INTERVIEW: THE OVERTONES
British-Irish doo-wop five-piece The Overtones formed back in 2010, and have since signed to Rhino Records. They re-released their debut album “Good Ol’ Fashioned Love” last year, and spent time playing as the house band on Dancing On Ice and Britain’s Got Talent as well as heading out on their first headline tour.
With the band all set to release their new single “Say What I Feel”, we caught up with The Overtones to find out more about the music and what’s in stor for 2012…
Can you tell us a bit about how you all started out in music and became The Overtones?
Four of us met on the scene in London around the acoustic and open mic circuit and decided to have a shot as a group as we all had similar musical inspirations and styles. About 2 and a half years ago Timmy met Lachie whilst they were working a promo job in a department store with and then he joined the group, providing the bass.
What are your influences, and do you all bring different musical references to the band?
We’re inspired by a whole range of artists and each of us has different tastes, but what binds us is that we all have a real love of vocal harmony. So, the sound that comes out when we sing together is a mix of contemporary and classic.
Can you describe your sound and what makes you different to other bands/boy bands?
We call it vintage pop! We all take inspiration from the classic vocal groups like The Drifters or The Temptations, but it’s 2011 and we are modern day vocalists with a contemporary sound. We really love the way this sound has found it’s way back in to the UK’s musical mainframe: Adele, Amy Winehouse, Plan B, Michael Bublé all have that classic sound and the listeners are craving it I think.
Your album is a mix of covers and your own material, what do you prefer when performing?
We enjoy performing full stop! Whether we are singing our own songs, a classic cover, or a line from the phonebook, to see people get up and dance, smile and laugh when we are performing is an amazing feeling. There is a special feeling that happens when you see fans singing your own lyrics back to you. Sometimes Timmy doesn’t need to sing the first verse of ‘Gambling Man’ because the fans are singing it for him at full pelt!
You started your national tour this year in October, how did it go?
It was amazing. Performing to capacity crowds every night and seeing everyone up on their feet was an awesome feeling!
What are your ambitions for The Overtones?
Id love for us to have a career like the legend acts and still be touring in 10-20 years time. For now it’s about as many people seeing us and hearing us as possible over the world!
What are your plans for 2012?
We are taking our album “Good Ol’ Fashioned Love” to quite a few different countries which is exciting. We are also writing and recording our 2nd album and have another tour at the end of the year. Not that busy then.
Can we expect a second album any time soon?
Firstly we want to make our 2nd album as good as possible and make sure the process isn’t rushed. We will be putting a lot of love and care into it and hopefully it will be ready to show off come the end of the yearish!
Who are you most looking forward to hearing more of in 2012?
Apart from us, I am looking forward to seeing where Adele and Jessie J go with their next albums. I’m also interested in hearing Plan B’s new material.
