Blank Atlas formed in 2015 in Bristol by twin brothers Dan & Tom Thould with Chris Simpson. Their music has prominent 3 part harmonies, big riffs, big hooks and lots of energy. Their music is technical but still very accessible. At their shows, you can expect lots of energy, riffs, harmonies, banter and plenty of hooks. Since their formation, they have gigged relentlessly and played with plenty of up and coming bands. Some of which include; Fatherson, Allusondrugs, Press To Meco, Max Raptor, Boy Jumps Ship, Liberty Lies and many more. In 2016, Blank Atlas are releasing their single Lost At Sea. They are also releasing a 5-Track EP at the end of the year with producer, Neil Kennedy (Press To Meco, Milk Teeth, Creeper).
Blank Atlas are:
Dan Thould – Guitar/Vocals
Chris Simpson – Bass/Vocals
Tom Thould – Drums/Vocals
A Song Which Made You Want To Make Music:
Dan: What I Go To School For – Busted. BANGER. When I first started ‘writing’ songs I would just sing Busted and McFly songs but change the words….. I’m a Genius
Best Rider You have Ever Had:
Chris: We got a lovely crate of water back when we supported Fatherson. That’s when I knew I was a real rockstar
Craziest Moment You’ve Experienced In The Band:
Tom: On mine and Daniels birthday, we played a show in Bristol and after our soundcheck, Chris decided that he was gonna buy a load of party hats from the shop and hand it out to the crowd… It worked out pretty well in the end! Was quite strange seeing everyone in the crowd wearing party hats while I was playing, I guess it was even weirder for people walking into the room mid-set 😉
Deepest Lyrics One Of Your Songs Features:
C: Our lyrics aren’t that deep but while we’re on the subject, we did have a song about Star Wars back in the day. So deep.
Easiest Song You Wrote:
D: Our song ‘Running’ came really quickly, wrote the music in about 30 mins and finished the lyrics off in a week and that’s good going considering it usually takes me months! But I did write a song with lyrics in about 30 mins called ‘Living Forever’ way baaaaaaaaack, try and dig that one out folks……it might not be worth it.
Favourite Song In Your Set:
T: I love playing Liar’s Eyes right now because it’s got all of the weird heavy bits in it which are really fun to play!
Guest You’d Most Like To Feature On Your Record:
D: Rou from Enter Shikari would be sick! Take to the Skies was the first album I bought so it would be a bit surreal.
Hardest Thing About Being In A Band:
C: Starting out a band requires full dedication, you’ll have to give up all your money and time to get anywhere…
Interesting Fact About One Of Your Members:
T: Urmmmm I’m just gonna point out the obvious… THE GUITARIST AND DRUMMER ARE TWINS.
Jokes You Have In The Band:
D: We’re all lunatics so they’re all pretty weird, but the weirdest one is probably when I ask the lads how many times they’ve been to Paris and they say once or how many times they’ve been and I always say I’ve been 5 times……..I’ve never been. I’m soooo hilarious, Lee Evans watch out Geeez
Key To Writing a Song:
C: If the song is good enough, it’ll pretty much write itself
Longest Distance You’ve Travelled To Play A Show:
T: Well, we haven’t ventured too far out of Bristol just yet but a couple of years ago we first played Bristol (before we moved there). So we went from West Wales all the way to Bristol! It’s not very far compared to other bands around BUT STILL. So far…
Most Inspiring Musician You’ve Ever Experienced:
D: John Frusciante is AMAZING! Everything he does turns to gold, especially RHCP but his solo stuff is awesome too especially the album ‘Shadows Collide with People’
New Band You’d Recommend:
C: There’s a band called Tirade who have a very similar sound to us, they’re awesome! Also there’s In Dynamics. They aren’t brand spanking new, but they’re still a fantastic band, you should check them out
Opening For This Band Would Be Ideal:
T: We have an unconditional love for Press To Meco and I feel like you can definitely hear that in our sound. So we’d fit quite well opening for those guys. We’ve played with them in the past and it’s been good fun!
Place You’d Most Like To Tour:
D: Paris………………………………I actually would though in all seriousness
Quote That You’d Like To Pass On To Readers:
C: A wise man once said ‘Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down.’ I recite those words before every show.
Reason For The Title Of Your Recent/Forthcoming Release:
T: Most of our titles are usually just a lyric that sounds the most like a song title. So it’s not usually that dependent on what the song is actually about. Lost at Sea is pretty cool title, right? Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight?!
See Us Live At:
D: We have lots of gigs in the pipeline especially later in the year to coincide with our EP release. But We’re playing in Bristol in May, so look out for when we announce that.
The Old Days Of Music Were Better Than Those Current, do you agree:
C: Music is subjective, anyone that tries to say that one kind of music is better than the other needs to open their minds a bit.
Unusual Merchandise:
T: We don’t have a ton of merch, the craziest thing we had were wristbands…. So not that unusual.
Variations You’d Like To Do On Any Of Your Songs:
D: Well when we play live we like to put little jams on the end of songs because we’re MADMEN! Watch out.
What Do Your Fans Mean To You:
C: We’ve had people travel to our shows from miles away and some have been to gigs 2 days apart. When people make a huge effort just to see us play it makes all the hard work worth it.
X-rays or any other treatments needed for band related injuries:
T: So far there’s been no injuries, but Chris does tend to go pretty wild at our shows so it’s only a matter of time until he breaks something….
You’re late for a show, who’s fault is it:
D: Tommy. ALWAYS TOMMY.
Zoo animal that best describes the personality of your band:
C: We asked a friend this and he said a black meerkat. Whatever that means. He said we were ‘Dark, but harmless.’ Are meerkats ever black anyway?
Download Lost at Sea for free here: http://www.musicglue.com/blankatlas/products/lost-at-sea/
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