Saving Throw

Mix of Indie-Emo-Punk

We caught up with Saving Throw, a genre mixing punk band out of the UK.

When did you first get into music?

Dom: My mum played nothing but Queen, Abba and classical music for the first 12 years of my life, and that’s great and all, but eventually I got bored and started making punk music instead.

Isaac: My uncles got me a small toy drum kit as a gift around age 6. I’d ‘play along’ to my Grandfather as he played jazzy tunes on his upright piano.

Matt: When I was about 3 years old I got really into the Spice Girls and it all just spiralled from there.

What genre of music do you perform and why did you choose that style of music?

A mix of Indie, Emo and Punk music, we all listen to a lot of different genres and those are among our favourites. It lets us make lots of noise whilst also writing sad existential lyrics (which are obviously the easiest to write because everything sucks).

Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in music?

Dom: My mum’s a musician and my grandad was a recording engineer, so music was kinda always around in my family, but I started making music seriously when I got into artists like Into It. Over It and Pinegrove whilst studying at uni, seeing how the indie grassroots scene can spit out great music made me want to get stuck in.

Isaac: I wouldn’t really say I have a career in music, as it’s pretty much just for pure enjoyment at the moment. However, with a few more interviews, that may change. My uncles and grandad inspired me as a child, as they are all musicians. Oh, and Dave Grohl, of course.

Matt: It all came from the Spice Girls really, I’m still pursuing my dream of becoming Baby Spice.

How has your music evolved since you first began performing/songwriting?

For our first EP we mostly wrote the songs individually and then presented them to the rest of the band. We’d allmake our own little tweaks and slight changes but would typically stick closely to what was originally brought to the table. Now we have our first EP out we’re trying to write more collaboratively and have everyone present for the songwriting process.

I’m sure you have shared the stage with a lot of talented artists/celebrities along the way. Would you share 1 or 2 of your favorite stories with us?

Superglu are one of our favourite bands that we’ve played with, they’re all super nice and showed us a lot about how to really perform to the crowd. They stood right at the front for our set and got the party going, which pretty much no other band does, we’re really grateful to have shared the stage with them.

If you were forced to choose only one, which emotion, more than any other, drives you to stay in this tough business? Is it joy, anger, desire, passion or pride and why?

Everything we do is driven by anger, we’re all very emotionally unstable individuals.

Which ingredient do you think makes you special and unique as an artist in an industry overflowing with new talent and ideas? Please explain.

Matt: I guess we try and be as genuine as possible with our music and lyrics. There’s no precedent of us being rockstars, we’re just a bunch of pals having fun. We try to make our music that’s reflective of that. Isaac: Something that we think makes our music sound the way it does is that we aren’t too precious about our individual input and ideas. We all appreciate that we have different approaches and contributions to make. Dominic: There’s so much awesome music being made these days that I’m not really sure we can call ourselves special just yet, but I don’t think that’s necessarily bad, we’re just stoked to be in the same boat as so many great bands and artists.

What has been your biggest challenge as a performing artist? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?

Getting people to turn up to our shows. It is a challenge we’ve yet to overcome.

A common phrase in the industry is, “you must suffer for your art.” Do you agree with this statement? If so, how have you suffered for your art?

No, some people clearly do suffer for art and that’s a whole separate question, but we don’t think it’s a crucial part of the process. We’re an emo band that likes being happy, and sometimes sad, and sometimes angry, mostly angry, but we wouldn’t say we’ve suffered for our music.

How do you feel the internet has impacted the music business? Please explain.

It simultaneously made it a lot better and a lot worse. The internet has connected us and made it so everyone can make and has access to music, there’s more music available now than ever (which is great!). From a business perspective though, streaming services and torrenting have made it harder to make money from music; meaning a band has to rely on merch and live shows if they want to make a profit.

If you could change anything about the music industry. What would it be?

Have streaming services actually pay their artists fairly. Pubs/bars paying bands regardless of talent and revenue made on the night. A world where the arts are financially backed by society would be pretty great, especially when we all love to consume it.

What are the 5 albums that have helped make you the person you are today? And why?

Dom: Before These Mighty Skies - Le Soldat Pony, Ocean Eyes - Owl City, You’re Gonna Miss It All - Modern Baseball, Standards - Into It. Over It., Pink Moon - Nick Drake

Isaac: Nirvana - Nevermind, Busted, Tame Impala - Currents, a compilation CD of Indie Anthems my mum bought for me, Toska - Ode To The Author

Matt: I only need three: Spice, Spice World, and Forever by the Spice Girls. The other two are irrelevant.

Tell us about your current project. Please explain.

We’ve all been pretty slammed with life for the last 12 months or so (just like the rest of the world), so we’re not actively working on anything specific, but we’ve got songs on the brain and wanna work on some video stuff too, and we’re considering starting to think about beginning the first steps of writing our next untitled project, coming circa 2030.

What is the best advice you have received?

Build a following in your local scene first before worrying about anything else, advice given by Ben from Superglu!

How can fans-to-be gain access to your music?

We have an EP out everywhere right now! It’s called How Do Microphone, it’s on Spotify, Bandcamp, Itunes, and soon to be in your heart.

Where are you from city, state, town, country?

We’re from Brighton, UK. The place to be, babey!

Do you have social media?

You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Our handle is @savingthrowuk, come say hi!