OK so they are not Deejays, but they are musicians, & very talented ones at that! Masterfly are a four piece band from Merseyside that formed back in the Summer of 2008. Starting out as 'The Smoking Jokers' after band members, & school friends, Tom Martin, Louis Thomas & Ste Williams had just watched the latest Batman installment 'The Dark Knight'.
The fourth member, Jan Taylor, was quickly recruited upon the guys hearing his impressive guitar skills. Soon after the name Masterfly emerged after Tom misread the word 'Masterly' in the dictionary & that's the day that Masterfly was born.
After some unsuccessful gigs at Vale Park, New Brighton the band used this to their advantage by practising day & night to improve, & it was a gig at The Caldy School in 2010 that they had their skill confirmed.
In the Autumn of 2010 the guys did two gigs at the Zanzibar club in Liverpool, & in November they won The Caldy 2010 Battle of the Bands, beating such bands as The Escaldas, who had already released records under labels.
Since then the band have written an EP, headlined at The O2 Academy, played most major Merseyside venues & will be playing The Picket on 23rd July.
So who have been Masterfly's musical influences? How do they feel about their fans loyalty? And where do they see themselves in 5 years time? Well here I have a little chat with the band & find out all those things & more:-
Hi guys, thanks for taking the time to talk about Masterfly with us.
Who would you say has been your biggest influence musically, & do you think they may have attributed to shaping your style & sound?
MF: This is a difficult question because all four of us have our own unique taste, and I think that contributes to making our music so unique. However, all four of us absolutely adore the Red Hot Chili Peppers, their raw energy, their ability to adapt within genres and their performance style. In terms of our writing, I can't really say that Chilis have had a massive influence for the pure reason they're so different to most rock bands and their sound is so recognisable, but in terms of live performance and approach to gigging, we always look to Chilis as the pinacle of live rock music. Musically? Again, a difficult part to answer. I suppose you can hear elements of bands such as The Killers and Rage Against the Machine, but also more experimental bands such as Muse and Radiohead.
How would you best describe your style & sound?
MF: The word that springs to mind in terms of style is definitely energy. We have a strong ethos that an energetic performance will result in an energetic crowd and sound. Jan is very good at playing fast solos and his feeling portrayed when he plays is definitely energetic, and the sharp basslines of Louis add to our unique energetic edginess. I, as the frontman (Tom) will always give 100% as a performer and try to capture the imaginiation and spirit of every single person in a particular room. It's not always easy, but people have testified that it's always memorable. Ste will often play impressive fills on the drums, so I would definitely describe the band's sound and style as energetic. Sort of like a 70's punk band drinking Relentless. Without the punk
What's the secret to working harmoniously as a four piece band?
MF: You tell us! There's no great secret really, we're just best friends outside the band as well as in. Only with the utmost trust we have in each other can we have the confidence to constructively criticise each other's contribution and we never let a disagreement get personal. I know it sounds like a very non-rock n' roll cliche, but we're like family and respect each other like brothers. One moment we can be arguing over a cover idea, and the next we'll be throwing crisps at each other. It's briliant.
As well as doing covers you write your own material. Does one particular person have more of an input or do you all contribute equally?
MF: We do have a sort of 'structure' in place when it comes to writing. I (Tom) will either write lyrics at home and Jan will come up with a progression and/or riff for Louis and Ste to work around, or Jan will come up with a riff or progression and myself, Louis and Ste will work around it. Ste always admits he has the easiest job - but he has the unique position of being able to view our work from the outside and offer an independent opinion. As of late, however, we have began to write much more as a unit. We're hoping to write with a more definite theme in the future.
You have a loyal fan base that has followed you on each of your gigs. What does their loyalty mean to you as a band?
MF: It means absolutely everything. We're not just saying that to suck up to them, we mean it from the bottom of our hearts. They have no compulsion to follow us around, but they supported us at the beginning and they support us now. Without them, Masterfly would not exist, simple as. Seeing familiar faces in crowds will always spur us on as a band because we want to please them and as a result, we'll play better. Also, they act as an important catalyst for the rest of the audience to jump up and down and go a bit wild for half an hour or so!
Where is the best place for people to follow you to keep up-to-date about future gig dates?
MF: Yeah, easy, just go over to facebook.com/masterflyofficial and click on like for gig info! We post everything on there! Also, youtube.com/MasterflyOfficial carries some old demos, but we're hoping to record some at better quality this year.
OK we are going to fast forward five years now...what would your aspirations for that time scale be for Masterfly?
MF: Ooh the magic question! We always discuss this and can never agree to be honest. Ideally, we'd like to be the biggest band in the world, but that's much much easier said than done! I don't know really. Is touring the UK by the time we're 21 too much to ask for? It'd be nice to support a band we all look up to, such as Biffy Clyro or Chilis, and it'd be nice to have an album out that had achieved some success. I think it's possible, we just need to keep playing gigs and perhaps most importantly; keep writing!
Picture gallery:-
Masterfly - It's Not a Weapon (But it's Definitely Alien)
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