skinslife

Skinslife: Since you posted Jenny Jones on Skinslife you've had the track played in Skins, played Skinslife parties in Cardiff, London and Birmingham and now are releasing an EP. Tell us how it has been for you and the band and why posting tracks on the site is a great thing for any aspiring musician.

Matt: It has been such an amazing experience for us, it happened very quickly and we haven't really stopped to take it in. We were very lucky to be picked out by Alex the head of Music at Skins and when we found out it was going to be on the show it was a wicked day! The things seemed just to get better we played at three of the Skinslife Parties and they were amazing! Each time playing to bigger crowds then we had ever played to and we got such a good reaction from the audience, it was so cool. We have also played some great Secret Skins Parties and have one coming up on August 14th at Halo in Leeds. They are really fun and it's been a laugh having some of the Skins cast on stage with us when we played.

We are really excited about releasing the EP in October! We would recommend to everyone to post their music on the site purely because the people at Skinslife are so nice, they aren't some arrogant music critic or magazine who wont give you a chance, they genuinely listen to you and they love all sorts of different music - it's amazing.

Skinslife: When listening to your tracks there seems to be strong influences from The Doors (especially in your vocal style), 2 tone Ska acts like early Madness and The Specials, American alt-indie acts such as Pavement and The Hold Steady and Hunky Dory era David Bowie. Would you say this is true and is there any new music that you've been listening to that might take the band in a new direction. Has for example Toby's love of Grime rubbed off on you?

Matt: We most definitely love Ska and it plays a big part in our music, it always creates a beat to dance to, we want a Indie Pop Ska feel. I guess my vocals are Doors-like in a way, but I never intended that. I started as a singer/songwriter inspired by the work of Nick Drake and tried singing and writing like him but when we started the band I sort of found my new voice and I wouldn't go back now. There are some influences from the 'sixties like Ray Charles and based on the lyrical ideas in some of our songs maybe Ray Davis and the Kinks. In relation to David Bowie, I think we all grew up with our parents playing his tracks and it's nice to sometimes throw some unusual chord sequence into a steady indie pop song, so yeah he's cool. We have taken inspiration from so many artists, but we are really trying to find our own sound and I think developing that. Sadly Toby's love of Grime has not rubbed off on us yet but he should make us a mix CD.

Skinslife: Your EP is obviously only going to act as a stepping stone to bigger things so tell us what your (realistic) ambitions for the next few years are.

Matt: We have far too many ambitions for a new band but we really just want to keep touring. We have a big tour coming up in September with another new and upcoming band and have high hopes of a big tour in October (details to come)
We are also getting ready for a second single release in January and we have something really cool up our sleeves for that one! We are just going to keep on going keep on making new friends and building our fan-base and we will always be grateful to Skinslife for all they have done for us!

If you wanna see Paper Heroes check the dates below

1 Aug 2008 - Duke's Sidmouth Festival - Sidmouth

14 Aug 2008 - Halo Club - Secret Skins Party - Leeds

2 Sep 2008 - Water Rats - London

3 Sep 2008 - The Cavern - Exeter

9 Sep 2008 - Dublin Castle - London

10 Sep 2008 - Fibbers - York

12 Sep 2008 - The Cockpit - Leeds

13 Sep 2008 - Georgian Theatre - Stockton On Tees

16 Sep 2008 - Bodega Social Club - Nottingham

17 Sep 2008 - Jericho Tavern - Oxford