An interview with Victory Kicks
An interview with Victory Kicks
What inspired the name of the band? What are your influences?
The band name was just part of a lyric for a song I was working on years ago now, around the time I was thinking of starting a new solo home recording project. Although it was originally going to be a solo thing with me writing and playing everything, the intention was always that it would sound like a band and have a band name rather than just my own. I had a bunch of ideas I’d taken from lyrics and when I searched for Victory Kicks nothing came up so that was kind of the decision made… In terms of influences, I was always really into a lot of American 80s, 90s and early 00s alternative and indie music so bands like REM, Pavement, Sonic Youth, Guided by Voices, Wilco were definitely early ones for me. The stuff Victory Kicks does these days is probably more influenced by bands like The War on Drugs, Spoon and The National.
How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
I always start with the music and then figure out a melody and a rhythm for the vocals by improvising around it. I usually get ideas for lines out of that and then then a theme will emerge from that that I can then hang other lines on. I never really start out with a subject for a song, I find it hard to write that way. It seems to work much better if I let the feel of the music, and the rhythm and melody dictate where the lyrics go. I kind of take a similar approach to writing albums: I don’t start out with a concept for a record but there’s usually a concept or a theme that emerges out of the songs I’m writing that ties everything on the album together, not so much in terms of a story, more in terms of a backdrop or something that gives context to the songs. But I’m also a big fan of the idea that different people will get different things from the songs and will hear and interpret the lyrics for themselves. So I never get too hung up on what songs are about, they’ll mean something pretty different to me than they will to someone else and that’s how it should be.
How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
I always start with the music and then figure out a melody and a rhythm for the vocals by improvising around it. I usually get ideas for lines out of that and then then a theme will emerge from that that I can then hang other lines on. I never really start out with a subject for a song, I find it hard to write that way. It seems to work much better if I let the feel of the music, and the rhythm and melody dictate where the lyrics go. I kind of take a similar approach to writing albums: I don’t start out with a concept for a record but there’s usually a concept or a theme that emerges out of the songs I’m writing that ties everything on the album together, not so much in terms of a story, more in terms of a backdrop or something that gives context to the songs. But I’m also a big fan of the idea that different people will get different things from the songs and will hear and interpret the lyrics for themselves. So I never get too hung up on what songs are about, they’ll mean something pretty different to me than they will to someone else and that’s how it should be.
Why do you write the sort of music that you do?
That’s a great question… I’ve never really thought about it. I guess it just comes from the music I grew up listening to and probably also that I’ve played drums since I was a kid so the music I write is based a lot around beats and rhythmic guitars and patterns. I guess I’m at the point now where I’m really sure of the sounds and the kind of songs I like. That can be both a good thing and a bad thing – it’s easy to fall in to the trap of doing the same kind of thing over and over again so I’m always trying to introduce myself to new music so I can keep getting new ideas. One of the best things about being a DIY artist is that when you’re promoting your work, you’re always coming across great music that you’ve not heard before. There’s an ever growing list of bands that I’ve fallen in love with that way, just through seeing them on the same sites that my stuff has been featured on.
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?
Most Victory Kicks songs are written with the idea that they can be reproduced live pretty much as they are on record. That said, I always like it when a song takes on a new feel and when a live version ends up being something totally different. In terms of which songs get played live, there’s a lot to choose from… I think it probably just comes down to which ones feel fun to play. There’s something really revealing in that, it makes it very obvious which songs from the back catalogue are the ones that really hold up. And if you’re having fun playing the songs then hopefully people will be having fun hearing them.
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?
Most Victory Kicks songs are written with the idea that they can be reproduced live pretty much as they are on record. That said, I always like it when a song takes on a new feel and when a live version ends up being something totally different. In terms of which songs get played live, there’s a lot to choose from… I think it probably just comes down to which ones feel fun to play. There’s something really revealing in that, it makes it very obvious which songs from the back catalogue are the ones that really hold up. And if you’re having fun playing the songs then hopefully people will be having fun hearing them.
What plans do you have for the future?
This year is all about getting a new album finished and released. It’s nearly done and the first single is already out – that’s called Mookie Betts so do check that out if you get a chance. The album is going to be called Free the Night and it’s made up of a bunch of songs I recorded at home during lockdown which I’ve then collaborated on remotely with friends of mine from other London bands. It’s been coming together really nicely and it’s been a relatively long time in the making so I’m pretty excited to have it out there finally.