Interviews: Those Made Broken

On this new occasion, we had the opportunity to interview the Alternative Metal band Those Made Broken from Scotland. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name?

Murray: It was a bit of a struggle, to be honest! We considered and disregarded a huge number of names before settling on Those Made Broken. The first consideration was that we needed something unique. That’s not easy these days, there are a huge number of bands out there. We also wanted something that made sense in terms of our philosophy. The name hopefully speaks to that – no one’s perfect, life isn’t fair, and everything is flawed. There’s a little nod to the Goo Goo Dolls song Iris, which has the chorus line ‘everything’s made to be broken.

2. Where is the band based?

Murray: We’re in sunny Glasgow.

3. Why did you want to play this genre?

Murray: It’s the music we all listen to ourselves and love. We try to make music we’d like to hear. I think if you try to do anything else, it’s quite contrived, and music fans aren’t stupid; you can see insincerity a mile away.

Scott: I remember listening to ska as a kid, as a lot of my friends were, but when I heard ‘For Those About To Rock’ for the first time, that was it – I’d found my calling. As a title, it was quite prophetic!

I’m not suggesting we sound anything like AC/DC, but rock & metal in some shape or form was always on the cards for me.

4. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Murray: Scott and I met while we were studying music and joined forces to write and perform together, originally as an acoustic duo. Paul and I were in a band many years ago called Dirt. Hutch was our dep drummer and a good friend of our old drummer, who introduced us.

5. What is each band member’s favorite band?

Murray: Duran Duran.

Scott: Soundgarden.

Hutch: Alice In Chains.

Paul: AC/DC.

6. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Murray: For me, it’s a pretty intrinsic thing. I reckon everyone is creative, and we lose it as we grow up. Every kid on the planet makes things from cardboard boxes, draws, colours in, etc. - we lose that as adults, and that creativity is essential, I think. Writing songs is my outlet; some people paint, others write poems, and I write songs. I also want to make music that I’d like to hear myself.

Scott: I’ve no idea where it came from originally. I remember as a kid having musical ideas in my head even before I started playing guitar. Sometimes I can go months at a time with absolutely no inspiration whatsoever, but at some point, the ideas will start flowing again, and I can literally be bombarded with musical thoughts at any time of day or night. I try to record everything – even if it’s humming an idea into my phone using the voice recorder. At the last count, my current phone has almost 600 ideas on it – and that’s just THIS phone! There’s a lot more kicking around on old phones and laptops.

7. Where was your last gig?

Murray: We played the Saturday night of the Wildfire Festival, a really great independent weekend event in the borders of Scotland. It’s one we’ve played before and absolutely love. When we don’t play, we go along as fans because the line-up is always excellent and the organisers do it for the right reasons, to showcase great bands.

8. Where would you like to play?

Murray: The Barrowlands in Glasgow. I’d play there before bigger venues or more glamorous locations. It’s where I’ve watched hundreds of legendary bands literally over the years, like Metallica, Faith No More, RATM, The Verve, and Duran Duran. It’s a totally iconic venue and the best I’ve ever been in. It has a spring-loaded floor!” Scott – “I’d echo that sentiment – The Barrowlands would be pretty special. But if it’s a choice to play anywhere, then for me, it would have to be Download.

9. Who would you like to share stages with?

Murray: Deftones. They’re a band I love, and after 30 years, seem to be getting better and better. They have a cinematic sound and range that goes from fragile to brutal within a song or two. I think that has similarities to our sound, and I’d love to be part of that.

Scott: I wouldn’t argue with that. Deftones would be a great fit.

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

Murray: Honestly, I don’t think I have. Being on stage is what I make music for, so when I get the opportunity to get up there, I’m in my element.

Scott: I’m the polar opposite of Murray. There have been very few times when I’ve genuinely felt comfortable on stage over the years. It does get easier the more you do it, but the nerves & doubts never really leave me. All you can do is prepare as much as possible. Practice playing through the songs as much as you can. Buy the best gear you can afford and make sure it’s set up correctly – you don’t want the added worry of things failing or breaking down while you’re worrying about your performance. Most importantly, don’t fall into the trap of thinking alcohol will help to take the edge off your nerves. It doesn’t work. I know this from experience! You’ll just end up getting sloppy and worrying about your performance even more. And although it’s easier said than done, don’t be too hard on yourself if mistakes happen. Most mistakes really DO go unnoticed.

11. Which bands/artists have inspired you the most?

Murray: There’s a huge list to be fair. I was very influenced by pop music as a kid. Duran Duran was the first band I ever properly fell in love with, and they remain my favourite. I think you can hear the influence of this type of music in Those Made Broken. The choruses in particular of our songs tend to be quite catchy, and I think this is where this comes from. The 90s were huge for me with Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana all being big influences in particular. More recently, I’ve been very into metalcore, and bands like Northlane, Erra, and Novelists have all influenced my songwriting in different ways.

Scott: In terms of rock & metal – AC/DC, Metallica & Soundgarden were the life-changing forks in the road that have brought me to where I am. Like Murray, though, my influences are wide-ranging. You want a lesson in songwriting? Listen to ABBA. I’m serious! No one has touched me more in a musical sense than Tori Amos, and some of my favourite musical pieces were written for film. I think it’s just important not to close yourself off to everything around you – you’d be surprised where you can find inspiration from.

12. What’s the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

Murray: I was once asked for my sweaty t-shirt after a gig….the mind boggles!

Scott: Maybe not WEIRD as such...but at a gig Murray and I were both performing at, albeit in separate bands, in our first year of college - during the encore I smashed up an old guitar I had lying around gathering dust. It was a BC Rich Warlock copy, made of plywood and really cheap & nasty. A friend of one of the guys we were at college with found out what I was planning to do, and literally BEGGED me not to do it, offering me money for the guitar – a lot more than it was worth – and basically guilt-tripping me into not doing it, saying it was such a waste. I almost relented, but then thought ‘Nah, fuck it!’, and smashed it to smithereens. It was SUCH a good feeling!

13. What do you think of your fans? How important are they to you?

Murray: Without them, there’s not much point in doing what we do, really. They’re amazing, and we appreciate every one of them, whether they come to a show, buy an album, or listen to us online; it’s all vital to us as a band to have them. We have fans who travel to pretty much every gig we play, and it’s massively appreciated.

Scott: It’s truly humbling to think anyone would put in the time and expense involved in travelling to come and see us play. It’s enormously validating and drives us to keep pushing and trying to produce the best music we can make. We’ll never take it for granted.

14. What do you think of our website?

Murray: It’s great. Intuitive and user-friendly. I really like the fact that on the home page, you can click and listen to a whole host of new music. I'm a big fan of the horns cursor as well. :)

15. Anything to add? New music, gigs, etc.?

Murray: Our new single Echo Chamber is out on 17 th July, and the album A Door You Can Never Close follows on 1 st September.

We’re playing the Hammerdown Festival in Worthing on Saturday 25 th July and Trillians in Newcastle on Sunday 26 th July.

Scott: In September, we’ll also be appearing at the inaugural ‘Bands & Fans’ event at Lumiere Cinema in Romford, which should be interesting, and later in the year we’re heading to Pickering in Yorkshire to perform on Friday 20 th November as part of the ‘Homecoming Weekender’ events organised by our good friends, and awesome band, This House We Built.

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