Voodoo Bandits are a 4-piece Indie Rock/Surf band from the Isle of Man. We caught up with the band recently in the wake of their recent gig as part of the Made in Mann series at the Villa Marina Promenade Suite.
They each have varying backgrounds in music. Their lead guitarist Corey and drummer Nathan learnt how to play from a young age, and studied music at school both at GCSE and A-Level. Nathan recently studied Music and Technology at the University of Liverpool. Voodoo frontman Ben, is mostly self-taught, having learnt how to play guitar in his mid-teens and had only just took to singing around 2 years ago whilst the band were struggling to find a vocalist. Lastly, their bassist Charlotte, had learnt the bass guitar with the help of Ben also around 2 years ago now. Very much picking up the techniques needed along the way through performing live and practising with the band.
Q. How would you describe your sound?
We’d describe our sound as Indie Rock/Surf Punk, with the latter being something we’ve delved into more recently and is much more apparent in our live set. It’s high energy, fast-paced and fun with hints of dreamy elements.
Q. Who are your biggest influences?
We’re heavily influenced by the Australian and Californian surf and garage rock music scene but overall, we tend to take inspiration from certain aspects of various songs and artists that we’re enjoying at the time and create our own take on this giving us a unique, yet commercial sound.
Q. You recently opened the Made in Mann series with a gig in the Villa Marina Promenade Suite. You stated that it was your biggest gig yet. What was that experience like playing in this venue?
Our recent gig at the Villa Marina Promenade Suite was brilliant. We really enjoyed it, the atmosphere was great and the staff and crew involved were very accommodating and helpful. We’ve headlined shows in a few cities across the U.K. so far and a handful of times at COOiL Bar in Ramsey but this particular show at the Villa had just about topped those previous shows in terms of capacity making it our biggest originals gig to date. We’ve played to audiences as large 1000 however it’s not very often we get to perform entirely our own material to an audience that have come to hear it!
Q. The series is about showcasing the best of local original music as well as making it accessible to a wider audience. How important is it that bands such as yourselves have opportunities like this?
We think it’s super important for local bands to take up opportunities like this on island especially at such an accessible and reputable venue like the Villa. It helps give artists an opportunity to showcase their own catalogue in a suitable and more accommodating environment. There aren’t many venues on the island that have adapted to/fully accommodate local original music so it can be tricky finding an opportunity to be yourself as an artist and perform your own material. Since the back end of last year, we have been setting up our own headline shows at COOiL Bar in Ramsey with a bill of varying local supports to try and promote the islands original music scene. We’re always on the look out for local artists to perform with at these shows, and our aim is to try and get more artists like ourselves playing their own material as often as we can. Shout out to the venue owners that let this happen!
Q. What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a band this year during a global pandemic and how have you adjusted your plans in light of this?
Following the global pandemic, we lost out on a large number of UK gigs, festival slots and even a mini tour around Scotland. We also lost out on various gigs on island including TT and the opportunity to support The Lightning Seeds at the Villa! However, during lockdown we took part in several live stream gigs organised by UK promoters, built a home studio, released a couple of singles and worked on some fresh ideas.
Q. What’s next for you?
We’re looking forward to bouncing back onto the UK music scene to perform at a bunch of shows and festivals which have been postponed/cancelled this year following the pandemic. We are still getting contacted by show promoters based around the UK with offers so the gig list is growing. It’s now just a matter of when! A side from this, we are working with some good people in the industry to help develop us and are in the process of writing and recording lots of new music.
Email - voodoobanditsband@gmail.comBand
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Images from Made in Mann by Gary Vannin
