Interview with Gaffa Tape Sandy for The Argus. First published October 2018.
Gaffa Tape Sandy are the Bury-come-Brighton band giving garage-rock a new lease of life. Catherine Lindley-Neilson (vocals and bass), Robin Francis (drums) and Kim Jarvis (guitar and vocals) are the three behind the bizarrely named band who found their beginnings back in 2015. Three years on, and the band have gone from strength to strength, supporting fellow rockers Indoor Pets on their UK tour, and playing some of the country’s most notorious festival stages. Catherine spoke to ISSY ALDRIDGE about potential new music, future plans, and the importance of independent music venues in Brighton.
What’s the backstory to Gaffa Tape Sandy?
We all met in college in Bury St Edmunds when we were all studying either music or music Production. It seems that everyone in Bury is in various bands and we were originally in one called Fortunato, then decided to jam just the three of us as we all had similar tastes in music and the desire to play something a bit noisier and messier. Fortunato ended up not working out but Gaffa Tape Sandy stayed together, and three years later here we are!
You’ve been regular fixtures on the Brighton music scene for the last year or so, but which venue has been your favourite to play?
We've only played a couple, but my personal favourite was Sticky Mike's Frog Bar. Specifically, the two sets we played at The Great Escape earlier this year. I was worried that not many people would turn up to watch up but it was packed out both times, which took us by surprise. We had such a great time, and we're all heartbroken that it's closing at the end of the year.
Last week, Sticky Mikes Frog Bar announced that they’ll be closing their doors for the final time in December. What do you think this means for the future of independent venues in Brighton?
It's so sad that this is an issue all over the UK, I always worry about which venue is going to be the next to go. I hope there will eventually be a solution, but until then we just have to keep going out and supporting all our local music venues, as Brighton would not be the same place without them.
When it comes to creating new music, who normally does what? Are there set roles you all fall into automatically?
Generally speaking, Kim is the main songwriter; he'll write the basic song and bring it to Robin and I. Then the three of us will play with it together to make it sound like a Gaffa track! Occasionally one of us will write a song around a specific song – Pink Neck / Train Wreck started with Robin bringing us his drum part and we took it from there.
We saw on social media that new music may be on the horizon - when can we expect to hear it?
Hopefully soon! We normally record with an awesome guy called George Perks, but he's so busy it's hard to find time in all of our schedules that fits. We aim to have a new EP out early next year. We have our next single ready to go, we just need to get to the studio!
You moved from Bury to start degrees at BIMM Brighton last year. How would you say that BIMM has helped and facilitated Gaffa Tape Sandy’s growth?
It's been really great being surrounded by so many like-minded people. It's helped give us new creative ideas on how to go about things, and it's nice to always feel supported. And as for the broader goal? We'd all love to tour more and do another festival run next year! It'd be amazing to keep going and eventually be able to support ourselves through our music, but until then we will just keep enjoying ourselves.
How do you spread your time between the band and your university commitments?
We struggle with it a lot of the time but we just have to plan ahead really! It's a lot easier sorting things out as a three-piece band. We used to be in a five-piece and organising things was so difficult.
Where would you like to see the band go in the future? What’s next for Gaffa Tape Sandy?
It would be great to start moving up the festival bills and do some more dates abroad; we love playing live and Summer 2018 has been our best yet. We eventually want to do an album - Kim is a studio enthusiast, and I think he would live there if he could!
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