Studied BTEC National Diploma
in Popular Music

Now lead guitarist and singer of The Ladykillers

Age: 23
Completed Course: 2010

What are you doing now, with your music?
At the moment we're concentrating on preparing for our second album.

So you’re in a band then?
Yes, I’m in a band. I’ve been in the band since I left college so I think it’s coming up to four years now. We started out pretty small and average and we’ve been working really hard at it and it’s progressed.

What's the band called?
We’re called The Ladykillers.

Are you the lead singer?
I do backing vocals, I’m lead guitarist.

So how did you make it into the scene? Did you have a record deal?
We’ve had a few different record deals, it gets a bit complicated. We haven’t found one that really suits us. We first started off as a 50’s rock and roll band, and me and my friend Luke, who is the lead singer, we started playing in my bedroom after college because we both had a mutual love for music. We got a band rolling and we’ve kind of done well with it because of our age. That was a big thing because in that scene it’s more middle-aged to older people because of the nature of the music, it’s an old genre. We kind of mixed that music with a little bit of punk as well which again wasn’t really being done as much, so I think that's kind of the reason why we were successful getting into the scene.

So you spoke to the guy at Wild Records and he got you out there?
Yeah, he got us out there the first time. He wanted us to join the record label, he wanted to record a vinyl with us but when it came down to it it wasn’t going to be the right decision as it was an overseas label. There was another band, similar age doing similar stuff to us that had gone with them the previous year and it didn’t work out.

So we've kept it as more of a mutual thing, where we will go and play shows with each other and their bands come over to us and we host them.  From there it’s just been building things up. You play gigs and get to meet people, they see your shows and like it. You build up contacts.

The guy out there, his record label is really big for the scene so he has a lot of contacts all over the states, mostly California, Vegas, Texas  and New York.   

So any advice you can give to someone thinking about getting into it then?
Don’t be too snobbish about where you play, even if it looks like a dump you don’t know who is watching! And you just need to keep persevering. It is tough and you sometimes feel like giving up and saying is it worth it. But it is, I am 23 and have travelled all over the world playing music, its amazing.

What would you like to be doing in 5 years time?
In 5 years' time I would like to be signed to a good label. Probably touring more regularly and hopefully on our 4th or 5th album! Still playing music with the same band.