed in 2008 and you have toured with the likes of Stone Sour and The Wildhearts and made an appearance at Download, how does it feel to have achieved so much in such a short space of time?
Incredible, its been such an amazing ride just up to this point. We’ve been very privileged to have played alongside other bands we respect so highly this early in our career. Things just keep going from strength to strength.
2. For those that are new to No Americana, how did the forming of the band come about?
I suppose it all started after I dived out of university in High Wycombe. I’d been travelling home most weekends, and started to attend various gigs. A friend of mine took me along to a see a local show as he said he wanted me to see an amazing guitarist he knew, which turned out to be Adam. We got talking and started jamming together not long after that. After playing together in a few different outfits, me and Adam both decided we needed to go on the poach for what we considered to be the best of our local scene. Dan was next to join, after much convincing to leave his current band. Jay was the last piece of the puzzle. Dan had known him from school and had gotten him to come along for a few jamms at our rehearsal space, it sounded great and so he decided he was going to leave the band he fronted at the time and joined us. Now here we are.
3.Which bands or artists influence you the most?
The band have a very wide range of influences, each individual member has a different genre they draw influence from. My influences I would say would be considered the most “commercial” out of the band. Really into Biffy Clyro at the moment, loved Oasis in the very early days, taught me how to put melody to rock. Jay’s really into punk music, Dan loves his metal and Adam is into very left-field and alternative bands, a lot of stuff the masses wouldn’t necessarily have heard of. But we do all appreciate each others tastes and utilise them in a way which I think gives us the unique sound we have.
4. One of the hardest tasks in forming a band,is naming it – how did you come to decide on the moniker, No Americana?
Yeah I agree, so many bands have names that don’t really mean anything. We wanted the band name to say something about who we are or what we believe in. After a lengthy conversation about the poor state of our local music scene and the band names within, No Americana seemed the perfect counter-attack, it stuck out to us all straight away.
5. How does it feel to be playing this year’s upcoming Sonisphere UK Festival??
Were really excited to be a part of it, so many great bands are playing, especially on the same day as us (saturday). Its an honour for us to get up on stage and be counted with rest.
6. What bands are you looking forward to seeing the most and will you be starstruck if you meet any other artists?
Im really looking forward to seeing Biffy Clyro, been wanting to see them for quite some time but I keep missing them. Also some new bands like Pulled Apart By Horses and The Black Spiders, who we played with on The Wildhearts tour. As for getting starstruck, not really. I used to get star-stuck quite easily but after doing the Stone Sour tour I think I’ve learned to control myself, haha.
7. A lot of bands are completely different in the live environment, What can fans expect from your upcoming live shows and what will make you stand out from the rest.
People can expect high energy, adrenaline fuelled sing-a-longs. We pride ourselves on giving people exactly what they get from our records and a bit more.
8. You guys mentioned that you’re un-influenced by the American music scene, what is it that you guys dislike about it?
To us its the fact that so many UK bands play and sing in the style of American bands, pretending to be something they are not. Very frustrating. Bands, should be proud of their heritage and be themselves. Quite a few people have jumped on us about being American music haters and other strange notions, that isn’t the case at all. All of us like different American bands but we don’t let there culture influence ours.
9. Once the festival season is out of the way, what do you have lined up?
Were gonna go straight back into the studio and record a load of new songs and ideas we have bubbling at the moment which were all excited about. As for gigging, Birmingham seems to really be catching on, exciting times. So we really want to continue to build our increasing fan base there as we feel its important. As well as hopefully a few more high-brow tours to keep things interesting if we play our cards right.
10. Who owns the worst cd in the band and what is it?
We all have guilty pleasures but one that really stands out to me is Dan’s “Best of the Corrs” Album that he blasted throughout the Stone Sour tour, disgraceful. I think he has a thing for Andrea!
Thank you very much to No Americana and lead singer, David James Foster for taking time to talk to CIRCLEPIT!
Dont forget to check out No Americana at http://www.noamericana.com/ – they rock! \m/
