We spoke to one of the best upcoming bands in Leeds about the music scene, their influences, their ambitions and why they rate themselves “10/10″.

Firstly, just tell us a bit about yourself guys.

We are Carvella. A four piece rock and roll band based in Leeds. We are all in our early twenty’s and have been making music together for just over two years now.

As a Leeds band, what are your thoughts on the Leeds Music Scene?

Its a good scene. There’s plenty of places to play and there are lots of bands doing there thing. You only have to look at Live at Leeds Festival to see the variety of venues available to play in the city. There are places to play and there are people willing to see new bands and hear new music, so overall Leeds is doing alright for itself.

On a larger scale, what are your thoughts on the global music scene?

The global music scene is probably the hardest business in the world to break into. The music world gets a lot of bad press these days with how music is released and how artists get paid but big bands are there because they are good at what they do. There’s a reason they are headlining a festival or playing to thousands of people, so you can’t really question that.

Who’s your biggest influence?

It would be wrong to say one particular influence, as we all carry different influences and inspirations that we bring to the table to make one unique overall sound. You can’t ignore who you are influenced by because they are the reason we are all doing what we’re doing today. But its definitely important to create your own sound and have a fresh output thats unique, compared to what’s been before.

What does the future hold for Carvella? Where do you see yourself in one year; in five years; in twenty years?

In one year we want to be signed to a record label and looking to record our debut album. We are very ambitious and have very big plans. We’ve come a long way since we started and we are now starting to make some real progress. As long as we keep the momentum going theres no reason why this can’t be achieved.

In five years, who knows? Only time will tell. If we are performing and releasing music as a living then we will be somewhere along the right path.

In twenty years. we will take the Legend’s slot on the Pyramid Stage at Glasto, that will do us nicely.

If you had to rate your band out of ten, what would you rate yourself?

Obviously 10/10. Even if its not true, you’ve got to believe it. Otherwise who will?

You can check out their music here: www.youtube.com/user/carvellamusic

The post Carvella Interview appeared first on Leeds Student Magazine.

For this month’s Leeds’ Own I caught up with one of the biggest names in the Leeds club scene to talk music, family and all things Leeds. At the age of 25 the multi-talented (and not bad looking) Tom Zanetti has already achieved so much, I met up with him in his newest restaurant venture to hear his humble story.

Q: Where in Leeds are you from?

A: I have lived in many places in Leeds, Gipton, Belle Isle and Rothwell which is where I went to school. I went to Royds School but got expelled and was sent to Tinshall Learning Centre until I was 16. Although I got expelled I got on with my work and was in top set for everything, I just wasn’t always there and didn’t follow the rules!

Q: What were your aspirations at school?

A: When I was really young I wanted to be a spy like James Bond but as I got older my dream was to own a nightclub. My interest for music began at school which was when I made my first song. At 16 I found out I was going to be a dad which obviously at that age I wasn’t prepared for, I didn’t know what I was going to do or how I would care for a child but as soon as my son was born he stole my heart. From then on I would do any work to make money and after leaving school I did loads of jobs. I worked in a warehouse 6am – 6pm making pallets, was a butcher, a window cleaner, brick layer and a milk man to name a few.

Q: How did you get into the music scene?

A: When I was at school I recorded a CD of me MCing over some baseline, I didn’t think anything of it but my friend made a copy. His friends then made copies and then unaware to me it was being sold at Leeds market, it ended up being the top selling record at the market at the time. After that I was approached by a DJ to perform at his club night called Funkybass which was held at what was Fudge Bar. Doing that night at Fudge gave me a taste for promotion so I took that up with my friend Kristian, we ended up taking Funkybass to loads of clubs all over the north. We then took over the promotion of a club called Casa Loco which we packed out every weekend. It was off the back of this that I realised I could do it for myself which is when Insomnia was created.

Q: What is Insomnia all about?

A: Insomnia began as a club night that I set up with my girlfriend at the time who sadly passed away. It began in a club called Bank in Wakefield which my mate Ryan James was running, the night became popular straight away and got too big to do alone, at this point another friend Kane Towny came on board and we have run Insomnia together ever since. Once word got around Insomnia became really popular so we then took it to other venues, Club Mission in Leeds took it on straight away and it has now been their biggest night of the month for the last 5 years, it also won an award for Leeds Best Night. . I think another thing that people like about Insomnia is the acts that we have had playing for us, we’ve had some of the best people in the business including Faithless and Basement Jaxx.  As well as the club nights we set up Insomnifest where we’d do mini festivals on bank holidays, we used to hold one in Hunslet which was always packed and had such a great atmosphere, another festival we run is called Parked Out. This summer we also ran a new festival called Made in Leeds Festival which was the first inner city festival of its kind, we own that and run it with some other partners.

Q: What is Sleepin is Cheatin?

A: Due to the success of Insomnia Kane and I decided to set up a company to run a range of events from, we called the company Sleepin is Cheatin (SIC). We have a mix of nights now that we take all over the country, one of which is called One Religion which has been hosted by places like Bijoux in Manchester. As SIC we shared our music on You Tube and Sound Cloud and got millions of hits so we decided to set up our own record label SIC Records, this enabled us to sell our music. We also have our own clothing range, we have hoodies, t-shirts, vests and beanies which can all be bought on our website www.sleepinischeatin.com .

When you’re not running Sleepin is Cheatin do you have any other side-lines or hobbies?
When I have any time I tend to focus on making music, writing songs and putting them to tracks. At the moment I’ve been working on a song with my mate Jack Walton who was on the X-Factor this year, we are releasing the track on Christmas Eve, doing this sort of music is very different for me as it is a lot more mainstream than I’m used to. I have just got my own TV show on the new channel Made in Leeds (freeview channel 8, Virgin 159 and Sky 117) where a camera crew lived with me for a week, the show is called The SIC life with Tom Zanetti. That was a bit weird having a camera crew with me the whole time but it was good fun. I recently got asked to do some modelling for a brand called Heartbreaker Club which have shops in London, Bristol and online, I had never done modelling before but really enjoyed it and would be happy to pursue it further. For hobbies I like to train, I tend to have a session in the gym in the morning and then do Thai boxing on an evening, my son also does Thai boxing with me.

Music

Q: With such a busy schedule how do fit being a dad in too?

A: My son Deaconn in my number one priority and I make sure we spend as much time together as possible. He lives with me a lot of the time and like I said he comes boxing with me, I also take him to football training and piano lessons. Deaconn’s also done a bit of modelling with me which was great to do. With work I can be getting to bed at 2am some nights then I’m up for the school run first thing in the morning, I’m lucky because I’ve got his Grandma around to help me out.

Q: Your latest venture is the restaurant La Fuego, can you tell me how that came about?

A: I recently decided it was time to invest my money into something, I own my car but that’s about it, I thought it’s about time I stopped blowing money on material things and make an investment for the future. My mum used to run a tapas restaurant in town called Cuban Heels so setting up a new tapas restaurant seemed the perfect thing for us, my partner Matty Evans and I have put the money in but my mum will be running it. Our chef Santos is Spanish and makes the most amazing meatballs, all the produce is from Leeds Market and we have a great location. It has been hard work getting it all together and fitting the place out, at the moment the restaurant has been taking up most of my time but we are excited about opening on the 29th November and are hoping our hard work pays off. For the opening night Jack Walton is coming down to sing and we have a great Frank Sinatra act on. My dream used to be owning a nightclub but now I feel the restaurant may be that dream. I can picture us spending a lot of family time in there relaxing and enjoying great food.

Q: What is it about Leeds that has kept you here?

A: I have grown up in Leeds and it has been good to me, I feel Leeds is a place where I can comfortably express myself. In the Leeds clubland everyone gets along and there’s so much love for people, in other cities it all seems a bit moody. I like to eat out a lot in Leeds at places like Gaucho, San Carlo and mine and Deaconn’s favourite place Teppanjaki on Belgrave Street. If I’m on a rare night out I like to go to bars such as Oracle, Fibre and Distrikt or any down Call Lane. Wherever you go in Leeds you can’t really go wrong.

If you’d like to keep up to date with all of Tom’s goings on join his 25K army of followers on twitter and Instagram @TomZanettiTZ, or to catch him in the flesh book in for Tapas at La Fuego on New York Street.

Thanks for chatting Tom!

The post Tom Zanetti Interview appeared first on Leeds Student Magazine.

At present, the outlook for students going on to University doesn’t look great. However, I believe that the news never reports on all the other fantastic reasons to go to university.

I’ve just graduated into a market where I was meant to struggle to get a job. But yet, on the day of my last exam I finished at 12 and walked straight to the office to sign my contract. Leeds is one of the biggest cities in the country and by far one the best. To prove how great Leeds is, I thought I would share with you all the great things you have to look forward to if you’re coming to Leeds this summer.

Hyde Park. By far one of the best spots to chill in the sun in Leeds, I don’t need to say much about this place. You just need to go.

Trinity Leeds

The shopping. If like me you came from a smaller city you will probably find the endless shops mesmerising, if you want it Leeds has it.

Varsity! No matter which uni you go to in Leeds you will hear about varsity. In my opinion in one of the best student nights out in the academic year.

We are the best student city in the country. FACT. We are the cheapest with weekly spend comes in at around £200 per week and the nightlife is second to none. You can attend every night out you want without anyone ever questioning your life choices…until third year. Mint, Quids In, Skint Thursday, Fruity Friday.. the list goes on and on. Even if we are the unluckiest age group according to recent casino insights, there are also some of the best casinos in the country in Leeds that are well worth checking out. Even if you don’t gamble.

You will meet the best people on the planet. If it’s your flat mate, someone walking down the street or someone on your course Leeds will provide you with friends for life.

The post Why it’s the perfect time for students to be coming to Leeds appeared first on Leeds Student Magazine.

The reality of being in a young band – Sam Carter

Last week I joined my garage rock band Bad Knaves on stage to play a lovingly crafted 40 minute set for one drunk man. He thought the set was “forgettable”, and if you’re drunk enough – I suppose it’s exactly that, but then so are your family. The truth is – it’s summer, and It’s hard to get people to nod to sounds in the dark when cigarettes and outside exist. There’s a reason it’s called “The Great Outdoors” and that’s because you have to smoke out there now. We need a few more bums in seats, so It must be time to record all these new songs and force a few people to listen to them. There’s just a few things to consider.

Creativity is something afforded to people who aren’t fleeing from something in terror or doing 17 hour shifts at the trainer factory, luckily we live in Britain, so we’re doing neither. Still, spare cash is hard to come by – If it wasn’t we wouldn’t be in a band, we’d be lying on a Land Rover chugging Moet and Chandon Dicentenary Cuvee Dry Imperial 1943 like bloated, elated babies (I have Google handy, but i’m sure it’s a “great year” for fermented grape sludge). Comfort doesn’t breed creativity, but lacking the funds to put out a decent record doesn’t help either. Congratulations – If you own a device to read this on then you’ve found the sweet spot, the Goldilocks zone. You’ve got enough free time for your creativity to flourish. You can probably afford to pay a robot to poo out some of those shiny plastic circles and then make some people to listen to them.

Do people even buy music anymore? How much is your music worth? How much is anything worth? Does a newspaper cost a pound? A newspaper probably costs a pound. Is it OK to steal this newspaper? In some ways, I understand the temptation to pirate the whole Beach Boys discography in perfect, lossless sound quality. Stealing from an established, popular artist feels like popping down the Shell garage and nicking a Peperami. Except Shell would have you fined less. “The Beach Boys: Christmas Album” is £29.83 new on Amazon but with a few clicks and some fibre-optic wizardry you can have their whole back catalogue for nothing, in half an hour, and it’s amazing. When you’re thinking about putting out your own EP or album that makes things confusing, almost as confusing as Christmas on a beach.

When you’re just starting out It’s hard to tell if the best approach is to give your music away for free, or to give it an enticing price like “£2.99″ – why not buy 200 neon, star shaped stickers while you’re at it?  A three track EP, recorded in a studio to a decent level, mixed and mastered can be anywhere from £200 to £800. Do you want to recoup some of those expenses or should you suck it up, give it away for free and hope that encourages more people to listen? Or does that devalue your work? Is it even work? Music for a little-known, unsigned band (Especially if 40 hours of your week is taken up by that inane nonsense they call “job”) can sometimes feel like a really demanding, expensive hobby. Like tennis to the death, played with expensive, free range eggs – And there’s 4 people watching. Except I wouldn’t think about tennis this much. And you don’t lament that day you smashed a tennis egg at the sports centre. We’ve been getting a lot of practice done and getting very excited, and I have my eye on a studio I’d love to record in – but like everyone else we have things like petrol and socks and beer to buy and it’s distressing.

The other approach is to do some recording yourself, which sometimes seems like the oddball antics of San Franciscan Garage Rock hipsters, but has the potential to be an endearing, empowering and genuine process. If you can’t quite pool enough cash together to get into the studio you’d like to use then keep in mind that sometimes a DIY approach lends credibility to things. Depending on whether you’re Nikki Minaj or not (And I don’t know about you, but I’m not.) it might even suit you. It might be an interesting problem solving exercise for you and your band pals, equipping you with some basic techy knowledge along the way. The music business might just be worth a try – buy some gear, get a nice space, record a bunch of tracks – and if it turns out you’re shit at it, just sell it all on Gumtree to a shivering hippy. The joys of fancy preamps and the comforting embrace of an experienced sound magician are a wonderful thing, but you may also like to consider spending a few hundred quid on an audio interface and a few microphones and doing some home recording with no constraints, monetary or otherwise. Take as long as you like! It’s personal, unique, characterful, and you’ll see your songs in a different light, with lots of room to adjust. Provided you’ve done your research, enlisted a few friends and worked hard – you’ll have translated all those little eureka moments you’ve had whilst making sure the label on the sweetcorn is facing the right way, or sat at your stupid desk into a final product. And you haven’t had to blow a shed-load of cash. Just make sure those songs are good, or you’ll feel rather silly.

I’ll give you an update once I’ve dealt with the hippy.

The post The Reality of the Music Business appeared first on Leeds Student Magazine.

Why Study in Leeds?

So you’re a prospective  student looking for the perfect city? The main things to consider should be the nightlife, the activities, the events on offer and the accessibility of the city. With Leeds, you get a thriving city, offering everything you need and loads more. From student hubs to cultural hotspots, from easy-to-use transport services to huge nightclubs – Leeds is the city that you’re searching for.

Leeds City Centre

We understand that the nights out are an important part of student life and Leeds offers every type of night out. Headingley, the student capital of Leeds, boasts a fantastic selection of modern bars and pubs while the City Centre offers just about everything you could want for a big night out. With a range of lively nightclubs, fantastic drinking and dining destinations and just about everything in-between at budget prices. Aside from being a fantastic night out, Leeds City Centre is a world-class shopping destination with high street shops, such as Harvey Nichols, and glamorous shopping malls, such as the Trinity Leeds and The Merrion Centre to mention a few. It’s worth noting that most shops, bars and restaurants will offer suitable student discounts too!

The Student Lock in at Trinity Leeds!

Leeds is a passionate sporting city with popular football, cricket and rugby teams. As a result of this, there are chances to watch lots of sport! However, more importantly, there are opportunities to play sport! With hundreds of amateur football, cricket and rugby sides, a wide variety of surprisingly affordable gyms to join and several sport centres just waiting for you to use them, it is easy for you to stay active while at university. You can see other ways here.

Don’t worry, though. Leeds isn’t just a good night out, a bit of sport and a nice day shopping. It’s a fabulous city of culture with dozens of places to visit including museums, galleries and theatres  – plenty free of charge! The Leeds Art Gallery showcases stunning collections and constantly changing exhibitions while the Royal Armouries Museum is Britain’s national museum of arms and armour! You can see more cultural attractions here and you can see what’s on at the theatre through December here.

With this much going on in Leeds, you’d expect it to be hard to get to each of them. The truth couldn’t be any further away! With buses, trains and various taxi services available all year round, it is easy to get from A to B at affordable prices. Plus most of the action is in the City Centre which is only a ten minute walk from the main universities!

You can find much more about Leeds on this website.

Why Live in Leeds?

Leeds is also a great place for students to live as the city has some fantastic properties available for students.You can find more details on where to live on our property page.

Where to study in Leeds?

Leeds University –

Leeds University

Leeds University boasts a student population of 33,500 students and, as a member of the prestigious Russell Group Universities, is considered one of the best universities in the country. The University is located near the centre, right in the heart of the city centre and  You can see their prospectus here or check out their website here.

Leeds Beckett University –

Leeds Beckett University

Formerly Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds Beckett University offers fantastic facilities  and teaching for all courses. It is ranked as one of the top universities for any sports-related course and came second in The Times’ University of the Year competition in 2006. With over 25,000 students, the university is popular all over the country. You can check out their website here.

Leeds Trinity –

Leeds Trinity has nearly 3000 students and specialises in specific subjects such as media, journalism, marketing and education. The university offer a professional, relevant work placement with every degree and due to this, 93% of all students are in further education or in employment within 6 months of graduating. Leeds Trinity is also famous for it’s fantastic postgraduates courses in journalism and teacher training. You can check out their website here.

For higher/further education, there are some fantastic colleges and sixth forms such as:

Notre Dam: They offer over 34 A Level Subjects to study and are ranked in the top 10% of sixth form colleges in the country. You can see their website here.

Leeds City College: Leeds City College cater to over 40,000 students and operate out of six main campuses and have dozens of provisions over the region. You can check out their website here.

Leeds College of Art

Leeds Art College: The College of Art offer a range of courses which range from BAs to smaller qualifications. It’s a great opportunity to study in a close-knit community with a creative possibility. See their website here.

Leeds Music College: Leeds Music College also offer a range of short courses and BAs. With an acclaimed music scene and a vibrant student population, it is a great place to be for any young musician. See their website here.

Leeds College of Building: The Leeds College Of Building offers something for everyone with a range of course awarding various different certificates on a variety of topics. See their website here.

The post Why Leeds is the Right Choice appeared first on Leeds Student Magazine.

We have all been guilty of going a bit “Wolf of Wall Street” when our student loan lands in our bank account, splurging on nights out and unnecessary luxuries. But when your rent comes out and the reality of having to eat value noodles for the rest of the term hits, becoming a recluse can seem like your only financial option.

However, if the prospect of living the life of a hermit doesn’t appeal, then don’t fear. With a bit of research and a lot of self-restraint, it is possible to have a social life even when you’re skint. To prove that Leeds can offer something to students on a budget, we set Louise the challenge of spending a week socialising on the cheap.

Monday: Monday could only mean one thing to me, free pool at Elbow Rooms. After a hell of a lot of trash talk thrown back and forth, me and my friend got down to the serious business of settling who was the pool champion. Unfortunately, it was soon clear that I was all talk and no action, losing an embarrassing 5-0. With a seriously deflated ego, I decided to call it a night after five games but still left with smile on my face and the promise of a rematch.

Expenses – 1 gin & cranberry juice

Tuesday: It turns out that skint socialisers like me are spoilt for choice on a Tuesday.  For me and my friend Laura, it was a toss-up between a free comedy night at Verve or Secret Cinema at Crowd of Favours.

In the end the promise of a film and popcorn all for free just edged it. The fact that they were showing Ghostbusters was also a deciding factor, who can resist such a childhood classic! With the showing starting at 7.30pm we enjoyed a few drinks at home before heading into town.

We may have literally been in the cheap seats but in normal circumstances I would have been willing to pay good money for a movie night in the cosy atmosphere and comfy sofas Crowd of Favours provides.

Expenses – 1 pint of coke

Wednesday: Instead of venturing out, I invited the girls around for a night in for what I thought would be a night of wine and gossip. However, after a couple of hours and the boys intruding, it soon descended into an action packed night of all-out war over a Mario cart tournament; much better than the civilised affair I had first imagined.

Expenses – 1 bottle of wine

Thursday: Having lived just around the corner from The West End pub for just over six months, it seemed silly that I had never paid a visit.  After walking past most days, I knew that Thursdays meant pub quiz night and the perfect excuse to try out my local boozer.

I invited along a group of friends to test out our IQ. But even with the combined brain power of four, it turned out our knowledge was mediocre at best. Consoling ourselves with the fact it is the taking part that counts, we decided that we would find somewhere with an easier quiz next time.

Expenses – 1 pint of coke & 1 pint of lager

Friday: This was the most difficult day of the challenge and I really struggled to decide what to do. In the end my activity was a little bit of a cop out as I decided to make the most of my prepaid gym membership. I am not a fan of working on the gym equipment, so chose to take part in a body combat class with my gym buddy instead.  The class consisted of an hour of different punching and kicking sequences, which made everyone look like a character from Tekken. After an hour of exercise I was exhausted but knew that my body, as well as my budget would thank me for it later.

Expenses – N/A

Saturday: By the weekend my itch to shop needed scratching, so me and my housemate Tess set off in search of hidden gems in the cities charity shops. With the high concentration of students in Leeds, charity shops in areas such as Headingley are great places to grab a bargain originally from high street brands.

We hit the charity shop jackpot in Chapel Allerton as sitting proudly in the window was a Louis Vuitton. After enquiring inside, the lovely shop assistant explained that they weren’t allowed to sell fakes and it was only due to some damage that it was a steal at £50.
Although amazingly cheap, it was still way out of my bargain budget but the bag was quickly snapped up by another shopper. I didn’t leave empty handed though, going home with a £3.50 staple white shirt to add to my wardrobe.

Expenses – 1 white shirt

Sunday: Making the most of the unusually hot weather, I went for a walk along the canal by Brewery Wharf. It was whilst walking along the bank that the brand new river taxi went speeding by. A total sucker for the novelty of a boat ride in Leeds, I was instantly excited and headed to the pick up point. The boat decorated in New York taxi colours took me and my equally excited friend on a 10 minute ride from Clarence Dock to Granary Wharf, a route which will now have this free service seven days a week.

To finish my challenge week in style I went along to Brudenell Social Club to enjoy the Texan tones of alternative rock group, Ringo Deathstarr. For me the Brudenell is one of the best live music venues in Leeds and I am always happy to search out new bands in its low key surroundings. It is also a great place to play pool and have a cheap drink through the week. Coincidentally this particular gig was free however, the ticket prices for gigs at this venue are always value for money.
Expenses – 2 pints of lager

After a week of socialising, I was impressed that I had only spent £23.55. If I said it had been easy then I would lying, it was hard to resist everyday temptations and restrict myself to a handful of drinks. However, if you are low on funds and can’t stand the thought of staying in, then Leeds can definitely help you keep your social butterfly status.

The post Quality Student Living On A Budget appeared first on Leeds Student Magazine.

The Leeds Nightclub Guide:

So you’ve gone past the pre-drink stage, started the night at a few bars and you’re looking at how to finish the night with a bang? You’ve picked the right city then! We’re blessed with a wide range of nightclubs in the city and each has its own unique style! Here is our Leeds Nightclub guide:

O2 Academy
The biggest venue in Leeds, with constant live acts on all nights of the week. You’re spoiled for choice with a huge variety of live music.

SYN

SYN is the newest club to hit LEEDS! 3 rooms over 2 floors, SYN is all about service, standards and style!!

Warehouse
Located to the west of Leeds City Centre, this enormous club was one of Britain’s  most important rave venues in the 80s and 90s and, following a 2011 refurb, is still thriving. Queues stretching down the street are common.

Belgrave Music Hall
An independent venue with music, art, film and food spread across three floors, including Leeds’ most spectacular roof terrace.
1-1A Cross Belgrave Street, Leeds

Mission
Housed in six railway arches, Mission has 3 rooms playing a variety of music as well as a huge outdoor terrace. Hosting one of the biggest student nights in the North, you can’t go much bigger than this!

Mint
Club Widely regarded as the best small club in the UK, Mint is a popular destination for house/techno-electro DJs and music fans.

The Space
Playing the latest funky house and urban beats, this popular basement club offers a range of student nights throughout the week with a wide range of drinks.

Hi-Fi

Three times winner of ‘Best Nightclub’ in Leeds, this club is the place to go for a different night out. Playing soul, funk, hip-hop, reggae and disco, it’s a great night out without the same old songs!

CHILLI WHITE

Situated behind the Corn Exchange, Chilli White has 3 rooms of decadence. They host the incredibly popular Little Miss student night on Tuesdays and Penthouse on a Saturday night. Whether you want to dance away to sexy RnB or sample some house music.

Mezz
One of Leeds’ longest standing and popular destinations, hosting massive weekly events and playing RnB, hip-hop and student anthems.

Revival
The funkiest, floor fillers from the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s all in one place. With a great location and great drink deals, theres no other place to go for a retro night!

PRYZM

Serving up everything from EDM, House to R&B, from Pop to Acoustic, the ground-breaking club fuses local talent, established artists and household names – promising a wide array of entertainment across it’s varied rooms. Waitress service is also available throughout the whole club as part of the enticing booth & table packages on offer.

Stylus
The Leeds University Union nightclub boasts a huge club complex with three rooms all playing a variety of music.

Halo
How would you make a club truly unique? Well, put it in a grade II listed church! That’s what Halo is, making for a truly one-of-a kind night with a great drinks menu and DJs playing a whole host of hits! Quilted Llama is next door, if you want to chill out as well.

CONTROL
Great music venue in a setting straight from the future: The World’s 1st LED Geodome!

The post Leeds Nightclub Guide appeared first on Leeds Student Magazine.

The Leeds band, Glass Caves have had a year that has seen them start from busking in cities across the UK to selling out most of their debut album tour, with self-funded album ‘Alive’ making the Record Store Top 40 on week of release.

With praise coming from all angles, one that stays in the mind is GQ’s five star review: “This classic, nostalgic sound is energizing and exciting with heavy guitar riffs and a wonderfully northern vocal.”

We sent our man Will to speak to their lead vocalist Matt to ask them about their dreams, their influences and fighting large animals.

First of all – introduce yourselves to us, tell us where you’re from and what you do.

Aright Will, I’m Matt, I sing some vox, Connor caresses lead guitar, Elliott bangs the drums and Will takes the bass for scenic walks.

Secondly, give us an insight into your plans for the future – short term and long term.

We eventually plan to play in every country known to man. Short term we just wanna play some enjoyable gigs and get people to come and enjoy them with us. Seem like a good plan?

Who’d you want to be like? Who are your big influences and what are your dreams (as a band)?

We want to be like every band that has stood on a stage and gone wait a minute I can’t make out the face of the person at the back, then have them all sing your songs back at you. Can’t imagine how mental that must be! My biggest dream is to one day play Red Rocks, what a venue!  Our big influences have to be the reggae beats of The Police, the emotion of U2 and the madness of XTC.

There are a lot of good young rock, indie-rock, alternative-rock bands in the country, what differentiates you from the rest?

We throw in there some chunks of emotion…not afraid to tackle gloomier, heavier subjects. Plus we’re all distant relatives of royalty.

And lastly, would you rather fight 25 duck sized horses or 1 horse sized duck?

The bassist asked me this question about 6 months ago and it has to be duck sized horses, no contemplation. He’s called Will too… Will, is that you mate?

The Glass Caves play at the Nation Of Shopkeepers tonight (20th April), on the 4th April in York and back at the Brudenell Social Club on the 3rd July.

The post Glass Caves Interview appeared first on Leeds Student Magazine.

Luna Kings are a the best kept secret in Leeds. A superb young indie band with huge potential! After releasing a limited edition EP this year and being played on various radio stations across Yorkshire, they’ve stepped it up a gear – and there’s a lot more to come.

We spoke to them about how they came about, their influences, what makes them individual and if they’d rather fight a large duck or loads of small horses.

First of all – introduce yourselves to us, tell us where you’re from and what you do.

Hello all readers! Luna Kings is a 4 piece atmospheric, indie band hailing from Leeds, made up of Daniel Seviour (Vocal and rhythm guitar), Stewart Thomson (Lead guitar and backing vocal), Ian Hutchinson (bass) and Peter Devine (drums).  The band all started when Stew saw Dan walking up and down Briggate holding a sign proclaiming to be ‘the Seviour of music’.   He knew he had to work with him! The real story is actually Dan’s local advert and a couple of his tracks showing his vocals off.  After a meeting over a couple of pints, we started jamming and writing together.  Ian joined the band shortly after following returning from travelling.  Ian and Dan have been pals for a few years and were previously in a band together.  The last piece of the jigsaw puzzle came with Pete responding to another local advert and after a practice session, hands were shook and Luna Kings’ line-up was complete!

Secondly, give us an insight into your plans for the future – short term and long term.

In January 2015 we launched our debut EP ‘Have we met before?’ with limited 100 copies available.  Two tracks ‘Distance’ and ‘Show me Your Lies’ have been played on BBC Introducing West Yorkshire, as well as on Leeds Student radio and internet station EGH radio – based in Hull.  We have played as local support to a number of touring bands such as The Struts, Ultrasound and Raglans.  We have further supports lined up this year but the plan is to continue increasing our fan base through doing interviews, radio plays, tour supports, festivals and ultimately getting a deal with the odd hit single thrown in.

Who’d you want to be like? Who are your big influences and what are your dreams ?

We haven’t set out to sound or be like any particular band.  We have an eclectic taste in music but bands such as Interpol, early U2 is mutually appreciated throughout the band.  Our sound, without sounding pretentious, has a big atmospheric sound and previous reviews have likened them to stadium anthems.  So our dreams would undoubtedly be to tour the world, selling out the big venues along the way and ultimately leaving a legacy on the music scene where our music is appreciated, covered by bands for years to come.

There are a lot of good young indie-rock bands in Leeds, what differentiates you from the rest?

Its healthy and a great sign that there are many good upcoming band from Leeds.  What we believe differentiates us is the fact that those who come up to us at the end of our gigs remark on the big sound but cannot immediately liken it to anything out there at the minute so we believe that we have quite a unique sound within today’s music scene but at the same time it has its commercial appeal as opposed to being a very niche sound that few can appreciate.

And lastly, would you rather fight 25 duck sized horses or 1 horse sized duck?

We get asked this question all the time! It has to be 25 duck sized horses.  Rather than actually fight them, we would use our drummer Pete (aka hot meat) as bait to entice them into a lorry and bundle them off to an abattoir in Todmorden to then be sold onto a certain well known supermarket store who likes to supply horsemeat to the masses.

Cheers guys!

Give them a like/follow at www.twitter.com/lunakingsuk and facebook.com/lunakingsuk.

Their next gig is at Brudenell Social Club on Tues 31st March!

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Samuel Carter is the lead singer of a young Huddersfield, garage-rock band called Bad Knaves. In his first blog for Leeds Student Magazine, he shares his own experiences of playing in a band.

Driving your band 100 miles to play for a crowd of 6 people can be a harrowing experience. Here are some things I’ve learnt through playing in a band and my own band related incompetence.

Share:

Believe it or not, that giant lump of wood and metal isn’t a delicate little flower with special powers. It was made in a factory by soulless robots. Let people borrow your gear if it’s necessary, especially if you think it’ll improve the sound.

Drinking:

Pubs are fun, and it’s difficult to imagine going to a pub to do anything other than drink away your problems and suck Goldschlaeger through your tear ducts. If someone has been kind enough to offer you a gig then you’re there to perform, and unless you’re Mark E Smith or Shane MacGowan drink won’t do you any favours. It seems that drink makes eccentric people charismatic, but if you’re just a person called Ben who can’t stop writing songs about his ex-girlfriend and “Getting out of this place” it’s going to make you look like a poseur, or just a drunk person called Ben. Save it for afterwards, save it for pudding, it’s your reward for making some people so happy that they clapped their hands at you.

Set lists:

These are useful, especially if all your songs sound the same. They also give you a good idea if you’re overrunning. If you’re too cheap to buy some paper and a sharpie you can always just shout the names of your songs at each other until you’ve decided which song you’ll play next.

Sound check:

Everyone knows that sound engineers are so awestruck when they see your hip, new sneaks and cool haircuts that they’re just desperate to make sure you get the live sound you deserve. Nobody really knows how they do this, just make sure you follow the protocol and don’t make eye contact “More reverb please!”, “A little more in my monitor!” Nobody knows what these words actually mean, but make sure you say them or people will think you unprofessional. Just keep saying numbers into the mic over and over again until they tell you everything is fine.

Talk to people:

New people are scary unless they’re lovely, friendly people with the same interests as you. The chances are that anyone you meet whilst playing is the latter, despite some of their airs and graces. That bloke with lipstick round his eyes, wearing a bell round his neck might just turn out to be a great networking opportunity.

Break a leg:

This is your art, right? You’re a unique, edgy, wildperson and you want to leave a legacy! Gigs where exceptional things happen are memorable, So although you probably shouldn’t go all GG Allin (haven’t heard of him? Google him, you wont regret it), you should certainly make the effort to stand out. Do some walking around, tell some jokes, interact, drink a lit candle, call a bomb scare on the venue. That kind of thing. I used to wear a dead fox around my neck, but it got moths and they ate my nice cardigan.

Good luck.

You can follow the Bad Knaves on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/badknaves
You can like them on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/wearebadknaves
Check out their music here: https://badknaves.bandcamp.com/

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