Can you introduce yourselves please?
Tarin – We are Sanguine a alt-rock metal outfit from the South West. The band are – Nick on guitar, Tom on bass, Matt on the drums and myself on vocals. It’s a predominantly female vocal led band but we also use Nick’s vocals for that crazy, punk edged contribution.
Can you give us a quick background to the band? When you formed, any CDs out?
Tarin – We formed back at University and have been together ever since. We started as a prog-rock band but soon lost our original guitarist and went a different direction. From 2004 we developed the sound Sanguine is today.
Nick – Yeah Sanguine grew very organically really – It was the first time I’d played with female vocals and I really liked the range in Tarin’s voice. I’ve known Tarin since college and when she put together this project I was really up for it.
Tarin – In terms of releases in 2009 we released our first EP Live, Consume, Drive a three track deafening EP. It received a lot of attention and the video was featured on Kerrang!, Scuzz and Propellor TV – which isn’t bad work for an EP that we recorded in our loft!
Why did you form a band?
Tarin – I wanted to sing in a proper rock/metal band, I wanted to do something a bit different to your usual floaty vocals which a lot of female led bands end up with. I also didn’t want to scream like a bloke I wanted to scream like myself, how a female would scream. Hence the bandshee vocals which are now signature to Sanguine’s sound.
Nick – I’ve played in bands since I was a kid. Tarin used to come to my gigs! Sanguine came along at a time in my life where I was looking to do something different and it just fit.
Which band or musicians have had the biggest impact on your life?
Tarin – Singer wise Freddie Mercury was the first singer I remember from being a kid and being completely blown away by his power. I even remember the day he died, it was a sad day in our house as my dad was a big Queen fan. Following on from that I became obsessed with Kurt Cobain which then led me on to Mike Patton (in Faith No More) he’s probably my favourite singer to date and has influenced so many artists including myself.
Nick – Too many to list! – I listen to everything…..The first record I ever brought was Iron Maiden though…..I can remember being blown away!
Can you describe your sound to our readers?
Tarin – scary and fun, schizophrenic and melodic.
Nick – Heavy and eclectic – not even we know what we’re gonna do next!
Describe your live show to us..
Tarin – Insane, we always go all out for the live shows. It’s so important for us as we get to show our listeners the range of songs that we do. One minute we will be screaming out our schizophrenia track Bangkok Nights which is about the sex industry and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in Thailand which sends the crowd into a crazy mosh! Then the next minute we will be singing you a romantic rock (with a metal tinge) like the rock ballad Tonight – the audience usually get their lighters out at this point!
Nick – Its pretty intense – we smashed one place up so badly that the headliners refused to follow us! ….whoops!
Tell us about your first gig together?
Tarin – We played a little bar in Plymouth. We were so nervous having changed our sound once already and lost a member because of it we were wondering if we were really on to something! It went so well though, I can remember everyone being blown away by our first set. It’s been like that ever since, you never imagine Sanguine would be capable of creating the sound it does by looking at us!
Nick – Yeh really didn’t expect the reaction we got…..after the show we got offered 3 more from different venue’s who had heard about us and it just grew from there really.
Any funny gig stories you can tell us about?
Nick – Loads!
Tarin – Although most of the really funny stories are probably a bit rude or sick to mention!
Nick – Haha! Yeah like the piss in a bottle incident!….too many to list in one go!…Er…a sanatised story is that one night we changed our name to ‘Flaming Death Shit’ because we were on a bill of bands that all had the word ‘Flaming’ “Flame” or “Burning” in their name!! – We felt out of place so we announced Sanguine had cancelled and been replaced by ‘Flaming Death Shit’….I think the audience were genuinely confused!!
Tarin – Yeah and the other time we changed it to “G-bird and the Sanguines” due to Tom being ill and a funky friend of ours G-bird stepping in last minute! That was a weird gig…
What are your goals with the band?
Tarin – One day Pinky we’ll take over the world…pretty much sums it up!
What do you think about the rock scene at the moment?
Tarin – There are some great unsigned bands out there, some really talented people who go unnoticed. The industry has taken a real beating in the past few years which has seen a big come back for a lot of old bands, as they can’t simply live on royalties of record sales any more. All the old bands are now having to get out there and gig again. Which is great for the fans, as there are so many bands that I now have a chance to see live again, but it does mean that the state of flux in the industry has made the record labels nervous about investing in new projects. You now have to be fully DIY as a new band!
Nick – Yeh DIY is the only way to get started now – labels want to see it working with their own eyes not just in theory. The best part about that is that artistic freedom has been reinstated.
What are your upcoming plans?
Tarin – We have a single due for release on the 3rd October, For Love, which features a video which was shot in the ex-mansion of members of Pink Floyd and Roger Taylor from Queen. After that we’ve got gigs and more gigs. Followed by the release of the album in the New Year.
Which member of the band has the most annoying habit?
Tarin – Well we all have our bad habits – I’m really a perfectionist and being the only girl in the band means the boys have to put up with my mood swings!
Nick – Yeah I’m borderline OCD.
Tarin – Yeah we can’t leave his house with out Nick checking he’s locked the front door like three times. It’s so annoying it’s started rubbing off on everyone…we all keep checking things now!
Nick – And Tom can be really lazy, he moves at half the pace from everyone else! We call him “Tom the cat” as he moves like a lazy cat.
Tarin – Matt – he’s just generally boisterous and hyper at the most inappropriate times! His nickname is Labrador as he is like a dog, loyal and fun but will jump up and lick your face if he thought it would get a laugh!!! Drummers are normally a different breed of musician so he’s not alone!
If you had a question for any musician out there alive or dead, who would it be for and what would the question be?
Tarin – I’d ask Gene Simmons whether Colonel Gaddafi was a fan of his as he seems to have stolen Gene’s look! haha! Oh how bad taste of me!
Nick – I don’t think those guys have ever been seen together in the same room…..suspicious if you ask me…
What advice would you give someone thinking of forming a band?
Tarin – Unless you are really committed, don’t even start a band! I know it sounds harsh but if you want to form a band and get somewhere with your music you have to give up everything…your family engagements, your friend’s birthday parties and generally you have to be ok with living on the road. It’s hard, but it has the biggest reward that anyone could ask for…being able to do what you love for a living. I would also get them to think about getting members in a band who are multi-taskers ie. having someone in the band who is able to record, design artwork or build websites is a real advantage, so think about it when you audition for your members.
Nick – Ditto that! It does take over your life but in a good way – We buzz constantly as we are always creating – It screws with your sleep patterns to – you can’t 9-5 creativity – it comes when it comes and you have to work on it immediately.
Thanks for your time. Anything else to say, plug, complain about, promote?
Nick – My new perfume and bumper sticker range due out shortly….oh and our single which is out on October 3rd – Its called ‘For Love’ and its a little taste of things to come!!
Facebook Link – http://www.facebook.com/sanguineband
Article by Graham Finney
