If you are reading this and your first thought is 'Who, and/or what, is Elliot Minor?' then you my friend, are yet to experience one of the most innovative rock bands to hit the twenty-first century with a bang since 2006. With albums Solaris and Elliot Minor under their belt, it was not until 2011 when fans took to Twitter and Facebook to discuss the future of the band hailing from York.
So, what makes Elliot Minor special for me? Not simply owing to the fact that they could construct a mini orchestra with the classical knowledge of instruments between them, but rather the fact that they write and perform genuinely good music.
Want to know more about the pop/rock band whose music features classical harmonies? With the band about to play live once more on 30th March, I was fortunate enough to ask the boys a few questions; which is better: big venues or intimate gigs? And whether they were prepared for their One More Time show to sell out in under a minute...
You've come a long way since you won MySpace's competition back in 2006, what do you think the highlight of your music career has been over the years?
Haha, to be honest the MySpace tour was a very random but fun event in the middle of our career, it certainly wasn't a flagstone event though, although we did love it! Our fans pushed us to where we got.
If we had to pick certain events I'd say the times we've been to Japan (especially Summersonic) along with selling out the Astoria (RIP) and Download Festival. It's hard to pick...
Every time I hear 'The White One is Evil' I am instantly transported back to when I saw you guys play live in Oxford many years ago.... do you have a particular song in your set list that has strong memories for you?
I'd say probably Parallel Worlds, we used to play it back in Alex's garage around 7 years ago, how time has passed! That and Lucky Star, a little cheesy but fun!
I think the beauty of Elliot Minor is that you give your listeners harmonious musical and instrumental performances combined with the trained understanding of what makes good music.
Do you feel your classically trained background has helped you create such well-loved music?
I would say to a certain extent yes, It's not that adding a classical element to the tracks will better them, it's just that I guess it set us apart slightly from your more conventional rock bands, it's a nice touch that a lot appreciated and were drawn to, yet a lot were put off by it also!
So, your One More Time show sold out in under a minute flat, (believe me, I still have friends who are upset at this ha!) was this the reaction you were expecting from your fans?
Nah not at all, I mean we knew there was still a buzz out there from the social pages, but really didn't expect that! Luckily I work close with venues in London so managed to give the venue managers a buzz about a minute after the first sold out going "ummm... so it sold out, can we have another date?"... and they were happy to accommodate! Bear in mind there are still around 40 tickets left for the Sunday show at O2 Islington, they'll be snapped up soon though!
Over the years you have inevitably played in an array of venues, but which do you prefer....big and packed, or small and intimate?
A mixture really, that's the fun of it, different venue every day! Big venues are of course so fun, and great for us on stage but sometimes it can all become a bit mechanical. Hot and sweaty is the way! We've played in some amazing venues.
For those reading this interview, I am sure they're going to want to get as much information as possible regarding your future....is One More Time genuinely going to be, exactly that...the last time?
We're just normal guys running our own companies / in our own careers now, there's nothing set in stone, we may well decide to do something in the future sure! We may not though... It was all just quite good timing recently, a couple of us live together, we've been seeing each other a lot more recently and one day someone just went 'Sod it, shall we do a few more gigs?' and well... here we are!
There's really no rules or future plans, that's why in a way it's a shame when people get annoyed that we don't have an answer to the question you just asked... I mean, why would we have an answer?! We'll wait and see.
You must have had some fantastic times while on tour, give me one example of a highlight you'll never forget....
Again I think Japan, Summersonic or our headline shows there, it's crazy going out infront of thousands of people, people you've never met before or expected to like you, to see them singing along and to be perfectly honest, I don't think they even knew what they were singing! They sure as hell knew all of the words though.
A quick one: acoustic or electric?
Electric of course... nothing beats it!
Which song are you looking forward to playing the most, and why?
Man there's so many tough questions, put it this way, there's nothing we aren't looking forward to playing! All fans have their own favourite songs, we'd love to satisfy everyone really! For me personally, the rockier of the tracks, 'I Believe', 'Shiver' and 'Parallel Worlds'
I am sure you've all got plenty of rehearsing scheduled so I'll make this my last one....What can you say to the fans reading this who simply can't get enough of Elliot Minor?
It's a tough one, when a band doesn't work out well... it just doesn't work out! We had a load of issues with our label, management and all the backend stuff in general, the fans were never the reason we parted. It's a shame that it did come to an end! We're just looking forward to these shows, massively! And if they'd love to hear any of us continue to make music then check out The Dead Famous and Spirits.
Boys, thank you so much for your time - now excuse me while I head off to my room to dance sporadically to Solaris. ..I'm sure I won't be the only one doing so!
*Tickets for One More Time can be purchased here http://bit.ly/EMfinalshow*