Josh Woodhouse - Lead & Backing Vox
How would you describe your style of music?
Light Rock/alternative.
What would you say are your musical influences?
Nickelback, My chemical romance, Lost Prophets,
Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Beatles, Maroon five,
The Eagles, Cute Is What We Aim For.
How did the band form?
The band began with me (Josh) and Adam talking about wanting to start a band in early 2005. With Adam already playing the drums and me being a singer we began our search school. The latest member to join the the band, Sam Miller,was discovered by Adam from the year below us at school.We all knew Sam before Adam mentioned he could play Bass so this made it easier for the band to make a solid connection with each other. From this point we began jamming at school, until we had enough money to buy our own equipment. After buying all of the basics that we needed we began jamming at Sam’s house in his front room and also began hunting for gigs we just a solid 6 covers learnt. After a number of successful gigs we began writing our own music and recording, whilst gigging as much as we could. This brings us to where we are now, with a new EP being released and us as a band being closer than ever.
Who writes the songs?
We all play equal parts in writing our songs, Me: Lyrics and Melody, Glenn: Riffs
and Lyrics, Sam: Bass Lines and a few backing guitar parts, Adam: Drum Beats.
Every one of us brings in a valuable part when creating new music.
Of all the songs you have written what is your current favourite and why?
Same mistakes/Nothing left to fear. Same mistakes I love because it is one of the most complex songs that we play and I just love performing it because it is upbeat and really gets the crowd going. Nothing Left to fear is also one of my favourites because it is a really melodic tune and it is also extremely catchy.
What type of gigs do you like to play and why?
I enjoy playing all gigs no matter which type they are, battle
oftheband or charity gigs. The feeling of performing and thebuzz
that I get from it means that it doesn’t matter what type of gig
it is as long as we all putour best into it and most importantly enjoy it.
What’s your most memorable gig to date and why?
The most memorable gig was winning the Semi-finals of The Horn in
St Albans. To get to the final in such a prestigious competition is just amazing.
What’s your fan base like? Who would you say your music appealed to most?
I think our fan base is amazing and spans a whole generation from 15 to 50. Of course it is not as big as we would like it to be yet but its growing every gig. The fans that we have are just awesome, their dedication and support really means a lot to us and to be honest, without them we would be nothing so we owe it all to them.
If you could collaborate with any artist dead or alive who would it be and why?
Extremely difficult question!! Umm I think it would have to be someone like the lead singer of My Chemical Romance, simply because I have taken so much inspiration from the way that he performs and to perform with him would be like a dream come true.
What’s the bands ultimate ambition or dream?
Our ultimate ambition and dream is to play Wembley! Ha-ha, from the beginning we have all said to each other, when we play Wembley then and only then have we made it as a successful band.
When and where is your music available?
We are launching our EP on May 26th which will be available on CD from: www.critical-path.co.uk and it will also be available for download on I tunes.
Name one unusual fact about you.
When I was a kid my mum bought me a bright green balaclava (attractive I know) but never the less apparently I really took to it and wore it every time I went out for approx 5 months!! Until the beginning of summer when she threw it away because people started to look at me in a funny way. P.S. Don't worry if we make it I am sure that pictures will be available on EBay.
Is there anything else you’d like to say or tell us?
Just like to thank everybody that has supported us and helped us over the past two years, a special thank you to Steve Heliczer and also a special thank you to all of our family’s who have played an extremely important part in the support that has got us to where we are now.
Adam Levitt - Drums
How would you describe your style of music?
Alternative Rock.
Who are your musical influences?
The Who, The Beatles, The Stones, Sister Hazel,
Silvertide, Goo Goo Dolls.
How did the band form?
It was Josh and I who first thought about putting a band together. We came across some emo, Glenn. He was a bit shabby, unshaven kind of a tramp looking guy. However we took him on and his guitar riffs seemed to fit the style of music we wanted to make. Yes, I’m also the one who discovered Sam Miller. Sam hadn’t originally played the bass. His expertise on the guitar led him to produce some really cool bass lines though. I think he didn’t realise how good he was on the bass until joining Critical Path. And there you have it. Four good looking, charming but most importantly modest…people looking to enjoy the music they make, gig loads and let the good times roll.
Who writes the songs?
I feel that writing the songs we’ve made has been just as much fun as performing them.
I love the challenge of trying to produce the best sound I can make personally on the drums
and we’re all not afraid to comment on how someone can improve whether it be vocally
or on the guitars. So in that way it’s a joint effort there’s no one lays down the law…
we all influence each other and that’s the way we feel it should be to get the best out
of ourselves.
Of all the songs you have written what is your current favourite and why?
This was such a hard decision because really love them all. But if I had to put
my finger on one it would probably be Without Reason. It’s a song that I feel has the most variation along with Girl Of Mine. They are more commercially orientated which I like and allow me to go heavy on the drums, which I also like.
What type of gigs do you like to play and why?
Well at the moment I prefer the battle of the bands heats that we have entered only
because we are winning! So that may all change soon. I feel I play my best gigs in
nervous situations so therefore I get the best performance I can out of myself.
I’m always excited to hear the final decision of the judges. Whilst everything is going our
way at the moment I don’t want to play for fun. It’s not about fun it’s about the pain and
struggle to get to the top!
What’s your most memorable gig to date and why?
I agree with Glenn and Josh here. Its got to be the semi finals of the Horn Battle of the Bands because you start to get the feeling that maybe some people actually do like our music and we may have a chance of winning.
What’s your fan base like? Who would you say your music appealed to most?
I think that we have great fans, including people from school, parents and their friends regularly turn up to our gig and their cheers are a great help. They also give constant advice on how we could improve and without this I feel we wouldn’t be at this stage.
If you could collaborate with any artist dead or alive who would it be and why?
As a drummer it would have to be Keith Moon because of his showmanship and character on the kit. I’d like to make it as big as him but definitely live longer.
Name one unusual fact about each of you.
When eating an apple I eat all the pips as well as the whole core. In fact all I’m left with is the stalk. My goal in life is to eat the stalk as well. I hope I am able to achieve my dream.
Is there anything else you’d like to say or tell us?
I want to thank my mum and dad for financing the drum kit. Justin woodhouse who transports the drum kit to gigs and back. The fans that come and see us, Steve Heliczer who helps us with the sound and photography. And Lorraine who provides us with a room every Saturday where we can jam and work to try and fulfil our dreams!
Glenn Hammersley - Guitars and vocals
How would you describe your style of music?
Alternative Rock.
What would you say are your musical influences?
The Faces, The Rolling Stones, Muse, Placebo, Dire Straits,
B.B. King, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, My Chemical Romance, Billy Talent.
How did the band form?
I joined the band shortly after Josh and Adam started searching for musicians to add to their band, which was then made up of just vocals and drums. We had a couple of jamming sessions, and all felt happy making music together, as our styles seemed to suit one another. We began our search for a bassist, coming across Sam on the way, forming the band as it is today. We began to learn covers taken from our varied influences, and started working on our own material.
Who writes the songs?
It’s all fairly equal, and my view has always been that we couldn’t come up with songs such as we do without an equal input from each band member. Although our influences are very varied, which gave us many problems when deciding what songs to cover, the mixture of playing styles means that we can create songs that stretch across many genres of music.
Of all the songs you have written what is your current favourite and why?
My personal favourite would have to be Same Mistakes. Musically, its one of the more complex
songs we play, but that it makes it more interesting, both for us as a band, as well as for
our audiences. It’s also a great song to jump around to, and we can sometimes get a bit
carried away when we perform it!
What type of gigs do you like to play and why?
At this point in time, any gigs that we get bring with them the same excitement. Being able to get up
on stage and do our thing simply the enjoyment of an audience, as well as for ourselves, is what this
whole things about.
What’s your most memorable gig to date and why?
Definitely the semi-final of the Battle of the Bands at the Horn. As a performance,
I feel that it was one of our finest to date, and the awesome support we had in
the form of our fans gave us the confidence to push ourselves to our limits,
and we were rewarded by getting through to the final!
What’s your fan base like? Who would you say your music appealed to most?
Incredible. We seem to have built up a growing core of people who constantly offer us their support, and knowing that we have the backing of those people, and knowing that they enjoy watching us play, inspires us to do the best we can to ensure that we don’t let them down. We have always aimed to appeal to as many people as possible through our music, and we can see that this is having an effect, with some fans of our own age bringing their parents along to some of our gigs!
If you could collaborate with any artist dead or alive who would it be?
My first thought would be to some of the greatest guitar players of recent times, such as Hendrix, Slash, and Clapton, but as an overall musician, it would have to be Matt Bellamy. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him live a couple of times, and his stage presence is simply awe-inspiring. As a composer, he is possibly one of the greatest alive today, and it would be an immense pleasure to work with him.
What’s the bands ultimate ambition or dream?
At this point, my personal aims are fairly simple; get paid on a regular basis for playing gigs, and to gig regularly in Camden. Ultimate aims would be, as Josh has said, playing at Wembley Arena, or somewhere of equal status. Playing festivals would be incredible also, but we’ll see what happens in the near future.
Name one unusual fact about you.
When I was a kid, I used to sleepwalk. One night I was woken up by my parents on the verge of going to the toilet in their cupboard. I’ve also woken up on the floor downstairs and once even almost got out onto my street!
Is there anything else you’d like to say or tell us?
I’d like to thank everyone who has come to see us so far, your support is really appreciated. My family also, for supporting me through my hobby that has somewhat turned into an obsession and potential career at the same time! My band members also deserve a thank you, for their dedication and hard work, which I hope I have matched. Finally, a massive to thank you to Steve Heliczer, who has done so much work on our behalf that we barely feel worthy of him.
Sam Miller - Bass guitar
How would you describe your style of music?
Alternative Mature Rock.
Who are your musical influences?
Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Rush, Nickelback, Enter
Shikari, Muse, The Offspring, Dire Straits, Aerosmith,
The Killers, The Feeling.
How did the band form?
Through a casual chat with Adam Levitt I learnt that he, Josh and Glenn were all in a band looking for a bassist. Originally I did not think of me fitting the bill as I was primarily a guitarist, not a bassist. I thought of bassists that I knew however all of them were in a band already. As I had a bass, I offered to jam with them until they found a proper bassist. A few months went by jamming and I developed a feel and liking for the bass and the band, and improved significantly. Since then I was adopted by the band as their bassist and was very happy to participate. After performing a few cover songs at various small venues and parties we decided to write our own material and that takes us to where we are now.
Who writes the songs?
I enjoy writing songs with the band; we all work so well as a team. Glenn will come up with
some initial riffs and guitar parts, Adam will easily put an effective beat to them; I will then
sing a bass line over what they are playing a apply it to my bass; we will come up with the
musical structure with the help of Josh directing us between lunch breaks and once we have
the music together Josh successfully fits the melody and lyrics to the music. After some
tinkering (tah dah) you’ve got one of our song. As you can see we have a great
interaction and as a result of that we enjoy writing and performing our songs.
Of all the songs you have written what is your current favourite and why?
I love playing Same Mistakes as I love the beats and the input into the song. I also like
the breaks which really build up anticipation within the audience. However, I also like
Lonely Romantic as the audience goes wild when we play this song. It was one of our
first songs and we still love it therefore we put all the energy we can into it. Occasionally
with Glenn doing a crazy guitar solo on the monitor stand in front of us. Not to forget
Adam Levitt’s crazy drum solo.
What type of gigs do you like to play and why?
I love playing any gig where we can really perform and we have enough room to move
around and interact with the audience. One of our best features is how we perform
and we love doing so!!! Give us room and we will deliver!
What’s your most memorable gig to date and why?
Getting into the final is a big deal. The Horn is a very respectable venue and to be able to get into the finals is such a thrill.
What’s your fan base like? Who would you say your music appealed to most?
It is amazing; we could not get a better response from them. There are many loyal fans that have turned up to nearly every one of our gigs personally, and we are very thankful.
If you could collaborate with any artist dead or alive who would it be and why?
That is a hard question it would have to be either Jimmy Page, David Gilmour, Geddy Lee or Rickey Medlocke and all musicians have truly inspired me. There are many others but these are the few specific artists.
What’s the bands ultimate ambition or dream?
Our ultimate ambition and dream is to play Wembley! Ha-ha, from the beginning we have all said to each other, when we play Wembley then and only then have we made it as a successful band.
Name one unusual fact about each of you.
I have a habiting of biting my nails and fingers until they are bleeding. One time, after and combination of biting and bassing I performed a gig with my fingers bleeding and still carried the performance off… Now that’s rock devotion.
Is there anything else you’d like to say or tell us?
I would like to say thank you to all the fans that support us. Mr Stephen Heliczer that put in many hours helping us with sound checks, photos, videos, and our website. I would like to thank Justin Woodhouse that sorts out our gigs and transport regularly. I would like to thank our press officer Mr Michael Hammersley. My mum Lorraine who puts up with our practice sessions in our front room and for sandwiches. And finally the rest of the band for being hardworking, reliable members and friends.
