MB - So why don't you introduce yourself to our readers?

TV - We’re Brighton based melo-pop band The Vinyls. We love to write infectious songs about characters, modern frustrations and everyday hopes and dreams. We consist of Matt MacNeill (Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Hal Cleverdon (Lead Guitar), Marcus Gilham (Bass Guitar) and Barney Guy (Drums & Percussion).

MB How did you get yourself involved in the music scene?

TV - We’ve all been on completely different tracks since about as long as we can remember before forming The Vinyls, over two years ago. Matt’s been writing away feverishly since he was about thirteen and must’ve been in at least six or seven bands in that duration. Marcus has been playing bass in various Isle of Sheppey-based hardcore bands before drifting to the mainland and Barney’s been doing all sorts. In fact the man has pretty much found himself to be recruited for just about anything including a death metal band and even an audition for Olly Murs in which we’re told Louis Walsh was “very impressed”, before finding his home in The Vinyls. After acting as the bands impromptu roadie, Hal came to the bands rescue when they lost their guitarist before a gig. After revealing that he already knew the entire set, we were so impressed that he was swiftly made a permanent member of the band and has been with us since.

MB - What are your music influences?

TV - Recently we’ve all been listening to a lot of Motown and Soul, Ike and Tina, Van Morrison, The Four Tops, Aretha and Stevie. Before that, a lot of the music that came out of Britain in the 60s/70s has had a massive influence on us as a band. The Animals, The Who, Elvis Costello, Bowie, Kate Bush, the early Stones and of course The Beatles! The journeys to gigs are reserved for a battleground of radio, compilation albums and personal favourites, which is just about anything from the mid-nineties onwards. I think the last one was a fight between Best Coast and Eels.

MB - How did it feel to play to 2500 people at the Grendon Festival?

TV - It was a great experience and a pretty cool memory. As we walked on to the main stage, the sun was out and we could still see everyone scattered around the field. Then just as we were about to begin the engineer came over and said “Right, the sun’s gonna set in 5 minutes and that’s when we’ll pump everything up”. Sure enough it did and so we ended up walking on to the stage in this orange/pink light and when we finished the house lights came up and we could see this whole sea of people stretching back across the field. It was our first festival experience and we won’t ever forget it.

MB - What's your songwriting method?

TV - Usually Matt writes a basic idea and layout for the songs and then we all step in and work on our individual parts. Then we’ll come back together and play judge and jury and chuck out everything we don’t like before hammering away and rearranging until everything fits right. In the beginning this was a lot more regimented but as we’ve played together longer the songwriting has become more spontaneous.

MB - ‘Hurry’, Why don’t you tell us more about the writing and recording process?

TV - Although it’s definitely got its personal touch, I guess ‘Hurry’ is a melodrama about a man warning a woman to stay away from him. In the same vein as the Stone’s “Play With Fire”, he taunts and mocks her with perhaps the only redeeming factor being that the kindest thing he has ever done is to warn her away before he can break her heart. Some songs are completed in a day, ‘Hurry’ wasn’t! We had several versions that we worked through and constantly changed, but we’re delighted with what came out.

MB - What’s been one of the most hilarious moments you have been while touring or playing a gig?

TV - Last year we found ourselves playing a pub gig while in a small coastal town. The problem was the gig was during Euro 2012 and England were playing. Now although we saw this as a potential problem, we assumed there was no way the promoter would put us on until after the match. We were wrong. Worst still the only TV in the pub happened to be behind the stage! As we nervously started our first song in front of a load of frustrated locals, their faces started to change. Their resentment seemed to turn to enthusiasm and as we finished the song they even cheered. We think we've done it, won round the locals, only to turn around and find Walcott had equalised against Sweden.

MB - Do you have a burning desire to tell us something else?

TV - In December we’re heading off on our UK tour and we can’t wait. We’ve had a great response online across the UK so we’re really excited to finally to meet our fans and play in the cities of some of our favourite bands. We’re starting in Glasgow on December 3rd before cutting through the North, Midlands and South and finishing in London on December 14th. Tickets are available at www.wegottickets.com/newmusicconnection so people can snap theirs up there. Also be sure to check YouTube for our videos to ‘Hurry’ and ‘Victoria’. ‘Victoria’ was released earlier this year and features some pretty cool ‘food animation’ so don’t miss that.

MB - So what's next?

TV - We’re working towards the tour in December and then in the New Year we’ll be back in the studio again and working on our next single. We have a lot of new material which we’re really excited about and big plans for next year so stay tuned. Keep in touch on Facebook (/thevinylsofficial) and twitter (/thevinylsoffcl) to keep updated for 2014.

MB - Where can we find more about your music?

TV - Our new single ‘Hurry’ will be released worldwide on 18th November and will be available on all major music download sites and CD from our official website: www.thevinyls.net

You can hear our music in the following places:

Youtube.com/thevinylsofficial

Soundcloud.com/thevinylsofficial

thevinylsofficial.bandcamp.com