Exposed Vocals Interviews ‘The 96’

The 96 are an alternative electropop indie band from Bath, UK consisting of 3 members: Ben Johns (Vocals/Keyboard), Daniel Fellows (Guitar) and Gadget (Drum and Bass God).

The names origin is actually in connection to the 96 people who were involved in the Hillsborough disaster and is also the message behind the song “We Are Friends”. The Hillsborough disaster occurred when part of a stadium collapsed and caused the deaths of 96 people and injured 766 others, at a football match between Liverpool F.C and Nottingham Forrest at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield, England, on 15 April 1989. Having grown up as a Liverpool F.C fan, it seemed appropriate to give a commemorative nod to the families, friends and all of those still affected by the tragedy.

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

 

The 96: Each band member was raised in different parts of the country, Ben is from the southwest and Dan is from the midlands. Gadget was developed in a basement in the small town of Morley, NC, just outside the city of Asheville, NC. He is technically one of the youngest musicians in the world being only 3 months old but he is also one of the best drum and base robots that has ever lived. Being an artist isn’t so much as a choice as something that happens. Some people just hear music differently. They appreciate the talent and hard-work that goes into every song, how it can change a persons outlook on any situation they are in and we just wanted to be able to be a part of that. We want people to gain something from listening to us, even if it just a momentary enjoyable experience.

 

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

 

The 96: The names origin is actually in connection to the 96 people who were involved in the Hillsborough disaster and is also the message behind the song “We Are Friends”. The Hillsborough disaster occurred when part of a stadium collapsed and caused the deaths of 96 people and injured 766 others, at a football match between Liverpool F.C and Nottingham Forrest at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield, England, on 15 April 1989. Having grown up as a Liverpool F.C fan, it seemed appropriate to give a commemorative nod to the families, friends and all of those still affected by the tragedy.

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

 

The 96: All our music is given away for free at this time in our career. At the moment no one knows who we are, they have no idea if they are going to like us or not and to put up a financial barrier to stop people enjoying the music is just taking a step in the wrong direction. We want to create a buzz not stifle it. If we are privileged enough to turn this into something then we will of course start to charge for albums in line with other artists but never stop access to streaming in argument over a few pennies.

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

The 96: Being a small band ourselves I wouldn’t want to give you the illusion that we have more of an insight than any other band out there but being from a marketing background in terms of a digital perspective just getting your brand out there and utilising social media and sites just like this one will help tremendously. Making sure that you have a decent EP which is recorded to a high standard with songs that weren’t written in a week and everything from lyrics to melody is thoroughly thought through.Your live show must be a step up from your EP and at the start most likely include covers as to not bore the audience. Many live shows can let a band down as they just aren’t able to replicate the high standard of music that they spent 6 months recording.

 

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

 

The 96: I actually record random things that pop in my head as I am walking along. My phone is filled with random lyrics, tunes, starts of songs and quotes I think make a statement/get people to think. In terms of music inspiration we have an eclectic taste in music which ranges from Muse and Blink-182 to Ed Sheeran and The Beatles. These are the bands that inspire you to want to do more than just grab a guitar and play the first thing that comes to your head.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

 

The 96: We have a band website (www.th96.co.uk) which collates all of our social media efforts and keeps those who enjoy the music up to date with gig information and more. We use a vast range of platforms including Spotify, Soundcloud, YouTube, iTunes and more to make sure that we maximise potential listening opportunity.

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

 

The 96: In terms of music we would definitely get some awesome instruments, record some songs in the best studios possible (making a trip to abbey road most likely) and then go on tour. Most of it would be used up in promotion and production as it can cost upwards of $3m to launch a new artist (which is why labels are so picky)!

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

 

The 96: Well social media works best at the moment but live gigs do get you dedicated fans who are more willing to share your music. Social media can be a bit interpersonal and therefore shouldn’t be your only route for promoting work. At the moment we are recording an EP and getting it to the highest standard possible so we haven’t needed to properly promote our work. We have a few tricks up our sleeve but unfortunately we can’t share everything otherwise they wouldn’t be tricks!

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

 

The 96: Well we are currently creating an EP so there are definitely exciting things on the horizon (well we think they are exciting anyway) and we hope to get an EP finished within the next few months and start to increase our brand recognition. It is a slow process to enter such a competitive market and we want to make sure we have set the ground work before we hit the ground running.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

 

The 96: Well at the moment we do have full time jobs so if we aren’t doing music then we will be doing this which isn’t the most entertaining thing to do in life. However, it would be great to be able to run a business such as a recording studio to help get budding musicians into the limelight or a even a label if that was at all feasible.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

 

The 96: We take our time with music. We don’t rush into things and have an “That’ll do” approach. Music is written, re-written, recorded, re-recorded, until we are at a stage where we would happily show this to as many people as possible. If you don’t get excited by your work and if you don’t enjoy listening to it time and time again how is anyone else going to. Why would anyone else spend their hard earner cash to come and see you play something that was knocked up in 10 minutes. With the exception of wonderwall if you create a song in an afternoon it isn’t going to be a great song. You can definitely get a great start but it takes months to get songs to a place where they are ready to be shown to people.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

 

The 96: Well this is the first year we have come together having toured with other successful bands in the past so 2017 will most likely be the year that sees an increase in attention of our music. We hope to link up with some good causes to make sure that our music benefits not only the listener but