Interview with... The Family Rain

They have had a chaotic year with their first single of the year, Trust Me...I'm A Genius, kicking things off for them and since then have gone on to support the likes of Biffy Clyro, Jake Bugg, The Rolling Stones, Miles Kane as well as numerous headline tours. After recently revealing their latest single, taken from their forthcoming debut album, it was only right that I had a chat with my favourite band to find out a bit more about them.

Hi guys, thanks for doing this interview with me. Firstly, lets do a brief introduction of who you are and your roles in the band for all the people who may not have heard of The Family Rain. 

Yeah sure. There's Will on the bass guitar and vocals, Ollie on the guitar and backing vocals and finally it's Tim on the drums and backing vocals too.

Something a lot of people probably don't know is that you're brothers, aren't you? Has becoming a family trio always been in your minds or was it something that just naturally happened? Do you also feel like this gives you more of a connection and an advantage over other artists? 

Yeah that's right. I think when you grow up in a household that always had music playing in it, being in a band together was always going to be a natural thing. Being in a band with ONLY the three of us is something we didn't plan, and it came to creating The Family Rain, we definitely had to think about how we were going to create the sound we wanted to achieve with only 3 members. It's hard to say if we have an advantage over others because we don't know any different. But you know what they say, 'blood is thicker than water'.

I first heard of you when you released Trust Me... and ever since, you've been releasing music on a regular basis. Do you think this is the single that kicked things off for you or would you say it was further a long the line like Carnival or Pushing It?

Trust Me was definitely the song that got us noticed and got people interested, but the other tracks have probably been just as important to keep momentum.

I made a point there that things have really kicked off for you and by that I mean the support slots you're now getting, which including Biffy Clyro at Ibiza and Mallorca Rocks, The Rolling Stones at Hyde Park and very recently Miles Kane and now Jake Bugg. How do you prepare for things like that? Is it any different to your own headline gigs?

I think that the way we look at it is that every show is as important as the last. No matter who you play to, you just have to go and do your thing, that way people know your the real deal. Playing to big crowds is obviously really exciting, but we'd like to think that if you were in a crowd of 5 people and we were playing, you would still get the same show.

It's only right that you share with us your favourite memories from these support slots, whether that be meeting someone you love or the crowd reactions.

I think Ibiza Rocks has been one of the best shows for us this year. First off, Biffy Clyro were top lads (as have been everyone we have supported this year) and the crowd were well up for it! it is a special atmosphere playing in the middle of a hotel complex to a bunch of people who are on their holidays.

Say I was to join you on your tour bus and you each got to pick an album to play to me. What album would you pick and why? Have these influenced you throughout your career so far?

Will - The Rolling Stones, Sticky Fingers. It's just tune after tune, it sounds so raw and warm. It never fails to pick up the mood. It is what effect I hope our music has on people. It is movement!
Tim - Feist, Metals. It is a wicked album for the road. It spans a lot of styles, and has heavy parts as as magical light moments. It is simply very well written music.
Ollie - haha, if you came on the tour bus I might blast the new one direction album and we could play a game whereby the last one left on the tour bus is the winner. That would require buying the album though... maybe not.

Big question now, should we expect an album from The Family Rain in 2014? Any information you can give us about that if we are expecting one?

In short, yes you can. Expect to see it released early next year and expect to enjoy it immensely! 

Obviously the album process or even just recording a single is more than just going in to the studio and just playing something you made on the spot. How do you get ready for this individually and as a band? 

I think the way we approach it is to see it as an ongoing process. We don't write for an album or a particular single, we write because that's what we enjoy doing. That way you have no pressure on yourself.

What has been your favourite single to record so far and what made it stand out?

Out of the ones we've released so far, probably Pushing It because it is a very live track. Most of what you hear in that track is just us playing live, without a click or anything like that. 

One thing that I have noticed and most certainly experienced from you guys is that you're very involved with the fans. What drives you to do things like that? I have seen many bands on your level who have completely lost all contact with the people who support them. It's extremely refreshing to have you guys constantly chatting with fans and getting with them in a similar way to actual friends. 

Thanks, yeah it's just something we enjoy doing and don't take for granted. Without fans, bands don't exist so we like to take the time to talk to as many as we can, to thank them for their support. Plus at the end of the day, we are just music fans as well!

Do you find this is harder to do as you grow bigger or is it something you will always try to maintain and keep time for? 

We'd like to think it can keep going. There is always a lot of time spent travelling when you're in a band, which is perfect for catching up on twitter etc.

Obviously by a lot of time spent travelling, you are talking about being on tour and I know you're embarking on a headline one soon. What are you looking forward to most on this tour and is there anything you dislike about going on these travels around the country?

Not really, we have all spent years working in shitty jobs so we appreciate every day we are able to do what we're doing. If you are complaining about being on tour, that's always the best thing to remember.

Lets do some quick fire questions...

Favourite meal and drink?

Curry and a pint

Favourite UK music venue?                                             

Tough call... Joiners, Southampton

Favourite song at the moment?                                     

  Be Safe - The Cribs

Which up and coming band would you recommend?     

Wolf Alice (good shout lads!)

Would you rather be trusted or a genius?                 

Trusted

 Reading or Leeds?                                                       

Reading without a doubt. Will performed his first stage dive which resulted in him losing his St Christoper's... if found please return.

Ibiza or Mallorca?

Ibiza

Best TV show?                                                                     

The Office

Favourite place to visit? 

Amsterdam

The Family Rain, that's all for now. Any final comments you want to make?

Cool, just wanna say thanks for noticing us right from the start when we only had Trust Me out there, cheers!

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