Interview - Polkadodge 

 

You play gigs all over, but is it always special to be gigging back in Sheffield?

 

I think any band loves hometown gigs, as they feel a safety and security when they see a fan base growing and familiar faces. We hope they continue to grow as they have been, everyone's been really good to us.

 

You've supported Catfish and the Bottlemen on numerous occasions, I take it you're not surprised by the success they are currently enjoying?

 

They are a great hard working band. It's nice to see a guitar band doing well on the leading radio stations and gig circuit. It opens up a lot more opportunities for similar bands, as opposed to the recent trend of radio stations being scared to touch new guitar music.

 

Take us back to you first gig together as a band, how were the nerves then compared to how they are when you walk on stage now?

 

I remember we only had five songs, and the one we hailed as our best in that set is the only one we still play. Three of us had years in bands prior to our first gig as Polkadodge so it wasn't too bad. It was just really exciting to be starting over with new songs and a new member.

 

You also headlined Hillsborough Park stage to a ridiculous amount of people! Did you enjoy that?

 

We did! We had arguably our worst ever gig as Polkadodge just before that, so we felt we needed to make amends to all who saw us and to ourselves. We had a lot more pressure on us, but it galvanised us to perform better and it felt like that gig was the beginning of us taking our pre-gig preparation a lot more seriously.

 

Musically, which band/artist do you feel has had the most influence on your songs?

 

We all love different kids of music, which isn't unusual for a band, but when we write together, it seems to create melodic pop music. I think we've all grown up going through the typical phases teenagers go through (the rock phase, the nobody understands me except Nirvana phase etc.) but we've all settled to enjoy good pop music. Whether its U2, Fleetwood Mac, Whitney Houston, Billy Ocean or Pulp.

 

In Sheffield, which other bands do you enjoy listening to?

 

There's quite a few good bands knocking around. The Monday Club are pretty good. Stop Drop Robot, The Retrospectives, The Fontaines.

 

And what is next for Polkadodge?

 

Everything is going to up to 11.