12 Questions with Suave Martyrs
NSG’s David Lancaster caught up with Manchester’s Suave Martyrs guitarist/singer Ben and drummer Biscuit, to talk about garlic bread, a tombola, and Bury F.C.
Suave Martyrs are an indie-psych band from Manchester, melding angular indie guitar, baggy beats, and a funk persuasion to bring an infectious new sound to your ears.
DL: Where are you from?
SM: We were formed in Manchester and Leeds.
DL: Who’s in the band and who plays what?
Ben Greenhalgh – Guitar/Vocals
Sam Brunt – Guitar/Vocals
Stu Maxwell – Bass
Bradley Miller – Vocals
Biscuit – Drums
DL: Hi Ben, Hello Biscuit, thanks for allowing us to interview you guys, we really like your band and appreciate this opportunity, can you tell us where, when, how, and why Suave Martyrs were formed?
Ben: The band was formed in two of the north’s great cities, Manchester and Leeds, in 2019. Myself and Stu had been the initial Suave Martyrs before 2019 with some other members but we believe that the band formed and became “officially certified 100% pure Suave Martyrs”, when Sam, Biscuit, and Brad joined.
Suave Martyrs (Credit: bands Fb page)
DL: So 2020 has finally “done one!”, what did you guys have planned that had to be curtailed? How did you manage to stay creative??
Ben: We were fortunate in 2020 for a few reasons. Yes, we had to cancel a few gigs. one in London which I, for one was looking forward to, but it’s made us look at other areas. Areas that might’ve gone by the wayside had we had a year full of gigs. That and already having the majority of our recording done for the year. The rest of which could be done remotely so I would say, given the circumstances, we’ve had as good a year as any. Adapt and overcome!
Biscuit: Yeah and also we made opportunities that we wouldn’t have had time for without the lockdown. For example our lockdown montage ‘Straight A’s’ would never have happened if I wasn’t on furlough with all the time in the world going spare. So we’ve made the best out of a bad situation and found new ways to be creative.
DL: How did you guys come up with your name?, it stands out btw and I’ve heard people say they really like it.
Ben: We were looking for that, but also something that stood out and was very hard for the simpleton to say/spell/read(which was later confirmed). Stu summed it up nicely when he said “It’s about looking the part and being willing to die for the cause”. Which I thought was epic as it sat well with my Mod roots.
DL: You lads have a really good live sound and you are full of energy on stage. So far you have a sell-out gig at Jimmy’s Manchester to your name, you’ve shared the bill with Alias Kid for a big Alan McGhee show at The Deaf Institute and also played to big crowds at Night People and Academy 3, are you missing the live scene? Did you manage to do anything live during the lockdown, and do you feel like you’ve been stalled a little ??
Ben: Not at all. The momentum we built up prior to lockdown was easily transferred into the other areas we started focusing on and if anything… gave us more motivation to get things out there. We were always going to miss gigging and the live scene but everyone has. We’ve got a “Goonies never say die” mentality here. There will be gigs again and we’ll be there.
Biscuit: Ben’s hit the nail on the head. We’re not mopey characters, we all just crack on, play the hand we’ve been dealt. The positive in all this is that when the gigs happen again people will be desperate to go out so the shows will be much busier and the atmosphere will be top.
Suave Martyrs single Footsteps artwork (Credit: bands Fb page)
DL: I hear that as an organisation you are looking to put shows on yourselves, not necessarily with you guys being on the bill, but also playing the role of promoters. Will these shows be featuring new unsigned acts or more established bands and am I right in saying you have something coming up at The Bread Shed ???
Ben: Yeah, that’s correct. We’ve had a platform over these last two years and now we wanna share that with others as well. It’ll be a combination of the finest unsigned talent and more established bands as well. Having looked at gigs we’ve either played/been at, we’ve always had ideas about what we could bring to the table. Some knob ‘ed suggested a tombola, absolutely wasn’t me.
Biscuit: Tombola wasn’t me either, although it could be cool? We just want to make sure gigs are happening as soon as possible and if we can help get people playing and get people together again then we will. We’re starting to book acts for May which is hopefully a safe bet regarding corona. We shall see.
DL: The band is out at a big SM celebratory meal, who orders what, and who has the worst diet in the band ??
Ben: I’ve got Sam down for a curry. Biscuit and Stu are really earthy guys so you’ll find them propping up the salad bar, maybe throw a cod fillet in for Stu. Brad’s all about them burgers. I’m more of a full English guy. Not mentioning names but I lent one of Sam’s guitars once whilst he was at uni and the thing reeked of garlic bread. That’s two parts of the poor hygiene venn diagram he’s in now (diet falls under hygiene doesn’t it?). That Uni life will get you.
DL: Initially you were a 4 piece, but early last year you recruited Brad, a 5th member, your new singer. What was the thinking behind that, were you wanting to expand your sound onstage??
Ben: Definitely another string to the bow. Brad’s vocals are on point. Myself and Sam had always split the singing but we were thinking it might be time to break out a three-part harmony, at the same time freeing up a bit of room for full focus on our guitars, so the decision was made. As soon as Sam showed me Brad’s work it was a no-brainer. He’s been our logo ever since.
Biscuit: Yeah Brad’s definitely the face for the logo, wouldn’t want Ben’s on there, would frighten the girls away.
DL: What has Brad brought to the group, has he settled in well ??
Ben: Settled in very well. He’s like a part of the furniture now. Brad’s got a lot of really good attributes aside from his killer pipes. He’s always asking the questions. The right kinds of questions as well. It’s all about the music.
Suave Martyrs (Credit: Paul Husband)
DL: What other bands have you heard yourselves being compared with? I think you sound a bit like The Roses with Jeff Buckley on vocals if you don’t mind me saying.
Ben: Don’t mind at all Dave, in fact, I think you should interview us more often. The Roses (speaking for myself here, maybe Brad as well) were one of the reasons I started playing guitar. Jeff Buckley is a great compliment as well. I think he sold himself a bit short in Dumb and Dumber 2 though. Not heard too many others tbf. I think it’s unique in its own right but you could probably go once around the world if you lined up all of the musicians that have said that….. A native American said I sound like Roy Orbison once.
DL: I think you’ve put out about 6 singles to date with another one on its way soon. You all seem to chip in with the vocals and on your recent summer lockdown offering “Straight A’s” it was yourself Tom (aka Biscuit the drummer) who sang the lead. Was that a song about your exam results Biscuit?
Biscuit: Haha no not at all. Should really be ‘Class A’s’ but need to keep hold of the day jobs until we can afford to go full-on rock and roll! Although it always was a fictional character but we were careful to not be misunderstood. At its core, the track is taking the piss out of party culture and how everyone talks about saving the world and how much they hate the tories, but when they sober up they don’t do anything about it. The process started off with the hippies, they smoked so much weed they forgot to actually have the revolution. That same mentality is still out there today. When are we gonna pause the party and actually make the world a better place?
DL: Now I know you fellas do a bit of community work, most notably you worked really hard to help out Bury F.C. with their financial predicament that eventually led to their totally unfair expulsion from the football league. Admirably you lads recorded a charity single for the club and you appeared on Granada reports appealing for support. As a football fan myself I think it’s a really sad story, so as I say, good on you guys for doing your bit. How did you get involved in that campaign and has SM been involved in getting the “Phoenix” club Bury AFC off the ground ??
Ben: I’m the Bury fan of the band. Basically, we wanted to help the best way we knew how. It picked up quite a bit of attention and hopefully it went some way to helping the staff that went unpaid. In terms of the Bury AFC. They’ve asked us to do a few bits here and there to help which we’re more than happy to. The main want for myself though is for the fan base to unite again and try to resurrect this great old club, as it’s not technically dead. That’s a story for another day though.
Suave Martyrs (Credit: bands Fb page)
DL: So, here we are now in 2021, apart from the live shows and the promotional work, what else have Suave Martyrs got in the pipeline for this new year? Will we see an album anytime soon, and do you guys have any tips or ideas on how we can all keep sane and safe during Lockdown 3 ??
Ben: We’ve got a couple of tricks up our sleeves. A few aces in the hole so stick around for that. New tunes, new gigs. Stu’s doing a sponsored donkey ride, all fun and games aboard the MartyrMobile. In terms of lockdown 3… Don’t worry, don’t be afraid, just sit tight, wait it out and we’ll be there… and oh yeah, play Suave Martyrs, drink Suave Martyrs, and eat Suave Martyrs !!!
DL: Thank you for giving us the chance to interview you, anything else you’d like to add?
Biscuit: Thanks for having us with you!
Follow Suave Martyrs on the links in pink below.
Listen to Suave Martyrs on Spotify.
Images owned and copyrighted to the band and Paul Husband.
