The rock band ‘Wild Horse’ are not just three talented lads from the UK they are also hard working, and while proactively seeking careers in the music biz, they’re still keeping academic studies a priority. With their passion for all things rock, it looks like rock music is safe in the hands of a new generation. Thanks guys for the brilliant Q and A Faith & Harry Q Whose who and who plays what? Are you guys friends or related in someway? A The band has three fixed members, Henry Baldwin ( Guitar, lead vocals, Harmonica, keyboard ), Jack Baldwin ( Guitar Backing vocals, sometimes lead), Ed Barnes (drums). Henry (18) and Jack (16) are brothers and Ed 17 is a friend from school. Rather than risk ruining the dynamics of the band we decided to bring in guest players rather than a fixed forth member. This role for the last five years has been mainly filled by Henry, Jack’s Dad Stephen Baldwin. Q How and when did you form the band? A All three of us independently but roughly at the same time, joined ‘Rock School’ at our school. This was an after-school activity to try to help students learn instruments and put bands together. Initially we each played in different combinations, Henry playing I’m a few bands first. However, without wanting to sound arrogant, it was clear that the three of us were way ahead of the others and shared the same musical tastes. Our favorites being the greats of Rock and Roll, The Stones, The Who, Clapton, Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, and more recently, Arctic Monkeys, Black Keys, etc... It was then that we formed Wild Horse in April 2013 and played our first gig in May of the same year. Q Are your songs original? A Initially we played covers of rock standards, but quickly Henry and Jack formed a writing partnership that has been prolific ever since, often with plenty of input from Ed. Since 2015 Wild Horse plays virtually only original material, occasionally we do throw in one cover, but not for long. Q Where do you record and do you have a producer? A Luckily for us, a friend Stephen Baldwin owned a professional recording studio, ‘Cobham Sound’ and in August 2013 we had a free day to record a couple of tracks to see how we got on. The studio owner, Niall Squire was impressed and has been our engineer and producer ever since, his wife Hilary is also a mean sax player and is on a number of our recorded tracks. By the time our second album comes out in June this year we would have recorded and released over 40 original tracks. Thanks to Niall we have been able to use the studios at weekends and school holidays, which has allowed us to record extensively without effecting our school work. Q Do you get help from your parents to run your band? A From the beginning we received positive feedback from the music industry, and after receiving the 2014 ‘Rock The House’ (a UK competition run by the music business with Parliament member support) nomination, and then 2016 finalists, both sets of parents got together and discussed how they could make the band work. They decided we were good enough to get somewhere and since then we have had 100% support. Q With your Band demands how do you keep up with your school studies? A Our parents ensure school work is properly covered and we do take short breaks from the band around Exam time, although our parents are behind us they also insist that we follow a normal career path. In fact Henry is now in the first year of his degree in ‘Music Management’ at Sussex University in Brighton. Q Is your aim to be under the umbrella of a record label? A Early 2015 'Wild Horse' was signed with a New York Record Company who released mixed EPS leading to the release of their first album, ‘Its Begun’ January 2016. Now acting as our own label we recorded a further 18 original tracks, forming three EPS ‘On the Run’, 'It’s Only Rejection’, and ‘ Timeless Dancing’. We are back in the studio this June for our next album. Q Some music critics insist that Rock Music is a dying form of music, do you think this is true? A Being from England we know that Rock Music is not a dying genre and ‘Never Will Be’! Good quality rock music is an essential component of life. What may have been an issue is the supply of good quality rock bands. Right now there are some great modern rock acts, Arctic Monkeys, Portugal, Imagine Dragons, Paramore, even Harry Styles has moved over to rock! Things are even better in the US and our biggest fan base is there. However if things don’t work out we are just like our school friends looking at career options. Q With so much competition from other musicians how will you get noticed? A we have always believed that a good Rock Band is not an instant thing and develops as you ‘pay your dues on the road’. We have played many gigs, some awful in real dives and many great ones, we’ve had nights where you could fit the audience in a phone booth and nights where all you can see is people, the one thing we always do is give the best performance we can every time. Growing a solid fan base that will actually pay to come and see you is a long hard process. We’re in that process still but each month we get bigger and better offers; 2018 is looking very positive. Q What advice would you give to a young musician just starting out? A Our advice to any young musician wanting to make a career in rock is this. Firstly, ask yourself why you want to do it? If the answer is to get famous, this isn’t for you, do X-Factor, take 10 minutes of fame and get on with your life. If the answer is that you just love playing in front of an audience and thrilled when you see people enjoying your music, then maybe this is for you. But, a word of warning, this involves hard work, total commitment, dedication and massive support from family and friends. Q If you could play anywhere in the world where would it be? A If we could play anywhere in the world it would be the Pyramid Stage in Glastonbury England. Once you have been invited to play there you have already made it, Our all time favorite ‘The Rolling Stones’ played a fantastic gig there.
Links
WEBSITE: http://www.wildhorse-rockband.com/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/wildhorseuk/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/wildhorserockuk
BANDCAMP: https://wildhorse1.bandcamp.com/
REVERBNATION: https://www.reverbnation.com/wildhorse6