The Voluntears Interview
The Voluntears are a 5-piece Alternative Indie band from the North East of England. The band formed in 2015 from a collection of energetic, creative and hard-working musicians who met through the local music scene. The band’s music is heavily influenced by Oasis, Snow Patrol and White Lies. Their unique brand of entertainment, witty stage banter and impeccable attire is matched with hard hitting grooves, melodic undertones and lush vocal harmonies.
The Voluntears have performed over 200 shows including This Is Tomorrow and Hardwick Live and as well as headlining their own shows they have had the pleasure of opening for such iconic bands as The Jacksons, Nile Rodgers & Chic, James, The Lightening seeds, The Bluetones, Space, Ocean Colour Scene, Maximo Park, Cast and Razorlight. I caught up with Mark Dunn from the band to find out more…
Firstly, can you all introduce yourselves and tell me what your role is within the band?
‘’Seamus Edge on Lead Vocals, Keys and Acoustic Guitar
Mark Dunn plays Rhythm Guitar, Acoustic Guitar and Vocal Harmonies
Carl Arnott is Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Keys and Vocal Harmonies
Nick Stockport plays Bass Guitar and Acoustic Guitar
Mike Williams is on Drums and Percussion’’
You were all working musicians before the formation of the band, can you tell me how you met and what made you decide to put your creative energies into one collective music outlet?
‘’Seamus met myself on the local music scene in the North-east; the band I played in played the same show as Seamus’s first band and we got talking backstage. Seamus instinctively knew I was a legend and said to me, ‘Let’s do something together.’ A few months later we both decided to start a band, and that was the birth of The Voluntears.
We were joined by Nick, who has the same ideas and thought process as us and we began writing songs that would make our first album ‘Beggars Belief’. Carl and Mike were also enjoying the fruits of the North-east music scene in their band and we decided to collaborate on a show culminating in an eleven piece cover version of Shed sevens chasing Rainbow on the main stage of a music festival we
headlined in 2018. After the festival we all stayed in touch and decided to consolidate the Voluntears into the band we are today.’’
Image is clearly important to you – do you think it helps the band identity to reflect your musical influences in the clothes you wear, hairstyles you have etc?
‘’The reason Seamus even gave me the time of day is because I obviously rock a paisley shirt, sunglasses and a pair of chinos! The Voluntears have always been supported by the coolest shop in England, the designer shop in Durham called ‘Woven ’they supply most of our stage gear for photo shoots and festivals. Carl and Mike also used ‘Woven’ in their previous band following recommendations from us. The ethos of the band is that the style and look on stage must reflect the professionalism of the music performed. It also makes the Voluntears stand out from other bands of the same Genre.’’
As a well-established live act, are there any plans for a headline tour of your own?
‘’Yes definitely, with faces like ours it would be cruel not too! At the moment we are concentrating on the release of our new single and EP; we are also busy writing the new forthcoming album scheduled to be released late summer 2022. We will be performing live shows during this time and plan to coordinate a tour and the end of the Festival season during the autumn of 2022.’’
You are renowned for your quite wit and banter on stage – does this help you to create a good rapport with your fan-base?
‘’No, they usually throw tomatoes and other rotten fruit at us lol! Before the pandemic if we said something funny we got knickers thrown at us, now . . . it’s used face masks! Yes we have a fantastic front man in Seamus and his natural personality and sense of humour not only comes out on stage but in the studio and rehearsals too, this is so infectious that it resonates through the rest of the band. We believe also that the reason we perform is to entertain audiences who spend hard earned money to come and see us, whether it’s at a festival or any other venue. We always try to involve our fan-base and connect with them not only in performances but in our song writing also and make them feel part of the whole process and band.’’
You have a new single, ‘Mary’ due for release in February 2022, can you give me a sneak peek into what it’s about?
‘’Following the pandemic we feel that everyone has been affected with metal health issues even if it’s in a minor way. The song is written about a couple’s struggles with the day to day troubles and difficulties within relationships – am I leaving am I staying? It’s written from the heart and hopefully our fan-base will be able to connect even if it’s in some small way. The overall message is to keep on keeping on and keep going, there is support and help out there, be strong. See we can be sensitive when needed lol! We’d really like to thank you for your time we really do appreciate it and BIG love to all our fans, Peace, Love and Music always folks ✌ X.’’
For the latest news on The Voluntears check out the following links: https://www.facebook.com/TheVoluntears/
https://www.instagram.com/thevoluntears/
