| Exit Calm |
 Counterfeit Magazine meets up with Nicky Smith and Rob Marshall from Exit Calm
on Sheffield’s Division Street, but despite being local, it certainly aint home turf for these lads.Exit Calm hail from different corners of Yorkshire; namely Hull, Stockton and Barnsley. Until Nicky came on the scene, the remainding members were in Lyca Sleep, a group who made regular appearances in Counterfeit’s ancestor, Sandman. So where do Exit Calm see as their natural territory? “When we started there was a lot of very similar sounding bands in Sheffield so we stuck to playing other places instead. So we’ve picked up a following in London, Scotland and we buzz of that,” declares Nicky. “We consider ourselves to be a national unsigned band, not a local unsigned band. Nowt against Sheffield, but we’re just not afraid of regularly travelling to other cities. It does us good, it gets us more noticed.” Exit Calm played the V Festivals this summer and are currently on a UK Tour to promote their new single, ‘We’re On Our Own.’ They’re also due to play a number of dates with new wave legends, Echo and The Bunnymen. What sort of following do you have? Isn’t it hard to get a fan base if you play here, there and everywhere? “We’ve got a good loyal following,” claims Nicky “You see the same faces and they come from all over. I always think of it being a bit like bands in the old days having a fan club. That’s what it feels like anyway; that’s the only way I can describe it.” If you’ve ever heard Exit Calm live then the fact they can boast a fanbase will be of no surprise. The best way to describe their live sound is epic. It is a sound so big that Exit Calm can make the smallest venue feel like a stadium. The band have only been around for three years now, but have taken a break from touring for most of last year, until recently obviously, while they concentrate on recording their debut album, due for release early next year. “Last year we concentrated solely on recording our album. To be honest we’re only just getting back into performing live and gigging again. We’re getting ready for our own tour in November and we’ve just about pencilled in all the gigs now.” “It’s a good time to be in the game if you’re opposition’s falling. If anything its good that people are being more selective.”With the album release only just round the corner, what are your hopes for the unsigned band’s debut? “I’m confident yeah. We want it to be more than right. There’s no rush. I mean, we’ve only been together three years.” With the music scene not currently looking its strongest, I wonder how confident Exit Calm are with their chances in the industry. Many businesses are feeling the worse for the recession, and the music business is no different. Nicky, however, is against thinking negative. “We never think like that. What’s the point of doing it otherwise?” Asks Nicky, “It’s a good time to be in the game if you’re opposition’s falling. If anything its good that people are being more selective.” Rob continues, “There’s some good things filtering out now. There was a lot of shit before, but I suppose the credit crunch and all that means it’s the survival of the fittest, so at least there’s a lot of good things coming through.” How have you found the industry so far? Nicky explains, “We went to In The City in Manchester and a lot of good things which came out of it. Our current manager [John Dawkins] spotted us there after his girlfriend had seen us at the Metro Club in London. So it’s a good job we get out and about across the country really.” Surely it wasn’t really all that easy? “We’ve played to a lot of A&R scouts in our time,” admits Nicky, “A lot were eager to take us on but with the record companies dying they wanted easier projects with short term gains, not a band that needed long term investment.” “That’s why I’m glad for bands like Elbow, they seem like they’ve been around for ages but they’ve only really recently come into the mainstream and become really successful. Whoever’s helped them out has been realistic and more honest. They’ve allowed them to build and build and build and now it’s all come off. They’ve always toured.” Nicky sees Elbow as an inspirational example to follow, “We want to take the band as far as it will go.” On that optimistic note, where exactly is the furthest they’ve been so far? “We’ve played Tokyo,” replies Nicky. “I’d love to go there again,” admits Rob. What and where have your most memorable and favourite venues have been so far? “I liked Scotland to be honest, mainly because it’s just such a beautiful country,” answers Nicky. “I’m so glad we got to play the Astoria,” smiles Rob, “We played there twice as well!” “And the 100 Club!” Remembers Rob, “My hero Hendrix played there so I thought, ‘fuckin ‘ell, I’m glad I played there.”  What do you find the most difficult about gigs? Nicky explains, “Whenever we go somewhere thinking it’ll be a tough crowd we tend to do well. We’ve had it up against us on many occasions now and you think, ‘fuckin’ ‘ell,’ but we’ve always performed well. We supported The Music last summer and apparently collected a whole new following from these gigs, as well as playing to some clued-up fans. As well as picking up a few followers from support slots like we did with The Music and Sunshine Underground, a lot still seem to have heard of us already. Despite being an unsigned band, our reputation seems to precede us.” Interestingly enough, The Verve, whom Exit Calm would cite as an influence and which is certainly noticeable when you hear the band’s sound, have an Exit Calm fan in their midst in lead guitarist, Nick McCabe. Could you not have joined forces on a support slot with Wigan’s finest? Rob explains how it wasn’t meant to be, “They mentioned the possibility of us supporting their Sheffield Arena set but unfortunately it was never us two who could do onto decide, it’s the venue management, so it was hard to ever sort anything out in that sense.” It’s no surprise they found a fan in The Verve’s Nick McCabe. Exit Calm are similarly a northern and laddish indie-band, and one with a very strong and intense sound. Musically they are confident and commanding and when it comes to playing live, Exit Calm really know how to make an entrance; their live sets are notorious. Counterfeit can only describe it as seriously loud, seriously dark, and seriously funky. Lead singer Nicky modestly acknowledges the rest of the band for their musical prowess and their crucial role in creating Exit Calm’s sound. “These guys are amazing musicians,” remarks Nicky, “The bassist’s got the groove, the drummer blows my head off and Rob plays the guitar like a keyboard. People think we have someone on keys but it’s not its just Rob!” I certainly regards Nicky’s attitude as a breath of fresh air compared to the usual arrogance spouted by most indie frontmen; who all too often and all too easily take underserved credit for their roles in the band. Rob explains the bands intense sound. “Someone heard us once and said I bet you can’t do that live- well in fact it’s the other way round- we can’t get the live sound on to the record! I used to love a band called House of Love and when you saw them live and listened to the album they sounded completely different. It’s a bit like us so far. If you hear us on Myspace or whatever it just doesn’t touch what we’re like live.” Rob continues, “Ulrich [Schnauss] our producer is really helping us to achieve the live sound on to CD and I’d say we’re pretty close now, but it’s been a really hard to do.”  It seems Exit Calm really do feel like they have something to prove. They’ve taken a different approach to most local bands but time will tell whether or not this strategy has been successful. When it comes to confidence and self-belief these guys are definitely not lacking; but actions speak louder than words. The band realise they need to back-up their bragging, which is why they’re itching to get the album finished. “We just can’t wait for the album to come out,” enthuses Nicky, “It’s frustrating now that it’s nearly all done. We want it out now! We don’t want people to be just relying on all the old dodgy bootlegs flying around to hear our sound. They’re nowhere near good enough quality. It just doesn’t do us justice,” argues Nicky. It’s certainly true that Exit Calm’s live sound is powerful, but whether this can be translated into audio, and whether or not this is the most important factor of the albums success we’re not sure. It’s a tough time for new music, especially when it comes to indie bands like Exit Calm; it certainly won’t be an easy ride. Nicky was right to raise Elbow as an example of what can be done if a lot of time and care can be invested into a band, but not all musicians will be so lucky. Exit Calm are a must see live. Check out the dates below. They’re sound will blow you away and who knows, maybe Exit Calm will follow in the footsteps of Elbow and lift a Mercury in several years time? Watch this space Counterfeit readers. Key dates: October 15th, Manchester Ritz with Echo and The Bunneymen Novermber 13th, Leeds Cockpit November 17th, Manchester Deaf Institute November 21st, Sheffield Leadmill ‘We’re On Our Own’ out on Club AC30 records on 27th October. Photos: Mark Tighe Words: Liam Ronan |
