How did you first get into music?

Whilst in 6th from college a friend of mine, Chris Dawson, had been learning how to play guitar at home (his Dad had this blue fender strat). We would go to the drama studio on breaks and grab a couple of the acoustic guitars they had, and he would show me songs like "Wonderwall" and "Sunday Morning Call" by Oasis. This is where my bug for Oasis started. I was literally obsessed. So, I ended up buying and acoustic guitar if my own from Argos for £50 and I would just spend hours after school learning one Oasis song after another, with a couple of Paul Weller tunes thrown in too. My Mam was and still is a big Paul Weller fan. This branched out to the likes of David Gray, Stereophonics, any bands, or artists that had great acoustic songs that were easy to learn!

Greatest Strength/Greatest Weakness?

In music, strength wise, I’d say authenticity in my music. Certainly, since going solo almost everything I write is deeply personal and drawn from experience. Weaknesses, I’d have to say how much I try and cram into my life generally! It’s something I’ve worked on over the last year, giving myself some days off where I can just do absolutely nothing after work. I was running in half empty all the time so I have more energy now so when I do want to throw myself into things I can.

What is your creative process when making music?

First and foremost, I have to be in a space on my own with no distractions! The Covid lockdown definitely changed how I write. I worked from home throughout the whole lockdown madness and whereas I would normally pick up my guitar and write at home, I started to find that increasingly more difficult having worked from home all day, I struggled to motivate myself to then pick up the guitar and write in the same four walls I’d spent all day doing my day job in. So, I approached a local pub round the corner from my flat, and asked if I could start using their function room above the bar, and thankfully they said yes. I’ve actually moved about 20 mins or so down the road since then but still used that room as my main writing space. From there I take an acoustic recording of the tune to my band, and we get together in the rehearsal room and flesh it out from there. Still amazes me now how a tune can go from its most raw form with just guitar and vocals to what it ends up like once the band get stuck into it.

What is your proudest achievement as far as an artist?

That would easily be the Noel Gallagher support gig I played with my very first band many moons ago! He’s a hero of mine and we supported him here in Newcastle in an arena in front of thousands. Managed to meet him before we went on stage too, was mind blowing.

What are your plans in the coming months?

I’ve just announced my 3rd headline show on the 19th of August in Newcastle, it’s a venue called Anarchy Brewery and is the biggest venue I’ve headlined so very excited for that. I’m in the recording studio with my band in the next couple of weeks recording what will be my first EP. After that a national tour is in the pipeline, so a fun few months ahead.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Ideally making a full time living from my music. I started playing in bands when I was a teenager and I’ve made the mistake of looking too far ahead before, and not putting the right energy and focus into the short to midterm, so since going solo at the beginning of 2022, I’ve made a conscious effort to set goals an targets in the short to mid-term, and keep adapting to them as I go. But my longer-term ambitions haven’t really change at all, I want this to be my livelihood and am still trying to work towards that end.