Special Guests Interview

Charlie – Vocals, 
Kunal – Guitar, 
Luke – Bass, 
Ed – Lead Guitar, 
Steve – Drums.

The band hit the Leicester music scene in early 2003, and their THIRD EP is going on sale SOON…along with a DVD of their new video for ‘Just Another Slut’.

I asked the lads a few questions about being part of the *Special Guests* phenomenon, here’s what they had to say…

When did the band get together?
Ed: Late 2002
Charlie: We started playing gigs in February 2003.

How did you all meet?
Luke: Me, Ed and Steve were in another band (I’ll save us the embarrassment of saying who it was). Who knows where we got the other guys from?

Why did you call yourselves *Special Guests*?
Luke: God knows!?
Kunal: Someone’s drunken idea one night?
Steve: it was some crazy idea that Charlie had one night.
Charlie: There is a signed “New Found Glory” ticket pinned to a tree in my room, on it says ‘+special guests’. As a reviewer once said “With a name that makes it look like you’re supporting every band at once”. I think that sums it up, no other band name is on so many posters, is it?

What’s the best thing about being in *Special Guests*?
Steve: Playing the gigs is great - you get a buzz when the crowd cheer and sing along.

What does each member bring to the band?
Kunal: Well Charlie obviously brings the vocal, me and Ed work together well with guitar harmonies and Steve has some kick *** beats, Luke is becoming more creative with his bass lines.

Are *Special Guests* songs based on real events?
Luke: Yeah, most of them are about our stupid lives.
Charlie: I guess you could say that, most are based on a true story. There are parts of the songs are true, but they’re mostly exaggerated.

Where has the best gig you’ve played been so far?
Charlie: The "original bands showcase" that was running at The Shed had an amazing crowd there, we've played some pretty cool gigs but never had a crowd as good as them, the locals!
Luke: Some of the shows in Leicester have been the best. Its good to have your own crowd with you.
Ed: shows in Leicester, where all our fans from home can go, are the best ones and most fun.
Steve: the "original bands showcase" gig sticks in my mind, a really good atmosphere.

How does the band go about writing a new song?
Charlie: We’ve generally found that writing as a group doesn’t work, the more people there are to criticise the slower the process seems to be. We tend to write songs either on our own or maybe in a small group.
Steve: yeh, we write them in ones or twos, then the rest of the group put in their ideas once the main structure of the song is down.

Who is the main songwriter in the band?
Charlie: We seem to all go through bursts of inspiration, at the moment Ed is probably coming out with the most material.
Kunal: Ed is a good song writer, I must say I write the greatest lyrics IN THE WORLD…mwahahaha

What’s the best song to perform?
Charlie: My favourite song to perform depends on the crowd, whatever they like best on the night has been the best song for me to perform.
Steve: songs that are easy to dance to, interesting to listen too and quite catchy all at the same time
Luke: I enjoy playing ‘Letter to a friend’.
Ed: yeah, it gives a great performance and gives everyone a stereotypical special guests sound.
Kunal: Its MAD! My favourite at the minute is ‘finding emo’ though.

So you guys have just filmed a video in London, what was that like?
Charlie: yeah, it was great fun, except that we had to be standing on a freezing cold rooftop in the centre of London at 6am. We met some great people filming it as well. All the crew there were wicked, they treated us like superstars. They were a real talented bunch. The cameraman had worked with the Spice Girls before; we got to hear some secrets about them too.

Will we be seeing this new video on any music channels?!
Charlie: what the future holds is something that can't be predicted, we can only try our best and see where it lands us!

What about your new CD, how is that coming along?
Charlie: Well it's finally finished, We worked at it over Christmas and got it finished in early January. It's a bit different to our older material but we feel that there is something for most people to listen to. We have waited to release it with the DVD on the 11th Feb at the Attik, it should be a good gig! We're also hoping to launch a new Website around the same time too.

How often do you guys practice then?
Luke: Once a week.
Ed: not saying where, classified…
Charlie: why don’t you come along its at……
Kunal: At Stayfree.

Anything to say about your fan base??
Kunal: we do have quite a loyal fan base, sure most of them are just after Steve’s hot ***, but, really, who isn’t I ask??!

How long have all of you been playing/singing?
Steve: I’ve been playing drums for a while... 3 years-ish
Kunal: um… just over 4 years now
Ed: I’ve been playing nearly 4 years now.
Luke: I can’t really remember, probably about 4 years
Charlie: My mother said that I used to sing myself to sleep.

The lads website is www.special-guests.co.uk, its currently being re-designed by rockfood.co.uk (I’ve seen the demo site and it looks awesome). They’re gonna have samples of their songs, lyrics, bios of the members, a forum and more on there...