‘The car just wouldn’t start’: the highs and lows of independent touring, interview with Junk
Image Credit: Arabella Wright @arabellawevewright
Speaking just outside the Leadmill Tent, this young band from Sheffield discuss post-gig feelings, organising a tour/album by themselves, and their ‘Rubbish’ alias.
At Tramlines festival, Junk, a band previously unknown to me, played a set so understated yet special that I rushed to ask them to interview. We caught up outside the tent, each band member energised by their biggest stage and crowd yet.
Sonically, Junk pull a lot of influence from Cocteau Twins, finding their own sound through youthful charm and simple, repetitive lyricism. The control in lead singer Evelyn Wilson’s voice adds an emotional complexity to the harmonies. Each track holds its own on a stage shared with ‘buzzy’ bands such as Bleech 9:3 and Saint Clair.
Both nostalgic and exciting, Junk’s set is a hidden gem in Tramlines line-up. I would be intrigued to see their confidence grow after this live success, perhaps opening them up to more experimental in-between songs noodling or even more playful musical ambition.
We sat in the sun still feeling the highs of the gig, the sound of distant drums threatening to take over the interview’s recording. Drummer Fen explains the difference between post-gig feelings in smaller venues versus at their first large festival, “everything just felt huge: like the light, the staging, the sound, it just felt massive, like hitting the drum and then hearing it echo all out and shit. It was really cool. Everything just felt grander, like bigger gestures”.
Despite this step-up, Evelyn (vocals, bass) mentioned the band’s “love for the bars and the small places”, particularly in their meeting place of Sheffield: “We love the team at Sidney & Matilda here in Sheffield. We wouldn’t be here without them, genuinely. We love going to The Washington, and of course, there’s a venue called Delicious Clam, which is where it’s at. It’s only very small, less than 100 cap”.
The camaraderie between the bandmates is evident as they reminisce on the small venues helping them on their way up. But, as artists across the music industry are finding it harder to make money and smaller venues face financial pressures, Junk are refreshingly lighthearted in their independence. Organising a UK tour and recording an album entirely on your own is no mean feat, but it sounds like this band is already halfway there. Evelyn noted “We’re basically just trying to do a bunch of stuff that unsigned bands find really hard to do. […] I’m sure there’s many that have come before us, but. . . unless someone comes around and is like, ‘we’ll, pay for everything’, that’s the aim right now”. Their enjoyment of the journey stands out, raiding the free rider for as many ciders as they can get their hands on, and sharing stories and laughs from the tour.
It’s not been entirely smooth sailing, however. On the motorway on the way back from Glasgow, Fen described the band’s ‘lowest low’: “The car just wouldn’t start. We were stuck by the side of this road for like two and a half hours or something waiting for the AA. The gig was the next day, but we had to get back to Sheffield. So the AA guy escorted us back because he was scared we were going to break down on the motorway”.
Looking outside of the familiarity of Sheffield, Leo (guitar, vocals) shifted the reminiscing to the highest point of the tour so far, “Glasgow was just really cool because we’ve never been there and we don’t know anyone there […] loads of people came to chat afterwards”. Beyond the audience, Leo took a moment to appreciate the wider team required to put these sorts of things together, adding with a chuckle, “we went out on the piss with the promoters […], it was proper nice”.
Prior to their Tramlines performance, Evelyn explained that Junk “Did a couple of secret shows under an alias called ‘Rubbish’, and we had a release of some stickers that said ‘Junk are Rubbish’. It was a little bit of a clue of who we were”. Now building up their sound as Junk, Evelyn expanded on her vocal influences, a particular highlight of their sound. “I’m trained in opera, a little […] so I take a lot of influence from classical singing. Elizabeth Fraser, she’s probably my biggest vocal inspiration, but of course, Kate Bush is amazing. I don’t sound anything like her, though. I don’t… It’s a bit too high for me”. I would be intrigued to see where Junk could take this expansive vocal talent.
Clouds and rain begin to put an end to people’s lounging in the sun, and our conversation. With an admirable level of high spirits, Hannah (lead guitar, vocals) looks ahead to their time as music fans at Tramlines, “It was very cool to be put on the same day as Wolf Alice. To have a female-fronted band as the headliner felt right, felt nice”. As many festival lineups continue to perpetuate the image of music as male-dominated, to have an exciting student band just starting out, alongside those higher up the bill, I wholeheartedly agree with Hannah that “Today of all the days was the most Junk”.
Words by Francesca Lynes