A Day Overdue Interview

We had a chat with Edinburgh boys A Day Overdue.

Where did the name ‘A Day Overdue’ come from?
Dan: I’ll take this one [laughs]! I was sitting one day reading the paper on a break at work, looking at an article about people with money problems. I was having some difficulties of my own at the time so I was looking for some advice, and I read this paragraph by someone who had written in and basically the end of it was “and now my bills are no longer a day overdue” and it just hit me. I really liked the way it flows off your tongue. Interestingly I went home and told my mum the name and she said I was actually born one day overdue, so you might say I was born to be in this band!

How long have you guys been together as a band?
Dan: Well it’s difficult to measure exactly, we formed the band through online advertising. Stephen was the first guy I found which, if my email inbox serves me correctly, was on February 16th 2009. Then we found Rob a few days later, met up, and the rest is history. We played our first show on May 2nd last year and wrote a song together called ‘Scarecrows’ through instant messaging before we had even met, which we later recorded for our first EP ‘Something For The Weekend’ and has been re-recorded and updated for our forthcoming album, ‘Secrets’.
Micky: As a new kid in the band I’ve only been with A Day Overdue for 3 months.
Kenny: There’s a funny story to this bit for me and Micky. Last May we actually found their advert and suggested we give them a look so we sent Dan an email like “OMG I love your band we’d love to play for you xxx”. Turns out another two guys had the same idea and messaged Dan about two weeks before we did. So we missed out on joining then. Time went on, I moved to Dundee and Micky stayed at home. Christmas shows up and I have Micky tell me during a rare MSN conversation that he’s in ‘that band’ now and they still need a bass player! I stroked my chin for a minute then decided what the hell. Best decision of my life.

When did you guys start learning to play your instruments and sing?
Rob: I had always been creative but the second I started high school we had access to proper equipment and from then on I was hooked. Singing came naturally to me and I was told by my singing teacher that I had a distinctive style and that I should put it to use, and from then on I dreamed of fronting a band and singing live.
Stephen: I was 16 or 17 when I started playing drums, I tried to learn guitar back when I was 12 or 13 but I was hopeless, I didn’t have the patience to sit and learn. Funny thing is in high school I couldn’t play drums, I was terrible, didn’t come naturally to me at all. I was better at bass but I had such determination to learn the drums I kept practising and practising!Micky: When I was about 15/16.
Dan: Similar to Micky, got my first guitar on my 15th birthday and never looked back. I’m still trying to learn to sing, mostly by practising in the shower. I perform much better naked.
Kenny: I’m pretty sure I first sat down with a guitar (yeah a guitar) about the age of 14 then played non-stop for a good 3 years, played in a few bands and very much couldn’t sing. Then I met my then girlfriend and didn’t practice so much. It was only after realising just how many guitar players are out there I decided to start playing bass, that got me in a few more bands and finally into A Day Overdue. Even though I don’t play as much guitar as I used to I’m still not allowed to play in front of Micky (he doesn’t like it). As for singing I keep that to the car while driving about so no one can hear.

What inspires you to write songs?
Rob: First of all we write all the music and Dan will record a demo. After that I sing melodies and gradually the words piece themselves together.
Dan: This is going to sound pretty strange but usually I don’t really get inspired by anything in particular. Bits of music just come to me. Sometimes I’ll write a whole two or three minute piece of music in my head when I’m at work. I have this short hand system so I can write it down before I forget it! I’m weird.
Kenny: When I comes to writing for me it’s all about the hook, I’ll spend hours trying to get it as big and bouncy as possible but I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the musical mastermind behind this band or any. Once our albums finished however expect to hear some remixes of our stuff at my hand, they’re going to be off the chain! I still haven’t thought of a cool name/alias yet though.

Is there main writer in the band?
Dan: Yeah so far Rob and I have written pretty much everything. We work really well together and when we do work we usually write very quickly. There are a couple of songs on our new album that we probably wrote the bulk of in less than half an hour. But now that Micky and Kenny are on board the dynamic within our band is great and we’re really looking forward to writing some stuff with them.
Kenny: I’ve been forbidden on adding beatdowns and pinch harmonics in the middle of songs. But keep an ear out for b-sides and remixes though because that’s where me and Micky are really going to have some fun!

Where do you guys record your songs?
Dan: We record everything in our homes for the moment. One of the benefits of having Kenny and Micky on board now is that they’re both trained sound engineers so they’ve been helping us out a lot with things for the new album, and it’s definitely taking the songs up a level. We just don’t have the money yet to commit to going into a professional studio, and we think we do a pretty good job considering.
Kenny: I live for studio sessions so it’s a great opportunity for me to get these bad men into that environment and really bring the tracks to life. We’re planning on re-recording the singles for the albums and they’re b-sides in the studio so we can really give people an idea of how good it can be without wasting too much time and money in the studio because we’ve got some serious touring to do.

What is the best thing about being in a band?
Rob: The sense of achievement of watching a song grow from one line or idea to the finished article. For us hearing a track finished is like letting a kid loose in a sweet shop.
Dan: Without a doubt hearing people singing back to you, it’s the most incredible feeling ever. And just meeting so many cool people and having them like our music and pay money to see us is a huge honour.
Micky: Playing live, seeing all the hours put into practising paying off in the best way possible – entertaining a crowd and feeding off that energy.
Kenny: I have to agree with Micky, playing live with this band is fantastic. I love playing bass as well, as it means I can go crazy on stage without screwing up too much. I’m certainly not the biggest Fall Out Boy fan out there but I look up to Pete Wentz, never thought I’d say that, just for stage presence and how he works the crowd. I think more bass players should take advantage of having an easy job by doing more with the crowd and just entertaining more.
Stephen: Getting to play drums is the best thing about being in a band, nothing else matters but that!

Do you guys enjoy the attention you get from being in the band?
Rob: Of course, to have attention and be noticed is rewarding and it shows that people appreciate what we try to do. I love to think that one day soon this could be our full time “job”.
Micky: For me it’s all about being able to play music and doing what I love, still it’s always a bonus having that kind of attention.
Dan: We’ll need to actually get some attention first before I can answer this question! But seriously, I still find it pretty strange to be sitting at the bar at a club in Edinburgh or something and having someone come up to us and saying they know who we are… it’s hard to get used to considering we are a relatively small band. But it’s always nice.
Stephen: I’m confused. What attention? I’m pretty much unapproachable so I probably wouldn’t see any of this attention!
Kenny: I loved the last gig we played in our home town because so many people came out to see us; it was a great feeling knowing everyone had just seen you play and was really getting into it. It is now my aim to see just how much attention we can get in the future, as bad as it sounds I’d love us to be one of those bands that can’t go anywhere without being recognized for me that would be so awesome and such a great thing to strive for.

Where did the names for the albums come from?
Dan: ‘Something For The Weekend’ basically just summed up the type of music we hoped to write. Easy to listen to tunes that take you to a place in your head. I love trying to write music that makes you feel, and that takes you back to a particular memory or emotion. ‘Heroes And Villains’ doesn’t really mean anything, we came up with a logo based on the Superman crest and the title seemed to fit in with that.
Kenny: Be ready for some ridiculous titles if I have anything to do with it, The Devil Wears Prada may have done that already but it doesn’t stop it being funny!

What sort of music are you all into?
Stephen: How much time you got? I’m into anything and everything really, I welcome you to check my iTunes. I love Set Your Goals, Transit, Man Overboard, Polar Bear Club, Devil Sold His Sold, Regina Spektor, Suicide Silence, Disfiguring The goddess, the list goes on… or if you wish, the vaguest answer I could ever give could be any thing that’s good.
Micky: My favourite bands are A Day To Remember, Senses Fail, The Devil Wears Prada.
Dan: I’m a bit of a Blink 182 fanboy. Not many days go by in my house without at least a couple of their songs hitting my speakers. Some newer bands I’m really enjoying are Twin Atlantic, Hit The Lights, The Years Gone By, We The Kings and The Wonder Years.
Rob: Can’t beat a bit of Bon Jovi! Fall Out Boy are my idols.
Kenny: I hope you guys have a pen at the ready. My music taste has exploded in the past year mainly thanks to my new car not having an AUX in so I couldn’t hook up my MP3 player. So you can thank Radio 1 for the following list. I’m a hardcore kid at heart so it’s Refused, Comeback Kid, Attack!Attack!, The Devil Wears Prada, A Day To Remember, Alexisonfire, We Are The Ocean, that sort of stuff. I am also that kind of guy that pays for Spotify cos I listen to so much. I love the more poppy stuff like Britney Spears, Cheryl Cole, Sugababes – you cannot beat good production, and also artists like Dizzee Rascal, Ellie Goulding, Florence, La Roux, Chase ‘n’ Status, Plan B, Pendulum… the list goes on! But my current favourite genre is Dubstep, its dirty, its dark and it makes you want to skank till your legs fall off. There’s something about this music that gets under my skin and makes me want to smile. When I get down to remixing A Day Overdue expect it to be dub flavoured.

Who would you most like to share the stage with?
Micky: Dead or Alive. Senses Fail definitely, one of my biggest influences musically.
Dan: Predictable answer, but Blink 182. Would love to play with Slash too but the chances of that happening are zero! I modelled my guitar playing on that guy all through my teenage years, he’s the best ever.
Stephen: This one is a tough one cause we all listen to such different bands. I agree with Micky and Dan that playing with Senses Fail and Blink 182 would be great! But even over them i’d love to share the stage with Transit, one of the best bands ever!
Kenny: I’d kill for the chance to play besides the big UK bands right now especially Exit Ten, I just love those guys so hard.

If you guys could’ve written any song what would it be and why?
Stephen: Awww this is easy, It would have to be Parasitic Flash Resection – Aborted. Just kidding, good song though. It would have to be Don’t Stop Believing – Journey, timeless classic.
Micky: Anything from Craig Owens EP, With Love, he’s a great songwriter.
Dan: I’m actually pretty content with the songs we write to be honest. I think they’ve got a pretty unique sound. If I was forced to pick I guess November Rain by Guns N’ Roses, that song is just a master class in writing and arranging.
Kenny: I wish I’d written the Happy Birthday song, I’d be a millionaire by now.

Finally where do you see yourselves going in the future?
Micky: Touring our arses off to promote the album, sharing the stage with some great bands, writing a second album, rinse and repeat.
Dan: Enjoying every day, and hopefully bigger shows, more fans, and less day job. Either that or dead, I don’t want to do anything else.
Kenny: I third these motions. I want to see us right at the top playing to as many people as possible, every day of the week.
Stephen: I take everyday as it comes, I never like to look to far into the future, your vision might get clouded, but Micky’s head and shoulders approach sounds good to me!
Rob: Dead, eventually!

Click here for more info on the band.

Interview by Natalie Milne