Sound Of Guns
Whilst a number of our nations “sporting heroes†have not been busting their balls for our approval *cough * the England football team *cough*, rising Liverpudlian rock band Sound of Guns most definitely are. As the band arrive at Coventry’s famous Kasbah venue - after making an appearance on Sky and getting “ spray painted in make-up†according to vocalist Andy Metcalfe, before having to travel in a somewhat decrepit van up to Coventry during rush hour - it is arguable that other, more pretentious bands would cancel the gig due to exhaustion, not Sound of Guns. The boys soldier on for their fans.
Even though Andy is getting married in 40 hours time!
“ Absolutely no way are we taking any time off after the wedding unfortunately, We’ve got a show the day before and a show the day after, and then we’ve got Reading and Leeds.â€
Sound of Guns dedication to their fans and performing is even preventing the newlywed Mrs Metcalfe from a honeymoon!
“ Me and my wife agreed we wouldn’t have a honeymoon, then I had to explain to her how the band are going to Mallorca with The Courteeners to do the “Mallorca Rocks†festival , she was understandably a bit annoyed,†he laughs.
Sound of Guns first met three years ago, after vocalist Andy and drummer Simon were in a band together previously that split up.
“Me and Si put an advert on gig wires and Nathan our guitarist answered that,†Andy explains. “ We didn’t have a lot to show him at first so we just showed him a few bits off the laptop, then our bass player John watched our first show, and he just joined us after that like,†Andy details whilst sipping a Stella in his thick Liverpudlian accent.
The bands dedication to their work is not always a good thing however, as it almost got them arrested in Wakefield after a bar lady became convinced they had an arsenal of guns with them.
“Oh god,†shudders Andy,†The bar lady in this pub heard us talking about guns, not knowing that was our name Sound Of Guns, so she rings the police saying “there’s these Scousers here with guns!â€
'What Came From Fire' - the band's debut album
When asked why on earth she did that, Andy, very confused obviously rolls his eyes , “ God I honestly don’t know. After the pub we all piled into our van outside then the door opened and armed police were outside with a megaphone shouting “ come out with your hands up!†Fucking hell man it was madness, they dragged us all out the van and had us handcuffed over bonnets searching us and all that. One of our Roadies nearly got in trouble, the police asked us if we had any weapons on us that we shouldn’t have and he pulled out a tiny gun shaped lighter , but thankfully they meant actual weapons.â€
An experience like that may make the fainter hearted rock star think twice about his choice of career, however with Sound of Guns enthusiasm for their work, they simply took advantage of the situation.
“It was good because it got us more publicity at the time. I got so many messages the next couple of days after it. Even my mum rang me shouting “ what you messing about with guns for I just heard you on the radio talking about guns!†Then I had to explain, “ no mum it’s not it’s the band Sound of Guns.â€
The Wakefield fiasco is not the only piece of crazy publicity the indie-rockers have had. Andy was described by the Guardian as being “ A mad scientists genetically hybrid son whose a cross between Jim Morrison and Bono.â€
“Since then all the band have been calling me ‘mono’ like a combination between Morrison and Bono.â€
A comparison that Andy definitely has a love/hate relationship with.
“ Jim Morrison’s cool, The Doors are a mad band, so I suppose it’s flattering. I don’t really know that much about Bono,†he says in a dismissive “Bono’s not cool†way ( to be honest he’s right about that), “ we’ve got a lot of U2 comparisons that I don’t like, but overall I took it as a positive.â€
However Andy’s next revelation indicates that may be him and Bono are more alike than he thinks.
“ Well my mum always said my dad was Terry Wogan!†He laughs,†There’s definitely Irish in our family man and I’ve got Terry Wogan’s hair.â€
His hair is also something Andy has a love/hate relationship with.
“I don’t even brush my fucking hair,†he says whilst running his fingers through a mass of greasy curls, “ It’s like an exploded mattress my hair and some of the worst mistakes in my life have been haircuts.â€
With Sound of Guns exhausting schedule, Andy does have an excuse for not brushing his hair as after the long and energetic shows the band perform, hair duties would be last on any rock star’s agenda.
A huge compliment for the band was being hailed as “the new Princes of Liverpool†by Sound City.
“That felt really nice to be called that,†explains Andy, “ we just played a headline show at Sound City a couple of weeks ago at a huge student union venue and we sold that out. It was cool to do a proper headline thing, we were dead pleased man.â€
Astonishingly, Sound of Guns played for a gruelling hour and 20 minutes that night.
“I felt it man I was sweating out after like one song, honest to god man. By the end of it I was just like a drowned rat. But it was cool to see so many new fans there.â€
After tonight’s performance at The Kasbah club, Sound of Guns can expect an awful lot more new fans too. Considering the band are reaching almost dizzy heights of fame now, and the club, considering previous venues they have played is fairly empty, the band still play as though they’re selling out Wembley Stadium. With Andy jumping out into the audience and yelling out the vocals passionately into the audience, showing how much the band appreciate their fans. The other band members are sweating their guts out too, playing every note and chord with ten tonnes of energy and rocking out whilst doing so. Their performance without a doubt blew the cobwebs out of the old Kasbah. Their performance contains the kind of energy and vibrancy that you wouldn’t expect from a band that have just travelled half way across the country to be here and have no intention of calming down. Expect Sound of Guns to continue putting more energy into their shows and their music than most England footballers have put into every game they have ever played.