Interview: Down ‘N’ Out (Written)

Down ‘N’ Out, the electrifying alternative rock band from Birmingham, released their latest single ‘Headspace’ on the 23rd of February 2024.

1. Hello! Thank you for taking the time to chat to us. First things first, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started.

My name is Sam Bayley and I play the drums in the band. The band formed when we were all at a very young age. When at primary school, Myself, Archie (vocals) and George (bass) came together and jammed the classics such as Seven Nation Army and The Chain. You know, the songs that everyone plays when young. It was this moment where I fell in love with this escape. just friends connected by one thing. Music. As a collective 3, we joined a local music group on Saturday mornings where we could jam and have a laugh. We then met Max (guitarist) and discovered he was also moving to the same secondary school as us. This is where the band was formed. As we grew up we started playing local pubs aged 14 and loved it. We have continued with this momentum and all took the plunge to choose a college further away from our small town and the exposure to this amazing music scene we are involved in has accelerated our passion entirely.

2. Someone comes to you and asks you to sum up what kind of music you play – what do you tell them?

Alternative rock-ish. Our genre is kind of a mashup of many. We have slow indie-esque verses with hard-hitting choruses. The euphoric moments in songs where pure passion is unleashed are my favourite

3. What’s currently going on in your camp? New releases? Tours? Etc.

We have just released our second single “Headspace” and are playing gigs celebrating this release. We are writing a lot of new tunes and are gearing up for our first EP at the end of the year. Exciting times to be a fan of Down ‘N’ Out!

4. What has been the most positive experience of making music to date for you?

Getting in the studio with a slight spine of what we wanted to do for our next couple of singles and being excited to write around this. The majority of each song just flowed straight out of our bones and we are now extremely happy with a natural-sounding product.

5. Likewise, what has been some of the more challenging aspects and how have you overcome them?

I always say since being in this band the most challenging thing is what to do after you have a single as an mp3 file on your computer. A fully completed single that you and all your bandmates adore is awesome. Releasing it and promoting it to death is extremely challenging and disheartening at times.

6. How do you handle the modern expectations of being in a band? Always online, having to put out content constantly, your success measured in likes and follows?

A great question to allow me to develop that previous point aha. I think it’s something all unsigned musicians struggle with nowadays. A thing I do that makes it easier is having a notes p[age dedicated to content ideas and just constantly filling this up so it isn’t stressful when it comes to a time when we need to post. Sticking to themes on our Instagram page depending on how the single we are releasing is themed also really helps keep within a flow and on top of our pages.

7. What’s something that really ‘grinds your gears’ about the industry/business these days and what would you propose is done to combat it?

Streaming. I know it is what everyone says and is very cliche but everyone who gets frustrated by this I feel is correct in doing so. Personally, if I enjoy a band especially if they are ‘underground’ I will buy a physical copy and listen to their music that way. Every little helps.

8. Speaking directly to listeners – what would you ask they do to help support your music?

If you enjoy our music and would like to support us, simply following us on Instagram or coming to a live show means a lot to us as a band. If you would like to take it a step further then even buying a t-shirt helps way more than you can imagine. Thank you.

9. Outside of the music, what do you do to relax?

Walking the dog is key for me. I feel that appreciating nature and getting outside helps more than you could imagine.

10. Where can people find you?

Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Spotify