Wideboy Generation
May 2010ZANI – Out For World Domination
Wideboy Generation are described as a three piece Brit pop, punk rock band from the Essex area with an ambition for world domination. In the musical sense of the word I think. They are the talk of the town at the moment and word reached my ears. So I was curious enough to check them out and liked what I heard. This band has a great sound, full of energy and have a great future. They’ve only been together just over a year and already done 40 gigs, including a number of key events like appearing in the line up for the Kids Are Alright Foundation, plus performing alongside top bands on the circuit such as The Modfathers and Small Fakers. They’ve appeared in a number of key magazines such as The Fly, Brighton’s BNI, Musiczine, Noise Addiction and been taken seriously by writers for the Soho Strut music blog. A video interview for the Brighton Live festival got them played on Brighton radio and help push up their profile. They’ve also appeared on BBC 3 Counties radio doing a live set to promote their new single “The Boys”. Not bad for such a young band starting out. So what sets them aside from other bands on the circuit?The name of the band conjures up the image of three young men with attitude, but surprisingly they are much tamer in person than the name suggests. Very friendly, polite, but with a hint of cheekiness. These are lads their mums and dads should be proud of. Which is just as well, because their manager John Finnigan is also dad to Joe, lead vocalist and guitarist in the band. John is passionate about the band and a strong force behind their rising popularity. He told me “If you don’t like this band I’ll eat my hat” We wouldn’t want that, so I agreed to talk to the band and find out what the buzz on the street is all about.
It’s not often a journalist gets a chance to do a face to face interview in the comfort of their own home. But Wideboy Generation was agreeable enough to trek from Essex over to my place in Kent. The lure of drink and food clinched the deal of course. It wasn’t a straightforward journey for them when their SatNav packed up half way across the Queen Elizabeth Bridge and they got lost in my town centre. They were eventually located and escorted back to my house. We got the important bits out of the way first, a few beers (except for the designated driver of course) and lots of food which was consumed with much enjoyment. This part of the meeting gave me a chance to sample some of their humour and chat informally about what they do when they aren’t in the band such as jobs and the music colleges that both Aiden and Luke attend. Joe has a more physical job doing building work which takes him away during the week. This means that rehearsal time is savored when they get the chance to meet up, and they obviously look forward to any gigs that are happening most weekends.
Of course I make them work for their supper as I’ve set them a short piece of homework called “Life Lines”. They sit around my dining room table giggling like school boys and when they hand in their work all is revealed. I think a bit of cheating had been going on. Either that or they are truly connected. Under the heading of “Ambitions” all of them had written “World Domination. I like their style.
Then we sat down for the formal part of their visit so I can delve into their minds to find out why Wideboy Generation is making such an impact.
The band is made up of Joe Finnigan on lead vocal and guitar. Then we have Aiden Eggenton on bass and backing vocals, with Luke Godfrey on drums. Joe and Luke have known each other since they were quite young as their dad’s were in a band together. Their musical influences came from the Mod power pop scene, which includes Ska. Joe points out that him and Luke have been singing together from as young as ten, which mostly consisted of them making up jokey songs, harmonising and playing about with vocals. Joe started playing guitar and Luke thought he was going to be a singer. Then Luke’s parents got him a drum kit which was set up in his bedroom. “I was always hitting pots and pans and my dad was amazed when I didn’t just start smashing them, but I actually played a beat.”
They’d always wanted to form a band and when Luke’s bass playing dad jammed with them it made them realise it’s just what they needed to do. “We thought, this is brilliant. All that time we’ve been mucking about we’d been missing out not playing in a band.”
They got themselves a bass player and did a few gigs on the circuit, but the bass player didn’t work out so they started looking for a replacement. Aiden explains their first encounter wasn’t exactly how he expected it to be. “I’d seen Luke and Joe play and really liked them, so phoned to see if they would do a gig at the Marquee with me. Luke takes up the story. “I’d had a hoax call from someone a few days before. Someone strung me along asking if we’d play at the Square in Harlow, then hurled a load of abuse at me. So when Aiden phoned I thought it was just another hoax call and started screaming at him down the phone. The next day when I saw Joe I told him I think I’ve had a go at the wrong guy” They really wanted Aiden in the band because they’d heard great things about his bass playing. Luckily Aiden forgave them and the gig went ahead. The rest is history as they say.
In March 2009 they did their first formal gig together as Wideboy Generation at the Standard in east London. It wasn’t all plain sailing though as everything that can go wrong, did go wrong. “My strap broke” Aiden laughed. Luke added “him and Joe were playing in different keys, and then a string broke on Joe’s guitar. We just laughed our way through it but no one seemed to mind.”
Things went from strength to strength in the following months and they are now in the position where gigs come to them. Luke points out “that’s something we’ve always wanted. We still do a few gigs where audiences are small, but mostly it’s getting better and better with our fan base building up. I’ve even been recognized in the shops by someone I didn’t even know. They said hey you’re in that band Wideboy” Joe adds “We’ve had some great comments and some great write ups. They’ve played at a number of festivals, something they hope to build on this year and next.
The band writes all their own material and whilst it’s obvious where their influences come from, they are also developing their own style. Luke point out “There was a period when people said we sounded like the Jam, or The Who, or The Stereophonics. Now we have such a variety of music in our sets you may hear elements of these other bands, but overall it’s new and something no one has heard before. It already shows in our songs. A little hint of this and a hint of that.”
When they are writing it all comes just naturally as Joe explains. “We collaborate on everything. We’ll construct a song, breaking it down, analyzing it and changing parts.” Then they go over it again and again until it sinks in and is ready for their set. Then Luke chips in “Actually I’ve got a confession. You know that song we were learning last week, well I’ve forgotten it.” Joe and Aiden erupt into laughter.
As I haven’t seen this band live yet so I ask them what their performance style is like. Luke says “We give it 110%, even if it’s a small audience. We like to interact as we get a buzz off the audience, although I can’t always see them being tucked at the back on drums. But I look at the other two and if they are having a good time, then so am I.” Luke admits they are much more confident now than the early days with their previous line up. “Aiden is so good we work together really well.” Luke laughs as he says “Before Aiden joined us, I played drums more Ringo Starr style, but now it’s definitely more Moon style. We have real fun as everything that could go wrong went wrong in that first gig, so we’ve done our apprenticeship. The dynamics have changed having Aiden in the band because he’s so good.”
They tell me how they are now playing quite regularly, which includes most weekends and some weekdays. “We’ve soon got four gigs coming up in one week, which is mental, but really good.”
The band has reached a typical crossroad for an unsigned band. They all admit they would love to give up their day jobs and perform full time. They are mostly playing in the south of England but wouldn’t object to casting their net further afield and introducing their music to new audiences. Then Joe remembers, “Oh, we’re doing a festival in Canada that we’re actually getting paid very well for, which is great. We’re looking forward to that.”
The band reflects seriously for the first time during the interview as I question them about having Joe’s dad managing them. The band is obviously grateful for what John has done for them. “John takes a lot of credit for helping to build up the fan base by keeping our MySpace and Facebook pages active. We do stuff like interviews that John recommends as we know it’s for our benefit in the long run. His phone is always busy with requests. He’s not precious about his role as our manager and has said that if a professional manager came along who could take the band to the next level he would willingly step aside.”
So, where do they see themselves in a year’s time? The serious side of Wideboy Generation comes to an abrupt end as they jokingly respond “Back at your house Val for a roast dinner!”
Wideboy Generation is appearing at Peter Parker’s Rock n Roll Club, Denmark Street London on May 24th and the 100 Club on 18th July supporting The Universal and special guests Connett. Their single “The Boys” is available for download from iTunes.
© Words – Val Weedon/ ZANI ltd
© Top and Bottom Photos – Phil Weedon.
Wideboy Generation MySpace Page
ZANI on FaceBook
More on ZANI
