Lady Bird

As this interview is conducted, Lady Bird are in the midst of a UK tour with home-grown friends and label mates, Slaves. It couldn’t be more ideal; both create energetic, snotty lad ballads bound by a brash, Kent accent, a tongue in cheek narrative and the occasional upturned Fred Perry collar. Similarities aside however, Lady Bird have plumbed more emotional depths this year than other bands in their position could possibly imagine and their insight taps in to a whole new generation of young men battling within the rigid limitations of masculinity.

Q: I don’t know much about Tunbridge Wells but I read a few articles where it was christened the ‘drugs capital of South East England’ and was once referred to as ‘Britain’s debt capital’, although I don’t know if that’s still true. Can you confirm any of this and how has the town shaped your music in general?

Joe: Haha, they’re both pretty dark associations aren’t they? There was definitely a lot of drugs about when we were teenagers which I guess a lot of people would think is significant. It’s just a part of life though isn’t it - another thing to think about and decide how you want to interact with it. Sam’s lyrics on our first EP speak about a character caught up in substance abuse as a metaphor for making effort to break the vicious cycles which can box our lives in and make us feel disempowered. The greatest influence on our music from home is The Forum, the family there, and the supportive families we’re blessed to have by blood and friendship all around. Feeling rooted definitely helps us to be confident. I think that makes it easier to spend a lot of time on the move and disconnected from any real steadiness.

Q: Sam, I watched your Guardian documentary not too long ago and first and foremost, can I just say I found it profoundly moving and inspiring. I hadn’t been aware of your condition until watching the video - how are you coping currently?

Sam: Thanks ever so much, it was quite a profound experience for me, also. I developed the condition following a problematic operation on my vocal chords in 2015, the recovery was strung out and merged into a crippling anxiety towards using my voice. I was fortunately able to break out of this cycle following 3 months of silence at the beginning of the summer, during which time we wrote Reprisal. I’m no longer affected by the condition, and it’s been beneficial to share the breakthrough with others who are experiencing challenges in their lives.

Q: I read that you’re a Buddhist - when did you get in to that?

Sam: I was introduced to Nicherin Buddhism in 2013 by a producer who had met the philosophy through a thread of jazz instrumentalists including Bennie Mauphin, Buster Williams and Herbie Hancock. I’ve met lots of creative people through Buddhism and have learned that many other musicians are also into it. Tina Turner has a great film capturing her experience meeting Buddhism called ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’.

Q: Which living person do you most admire and why?

Joe: I know so many people who have done amazing things and especially overcome really challenging situations with their lives. This might sound put on but I want to say Sam and Alex. I think we’re part of a generation where the nature of being a young man is in transition and it can be really overwhelming at times. I don’t have any peers who engage with their demons so tenaciously and with as much willingness to confront what’s not right inside them and do something about it like these two. We put a lot of time and effort into supporting each other and I think that’s a powerful contribution to a world which tempts us to be defeatist or nihilistic.

Words by Harley Cassidy | Illustration by Holly St Clair