Interview: THE SENTON BOMBS
The Senton Bombs have released their latest album, ‘Mass Vendetta’, through 7Hard and here we catch-up with guitarist Damien Kage for more about the album and the band…
How have the band changed musically since their inception back in 2004?
In some respects the music has changed dramatically, in others not so much. We still play the fast punk rock ‘n’ roll stuff and we always make room for those kind of songs on our records and in our live sets. We’ve really removed any genre restrictions, so everything goes into the pot and we just see what comes out. It’s clear we’ve incorporated more hard/classic rock, southern rock, metal and country influences into our style. Musically, there’s a lot of variety and that’s what keeps it fresh and interesting for us, and hopefully everyone else, 12 years in.
The new album ‘Mass Vendetta’ has been picking up good reviews, have the band been pleased with the reaction so far?
In all honesty we’ve been a bit overwhelmed. We’d hoped it would be well-received but the response has exceeded all expectations. On last count we’d got over twenty plus amazing reviews and around five fairly average ones, the consensus being that we’ve produced a pretty good record. There’s more coming too with some of the big magazines, including Classic Rock, covering it in their next issues, finger crossed they like it as well.
How did the band hook-up with 7Hard record label?
We shopped the album around a number of labels and a few were interested. We’d signed with Holier Than Thou Records a couple of years back but they only covered digital releases and we were after another physical deal like the one we’d had with STP Records for our Chapter Zero album. 7Hard, a German label, came back with an impressive list of distribution partners and guaranteed an international release. Strangely enough we were playing a gig in Hamburg when we finally agreed a deal with them. Since then it’s been all systems go on getting the album into as many markets, more importantly ears, as possible.
What have been the live highlights for the band to date and why?
There have been so many it’s tough to know where to start, as you know we’ve been at this a good while now. I think finally taking the band abroad to Denmark, Netherlands and Germany stands out as we’d always hoped the SB would be a vehicle to travel the world, see new places, experience different cultures and just have a great time. Touring the UK over the last few years has been fun, we’ve played some fantastic venues to amazing crowds. A real highlight for me personally has been the recording, I love getting something down in the studio, all the ideas, creativity flowing throughout the process. Once the record gets out the point we are at right now is the most rewarding – people hearing it and telling us what they think.
If the Senton Bombs could tour with anyone, who would it be with and why?
There’s a load of candidates for this and the temptation would be to shoot for some of the biggest bands so we could play the biggest stages, arenas and travel the globe… but realistically we would choose The Supersuckers. One of our favourite bands as a collective, a band I’m sure we’d go down really well with and wouldn’t get tired of watching every night.
What is the live scene like for bands right now in the UK? A few established venues have gone in recent years and a lot of the small/medium sized ones have closed in London.
It varies from one place to the next, one night to the next. There are still lots of great places to play but you might end up playing them on the wrong night of the week. Alternatively you can end up playing some real dives to a packed house, I think unpredictable would be a fair way to describe it. A lot of venues have closed but some new ones have appeared too. We spent several years playing in the underground punk scene which has a loyal following, until our emerging diversity began to alienate some of the more ardent punks and we fancied a change. We’re now entrenched in the growing ‘rock’ scene where our contemporaries are easily some of the best bands in the UK. Every time you set out on the road to your next gig you’re not sure what you’re going to get, our approach is to keep our expectations low and enjoy it, whether we’re playing to a big crowd or to a bunch of bar stools, we thrive live.
Message for your fans and anything else to add…
We’d like to thank everyone for the support, all the DJs, reviewers, labels, endorsements and sites like this for featuring us and spreading the word. We’ve just announced our gig-schedule from July onwards and all the details can be found across our social media sites or at our website www.sentonbombs.com. You can also grab an exclusive free download over there right now of our latest single ‘Train Wreck’ as well as access to all the back catalogue. We’ll keep doing our thing and we hope to catch you on our travels. Cheers! JC
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
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In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.
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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024
ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)
Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)
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