West Bromwich and Walsall unsigned band Wood & Nails ready to slow it all down

That's the Wood and Nails mantra when supporting bands. There's not much "room to breathe" says frontman Paul Beaumont, not much time to get to know the boys behind the music.

But that is about to change when the lads from West Bromwich, Walsall and Solihull appear at The Flapper in Birmingham on March 2 to headline a night of punk rock in their own right.

"It's a lot of energy of course," says West Bromwich-born vocalist and rhythm guitarist Beaumont of their shows. "If you catch us as a support we tend to play 25 minutes straight through with not much room to breathe - which I think is the best way when opening up."

It's how anyone who saw the band on the Fireball Fuelling The Fire Tour at Birmingham's O2 Academy before Christmas will remember them. But for those bitten by the Wood and Nails bug and itching for more, their upcoming headline show at the Kingston Row venue, just off Brindleyplace, might look a little different.

"The headline show will have a bit more of an ebb and flow to it with possibly a cover song and a couple of slower songs too to break it up and give a more rounded set," Paul continues. "We're going to make sure it's a night to remember.

"We've chosen the line-up from all our favourite acts [namely Dearist, George Gadd and Last Light] from the DIY scene in the Midlands and they're all great friends, so it's going to be more like a party than just any other show."

Paul is joined by his brother Steven, AKA Ste, on bass, while Walsall's Steven Cook slashes the melodies on lead guitar and Anton Pankhania, from Solihull, provides the rhythm on drums.

Yet Wood and Nails haven't always looked that way, and their first EP sounds wholly different.

"We originated as simply myself and an acoustic guitar after the end of a previous band I was lead guitarist in," adds Paul. "I had never sang before starting this project and our first EP is recorded by myself on drums, guitar and vocals.

"After my first band came to an end we actually had studio time already booked in, so I went in and recorded those demos with my brother Ste on bass and me playing all the other parts. They're a bit rudimentary. I literally stepped up to the mic in the studio that day.

"The songs as I hear them have always been a full band sound, it wouldn't do justice to them to just be acoustic and, honestly, it's just way more fun being in a band with your mates than driving around on your own up and down the country.

"Eventually we found our definitive line-up and have been going from strength to strength."

Solo recordings have given way to band sessions, and a string of singles have followed that 2015 EP The Night Before. And coincidently, their next effort - Searching For An Exit - is released The Night Before that Flapper gig.

"It's the first release of three we have planned for 2019. This is the first as it's the most upbeat and a great all-round picture of our sound in 2019. We have another two planned for summer and autumn.

"We've timed the first single release to coincide with the Flapper gig so we'll be playing that live for the first time as well as a special longer set than we'd usually play as it's a special occasion.

"I treat our single Resolutions from 2018 as our "first" release now as it's the first we all did together. We still play a couple of the songs from that EP live but for me it's all about what we're doing now. We had planned a new EP this year with the singles, but we feel it's best to keep giving people something regularly rather than in one bulk and then having to wait again for another 12 months or more."

As well as the Fireball Fuelling The Fire Tour, the lads also squeezed in a support slot for The Enemy frontman Tom Clarke at Birmingham's Hare & Hounds in September into their calendar.

"The show with Tom went really well," Paul beams. "We didn't really speak to him as he was in his green room but he specifically asked for us to be his main support after hearing us so that's a definite thumbs up in my eyes.

"We're the kind of band who like to be out in the crowd during a night talking to everyone who has come out, even at our show at the O2 in December we were more interested to be out with the audience - that's the whole fun of it for me at least."

They are a very DIY outfit, booking everything they do for themselves. It has opened up links to many cities across the country.

"It can be tough in some places you've never been before but we have a good relationship with a lot of promoters across the country now. Obviously Birmingham is great but Nottingham, Manchester and London are also great places for us to get out and play. We are actually planning a small run of dates in the summer."

And discussing the local scene, he adds: "Birmingham and the wider Midlands is thriving at the minute. I can't recommend acts such as Conor O'Rourke, Aesthetics, Mixtape Saints, Sonder, and everyone playing our show on March 2 enough.

"I could go on all day about all of these acts, and more."

And here at Unsigned we feel exactly the same.

Wood and Nails are on both Twitter @WoodAndNailsUK and Facebook @woodandnailsuk. Their music, including the new single, can be found by searching for them on Spotify. Tickets for The Flapper gig on March 2 are available from SeeTickets.