Alternative Friday

Welcome to the first in a series of short interviews with artists and bands. There’s no need to hold your breath in this debut though, as Glastonbury thankfully comes above Eurovision as far as The Paul Hegley Band are concerned.

Paul Hegley is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, and with Bassist Danny and drummer Charlie, they make up The Paul Hegley Band, an edgy blues rock trio from Bedfordshire who formed in 2011.

Combining lively and energetic blues riffs that span the ages from BB King to Jack White, dynamic drumming and vocals, plus some great tunes, they perfectly capture the sound they are looking to create. Having seen them perform a few times I can vouch that they also put on a fantastic live show, offering everything a vintage smoke filled boozy blues performance could offer (aside from the smoky bit). Their most recent 4-track EP is called Shelter, which includes the song Casino Square, and is available on iTunes here, while you can also find out more via their links below.

Website | Soundcloud | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

 

 

Anyway, onto the questions…

~ Where did you meet and how was the band formed?

Dan found me via a Gumtree add for my solo stuff and he came round for a jam and sprinkled some bass over some of my early material and we got on really well, and since then we’ve got heavier and heavier, and now Charlie is on board we really feel that we have a defined sound and the music we make carries the same blues feel and thread and the band has a specific identity which took a lot of hard work to get, and we are all mates which is really important.

~ Who have been your main musical influences?

Dan Auerbach/Black Keys, Gary Clark Jnr, Jack White

~ What’s the best gig you’ve ever done and why?

Probably the night we filmed the video for ‘Smoke & Liquor’ The Ivy House in Nunhead, great venue, great people and very appreciative of performers in general. This is everything a venue should be. Dan got us the gig and we love the place.

 

~ If you were appearing on ‘Later with Jools Holland’, which track would you choose and why?

Probably Smoke and Liquor although Casino Square would be a close second, hard to choose as we love playing all the songs but for different reasons.

~ Which famous song by another artist would you love to have written yourself?

The Chain by Fleetwood Mac.

~ What would it take to get you to represent the UK in the Eurovision song contest!

A gun!

~ What do you have planned for the next few months?

Gig, write, gig, write, gig, write, record….?

~ What would you do if you were invisible for the day?

Mingle on a Jools Holland Show.

~ What’s the least rock thing you’ve done this week?

The food shop.

~ What/who makes you laugh?

Will Ferrell

~ Lager or bitter?

Lager for me and Charlie
Dan is a Bitter man lol

~ Glastonbury or Reading?

Glastonbury, there is no festival like it.