By Dani McKenzie | 6 January, 2023
[TNS]: From a fan perspective, are there specific artists that inspire you all individually or as a band and how do you feel that has impacted where the band is now?
[THE BACKFIRES]: The unifying bands among our varying music tastes are Arctic Monkeys and Oasis. As far as being a guitar band with high-energy songs, it’s hard to look past the rock band we grew up listening to.
[TNS]: What got you all into music and was it always something that brought you all together?
[THE BACKFIRES]: Going to see live bands got us all into music and playing in a band is the glue that keeps us together.
[TNS]: How would you explain the band’s relation to your fanbase and its evolution from the beginnings of the band to now? Could you speak a bit to what your fanbase means to you as a band, but also possibly as fans of other artists yourselves?
[THE BACKFIRES]: We’re unbelievably grateful to anyone who listens to our music or comes out to our gigs. The live show is what it’s all about for us. We all love going to concerts and we love playing for people. We can’t thank people who support us enough.
[TNS]: The band has a really fun social media presence, especially on TikTok. Could you speak about what it's been like adapting to changes in promoting your music and connecting with people through social media?
[THE BACKFIRES]: Thank you! We’ve been able to reach so many new people through TikTok and that has been really cool to experience. We’ve never been great at social media because we prefer to stick to the music, but being active on social media is so important these days when you’re starting out. The trick for us has been to take it less seriously. When we first started using TikTok we would spend hours trying to make a video, and if something didn’t perform well, it would be frustrating. So we try to keep it more relaxed now.
[TNS]: You have a very distinct aesthetic. Could you speak a bit about how you decide the way in which you present yourselves visually and if you have any particular influences for your aesthetic?
[THE BACKFIRES]: We just try not to overthink it.
[TNS]: You guys just wrapped a tour run with the Courteeners! How did that opportunity come about and how was the experience?
[THE BACKFIRES]: The experience was really cool. Max and Harry grew up listening to Courteeners as they’re very well known in the UK. Harry was saying the other day how he can’t remember a time when he didn’t know their songs. The opportunity came a couple of weeks before the shows. It was all very quick, but we were very excited to get the call and join them on their East Coast dates. We had a great time playing for their crowd, and their fans were very receptive to our music.
[TNS]: If you had to pick one of your songs to perform or play for the rest of your lives what would it be and why?
[THE BACKFIRES]: We always like playing the newest songs we put out, so right now probably “Reflections On My TV”
[TNS]: If you had to describe the band’s sound or vibe in one word what would it be?
[THE BACKFIRES]: Fun
[TNS]: What advice would you give aspiring musicians and songwriters from your experiences so far?
[THE BACKFIRES]: Write as many songs as possible and play as many gigs as possible. You have to try and make it happen, not wait for it to happen!
[TNS]: Decades from now when you are looking back at your career as a band, what would you hope to have left behind? What do you hope will be your impact, whether that be on the music industry itself or in general?
[THE BACKFIRES]: We’ve got a long way to go, and right now we are just working on writing the best songs that we can.
