Thirteen Stars Interview
5th October 2016Thirteen Stars very kindly granted me an interview. A lovely bunch of guys they were too.
We saw you guys at Rebellion Bar in Manchester supporting the fabulous Attica Rage, how did you guys find that?
We had a great time, the Attica Boys really looked after us and the venue were incredibly generous and kind. It’s great to play alongside great bands like Attica and Mason Hill who also played a blinder that night. It’s no wonder they just won the HRH Highway To Hell contest, superb live band and a lovely bunch of lads too.
You guys will be supporting the amazing Stone Broken on Wednesday in Leicester, have you guys got anything special lined up for that?
Yes, we will almost certainly be stopping for a hazelnut latte in the Costa at Scotch Corner! They are amazing. 🙂
We are loving the new artwork for the logo for the band, who came up with this for you and did they have full reign for the design idea?
Thanks we love it too. We had Andy Pilkington from Very Metal Art design it for us. We’ve been trying to sort it in-house for ages and were never very happy but Geno (De Lora, band manager) suggested we try Andy and we couldn’t be happier. We gave a fairly loose brief with some logos and artwork that we liked and it went from there.
You guys have recently been included in the tribute to the Quireboys on the Friday night Rockshow with Guy Bellamy how did that all come about?
Guy did a feature on us not long after the release of “The Raven” and we became good friends. We bonded over early queen records and David Bowie, so, whilst we were in Rome supporting the Quireboys on the February/March European tour we did a phone interview just about what we were up to and how it was going. Between that and a couple of follow-up interviews around the time of the AOR road trip and finally meeting Guy in Ibiza and again at Wildfire festival, the Quireboys and how amazing they were to us and how much fun we had on the road with them naturally came up in conversation. Guy is a real gent and a lovely bloke that cares deeply about music and bands and he carefully and diligently crafted that wonderful tribute to show how loved and respected the Quireboys are by the emerging bands that have supported them. We count ourselves extremely lucky and very grateful to be one of those bands.
Back in July you got to be special guests for Nashville Country/Rock playing alongside some well-known names such as ‘Stacie Collins & The Al Mighty 3’, what was that like?
It was brilliant! Not long after the Quireboys Euro tour Paul (Guerin) recommended to Al Collins that we were a band that would compliment him and Stacie. Al got in touch saying he really dug what we were doing And when we were offered the chance to play with them we jumped at it. We’d never played the Iron Road in Evesham before and we loved the venue and Crowd. Stacie and the boys were amazing, such a command of the stage and crowd. Al’s bass playing really moved me particularly, such a great groove and feel to it. Of course Stacies vocals and harmonica playing would be a great show on their own but they locked in beautifully with the band and delivered a wonderful set. Al said afterwards he asked us to do it because he wanted to see us live which was an amazing compliment.
You got to play the fabulous Wildfire Festival, for you who was band of the weekend?
We arrived on the Sunday lunchtime and I spent a good chunk of time doing a “nobody played synth” era Queen interview with Guy Bellamy and Dan from RSJ so unfortunately I didn’t get to see many bands. I caught the first couple of songs of Stone Broken before we were setting up and they are always a class act. Later on I caught a few from the Colour of Noise who I thought had a fantastic sound and great songs. Of course Massive Wagons had a great show on Friday night and just judging from the live videos on Facebook I think they may have stolen the weekend.
You have played some amazing events throughout the year, which have stood out for you?
At the risk of sounding like I’m sitting on the fence, every gig we play is very special to us. Whether it’s a gig at home with friends and family attending or a Chopper rally in Flanders with stripping biker gals on stage. We’ve had amazing times, seen things and visited places that we’ve always wanted to, played to wonderful and receptive crowds, Had amazing experiences on the road with superb bands and played in 8 different countries this year. It’s been a dream come true and we’re very blessed to have had the opportunities.
You guys managed to get to number #66 in the Malaysian iTunes Rock Chart with ‘White Raven’, how did that feel?
Surreal is the word! Ha ha. It brings it home to you how universal music is and how language is no barrier in melody and harmony. I often think that whilst sub-categorization and pigeon hole-ing divide us, the love of music is what unites us. We’re very thankful that our Malaysian fans have bought and hopefully enjoyed the Raven and hope that we’ll be able to play live for them soon.
You released Daddy’s Girl back in May, which was your second release off your album ‘White Raven’, do you think that you might release a new EP or Video anytime soon?
Currently our focus is on the next album and road testing the songs for that. As much as we would love to release an ep/video every three months, with limited resources we have to focus our efforts and money on the next grand venture. Though there may be a special surprise towards the end of the year.
What’s next for You guys?
We’re supporting Hayseed Dixie for most of their UK Tour in November and are really looking forward to that. We’re very thankful to them for asking us and it promises to be a great tour. Apart from that we have a local acoustic show at the end of October and we’re in the rehearsal room a lot in preparation for the next album which will hopefully be recorded early next year.
Is there anything you would like to say to your fans?
Thank you for your continued support and kindness. We couldn’t do this without you. You are the music we’re just the band.
