A car park interview with Harvey Jay Dodson Page 26 to

HARVEY JAY DODGSON

Hailing from near-by Portsmouth, 20 year old prodigy Harvey Jay Dodgson has just signed with Liam Gallagher and Sia’s booking agent, signalling an exciting future for the singersongwriter. Harvey Jay Dodson strives to marry the greats of British music to create infectious and catchy music that excites audiences and leaves them wanting more. As we stood in a tiny car park outside Fiddler’s Elbow Dodson and I chatted away.

Are you looking forward to your set tonight?

Yeah definitely. It’s quite small in there [Fiddler’s Elbow] but it’s packed so it should be good, and they serve Guinness so can’t go too far wrong really!

Have you seen anyone you’ve really enjoyed so far at The Great Escape?

Yeah, just got back from seeing Porchlight at The Water Bear- they were sick! I always find it hard to find out who’s playing where so I’m hoping to stumble across some great bands this weekend.

What are you most excited for this year?

I’m most excited for this year’s festival season. I’m playing Isle of Wight Festival, Victorious Festival and that’s just gonna be great. I’m playing six or seven festivals and I’m playing Sundays so I get to enjoy the weekend but it means I do have to behave myself a bit more beforehand!

What bands are currently on your radar?

I’m going to Knebworth actually and I’m excited to see Michael Kiwanuka and seeing Kasabian without Tom [Meighan] will be interesting.

Anything fun you’re working on?

We’re off to the studio soon, the band and I will be in there this month. The studio is always fun getting to play around with some new ideas finally- taking them off the paper and bringing them to life. Obviously, all the festivals this year, and writing loads focussing on myself and the music.

Is there one song you’d say you have to listen to from your music?

What do you think are the biggest positives and negatives of the music industry?

There’s a load of positives. We get to meet so many people and have the opportunity to change people’s perspective of things through music. You also get to be a part of making people’ nights and entertaining a crowd. Music is a part of everything and getting to be involved with that is insane. When people come up to you afterwards and say how much they enjoyed the set and how it inspired them- it’s unreal. For the negatives: it’s a tricky industry. You’ve got to be careful around certain people. And there’s so many temptations like getting offered money to do certain things you can become a bit blinded by that aspect. A lot of the industry revolves around money. So if you have a lot of money you’re more able to get further, which is a shame because there’s so much talent that hasn’t been discovered because they don’t have the resources.

Caroline, definitely I like the tempo change. It’s very summer-y and I love summer ! I’m quite proud of it as well. I wrote it when I was only 16. It’s nice that I can look back on it and still really love the song.

How would you describe your music to someone who’s never heard it before?

It’s a little alternative in parts but it’s got an indie drive behind it- it’s a bit rocky too. It is influenced by a lot of jazz and blues so there’s elements of that as well. There’s something for everyone I think. I always draw inspiration from anyone I can.

Best song: Caroline Instagram @harveyjaydodgson Words by Charley Murfitt

CRAWLERS CRAWLERS CRAWLERS CRAWLERS

Crawlers are an up-and-coming band from Liverpool who have started gaining a mass of traction via TikTok with their single ‘Come Over (Again)’, producing amazing music inspired by classic rock with a flair of modernity. Rae caught the band at The Great Escape to talk about their upcoming UK and American tour, the impact of their hit single ‘Come Over (Again)’, and their first set of large festivals.

How are you guys finding The Great Escape? Any bands you’re looking forward to?

H: We love it! Brighton is so nice, I’ve never been here before, so I’m having my beach fantasy right now. We want to see Baby Queen, Daisy Brain and Eli Smart!

You’re going to be playing at TRNSMT festival, what are you looking forward to the most about festival season in 2022?

H: These are the first big festivals we’re playing so we’re just getting used to meeting other artists that we’ve looked up to, which is lovely.

And you’re about to go on a UK and American tour, what cities are you most looking forward to in America?

A: New York City! It’s just a different culture, it’s somewhere we’ve all looked at through a screen growing up, so it’s going to be weird going there for the first time!

You guys found your fame via TikTok when ‘Come Over (Again)’ became really popular on there, how has it been since gaining that platform?

H: I think we’ve always been good at social media, and I’ve always had a knack for it, but having [the song] explode was weird because it was the first time we had been shown to the industry, and they couldn’t ignore us. I think we’re very fortunate to be in a position where we can share our content online and use it to our advantage, but also just have fun with it! I think there’s a lot of good and bad things about social media, but we’re very fortunate that it’s helped us.

What do you think about the reactions from trans people in particular?

H: It makes us so happy to hear those stories and voices raised with a song that means so much to us about our own trauma and things that we’ve gone through, and to hear those minority groups be represented, especially the trans community, it just means so much to us.

RAE: I know that for me as a non-binary person, it was really heartwarming to see.

H: Yes, same! It was beautiful, and it was such a great way to take the lyrics and bring it to that direction, it was just so nice to see those voices raised and it was nice that we were fortunate enough to help create that space.

So, obviously, you guys are opening for My Chemical Romance! How are you all feeling?

[ they all slightly scream ]

L: Not nervous AT ALL! RAE: Were you all emos when you were younger? A: Holly and Liv, pure emos! H: I absolutely loved MCR growing up, ‘The Black Parade’ was one of those albums I’d sit and listen to in school thinking I was hard as heck. A: It’s gonna be a great hometown show for me and Liv as well, we’re from Warrington, so it’s going to be mad playing to a crowd of that size in a very small town where we grew up.

And finally, any projects in the making that you’re excited to talk about?

H: Well, we’re starting to leak a new song on TikTok that we want to release as a single, which means a lot to us. Hopefully we’ll be working with some really good people for that, which is something we’ve always wanted to do and use our platform for, so we can’t wait!

Any idea when that’s due to come out?

H: No, we’re still fighting for it, but hopefully soon! A: We really believe in it, so we want to get some traction behind it so we can get it out as a single because we think it’ll be a really good song to put out there.

You can now listen to Crawler’s new single ‘Fuck Me (I Didn’t Know How To Say)’ on all streaming platforms now!

Insta: @crawlersband

Words by Rae Garvey Images by Rae Garvey and Moe Noble

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