EMQ’s with CREATURE CREATURE
Hi everyone! Welcome to our new EMQ’s interview with Brighton, UK Rock band, Creature Creature. Huge thanks to vocalist, Daniel Scully, for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
My name’s Scully, I play the vocal cords, and am also the lyricist in Creature Creature.
I was doing covers with my guitarist, Zeus, back in 2015. You know, singing Mr Brightside in a pub full of coked up locals with flailing arms and undone shirts. As a songwriter, there’s only so long you can sing other people’s songs before you get itchy feet and we both pretty much said, ‘Fuck this….’ at the same time. Zeus and I had done original songwriting in the past but had never written together before.
I’d recently returned from a trip aboard the Flogging Molly cruise in Miami – basically a few days being wasted in the Caribbean and watching punk rock bands. Folk-punk was really influencing and improving my writing style, so I wanted to root our direction in that. When we formed the band, the early material was very much of the folk-punk sound.
Our violinist had to quit in 2018, and after that we naturally progressed in a much more rock direction. Everything started falling into place in the summer of 2018 when we met Tommy Gleeson who mixed a couple of our songs. He did such a great job that we asked if he would be up for producing our debut album, and he was!
How did you come up with your band name?
We were called 40 Shillings on the Drum between 2015 and 2019, but the loss of much of the folk-punk sound, and because of the huge rock direction our debut album had moved in, at the end of 2019, we decided to rebrand.
Zeus (guitarist), had recently told me a story about how he had watched the 80’s cult-classic ‘Critters’ when he was little and how the creatures had given him nightmares. They used to roll into his room in the dead of night and shoot little spikes at his toes. He swears to this day that he had to pick the spikes out before school most days.
I put the word Creature in with other ideas and when we couldn’t find something to go with it that didn’t sound wank – literally wank as ‘Beat the Creature’ was an option – Seb (keyboard player) suggested just using Creature twice as it’s that cool. Creature Creature was born!
What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?
We’re all from Brighton and its surrounding areas. Brighton has always had an incredible music scene although it has been sad to see the closure of some of the smaller venues in recent years. There is a good underground rock/metal scene in the city and it’s great to see the genre continuing to shine even in a constantly changing musical landscape.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
‘The Early Days’ single is up next. We’re keeping a steady flow of songs coming in the build up to the album release – this is the third single. I think it’s going to show another side to us so am excited to see what people think. It dropped on Friday 19th June.
Who have been your greatest influences?
We have many amongst the band, and I personally have a very wide taste in music so it will always be difficult to pick a couple. I’d say the descriptive style of bands like The Pogues really taught me to look closer at what I write and do my best to make it as interesting as possible. When I first started writing, I’d just scribble down what was in my head and that was it. Now I look closer at each line and think about how I can make it more interesting, adding words to paint a more detailed picture of what the song is about.
I love word play, and have always been a big fan of Eminem, especially his earlier material. I saw an interview with him once where he said that words were like a puzzle to him. How it was always about looking again and again at what he had written, and seeing if there was any more pieces he could fit into it. I think that always resonated with me and I’m finding myself taking that outlook more and more as my songwriting progresses.
What first got you into music?
Love them or hate them, it was Oasis. I wasn’t really into music growing up but then one day my older sister gave me a lift somewhere in her old banger and she had ‘Definitely Maybe’ on her stereo. I was just in awe. I didn’t even know anything about them but something in the songs just spoke to me. A short period of wanting and failing to be Liam Gallagher followed but I’ve got curly hair so that was just never gonna work.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Right now, I’m really liking what Dave is doing. I watched the Brit Awards with low expectancy and pretty much to just rip the piss out of, and then he came on with this amazing piano led version of ‘Black’. It shut me up and got my full attention. It just shows you don’t need a thousand fucking backing dancers and a Disney-sized light show to make an impact. It was simple, visually stunning and emotionally charged. The performance prompted me to look more at his work. I think a fresh rap and rock combo could be great if done right.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
There are so many great ones, but it’d be Glastonbury for me. I’ve only been once but really enjoyed the vibe and diverse range of artists. It’s a legendary festival and to get up on that stage to show the world what we do is the dream.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Mine have all been pretty normal – c’mon people, try harder! – but I know our keyboard player, Seb, received something a bit racey. He got the classic underwear through the post. It was a g-string with piano keys on the front and a post-it note saying ‘Play Me’ on the front. Legend has it, he actually tapped on the keys to see if they made a sound!
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
If there’s anything you want from life, and you think it’d be impossible to get, be that in music, or whatever your passion is, never give up. It may be cliché but the majority of people who don’t get what they want from life are those that have quit trying. It took me a long, long time to get to this point in my musical career, and whilst I think we’ve still got a long journey ahead, to be on the verge of releasing my band’s debut album is the best feeling. We have only got to this point through hard work and never giving up.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Kurt Cobain. His ability to speak to a generation through his music was incredible and I’m certain he would have had so much more to give.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
Love gigs and touring. You can’t beat the live experience and not being able to perform during the pandemic has hit myself, the band, and I’m sure, many others, hard. We wrote these songs in a little studio, and whilst it’s great to hear of people enjoying the recordings, it’s when you’re face to face with that enjoyment, standing on a stage and seeing people having the time of their lives, that’s when it’s all worthwhile.
As for hate, being an independent artist, all the background work that no one gets to see. Filling in forms and registering our music, keeping it all up to date etc. I’m boring myself talking about it already! It’s an essential part for any serious artist but I’m hoping one day we can pass the painstaking boredom of it onto some other poor sod.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
The way some artists treat people. I’m all for confidence, even thinking you’re the best thing in music – I’ve no problem with that. It’s when artists treat people badly, especially fans. Fans are the reason anyone is where they are, and we should always appreciate and make time for them as much as we can.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
I have different favourites in many genres depending on my mood, however, one of my most played would probably be “England Keep My Bones” by Frank Turner. It’s probably the album that had me delve more into folk-punk as a genre and definitely helped set me on the path to the songwriter I am today. Although, we ended up losing the majority of the folk-punk sound when recording the album, I think it still shines through in certain aspects of my lyrics and my songwriting is all the better for the inspiration that album gave me.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
They all have their place. It’s cool to have the world’s music at your fingertips with digital streaming and purchases. For me, streaming music is an amazing way to discover music by more unsigned and under the radar artists from around the world. With the best of the best though, I’ll always want a physical copy, and because I’m a sucker for great artwork, I think vinyl wins, and you just can’t beat that sound!
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
Beautiful Days festival down in Devon. We were only on a small stage, but it was the first major festival we played. We stayed for the whole weekend, got wasted, saw some fucking awesome bands and just had an amazing time. We didn’t have AAA wristbands but still managed to sneak back of main stage to find free beer. We found that beer and whilst enjoying it, bumped into Tommy Gleeson who went on to become the producer of our debut album. Some things are meant to be and occasionally, you’ve got to break some rules to get to them.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
I love film so to be an actor would be pretty cool. Having said that, I’m pretty sure my acting would be shite, so I’d probably just end up as an extra being pushed down the stairs by Phil Mitchell in Eastenders or something!
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Right now, my band – Zeus, Seb, Dave and Matt. I haven’t seen them face to face for two months due to lockdown and I’m used to hanging out with them all the time. They’re my best mates and there’s no one I’d rather be having a dinner party with right now apart from them. As for the spare seat, maybe Gordon fucking Ramsey so he can totally destroy my soul by dissing all the food I’ve prepared for the band.
Having said that, we would probably skip dinner and go straight to party anyway. Eating is cheating.
What’s next for the band?
Debut album release! It’s been a long journey since we recorded it last June, and we’ve been really thankful that we’ve had the release to look forward to through lockdown. This is a huge deal for us as we have all been in different bands before, but none of them ever got to a point where we were in a position to record and release an album.
Two Finger Tantrum’ drops Friday 10th July. Be ready!
What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Most of the major ones, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. We haven’t ventured into Tik Tok yet but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before Zeus is busting some moves to some shit pop song whilst wearing a bikini. I’m pretty sure he already has an Only Fans account.
You can also visit www.creaturecreature.co.uk for all the latest news and to grab some merch.
Jaffa Cakes! Are they a cake or a biscuit?
Fucking hell, I’m only a mere singer, why don’t you throw one of the ultimate conundrums at me for a final note! Fuck you biscuiteers, it’s a cake. Clue’s in the name!
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thank you! Just that if you’ve got the time, check out Creature Creature on your favourite streaming service right now rather than later!
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
