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Hailing from Burton upon Trent, Bad Llama are a band with a distinctive individual style. Combining soulful diverse vocals, uplifting choruses, power house drumming, teasing guitar riffs, heavily funked up bass and an in your face live performance. Here is our introduction to Bad Llama courtesy of guitarist Sam Wyatt and bassist Lewis Hutchings.
DGM: What are the origins of the band, and how long have you been playing together?
Sam: Originally the band started off as a college project. We went through a few line up changes until becoming ‘Bad Llama’ in 2016, and kept the same line up until 2019. Kyle, Sam and Lewis have been playing music together for about seven years – four of those as Bad Llama. In early 2020 Adam joined us, and we can’t wait to work on brand new material and get back to gigging when life returns to something a little more normal!
DGM: How did you feel performing your first gig? And how was it?
Lewis: For me I was very nervous, especially as my first show was at a bikers’ pub on a metal night; at the time our music was more towards the indie side. Afterwards, I found out we weren’t meant to play that night but as we had turned up they let us open! Regardless of this it was a great night, and for myself it made me want to carry on and play live every night!
DGM: What should people expect when they check the band out? How would you describe yourselves?
Lewis: Kyle Jordan’s powerful vocals and thought provoking lyrics showcase a mix of heavy and heartfelt musicianship, both aggressive and soulfully melodic, resulting in an extremely eclectic overall sound. We have a versatile approach to writing, with heavy and melodic parts combining 90s grunge and metal with today’s UK alt metal scene.
DGM: You’ve recently released your new single ‘Elements’. In what ways do you feel the band has progressed since the release of ‘Crooked Empire’ in 2018?
Sam: We’ve undergone some changes in the line up, and they’ve each brought something new to the mix. We developed a lot between ‘Shedding Skin’ and ‘Crooked Empire’; we felt we had found our own sound more by the second EP and have since just tried to develop that further. We have perhaps become slightly heavier, but have kept the same melodic aspects that we are synonymous with. We are looking forward to progressing further and experimenting with our sound with Adam!
DGM: Did the idea of using old-fashioned beak facemasks in the video for ‘Elements’ come pre-Corona? And are you sick yet of people pointing this out?
Lewis: We finished recording ‘Elements’ back in September 2019, and the original plan was to release a music video in November. However, things got in the way and we were more focused on finding a new drummer for the band, and work on ways we could improve our live shows with backing tracks etc. The idea of using gas masks and plague doctors masks was pre-Corona, as the video was filmed in January on very cold days! Being smart I thought we could plan a release date and handle our own PR for the single. Luckily we haven’t had any negative comments about the video, but I did put a disclaimer in the description just in case, haha!
DGM: Are you working on any new music at the minute? Has lockdown meant that the songwriting has been flowing?!
Sam: With lockdown it’s a chance for all of us to be creative and work on new music individually! Downside is not being able to get into a rehearsal space and jam new material out, but hopefully once we can we will have so much new music to work on. It will be quite exciting!
DGM: The new music scene is bursting at the seams with fresh talent. In what ways do you feel a band has to stand out from the others trying to build a name?
Sam: The music industry has developed a lot over the decades. I feel social media is extremely important, and having a strong digital footprint is vital in today’s industry. It’s something we are always trying to improve on. Musically, I feel just trying to bring something new to the table allows you to stand out from others. Obviously you will always take influences from others, but if you try to be as unique and original as possible you always have a chance of standing out.
DGM: What band out there at the moment do you feel that you would be best suited to open for?
Lewis: For me someone like ‘Black Peaks’ would be a dream to open for. I think they are paving the way for UK bands and are making very exciting progressive metal, which is a genre we sometimes fit into. After seeing them at Download Festival and playing both their albums to death it would be so amazing to share a stage with them!
DGM: Who do you feel will be the next band to break out of the UK?
Lewis: ‘Sleep Token’ as before Covid 19 they seemed to be getting bigger and bigger, announcing their participation in Download Festival and especially the Knotfest Cruise tour. ‘Loathe’, their newest album was just so good and ‘Black Peaks’! There are so many great bands on the scene at the moment!
DGM: What are your first musical memories? And what was the light bulb moment that made you go “I want to do that!”
Sam: For me personally I have always been surrounded by music due to my parents. I grew up listening to a lot of their music and being born in the early 90s some of my earliest memories are during the grunge era. I first started on the drums, but never really took to it the same way as I did playing the guitar. I’m not sure there ever was a lightbulb moment; it’s just something that’s always been there.
DGM: What was the last gig that you attended as a fan?
Lewis: ‘Sleep Token’ back at the start of the year in Birmingham. They blew me away and made me fall in love with music again!
DGM: One aspect of lockdown has been a glut of YouTube/Zoom cover versions, some of which are pretty poor. What song should never be covered?
Sam: Music is subjective, so who am I to say what should and shouldn’t be covered! Lol. Obviously we all have our opinions, but it’s hard to pick a song that should never be touched as every song has the same right. Sometimes covering a song, whether it be performed well or not, is a huge compliment to the original, but yes of course I’m not a fan of certain versions of songs. If I had to pick one I’d say ‘Tribute’ by ‘Tenacious D’, because then you’re doing a tribute to a tribute to the greatest song in the world!
DGM: Given that live gigs don’t seem to be happening anytime soon, what are your plans for the remainder of 2020?
Sam: Writing new music and staying connected to each other is the most important thing at the moment. We’ve accepted that gigging is out of the question for the time being, so we are planning to work on our digital footprint, promotion and, as I said before, writing new material!
DGM: How active are you on social media and where can people connect with you?
Lewis: We are trying to keep posting things online without spamming but find us on Facebook and Instagram for our main Bad Llama pages! We are also on Twitter with a lot of shares of radio plays. We all have our own accounts on Instagram which you can also follow.
