6 minute read
ON TOUR WITH REGULUS
ON TOURWITH
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MEET THE BAND Chloe: Lead Singer Ozzy: Lead Guitar Martyn: Bass Guitar Billy: Lead Guitar Adam: Drums
Images: Jordan Merrett
When I was invited to go on the road with Regulus, my first thought was, ‘go on the road with for a week, with a band I’ve been waiting years to see live? YES PLEASE!’
But as the week progressed I found myself being viewed less as a spectator, and more as a... ‘friend?’
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve known some of these guys for a few years Words: Jordan Merrett
as fellow musicians within the industry, but never had the opportunity to spend enough time with them to know the people behind the band. As we discussed the logistics of my attendance on the tour, it was established that I would join the band on night 2 of the tour and stay for night’s 3, 4, and 5.
Day One
NEW ADELPHI CLUB, HULL
My week started out in Rock Lynx & Regulus’ hometown: Lincoln. The band and the gear were loaded and ready, I met the crew, and we proceeded with ‘Thanks for coming/thanks for inviting me’ and continued onto Regulus’ night 2 venue; and my first stop of the week... Hull.
On the journey to the delightful dock town, surprisingly few jokes were made about the certain stardom that playing this city clearly meant... Until we reached the venue; The need to quote, “is that it?” when referring to the establishment you are about to play on your tour normally tells you everything you need to know, and yet this night was no reflection of that sentiment. thickness of their sound was very impressive. The New Adelphi club, Hull is definitely a venue to check out.
Beside the outstanding set from Regulus, which offered a powerfully heavy twist on a mainly bluesy brand of stoner rock with reminiscent flavours of classic rock; Battalions added another level to that heavy element, for a 3 piece band the broad
Day Two
WEST STREET LIVE, SHEFFIELD
West Street Live, Sheffield is a venue that has been on my list of live venues to visit for a few years now, and the chance to see it ‘for work’ was a pleasure, the guarantee of decent music was a bonus. Aside from Regulus providing their thick creamy guitar tones and thunderous drums to the set the scene, main support IL took me by surprise and added in an interesting twist on a Nu-Metal sound.
By this point in the week we had grown accustomed to spending 4+ hours a day in a vehicle together. Day by day our conversations became more deep and insightful, a personal highlight was discovering that Adam has almost as much of an appreciation for The Darkness as I do! Discussing the implication that some of the intricate nuances to their music are largely overlooked because of their overtly glam rock appearance and Justin Hawkins’ incredibly high vocals.
The talking points varied from topics of this nature, through to, dare I say... banter? The admission from Chloe that “when I’m in the practice room with 4 guys, I fart and no one suspects me.”
These kind of bombshells were commonplace at this point, and as the week rolls on each night seems even better than the last! Here in Leeds both Thyssen and Gandalf The Green sharing the stage with Regulus superceeded my expectations, and according to Adam “being in a room full of people chanting ‘Gandalf’ was something else!”
Day Three
SANTIAGO BAR, LEEDS
Day Four
THE OLD SALUTATION, NOTTINGHAM
It’s starting to sink in that tonight is my last night on the road with the band, and yet the energy of the night did not reflect that at all. Right from the opening band’s soundcheck, there was a certain type of magic to the atmosphere.
Maybe the flood of leopard-print insinuated the strong presence of rock n roll in the room, or maybe, the bands and people that were in attendance just emitted that energy? Either way, the night was high energy heavy rock from start to finish; the opening band, Silkrats, are definitely ones to watch in the future, bringing a crispy, ‘classic rock’ guitar tone blended with punk style rhythms, and high female led vocals, to an all together heavier place.
Regulus put on a real show on this particular night it seemed, they seemed to carry an aura of attitude that pushed their sludgey brand of stoner rock into every corner of the bar. Every element of this band compliments the music very well, the bass and guitars have found ways to fill out the space without clashing, while Chloe’s powerful high end vocals deliver the meaningful message of these songs... one of which is apparently about “f***ing a guy to death”. The end of the night saw the band engaging with fans and offering unbelievable discounts on vinyl and CD’s from their previous releases in an effort to fund their new album; a release I’m eagerly awaiting!
After our final journey on the road came to a close, Adam and Chloe dropped me off at home, we exchanged goodbye’s, and Chloe added “we’ll hangout sometime ‘cos I guess we’re friends now” and for me that summed the week up perfectly, what started as casual acquaintances with a cool band ended as... friends?
