With a pure rhythm and blues sound and tongues planted firmly in cheek The Shoestrung are taking back the spirit of rock and roll one day at a time. With a forthcoming series of gigs across the South of England the band are working hard to take their classic sound out to the masses.  We recently tracked them down and asked them the what’s why’s and wherefores.

In your words "You walked a year as Sweet FA". Why no further? What made you change your name?

Al: We were under a lot of pressure legally at that time. Various authorities were after us, the DA, CIA, Inland Revenue, RSPCA, BBC... for copyright reasons.

What is The Shoestrung?

Bryn: It's when your dog dies, your girlfriend leaves you and you don't know which bitch to cry for. 

You're from Brighton. How would you describe the scene there?

Bryn: Very cosy. Too cosy. That’s why we left.

Rob: There are some amazing venues and people in Brighton.  It’s got a great history and heritage musically.

Treggy: It's home.

Bryn: But there's a quote by a Brighton artist named Dr Parsons which kind of explains why we wanted to leave "Same crowd, same music, same clubs, same drugs, weekend after weekend, year after year just slowly disintegrating."!

Al: That sounds a bit morbid... we just wanted something fresh.

You've just hit London with your first gigs there. What's stopped you from doing this sooner?

Bryn: Shit jobs, expensive drinks.

Al: And a wideboy landlord.

Rob: For the other 3 it’s their first time out of the nest. So we had a few teething problems.

Bryn: It’s a brand new city for us. We literally didn't know where to start looking for gigs.

Al: We had to start from the bottom again. Not flyering gigs but going out and picking up flyers to look for a venue.

Treggy: We've been enjoying Wapping a lot. It's a lovely little village in the east end of London. Not too trendy, but a few too many bankers lurking by the river.

You're shooting a video soon. Does it have a story? If so what's it about?

Treggy: Are we?

Al: It’s all a bit vague at the moment. I just told you that to hook you in!

Rob: It’s about Camden!

Treggy: Hahahha 

Al: It’s not about Camden.

Rob: It’s gunna be good. We're shooting some live stuff in a club, and in a ballroom.

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