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The
band are fronted by Emma who is also the rhythm guitarist. Her partners
in crime comprise of Leanne who plays drums and sings backing vocals,
Lisa who plays bass and Vanessa on lead guitar. They are young hopefuls,
all seventeen with the exception of Emma who is eighteen.
"Lisa
used to be in another band" says Em, when asked if this was the
first band for each of them. "She used to play guitar. But that
wasn't doing anything. She was given the opportunity of playing with
us. Even though she was a guitarist who had to play bass, she did it.
Vanessa used to be in another band, doing what she does now, but that
as well wasn't doing anything. Leanne's always been with me really,
ever since I started up a band. I started the band when I was about
13. Lots of members have come and gone but me and Leanne have survived
it all.
"It's
only been Twist since it's been us four. We've been together about two
years."
In
that time the four girls have been able to find management in the form
of Monday Morning Music.
"The
studios where we practice, the guy who owns it walked in with this man
in the middle of our practice and sat down. They said "carry on
playing" and Mike then introduced himself after the song and said
"I want to work with you". After we got the right members
for the band, we signed a contract with them."
What
constitutes the right members? What were you looking for? How does one
fit the band?
"They
had to get their priorities right. The band comes first - not your boyfriend,
not going out and getting drunk. I mean, don't get me wrong - we all
do that, but after we've done the stuff in the band. Putting the band
first, basically. And no matter what anyone says you've got to go for
it. Determination. We all gel together really well. If someone was to
leave the band now, it wouldn't be Twist. Everybody puts their own little
bit in. It's one big personality."
Emma
confesses to being the main songwriter and being influenced by Madonna.
Radiohead, Nirvana and Placebo have also been big influences as well
as, believe it or not, Abba and Tom Jones!
The
band were previously known as Scream, but as Emma explains "I didn't
sing loud enough to carry the name off, so it seemed like a bit of a
joke. It sucks really 'cause we could do it now but there are so many
Screams in England. There are about nine!"
And
there aren't any other Twists?
"There
is another Twist but we're actually registered in The White Book. So
that name is more or less ours, but until we release something, we can't
actually say to that other band "you're not allowed to have that
name"."
Twist
have a bundle of songs, with more in the pipeline. Emma says it depends
on the mood she's in on how easy it is to write a song, with the music
being no problem, but the melodies throwing her more than anything.
"I
know that that's what most people listen to and if it isn't good enough...
It takes me about three weeks to get a melody for a song because I always
think it's not good enough, and then I always end up going back to the
first thing I did. It really does my head in but there you go. It drives
me mad."
The
band recorded a demo at Workshop Studios in Redditch, which is also
where Manic Street Preachers recorded their New Art Riot EP early in
their career.
"We've
been twice. We also recorded two other tracks - one called 'Wish', one
called 'Sweetness Is Bitter'. The thing is with me, we'll record something
and I'm never satisfied. At the time I'll listen to it and get all emotional,
hug everyone, cry and go "well done" and then later on I'll
be "that's s**t, man."
Why
come to Redditch?
"We
wanted to work with Mark Tempest. He's so cool. He lets the music be
real. Most people who you work with are "no feedback, turn the
treble down" and all this s**t. Boring stuff. Whereas, you've heard
the beginning of 'Cheap', there's a click and all that feedback. That's
what I like. I love raw sounds."
"We
heard about Mark through our manager. And I'd heard some of the bands
he'd worked with, like The Wonderstuff and Brian May from Queen. So
to work with him was really cool. You walk into the studio and there
are pictures of him with Brian May."
Gigs.
The girls have done a fair few.
"My
first gig was at school" Emma says. "We were told that we
had to wear school uniform colours - black, maroon and white. At the
time I had long black hair and I put my hair in piggy
tails. I wore black and white striped tights, a pair of para boots,
a mini skirt and I think I had a maroon skinny rib top on. It was parent's
evening and there was me, screaming my guts out, at 14 years old, looking
a mess. All the parents were snobs, it was great."
Aha,
a rebel at school...
"Oh
God, I was always being told off. I didn't really play up, it's just
that I always had something to say. Know what I mean? I'm not racist
or anything but some of the Indians at school would have their nose
pierced and I had my nose pierced and then the head teacher would say
"what's that in your nose?" and I'd say "a nose stud"
and get a detention for answering the question. I was chucked out of
about four of my GCSE exams. Once for being drunk and a couple of times
for turning up in normal clothes.
"The
first gig at school wasn't as Twist. That was me and Leanne and two
other people. Our first gig as Twist... I can't remember our first gig
as Twist. When was our first gig as Twist?" Emma yells to her bandmember
in the room. She can't remember either.
"I
can't remember. We did one with Stony Sleep. That was brilliant. We
sold them out which was even better. They stayed at our flat. They're
mad live, really spacey. I love it.
"We
also supported Gold Blade."
Highlight so far, though, would have to be appearing on the Central
TV show, Premiere. It was aired on Saturday November 7th.
"That
was brilliant. That was really cool. We turned up at the studio. Me
and Lisa had just got back from Reading so we had really big hair! Absolutely
stank, it was brilliant! All the cameras set up on the tracks and then
it was just a case of 'Action, do your stuff" really. We had about
three takes of the song and then we were interviewed about four times.
Same questions but different answers every time! They edited it and
I'm really pleased with it. I could get used to being on telly."
No
nerves at being in front of the camera for the first time then?
"God,
no. It was brilliant. I was nervous about watching it though. I couldn't
watch it on my own. I had to phone my friend and make him come over
to sit with me and watch it. I was so scared."
How
did the appearance come about it the first place?
"I
think Premiere contacted us."
Emma
has no idea how Premiere heard about the band originally though.
"There
are people here, there and everywhere who have heard of us though".
The day after this gig the band were doing a showcase gig in London
for numerous record companies. Listening to their demo, I for one am
confident that in the not too distant future this band is going to be
signed and on their way to big things. And a lot more people are going
to be hearing about them. Good luck guys.
The
Twist Demo - In Their Own Words
Cheap
"Cheap
is about me actually! There's a girl who's got a crush on this bloke
and she'd do anything for him but he's not going to treat her like a
piece of s**t."
She Makes Me
"That's
about me envying someone. It's really weird 'cause I wrote it about
the other members of the band. It says 'she makes me sick'. Each one
of them has something that I want. Vanessa's really dozy but in a sweet
way. It's like 'ah', you want to wrap her in cotton wool. Leanne is
so cool and chilled out and laid back. Lisa's just a nutter."
Anywhere
"Oh
God... This is really depressing actually. About this time last year
I had a bit of a nervous breakdown. I was put on antidepressants and
seeing a psychologist and a counsellor, constantly cutting myself, smashing
my room. My boyfriend at the time said he'd always be there for me no
matter what and that he'd help me through it. Then at the worse point
in that period, he left me. 'You said you'd always be there/You're not
anywhere'."
Star
"That's
really about anything. It's saying I want to be a star. The chorus is
'I thought there'd be more to see/Who do you want me to be/I want it
all - your star'. That's me saying to the audience "for God sake,
please take notice of me. I want to be a star but you've got to tell
me what you want from me so I can do it.""
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