After their sensational show at Manchester Pride, hit UK-band The Feeling are due to headline Rochdale’s Feel Good Festival this Saturday much to the delight of their fans.
The band, who first gained popularity with hits such as ‘Fill My Little World’ and ‘Love it When You Call’ have been working dedicated on finishing their new album, that guitarist Kevin Jeremiah admitted their performance at Manchester Pride was ‘the biggest audience we’ve had all year’.
MM caught up with the Sussex strummer ahead of the release of their fourth album Boy Cried Wolf and asked him how smaller gigs such as Rochdale compare to playing major festivals.
“To be honest they’re a lot more fun,” he said.
“The bigger ones are great to play, you get onstage and there’s a sea of people, a sea of mud but it’s nice when you’re in a town so you don’t have to pay £16 for a dodgy burger”
Kevin admitted to having mixed feelings about the latest developments in music, including Kickstarter campaigns and free downloads.
“The music industry has been in a state of change for the whole time we’ve been in it which is quite exciting and a bit scary,” he said.
The band knows the industry as well as anyone, having started playing together when they were just teenagers and recording their first tracks in a shed.
The key to their longevity, Jeremiah adds, is that they enjoy making music and ‘have been lucky that we’ve been able to only ever do that’.
He said: “It’s all I know how to do and we do it because we love it”
While their music has evolved over time, their fourth album is in many ways a return to their roots.
Kevin said: “This is the closest thing we’ve done to the first album, both in terms of how we recorded it and the actual songs.
“It’s a darker companion to the first album. And we’ve turned up the Pink Floyd element a bit, maybe because we’re that much older now.”
Jeremiah cites Pink Floyd as a big influence for the whole band, although he stresses it is one among many.
“We never stop listening to new stuff or discovering old stuff,” he said.
After the success of their first album, Kevin said: “Touring became our life for literally two years without stopping but now I’m really looking forward to it.”
And does he have a favourite son from The Feeling’s back catalogue?
“This Time from Join With Us is triumphant, but it always changes,” he laughed.
It’s clear that his enthusiasm for the band and its music hasn’t diminished over time, and even now he seems slightly stunned by their success.
“It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do” he said, simply.
The Rochdale Feel Good Festival is on Friday August 30 and Saturday August 31 at The Esplanade.
Image courtesy of BBC’s Top of the Pops via YouTube, with thanks.
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