We caught up with Romy, Hayden, Ali and Dom – better known as Romy and The RHADs – fresh from their Dot To Dot debut and as they geared up for more gigs, including a performance on the Introducing Stage at Radfest...
Could you tell us the origin story of the band: how did you meet and where did the name come from?
Romy: I've been playing solo for a while and started to write songs that I thought needed a bigger band sound so about a year ago I started to mention to people that I was on the lookout for other musicians in order to make that happen. Fortunately Ali's drum teacher had heard that I was looking to form a band so Ali reached out to me via his parents to see if we could meet up and have a jam. So, we met up at his house and after jamming for ten minutes, I couldn't stop grinning! He's so talented! I immediately knew he was the perfect drummer. So that went really well.
Then Ali mentioned his friend at school who was 'quite a good guitarist'. Well, that was an understatement! Hayden is an incredible lead guitarist and he plays the most amazing solos! So, our next jam was with Ali, Hayden and also Dom (Ali's older brother) joined us. Dom's a brilliant bass player, and he also adds some pretty cool backing vocals too.
The Band name Romy and The RHADs comes from all of our initials Romy, Hayden, Ali and Dom.
Hayden: Ali told me about Romy and they were looking for a lead guitarist. So Ali asked me and without any hesitation I said yeah. I always wanted to be in a band and then when Dom joined, we had our first jam and we just clicked.
Ali: My drum teacher knew I wanted to either form a band or join one and he suggested I got in touch with Romy. I then suggested my good friend Hayden from school. At the same time, I also asked my brother to help us out ... After that jam together, Dom wanted to join as well as Hayden.
Dom: I heard that Ali’s drum teacher knew a young solo artist who was interested in having a band. Then Ali and Romy did a couple of rehearsals together and Ali came to me and asked if I wanted to play bass for them ... I thought, "Brilliant, we have four talented musicians ready to play gigs!"
Romy, you've previously been a solo artist and released your own music by yourself. But how does the process differ now you have a band?
Romy: I've been really used to doing my own thing for quite a while so the biggest difference is working with each other and collaborating on our music. Songs that I've previously released have a much bigger sound now the band are behind them. It's opened up opportunities to write songs together in the future. In fact Ali and I have already collaborated on one song Heart on Fire where Ali composed the music and I wrote the lyrics and melody.
Your first single Abomination is loud, exciting and punchy. How did the track come together? What inspired it?
Romy: That's a great way to describe the track because that's exactly how we feel about it and we love playing it live!
I actually wrote this song about a year ago. In a lesson at school I'd heard a friend say "just Shift, Alt, Delete" and that triggered an idea for the song. Back in November 2023, when the band were learning all of my songs, Abomination was one which we thought could be our first single release as its just a fun, energetic song. The lyrics are a bit punky and part of it's about being yourself and not needing to fit in.
Watching people getting into our music was an awesome feeling!
We recorded it in February during our half term holiday at Ratcat Recording studios with Natt Webb. I've been recording with Natt since the age of 11; his studio's one of my favourite places to be and It was so cool to be there for the first time recording with the whole band!
Hayden: Romy had already written the song and when she played it to us we just played it and our own style just made it come together. Then on one part of the song I just felt a solo there so doodled a little bit, then I just happened to make this whopper of a solo.
Ali: In me and Romy’s first jam together, she suggested we have a go and a few weeks later, with a full band, it sounded great. As we got to know each other more, we all mixed our different styles and ideas into one song until it sounded as it is.
Dom: Abomination was one of the first songs we played together and all loved playing it as its fun and loud. We thought as it is a first it should be the first song we released together as a real band. Different parts of the song were inspired by different artists and styles. For example, I know that Hayden’s solo would have been inspired by Randy Rhoads as he is a favourite of Hayden. Also, I play the bass in parts where I think Paul McCartney would play it with a variation of pitches.
You played Dot To Dot festival in May. What did it feel like to perform on such a stage, at such an iconic festival, at such a young age? It’s a huge achievement!
Romy: Thank you! It felt amazing! We were all absolutely buzzing. And we're so grateful to Will from I'm Not From London for putting us on the bill to play the Old Bus Depot. It was cool playing with all the other great bands and it's definitely given us the motivation to keep rehearsing and performing. Watching people getting into our music was an awesome feeling!
Hayden: It felt really good and I never knew how iconic this festival was.
Ali: Dot To Dot was definitely a good achievement for me because of how big it is around Nottingham, and how young we are. It made us feel special in some way to know we were probably the youngest group playing in such a big festival.
Dom: Yeah it was a huge achievement as it’s a big festival and to play it at a young age is very good. It made me feel better about playing to the audience as I could tell from the stage that the sound was high quality.
You’re also performing at Radfest on 8th June. Romy, we know it’s your second year at the festival, but this time you will be appearing with your full band… how are you all feeling?
Romy: I'm very excited to be going back with our new band and I know the others are too. Last year I played an acoustic set so it'll be cool to get loud this year! I also know this is a festival that attracts a bunch of young people like ourselves so it will be fun to play to them.
Last year you performed in the Teen Tent at the festival and this year, you’re on the new Introducing Stage, which will bring in much larger audiences and give you more exposure. How does this step up feel for you and the band?
Romy: It feels like a big step in the right direction and I'm sure it will be a fantastic experience for us all playing to a larger audience. We can’t wait to start spreading our music and hopefully it'll connect with people of all ages.
They will most certainly have their socks rocked off!
For anyone who hasn’t seen you live before and is planning on coming down to catch your set, what should they expect?
Romy: Well, it's all original music and it's an eclectic mix of rock, punk, alt pop ... honestly, we're a mash up of influences, we just write and play what we like to hear. I think our songs are riddled with catchy hooks and riffs and your ear worm will have a workout!
Hayden: They will most certainly have their socks rocked off!
Ali: For people seeing us for the first time, I figure most people think that because we are so young, we aren’t professional. I see this as a good thing because we can change people’s minds about what they originally thought about us when they hadn’t heard of us, to when they had watched us play and listened to how good we actually are
Dom: You should expect it to sound good as we like to push ourselves to play to the best ability possible ... And it will be loud as that’s part of our signature style. Expect Ali to play the drums as skilled and loud as he is. Expect Romy to provide rhythm guitar and listen to her lyrics which are great. You should always expect catchy hooks from Hayden and of course his amazing solos. Also expect solid basslines from me on the Rickenbacker Bass.
How would you describe your live performance style?
Romy: Rocky with a bit of punk thrown in the mix. Expect to see some hard hitting drums from Ali. Solid catchy bass riffs from Dom. Epic guitar solos from Hayden and I'll be putting everything into the vocals while playing rhythm guitar.
Hayden: When we perform we have a lot of energy and just have fun.
Ali: To be honest I just enjoy playing and that’s a question for people who see me play to answer. I like to mainly play rock and I get most of my influence and ideas from Foo Fighters. I love Taylor Hawkins' style on the drums and I like the song style Foo Fighters use which influences me to create my own style which then I like to put into Romy’s songs.
Dom: Very “Rocky” as we all like that style, and a bit of pop music. We have chemistry when on stage so expect not to be bored.
Finally, what are your plans for the rest of the year? Have you got any other festival appearances or live shows planned, or any further releases scheduled?
Romy: Yes, we're playing at the Long Eaton Party in The Park on the 7th June. The night before Radfest.
Then on Sunday, 9th June we're playing a set at the Belper Goes Green Festival. So we've got a full on band weekend... like a mini tour! We’ll also be playing The Eyes Have It Festival on 7th July in Duffield, Derbyshire, which is going to be awesome! Then at Nailed It on the 13th July in Belper.
I'll also be playing a few solo acoustic sets thrown in here and there.
And finally, yes! We've got a couple of follow up singles already recorded but no release date is set at the moment. I don't think there'll be too long to wait, though ..!
Romy and The RHADs perform at Radfest on 8th June.
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