Fusing together the likes of Americana and rock, without being heavily influenced by any other genre or artist, says a lot for a band to do. For one such as Skyeladder, whose time together has been a bumpy one, they have come such a long way, with so much more time ahead of them, there be no need to stop now. Having said that, the band and it's members discuss the matters of this band, future plans of action, and making music because it's what they do!
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Hi we are called Skyeladder and we are based in Lancashire UK. The band was initially formed via Janie and Paul Britton who met in 2001 after Paul advertised for a singer and they started going out, they later married Dec 5th, 2003.
Janie sings lead vocals, plays keys and guitar and Paul plays rhythm guitar and backing vocals. Both Paul and Janie are the song writers for the band.
"Paul - initially we played our songs acoustically, attending open mics to hone our craft and when we felt ready we decided to add a drummer, lead guitarist and bass player to further expand the sound that you hear now".
Janie and Paul at the start of 2016 added Nathan (drummer), Adam (bass player) and Ewan (lead guitarist) to the band.
Skyeladder have performed at some memorable places including Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall. The British musical Fireworks championships in front of 10,000 people. Darwen’s Library Theatre Auditorium stage at Darwen Live and Manchester’s O2 and also the Apollo Theatre. They have also appeared numerous times at Carfest North, organised by Chris Evans (Radio 2) the event sold 20,000 tickets, raising money for BBC Children in Need. Janie and Paul have also made numerous radio and TV appearances.
"Janie - Unfortunately, Paul developed bowel cancer and had an operation in Sept 2016 meaning that we were off the gigging circuit for a while. Luckily, he recovered fully (thank goodness).
But the following year November 2017 we were struck by another blow in that our dear friend and lead guitarist Ewan died in a very short period of time from bile duct cancer.
We also suffered another blow in January 2018 in that Paul (Janies hubby and the rhythm guitarist and joint songwriter in the band was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, cancer again) But being the strong chap that he is Paul is determined to push through and continue with the music even whilst going through intense chemo." "The band are great in that they are so supportive and are rallying around like real troopers x"
"Paul - We have only just started to look for another lead guitarist and we are actually auditioning a nice chap on Friday of this week."
2. What's the origin of the band's name?
Janie and Paul, came up with the name of the band in 2014 whilst sitting in a cottage on a croft in a place called Hungladder on the Isle of Skye.
"We (Janie and Paul) go up there to write our songs and we draw inspiration from the beauty of Skye’s views, environment, way of life and being there really made us think about how we wanted to move forward musically. So, we decided that we’d use the Skye as in Isle of Skye and the Ladder from Hungladder and then meshed them both together to form our bands name Skyeladder."
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
We’re based out of Lancashire North West UK ( Rossendale, Blackburn, Bolton and Irlam). Locally there’s a good music vibe with a lot of local talent, we attend some of the open mics in order to try out new songs as the crowd are so receptive to our style of original music.
4. How would you describe your style?
"Paul, so how to describe the band well, it’s a fusion of Americana and rock without being too heavily influenced by any genre or artist. Although people have likened us to Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Crowded House and The Pretenders."
5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
We currently have an album out for sale online via www.skyeladder.net called "Yeah Yeah Yeah" which Paul and Janie released in in 2015. Whilst we don’t want to come across as too heavy handed, we hope that people listening to our music will understand the underlying messages that the songs portray, because we hope that we rise above the candyfloss pop that prevails in this industry and write music and songs that make people sit up and take notice.
6. Do you have any new music in the works?
Janie "Yes having recently spent some time in the studio Skyeladder are preparing to release a new EP back end of 2018. The EP is called "Life is for living" with the first single,"What in the World" being released around July/August. The EP is also about positivity, love, hope and support.
Skyeladder have launched a crowd funding campaign to complete and promote their new EP "Life is for Living" for more details please see - https://rocketfuelhq.com/skyeladder.
We’re also looking to release a charity single in 2019 with all the proceeds going to Cancer research. The video for the song is going to shot in one of the local hospitals and there will be nurses and doctors singing in the chorus of the song.
Heres a sample of one of the tracks on the EP.
"What in the world" - https://soundcloud.com/skyeladder-publicity-page/what-in-the-world-skyladder-master/s-qGOPn.
7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
"We currently have a mini tour touring around some of the festivals this May – August in order to promote our new EP and single. We’ve called it the "Life is for Living Tour" see dates below;
TOUR DATES:
12/05/2018 - Music on the Meadows – (Acoustic stage)
26/05/2018- Skemfest Skemersdale The Buffs Community Club,
27/05/2018 – Steelfest Irlam – The Steelworks Liverpool Road, Manchester
28/05/2018 – Darwen Live –Library Theatre Auditorium Stage
28/05/2018 – Darwen Live The Crown, 24 Redearth Road, Darwen
07/07/2018 – Lee Rigby Bike Show - Gardeners Arms
19/07/2018 - Breaking Bands for Macmillan Cancer Support' Cunliffe Hall,Chorley
21/07/2018 –Yewstock ( Acoustic Stage) - The Yew Tree ,Cauldon
29/07/2018 - St Annes Festival, The Pavillion Ashton Gardens
04/08/2018 - Big Congo Festival Liverpool
25/08/2018 – Nedwood Festival Main Stage – Leicester
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
"Janie – "Our aim is to play as many shows/festivals as we can as we love to gig. We’d also love to get a song on Radio 2, BBC Introducing and Six Music and get our songs published globally." "Paul – we’ve recently engaged a PR company to help us to raise the profile of the band, which we hope will make our music accessible." Another one of Janie and Pauls specific dreams is to head over to Nashville to play."
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
"Hey yes , you can still buy our first album "Yeah Yeah Yeah" in our online store. We also have great merchandise for sale.
Shop - https://rocketfuelhq.com/skyeladder#shop.
You can also listen to our music via various methods and contact us on our Social Media below.
//Skyeladder Music Links//
E – Management@skyeladder.net.
W - http://www.skyeladder.net/.
F - https://www.facebook.com/skyeladdermusic.
S - https://soundcloud.com/skye-ladder.
T - https://twitter.com/skyeladder.
YT - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpFv3YxkV7PT9yqGxLWGIxw.
I – https://www.instagram.com/skyeladder/.
R - https://www.reverbnation.com/skyeladder.
Crowd Funding Campaign - https://rocketfuelhq.com/skyeladder.
Band Publicity Page - https://soundcloud.com/skyeladder-publicity-page.
10. What is it you'd like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
"Paul - Hopefully the lyrics. I heard someone the other day arguing that melody is the most important part of a song because it's what you hum or whistle, but if that's the case, why aren't there more instrumentals around? Lyrics are vital and to me, the most important part of a song, as the main lyricist in the band, I hope they stand out enough to make people listen and if they listen, then the story of the song will come through, and each song has a message, if that message gets heard then maybe just maybe something might change."
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