Lancaster’s finest – An Interview with Massive Wagons
I often trawl through YouTube looking for new bands to listen to. Sometimes random tracks find their way into my mix. One day I was doing a bit of work with YouTube on in the background and I was drawn to the TV screen for two reasons. One, there were Lego characters in the video and two, the music was banging! It turned out to be Massive Wagons.
The next day I went to see my local record guy who supplied me with two of their albums on vinyl- one a colour vinyl which I love! – and I was totally hooked. The two albums, House of Noise and Full Nelson, are now on repeat in my car – much to the irritation of the rest of the family and I am now in the process of exploring their back catalogue. Consequently it was an absolute pleasure to be able to do an Interview Massive Wagons, Baz ( lead singer ) and put some burning questions to him – here are the results.
An Interview with Massive Wagons
Tell me what has been the worst thing about lockdown for you?.
A. The death of live music and touring completely, in a way it has kinda pushed us to the limit and forced us to be creative and stay relevant, which is good, but now its just a bind, and the kinda adversity mentality is just boring, i want live shows back, festivals back and for people to be able to enjoy themselves again without worry. This and zoom.
What about the best thing?.
A. Again I suppose being backed into a corner and being forced to build our Patreon site Wagons World, its been an absolute life saver in terms of saving the band, saving our sanity and putting food on the table! Without it I suspect we would have probably crumbled haha.
Who( if anyone ) did you bubble up with?
A. Obviously my immediate family, my other half and daughter, ma and pa down the road and for a time we only saw the guys in the band, we weren’t practicing for a period so there was at much contact, just brief encounters to do an odd live stream or whatever.
What is your earliest musical memory?
A. My earliest musical memory, hmmmm, probably something by Buddy Holly being played by my mum when I was a kid, rock n roll legend, not my mum, Buddy Holly.
Who was the first band you saw live?
A. Pulp at Morecambe dome, sadly been demolished now, it was a brilliant venue, sadly some absolute toss pot, probably on the council, as is where most toss pot ideas come from, decided to have it demolished, but yeah Pulp were incredible, I love em.
What is your favourite Rainbow/ UFO tracks ? ( said to be your early influences)
Hmmm again, that’s a big question, but just picking at random, UFO I’d say Love To Love and Rainbow, well, its got to be Stargazer, unbelievable track!!
Whose idea was it to do a video using Lego characters?
A. I can’t remember to be honest, but I think it was our manager Terri, she works with Bootyard Bandits who’s drummer Paul is a stop motion guru!! With some input from the band he put together the vid in record time, and we were totally blown away! Pleas during lockdown what else could we have done, options were limited.
What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you on stage?
A. Haha I’m not easily embarrassed to be honest, i love a laugh on stage and if that’s at my expense then thats totally cool, but probably when Stevie knocked me off stage completely, i fell off mid song into the photo pit, landed upside down haha kept singing tho, i think there are a few vids floating about somewhere.
Is the album mural still on the pub ?
A. Yeah absolutely is! The place has been taken over by new owners too now, they have totally refurbished the place, no expense spared, its fantastic!! And have talked to the council nobbers and come to an agreement on keeping it for now, so all good!
Who would you most like to tour with?
I think Volbeat would be a good match up for us, I think that would be killer, Foos would be good too, but I think sometimes the bigger the band you’re supporting it can be a bit of a poison challis, everyone I’ve seen support DC has gone down like a fart in a crowded lift, the people are there for DC and no one else! Obviously Airbourne would be cracking too, on a personal level.
What is the best venue you have played so far?
A. My favourite would have to be either the Ritz in Manchester or Nottingham Rock City, both legendary venues, and both supporting the Wildhearts, crazy crowd too, which makes a huge difference, either of those or any of the arena shows, purely because of what they are, just absolutely colossal!
How do you think you will cope with getting back out and doing live shows?
A. Haha I can absolutely guarantee you 100% we will have zero problem getting back to playing shows, bring it on, sooner the better, I’m struggling to cope not doing em.
Any plans for a new album?
A. Absolutely! Its at least half done, demos started, its well underway, for me it was a bit of a weird start, worried about following up House Of Noise I suppose, wondering what direction to set off in, but we just set off and its kinda just taken us along with it, its a bit more anger so far, more kinda a British punk edge perhaps, not the first wave of Punk, but defo an edge, and I like that, we are well happy with it all so far anyway.
What song do you enjoy playing live the most?
A. I’d say pressure, we are currently opening with it in the set and its just bangin!! Its a real power house of a song.
 | James |   |
Massive Wagons tour dates
O2 Academy Islington, London
Saturday 11th September 2021
Doors at 18:00
Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
Monday 13th September 2021
Doors at 18:30
Engine Rooms, Southampton
Wednesday 15th September 2021
Doors at 19:00
Engine Rooms, Southampton
Wednesday 15th September 2021
Doors at 19:30
Cavern, Exeter
Friday 17th September 2021
Doors at 19:00
O2 Academy2 Birmingham, Birmingham
Saturday 18th September 2021
Doors at 19:00
Academy 2, Manchester
Sunday 19th September 2021
Doors at 19:00
Chinnerys, Southend, Southend on Sea
Tuesday 21st September 2021
Doors at 19:00
The Globe, Cardiff
Wednesday 22nd September 2021
Doors at 19:00
Newcastle Riverside, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Thursday 23rd September 2021
Doors at 19:30
Hangar34, Liverpool
Saturday 25th September 2021
Doors at 19:00
The Garage, Glasgow, Glasgow
Sunday 26th September 2021
Doors at 19:00
You can check out even more from Massive wagons below!
https://www.massivewagons.com
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