Introducing: The Calls

Evolving bass-heavy psychedelic guitar whirl from Leeds trio…

YOUR NAME: Tom Fuller.
BAND NAME: The Calls.
WHAT DO YOU DO / PLAY? I’m the main songwriter. I sing and play guitar and dabble at a bit of piano and keyboards.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TOGETHER AS A BAND / PLAYING MUSIC?
We’ve been playing together since 2015 and have gone on quite a journey sound wise in that time. We started off doing punky indie rock and have morphed into a funky, atmospheric, psychedelic sound and no doubt will evolve again.

GIVE US THREE REASONS WHY WE SHOULD TRACK DOWN, LISTEN AND DISCOVER YOUR MUSIC?
Because it’s new and new music needs support, now more than ever. You never know, we might be your new favourite band.
You’ll be surprised at how varied our sound is. We’re not just your bog-standard indie band. We take influences from dub, rock, psychedelia, funk, shoegaze, dream pop, you name it. So, it’s a bit more eclectic than you’d expect.
We have great songs that you can sing along to, with meaningful lyrics. What more can you ask for?

WHERE DO YOU SOUND BEST – FESTIVAL, CLUB, BEDROOM – OR SOMEWHERE ELSE?
In a chilled out setting, through proper speakers. Our studio recordings really showcase the sound scaping better than live, but if you catch us at a gig we play with a lot of energy and it’s a really different experience. For me, as a writer, I really like using the studio to bring our ideas to life in the most detailed way possible, so listening to our studio recordings at home really lets you be a part of that.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST…
RECORD? Tame Impala – Lonerism. I actually bought it for Will, our guitarist, for his birthday a few years ago, but I think it’s the first vinyl record I actually bought. I grew up with CDs and never bought records until recently. Even though it wasn’t for myself, it’s such a great album that I think it deserves to be mentioned and recommended to anyone. I think of it as the album The Beatles would have made if they had synthesizers. High praise but seriously, check it out. It’s phenomenal.
CD? Foo Fighters – Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. Not an answer you’d expect from me and I’m not much of a Foo Fighters fan, but I remember hearing ‘Long Road to Ruin’ on the radio at the time and loving it, so I went and got it. I didn’t need to buy much of my own music at that time because my dad has such a big music collection that I spent a lot of my younger years listening to his music. But yeah, my own collection started with Foo Fighters.
DOWNLOAD? I never got into downloading music so I’m not sure I even have an answer for this. It was probably something by one of my mates from school. I always preferred CDs.

SO, WHEN IT ALL GOES RIGHT AND YOU’VE GOT A MANSION AND A SUPERMODEL GIRL / BOYFRIEND, WHAT WILL BE YOUR BIGGEST MUSICAL INDULGENCE?
I’ve always liked the idea of having my own island. Somewhere warm. That’d be nice!

SO, WHEN IT ALL GOES WRONG AND YOU’VE ACRIMONIOUSLY BROKEN UP CITING HUGE MUSICAL DIFFERENCES, WHAT DO YOU FALL BACK ON?
Just writing songs. That’s always been everything for me. A catchy tune with lyrics that mean something. Anything beyond that is a bonus.

CITE SOME INTER-BAND MUSICAL DIFFERENCES…
Generally, we pretty much always agree on everything which I think is why it’s so much fun for us to be in this band together, and why I can’t see us acrimoniously splitting up anytime soon. The main thing that springs to mind is that I do have a soft spot for certain cheesy pop tunes (cough) ‘Karma Chameleon’ (cough) which doesn’t always go down too well in rehearsal. But hey if it’s a tune, it’s a tune!

WHO ARE YORKSHIRE’S FINEST IN CULTURE, SPORT AND MUSIC?
Sports wise Super Leeds United and their talisman Kalvin Phillips, and boxer Josh Warrington. Musically, Arctic Monkeys are big heroes of ours. Pulp are awesome too. There’s a band from Halifax called The Orielles who I think are great and would massively recommend checking out.

NAME YOUR SUPERGROUP – WHO’S PLAYING WHAT, WHO’S ON VOCALS AND WHO’S YOUR BEZ?
This is an answer that’s always changing, but today it’s:
Vocals – Thom Yorke
Guitar – Johnny Marr
Keyboards – Kevin Parker
Bass – Paul McCartney
Drums – Reni
Bez – There’s only one Bez!!

GO SEE THIS FILM: Lord of The Rings (extended, obviously).
GO READ THIS BOOK: Ten Years in An Open Necked Shirt by John Cooper Clarke.
GREAT LOST BAND/ARTIST:  King Tubby.
WOULDN’T BE CAUGHT DEAD SUPPORTING: Manchester United.
LONDON, L.A OR LEEDS? Leeds.

AND FINALLY, AS YOU LEAVE THE STAGE, WHAT ARE YOUR PARTING WORDS?
There’s more where that came from!

For more info visit: facebook.com/thecallsuk