Simon Rushworth
They’re one of the best things out of the Birmingham area since pork scratchings and they’ve even gone and named themselves after Faceman from the A-Team.
Yep, Templeton Pek are destined to go far and rushonrock can thoroughly recommend their Kill This Sound EP – out next month.
But until then why not check out our interview with main man Neal Mitchell and impress your mates when – in 12 months’ time and these boys are huge – you can say you read it here first…
rushonrock: Great band name. Why not BA Baracus?
Neal Mitchell: We wanted the name of an A-Team star and we always loved the Faceman. I met Dirk Benedict, who played Templeton Peck, and he gave me a signed T-shirt which we now have framed. We’re all kids of the 80s and we just loved those shows like the A-Team, Baywatch and Airwolf. People ask us why we didn’t go for B.A. Baracus or Murdoch but we’re happy with what we’ve got. Even if it’s not spelt exactly right. It just looked better without the ‘c’ in Pek!
rushonrock: There is a tradition of bass-playing frontmen in rock – who was your inspiration?
NM: I don’t think I really looked up to anyone in particular. We just wanted to keep the band as a three-piece and the guitarist was already playing the guitar and the drummer had his drums so I was the only one left to hold a bass. It just made sense. I suppose I’ve had the odd Sting reference in the past and people will always assume I have a bass idol. But I really don’t.
rushonrock: And as a bloke just how do you multi-task as a singer and bass man?
NM: It’s pretty difficult to do both. It’s more difficult than singing and playing the guitar because you’re dealing with different ends of the spectrum. You’re singing high end stuff and playing low end notes. You have to have your wits about you but I’ve had the odd slip up. It’s easily done.
rushonrock: The Kill This Sound tour misses us out in the North East but please tell us you’ll be back here soon.
NM: I’m pretty sure we’ll be up in that neck of the woods very soon. We try to cover as much of the UK as possible and navigate our way through as many towns and cities as we possibly can. Newcastle’s always been awesome and we’ve played up there a couple of times. There’s a healthy scene and some cracking local bands. It’s our kind of place.
rushonrock: What’s your assessment of the UK rock scene right now?
NM: I suppose it’s healthy in one way but it depends upon your definition of healthy. There are more than enough bands out there but whether or not the majority of them should exist in the first place is open to question. With MySpace and the like anyone can get their band out there. But as far as touring goes it’s definitely harder than ever to get on a good national tour if you’re not part of a certain agency, management company or record company. If you’re not part of that scene it’s hard to break in – it’s a close-knit community which looks after its own. It’s very, very hard to break into.
rushonrock: Does reality TV help or hinder aspiring rock stars?
NM: It’s drawn more attention to music of all types and I’ve nothing against the guys who enter these heavily sponsored Battle Of The Bands-type things. But the shows they’re on are actually down-selling the kind of music we’re into. It’s actually lowering the standard, not unearthing great new bands.
rushonrock: Does it concern you as a young band that the veteran acts like Metallica, AC/DC and Guns N Roses are still the big draws and the big sellers decades after they formed?
NM: I’m not worried at all. It’s a good thing. It’s great that we’ve got these heritage bands because as far as I can see on the horizon right now there’s not a lot of quality bands coming through. I can’t see too many upcoming acts poised to break into stadiums and sell them out for years to come. You look at Metallica, U2 and the like – which are the bands that are going to mark our generation? I can only think of Bullet For My Valentine right now because they’re massive at the moment. After that who knows? You look at the likes of My Chemical Romance and Lostprophets but there’s a lot riding on their next records. Without the big old bands there wouldn’t be a lot of stadium rock or festivals.