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Perhaps best known at the moment as a covers band, we talked to Except for Access ahead of an exciting gig at Meltdown this Friday 26th April, where they will focus on playing their original material, old and new, alongside The Demimondaines and The Glass Caves. They have a busy and exciting line up for the coming months, which will include Staxtonbury.
Harry Bullen (lead vocals/guitar), Jackson Ellis (bass/backing vocals) and Jon Dawes (drums/backing vocals) are known for their high-energy sets and ambitious attitude. What gig-goers may not realise is how welcoming they are, proffering this interviewer with tea and biscuits and chatting away at full pelt for almost an hour and a half quite willingly, despite the cold temperatures in their rehearsal space. Full of charm and humour, much time is spent laughing, mostly due to some random train seats stored in their room – Jackson suffering most from the unbalancing effects of trying to actually use these as we sit down to interview.
Now, fans will know that you were the winners of the Tap & Spile Battle of the Bands, and that you got through to the final stages of the Surface Festival, playing at the O2 Academy. Tell our readers a little bit about the thrill of competition.
Jon: As far as the Battle of the Bands goes, we didn’t go into it to win at first, more for fun…but by the final, we’d really got the hunger, I really wanted to win. We didn’t have a game-plan to start with, and even though we’re a local band we maybe weren’t so well known to people in the sense that we’re not in the open mic scene kind of thing, I guess we stand alone a little in that sense. But yeah, we got the hunger and built our game-plan as we went along. You might be better known as a covers band but you do have a lot of original material too.
What is your writing process?
Harry: I often think of a blueprint or a hook, then we kind of bring it in and fill it in together, Jon and Jackson add some rhythms, it all comes quite organically.
Jon: (laughing) Harry wants to be a singer-songwriter, he loves writing about love…
Harry: We’re structured in the sense that sometimes we come to band practice saying we’re going to write a song today, it doesn’t always happen but when we do get the focus, we get stuff written. But we get a lot of covers gigs, we like to make sure we have a range and don’t do the same gig over and over again, so we take time to learn new covers too.
Jon: We play fast, in the sense of straight through, we don’t have big gap between songs.
Harry: Yeah, we don’t do traditional banter, but we like to put on a good show… We also don’t play a song unless we’re all happy with it, we won’t gig it unless we’re all sure that it’s right.
Harry and Jon, you were at music college together in Brighton. Tell us about your experience there?
Harry: The guys in Brighton told us, to be honest, if you want to be a gigging musician, just get out and do it… We knew if we were coming back we were going to need to have a plan, make sure we didn’t just drift off. I suppose we had an expectation level, we want to work with people that are going to come to practice, ready and rehearsed, to have put the time and effort in, in-between meeting up…
Jon: We had initially set up with a bass player and guitarist, but the dynamics didn’t quite fit, and we lost the bass player. But we advertised on Facebook and Jackson applied – he’d been thinking about joining the army before that!
Jackson: Yeah, I’d been in a band but it was just a bit of fun, we weren’t practising much and I wanted more.
Jon: So there were four of us at that point but the guitarist wasn’t in the same place, not so interested, so we decided ultimately to work as a three piece.
Harry: It was great to get the right dynamics – it’s not about skill level, I just mean being with people who want the same thing, have the same motivation. Being a three-piece makes some songs interesting as the ones we cover might have more layers, we all had to become a lot more solid and change things up, so maybe instead of a guitar solo we have a bass or drum solo! Musically, I admit, I don’t think any of us are the greatest individual players, but I think together, we bring an energy, we work well as a unit. We wanted to be self-sufficient too, that was something we all agreed on. We started off with pretty crap kit but we put all our gig money aside so we could upgrade and get better stuff, we wanted the band to pay its own way. Investing in yourself lets you expand, and it’s not costing you personally.
So what did you use your Battle of the Bands prize money for?
Jon: That paid for Christmas! We’d bought our instruments by then.
And forthcoming plans?
Jon: Writing new material, we want to be an original material band, covers gigs pay the bills but we work hard and want to be known for our own stuff. We’ve barely had any time off in the past year, we’re working hard.
Harry: Yeah, we are pretty much gigging every week. We’d like to be known for our own stuff, it’d be great to get at least one gig a month in a different area, with a crowd that wanted to listen to you, and that would just be great, getting further afield. We enjoy all our gigs but that’s the direction we want to take, and we respect what good covers bands do but we are doing it simply in order to get somewhere else, we want more of the things like supporting Toploader (*at Scarborough Spa earlier this year – you can read our thoughts on the gig in the Review section). But we know how the industry works, you need to get into the right circle of promoters and agents… we need the right support to take us to the next level. Getting a gig outside of town is one thing – getting people there is quite another! We’ve got the patience though, we know it takes time.
Jackson: Yeah, I always remember the story behind Queen – they started as a support band to Mott the Hoople on a tour but by the end of that tour Queen were no. 1 artists. I’m getting a strong sense that you’re very motivated, very thoughtful about what you do to get to where you want to go.
Can you tell us more?
Jon: We like to think about things like how we dress, not to extremes, but having a bit of a look or identity is important – it’s your image. We know a guitarist, absolutely amazing, really talented, who auditioned to play on tour for Duffy, and was told he was great but he couldn’t have the job because he was too scruffy. We just want to make sure we ‘brand’ the band, even if it’s just wearing the same colour t-shirts, that kind of thing.
Harry: I’m not very into ‘fashion’. Jon’s a Top Man model though…
Jackson: And I just like to wear football shirts!
Harry: We have our priorities – we’d always put an original gig over the covers where possible, even if it pays less. It’s about the long haul – we have a plan, we’re not here for the money but it’s a means to an end, we are focused on getting ourselves towards a record deal. We know it takes time.
Jackson: We’re not really here to compete with other bands, we just want to achieve our collective goals.
Harry: We’re really looking forward to playing at Meltdown on Friday as playing your original material always gives you a bigger rush than cover gigs do.
Jon: Yeah, and we love the Demimondanes so it’s already looking like it’s going to be a great night.
So you’re not expecting fame and fortune in an instant, and you’ve already come a long way – what would be the advice you might give to new bands starting out?
Harry: Practice, practice, prepare.
Jon: Keep doing the best you can do, even if the band around you aren’t doing well, play to your best ability and when you get to be the best in that band, move on to the next level. Not in a harsh way but just keep moving on, keep learning.
Harry: Acting confidently even when you’re not is a big help, it can carry you a long way!
Jackson: I had a really good tip, but I’ve forgotten it now…! (His band mates cajole him to think of an answer)
Jackson: Be in a band… get good! (His band mates now rib him for a few minutes, all in good spirits)
Jackson: No, honestly, I had something really good to say…but I’ve forgotten now!
Don’t you all teach music as well?
Jon: I will teach, but expect my students to be reliable, to be motivated. I will sound like a taskmaster, but if they don’t turn up, don’t practice, it gets frustrating getting let down and wasting your time.
Harry: There’s a lot of work that goes into teaching, and into playing. I’m nowhere near as good as I want to be, but I keep learning myself.
Jackson: There’s always more you can do, in any job, always something new you can learn.
Jon: There’ll always be someone better than you. But that’s what pushes me, to be better. Harry: But never think you’re ‘there’. Never.
What about your musical tastes? Do you all bring something different to the table?
Jackson: I’m a big fan of punk – Clash, Ramones, Green Day.
Harry: I’m into things like Led Zeppelin, Jon likes his chart music – he kind of keeps us going with the more up to date stuff! We’d be more classic 70’s rock without him.
Jackson: Yeah, Jon brings a mainstream element.
Jon: I like all sorts of music, but I’m a sucker for amazing harmonies, choruses… I like Slipknot, David Guetta… John Williams…30 Seconds to Mars…
Jackson: I got you listening to Slipknot!
I ask who they would go to see when they have a rare night off. They collectively throw up a number of names of local bands they enjoy and admire, including La Petite Mort & The Demimondaines (their Battle of the Bands co-finalists), The Grand Urge, TFI Music, Mark Stanley and Laura Welburn.
And if you were to collaborate with anyone locally, who would you choose?
Jon: Phil Booth from Guitar Galleries. I know he’s not in a band anymore but he is great.
Harry: Stefan Ward – we tried to get him in the band at one point!
Jackson: I’d love to have a jam with Snatch. It’d be a lot of fun.
Harry: Also, Laura Welburn. It’d be great to try some different harmonies with a female vocalist.
Upcoming Gigs: They play The Ship, Falsgrave on the 2nd Saturday of every month and Indigo Alley the 3rd Saturday of every month. To book the band, contact them via their Facebook page.
