Bloodstock Bound: Dead Blonde Stars
As Bloodstock gets closer, we delve deep into the line up to find out more about some of the bands playing the New Blood and Jägermeister stages at this years event.
Today we chat with Dead Blonde Stars!
The Razor's Edge: Please introduce yourself and your band mates.
Dead Blonde Stars: We are DeadBlondeStars from Sheffield. We have Gary on lead vocals and guitar, Oli on guitar and backing vocals, Tom on guitar, Matt on bass and backing vocals, and Jamie on drums.
The Razor's Edge: How would you describe your style of metal?
Dead Blonde Stars: Not metal! We’re a heavy rock band. There are probably some metal elements in our sound, particularly in Jamie’s drumming style, but we’re definitely not a metal band.
The Razor's Edge: How did you land your spot on the Bloodstock bill?
Dead Blonde Stars: We won the Sheffield Metal 2 The Masses competition. We’d never played the competition before and didn’t go into it with any expectations of winning, particularly as we’re not a metal band. We just wanted to reach new audiences and thought M2TM would be a good way to do that.
The Razor's Edge: How tough was the competition this year?
Dead Blonde Stars: Very tough! It was such a high standard throughout, especially the final, as it should be. Every band in the final was worthy of a place on the New Blood stage, and we were delighted to take home the win. We played with some great bands in the heats and semi-final too, and hope we get to share a stage with them again.
The Razor's Edge: What does playing at Bloodstock mean to you?
Dead Blonde Stars: It’s obviously the highlight of our career so far. To play such an established and highly regarded festival of this size is something not many bands get to do, and we’re hugely thankful for the opportunity. The M2TM competition shows Bloodstock’s commitment to giving new/lesser-known bands a leg up, and they should be commended for it.
The Razor's Edge: For people who’ve never seen you live, what can they expect at Bloodstock?
Dead Blonde Stars: We don’t do the classic foot-on-monitor, throwing the horns rockstar thing. You could say we’re quite understated in that respect. That said, we’re pretty intense, very loud and always give it everything we’ve got. Just don’t expect much in the way of audience participation!
The Razor's Edge: What day are you performing?
Dead Blonde Stars: We’re playing on the Saturday, although we’re not sure what time yet.
The Razor's Edge: What other bands are you looking forward to watching at Bloodstock this year?
Dead Blonde Stars: Jamie is very excited for Killswitch Engage on the Friday night. The obvious highlight for the Saturday has got to be the headliners, Meshuggah. Hopefully we’ll get chance to catch Crowbar as well. We’d love to see Megadeth and Sepultura on the Sunday, but most of us are going home on Saturday night! There are lots of bands we’re not familiar with playing across the weekend, and we’ll try and see as many as we can whilst we’re here.
The Razor's Edge: Playing the New Blood Stage is just the first stepping stone in a bands journey. What’s next in your plans for world domination?
Dead Blonde Cars: Right now we’re just concentrating on playing shows for the rest of this year, and in between those we’ll be doing pre-production on our third album with a view to recording and releasing it earlyish next year. We still have a lot of new music in us yet! Hopefully next year will see us playing bigger shows and festivals, so we can continue to grow our fan base.
The Razor's Edge: Are you camping with the fans? Which campsite are you heading for?
Dead Blonde Stars: Jamie’s staying on the artists’ campsite for the whole festival, so expect to see him wandering around. The rest of us will only be there for the Saturday, as we have work/family commitments.
The Razor's Edge: You’ve gotta keep hydrated at Bloodstock, what is your drink of choice for the weekend?
Dead Blonde Stars: We’re from Yorkshire, so anything that’s free, obviously. Gaz has been teetotal for years, and Tom will be driving the van, so they’ll both be staying off the booze. We don’t generally have more than one or two beers before we play anyway, just so we can stay focused and give our best performance. Matt will probably get through as many as possible afterwards, though!
The Razor's Edge: See you at Bloodstock in a few weeks!
Dead Blonde Stars: You certainly will. Looking forward to it!
