Birmingham band The Twang's Phil Etheridge talks ahead of Beyond The Tracks festival

The Eastside festival features Orbital, Leftfield and Maximo Park – as well as Midlands acts Ocean Colour Scene, Editors, Sugarthief, Jaws, Dorcha and The Twang.

Guitarist and vocalist Phil Etheridge is excited to return to his hometown, and is equally thrilled that Birmingham now has its own major festival – which they play tomorrow.

“I think it’s great that Birmingham’s going to have its own festival, I’m looking forward to it,” says Phil.

“We’re also very excited to see The Coral – one of, if not THE greatest band of our generation.”

Formed in 2004 by Phil and bassist Jon Watkin, The Twang formed under the name Neon Twang.

Inspired by bands such as Oasis, Neon Twang were created as an antithesis to the dance music that was popular at the time.

The Twang became known as a band not to shy away from being rowdy; their live shows attracted a raucous crowd. The band then shortened their name to The Twang to shake off their bad reputation.

“I use to hate playing Birmingham as I couldn’t quite work out whether people were there because they liked us or if they were just checking us out because of some story they’d heard about our shows,” says Phil.

“I just wanted our early shows to be the best ever and prove everyone wrong, which ended up with me putting too much pressure on us.

“My wife told me years ago to ‘just smile’, it’s funny how just forcing that smile can change your whole vibe.”

Despite gaining a bit of a bad reputation at the start, The Twang have risen from the ashes; they now have their fondest memories in the Birmingham area.

“I remember the first time we headlined the old Hummingbird and feeling really emotional that we were finally on that stage.

“We’d watched so many bands there growing up and always said that one day it would be us up there.”

Hailing from Birmingham, Phil was heavily influenced by other local acts – some he eventually played alongside as part of The Twang.

“Growing up, my brother was bang into all that weirdo scene – music like Ned’s Atomic Dustbin and The Wonder Stuff.

“I grew up listening to and loving most of that stuff. Grey Cell Green by Ned’s would probably make my Desert Island Disc!” says Phil.

“I didn’t realise at the time they were all from round this way. We’ve since gone on to play with The Wonder Stuff a couple of times, and I’ve had the pleasure of having drink with Miles Hunt on a few occasions. He’s a top man!”

As well as playing Beyond The Track’s festival, The Twang are returning to Birmingham’s O2 Academy in December as part of their new anniversary tour.

This year marks 10 years since the release of The Twang’s electric debut album Love It When I Feel Like This. The debut has influenced their career as heavily as the Birmingham music scene.

Tradition

“Our Christmas shows have become a bit of a tradition, with this being our 10th consecutive year,” says Phil.

“I watch a lot of shows and honestly there aren’t that many bands out there that cause the kind of pandemonium we do.

“This year is going to be a little different as we’ll be playing our first record in its entirety for the first time. Some of those songs haven’t been played since it came out such as The Neighbour.

“Releasing the album has meant that I haven’t had to get a proper job for 10 years which was always the aim. . . so long may the blag continue!” Phil laughs.

“It also gave me an excuse to keep acting like a 25 year old, much to the wife’s annoyance, and again long may that continue.”

The band are excited to play the album in full, but Phil is excited to play certain songs in particular.

“If I had to pick my favourite song from the album, I’d have to say Either Way or Wide Awake as they were the songs that changed everything for us. They were the tracks that made people stop and listen. I’ll always be trying to write another couple of songs like that.”

The Twang released their latest album NEONTWANG in 2014, and the band are busy meeting up and writing new music.

“Myself and Jon Watkin own a studio in town – Jump The Cut recording studio.

“We meet at least once a week to demo ideas and drink wine together. It’s like our own little social club. It’s something that I look forward to all week, and I feel that we’re in a good place writing some really good stuff.

“As for the future of The Twang – it’s been uncertain from the start so who knows? We’re just gonna try and be happy.”

l The Twang will appear at Beyond The Tracks in Digbeth on September 16. The band will appear at Birmingham’s O2 Academy on December 23.

Becci Stanley