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Brit rock ‘n’ rollers, Hearts & Souls, are poised to release their engrossing new single and video, Little While, which drops everywhere on Friday, 9th May. Get to know Hearts & Souls, with Tom Q Cusic (guitar/vocals) acting as your tour guide.
What are the origins of Hearts & Souls, and how long have you been playing together?
H&S started out as a bit of a lockdown project out of boredom really; random chance led to Paul Guerin [Black Eyed Sons/Down N’ Outz/Quireboys] coming on board as our ongoing producer, and the band kind of grew organically around that. We’ve all known each other for a long time and played in various outfits with each other, so it was an incredibly natural thing that came out of the blue. Certainly feels right!
What should people expect when they check the band out? How would you describe Hearts & Souls?
We’re a straight-up rock n’ roll band, for fans of the Stones, Aerosmith, Black Crowes – with loud guitars, a proper groove, and a keyboard that’s fallen down the stairs. I think the twist with us comes with how surprisingly almost-poppy our choruses get, which catches me off guard sometimes! The fact that when we’ve got the full lot of us around, there’s up to seven different singers chucking harmonies all over the place is something that we can really stand out with.
How did you feel performing your first gig as a band, and how was it?!
So much of our early days as a band were based around isolated studio time, what with there being nothing open, so when we finally got to play the material live, it felt like such a huge release of pent-up energy! We’re all long-time jobbing players, so getting it on a stage was a big deal for us.
What are you working on at the moment that people can check out?
We’ve got an EP out, Nights Of My Days, and last year we dropped a couple of singles – Whispers, which was a track featuring Sam Wood [Black Star Riders/Wayward Sons] and Anjalie, partly recorded with Bob Munday [Roy Orbison]. We also put out an acoustic track with Vintage Guitars, celebrating the launch of their Revo Elektra series. Little While will be landing on 9th May, and we can’t wait for everyone to hear it.
Regarding a similar audience, which band at the moment do you feel that you would be best suited to open for?
Hell, we’d play anywhere for anyone if we could – if we’d physically fit! I think any band worth their salt has something about them that’s unique, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with having contrasting genres or styles on a single bill – festivals would be a bit naff otherwise, right? I always remember when I first started exploring the local scene in Leeds, which has a wonderful musical pedigree – every single night of the week, there were loads of bands on at loads of venues, any style of genre you can imagine, dozens within walking distance, no matter where you were. It was great!
Excluding yourself, which new band would you like to see break out and become a success?
Our mates in Leeds, Someday Soon, are way too talented for people not to know who they are. Great bunch of lads with some cracking songs, fantastic players too.
What frustrates you about the music business?
I’m definitely going to sound like a dinosaur here, but it’s harder than it’s ever been for everyone. Aside from the comparative lack of venues and events going on nowadays, which I mentioned earlier, everyone’s kind of in the same boat – for every cheaper way to do it, there’s another element that’s 30, 40 times more expensive. It takes a stubborn attitude just to survive, but we’re still here and, thankfully, still playing. It’d be good if the councils got behind grassroots music again; one of my main gripes at the moment is when someone moves into a new gaff next to a venue that’s been operating for decades, then has it shut down from a noise complaint. Absolutely ludicrous.
What are your first musical memories? And what lightbulb moment made you say, “I want to do that”?
Car journeys with my dad, with the seemingly endless supply of amazing albums on tape – Stripped (Stones), Hendrix, and Cream were big for me as a kid. It sounds crazy, but while I always appreciated rock and blues, the album that made me want to pick up a guitar properly was Nevermind – I heard it at exactly the right time in exactly the right frame of mind. He taught me three chords and the twelve-bar blues, and that was it – I was on my way, and I learned everything I could. The first person I saw properly grab an audience and hold them in the palm of his hand was Vin Garbutt – an absolute hero of mine, an underappreciated UK folk legend, but sadly no longer with us.
What was the last gig that you attended as a fan?
It’s rare I get to, being out playing myself all the time – I had tickets to see Andy McCoy, but that tour ended up being cancelled – was gutted, the last time I saw him play was when Luke [Lead Vox/Guitar] and I opened for Hanoi Rocks, too many years ago for me to be happy counting! Luke and Alan [Bass/Vox] got to see the Black Crowes on their last UK tour, I was jealous I missed that one.
What current social issues are you particularly passionate about?
The world is a tough place to be right now for a great many people, and part of the problem with a question like this is that I’m not qualified to be able to give a nuanced enough answer. Just, ya know, don’t be a dickhead – it’s not difficult!
The album that you have in your album collection/Spotify playlist that would surprise most people?
I think we’ve all got a few curveballs in there! Luke listens to some horrendously cheesy 80s fare, though I’m not sure it’s always as ironic as he makes out. If you ask him, he’ll just say he’s got twenty-six copies of Exile on Main Street. I’m as equally likely to be listening to Grand Funk Railroad as I am Sage Francis. Alan loves punk and early hip-hop. Everyone who knows Jimmy [Drums] would be incredibly surprised to find the best of Status Quo in his collection. He really loves Marcus King.
Everybody is a fan of something. Who or what are you a fan of?
We’re an eclectic bunch. I’m a huge Leeds United fan, don’t miss many matches! Luke’s into his fishing and old jags. Jimmy’s actually pretty handsy; he’s always crafting or whittling something, or making a new throwing axe. You’ll have to ask Alan, he’s our international man of mystery. He’s like Keyser Soze between gigs.
What new music have you been enjoying so far this year?
Black Eyed Sons’ new record has been a mainstay for me for a couple of months (and I promise Paul Guerin hasn’t made me say that!). I’ve also been listening to Cardinal Black a lot while they’ve been teasing tunes from their new release. It’s only May! Last year had a few proper decent albums come out. One that hit hard for me was Shellac’s To All Trains, which came out just after Steve Albini died – a morbidly fitting, brilliantly angry record to bookmark his legacy.
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