Mannequin

Mannequin - Photo by SW Photo

How did the band get together?
Sid: Joe and I went to school together and met when we were about 14. Then we met Ben at a show when we were drinking underage at the old Junktion 7. The first time I tried Jagermeister was the same day I met Ben.
Ben: It was my birthday.
Sid: Joe and I were already making music together. We needed a drummer because Joe was already playing guitar. We went round our friends house who was gonna sing and Ben was there. We got upstairs and found Ben playing guitar. Joe was like “Fuck that, I’m going on the drums” and I took the bass. We kinda toured with that band then all split up from each other for a bit, then about a year ago, started writing a bit more.
Ben: We realized we loved each other and we needed to join forces once again. It was magical and sexual.

You’ve been very active around Nottingham recently, what have been the highlights?
Joe: Definitely playing at Rock City, because its one of the venues you’d wanna play in any band and one of the biggest venues in Nottingham. As a kid you go and see your favourite bands there, and think “I wanna be on that stage when I’m older”, and just getting the chance to support a few bands at that level has been great for us.
Sid: Just being in musical circles again is really refreshing. The highlights for me have been the shows that have been really busy. The DIY shows at Stuck on a Name and The Chameleon, because people haven’t paid stupid prices to get in and a lot of the time they’re a more open-minded audience.

You’ve just released your first album, the self-titled Mannequin, how has the response been?
Ben: Shit? (laughs) No one bought it…
Joe: We’ve got to the level where we can only do so much for ourselves and we’ve got to have management and people in the know with contacts to give us that push that we can’t do ourselves. But generally everyone who’s seen us play and heard the music has really enjoyed it, both production-wise and musically.
Ben: It’s hard to get an album out there when nobody knows who the fuck you are.
Sid: We didn’t put the album out for anyone else, it just felt like it had to happen. We’ve only been gigging since September and have done around 20 shows in that time.

What is next for the band?
Joe: We’ve already started working on new stuff, and we’ve had a clash of tastes, which has led to us understanding who we are. We wanna push the album and try and get our name out there, jump on a tour with a bigger band and keep putting out new music and see if we get a good reception from that
Sid: The most important thing for me with this band is diversity within the music. I’d like to put out something that’s got a lot of the same elements that make up this music but in a different style.

So, as a band, what is the dream?
Joe: For me personally, it would be to make a career out of music. If I’m playing a show every night and not having to work an everyday job and get recognition for the music that I write and just to support myself financially with the music. It’s a bit crap as a dream really – “I just wanna be alright”
Ben: Same deal as Joe really. It’d be nice not to have to go to work along side it all. I don’t have an aspiration to be world famous, playing Wembley arena and that; but it’d be nice to have a comfortable thing in the middle where you can be big enough to the people it means something to.
Joe: But you said your dream was to see someone with your face tattooed on them?
Ben: That is a lifetime goal, to be fair.
Joe: Come on, Sid’s dream, Sid’s dream! Tell us about your dream
Ben: Ah I’ve got it...the opening track on Match of The Day. If I made that, I’d die happy.
Sid: My dream is for people to interpret the music that I’m doing in their own way. I think that’s the only justification in what good art is - if somebody, somewhere feels it in their bones. I guess all art and music works together in a big circle, but for people to feel that way about something I’ve done would be an amazing thing. But yeah, I think it would be nice to be able to quit your day job. It’s a sign that you’ve made it, and that’s always one of the boxes to tick. And just to play more shows and be as creative as possible.

You take influences from film and television as well as music, but how does the city you live in influence the music that you put out?
Sid: How much Nottingham has affected me is more than I can justify in words. My dad was a miner, and his dad was a miner, and that background of what this place is based on has affected me in a way that London or Manchester wouldn’t be able to do. It’s in me and its in all of us. I was in certain different places in Nottingham when I wrote some of the songs and anybody that’s been to any kind of city knows that it just has a kind of taste and feel in the air.
Joe: I thank the city for meeting the two people I’m in a band with and the friendship group that I’m in. They all play a big part in influencing me musically and the things we get up to shape me as a person. I might not have found these people or this sort of lifestyle anywhere else.

Mannequin along with Bus Stop Madonaas play the Fuzzbox clubnight at The Canalhouse on Canal St, Nottingham on Saturday 7th June. Facebook event.

Listen to the self-titled debut album from Mannequin on Bandcamp