MUSIC INTERVIEW – Two Weeks In Nashville

Behind The New Music

Spending a couple of weeks in Nashville did wonders for UK-based Billy LeRiff, Jonny Faires, Marc De Luca and Ian Wilson, and would go on to inspire a lot more than their band’s name.

“We were lucky enough to go to Nashville just to experience life,” begins aptly-named lead guitarist and vocalist, LeRiff. “It was incredible, and we hadn’t experienced anything like it. It’s just so full of positive, really welcoming people: it’s music-city! It’s literally the music capital in the world, with music going on 24-7 right down the main strip. It really opened our eyes and ears to the other side of the world and gave us a different way to look at things.

“It essentially changed our music; the whole sound and everything came from the experience we had there. We spent two weeks on our first trip there and fell in love with it. So we had to call the band Two Weeks In Nashville!”

Welcome to the new feature where we talk to musicians and artists to find out in depth information about their music.

Two Weeks In Nashville released their single Afterglow today recently, let’s see what the the trio had to say about their music, recording process, gigs and much more.

Hello Two Weeks In Nashville, tell us three unknown facts about yourself!

Hey Phoenix Remix! We have actually spent two weeks in Nashville. We all live together. We found Marc, our French guitarist, after Googling, “French restaurants near me”.

How did you get into music?

We all got into music in different ways. When I was around 4 years old, I distinctly remember hearing Jet’s ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’ on the radio in the car with my parents; I can’t remember not wanting to do something musical since that moment. Ian played in jazz bands growing up, as well as listening to his Dad’s 60s record collection and Marc was inspired to pick up a guitar after listening to John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Where do you find your inspirations? 

We tend to be influenced musically and lyrically by things we’re going through in our day to day lives. Whether it’s first hand experiences or something that a close friend or relative has gone through; that just feels most true to us! 

Tell us all about your recent single ‘Afterglow’.

To us, ‘Afterglow’ is an end of summer feeling track. Imagine driving down an open road with your partner as the sun is coming down leaving a glow over the horizon! You could get lost in that moment forever together.

How long did it take to write the song? 

It honestly didn’t take long to write. Marc brought the guitar riff into the rehearsal room and within in a moment of him playing it, I had a chorus! I think we put it on the shelf for a year and then picked up from where we left it and finished it in a day. We then took it into the studio and really brought it to life properly.

Where does the inspiration for the song come from?

The song started from Marc experimenting with his delay pedal. The psychedelic sound gave me that buzz of not knowing what’s going to happen, but the feeling that something is in the air.

Tell us a little bit about recording this track in the studio – what were the highlights and challenges?

Recently we watched the Netlfix show ‘Drive To Survive’ together, and since then we have tried to operate in the studio like a pit crew.  The highlights are working as a tight unit, along with the hours spent playing ping pong (if anyone wants to challenge us on the table, hit us up). The main challenge was keeping our producer Brookfield’s ego in check, he truly is his biggest fan. 

It is a really catchy track – I bet it is going to be a fun song to play live?

Yeah we can’t wait to play it live! We’ll let you know how it goes. It’s going to be interesting incorporating the synth sounds, it should bring a different atmosphere to the show that we’re excited about.

How do you warm up for a show?

We like to sit in the venue for at least four hours before we play. Whether this is to become at one with the building’s energy or just because we usually arrive early enough that we have no choice we’re not 100% sure. Billy tends to disappear half an hour before we go on, he never says what he gets up to but he always comes back looking very mischievous. Ian will nap at any given opportunity and Marc will rewatch the F1 Monza Grand Prix from 2020.

Out of all of your tracks what is one of your favourite songs to perform live? 

At the moment, ‘Overdose’ is a really special one to play live as the crowd are starting to know the lyrics to it! It still feels very strange to have our songs sung back to us! ‘Overdose’ is also halfway through the show, so we’ve settled in at this point and can start to take it all in a little more. 

What are the toughest songs to perform live and why?

Our set opener ‘Money Maker’ is probably the hardest to play. It doesn’t help that we haven’t had chance to settle into the gig yet, but if anything it adds to the energy!

Our site also is about improv – in a musical sense, what have been some of your favourite improvised melodies that you have created and been able to use in songs and why?

Funny you should say that; the chorus of ‘Afterglow’ was improvised in a jam we had during a rehearsal! In a non musical sense, the title ‘Afterglow’ was born out of Billy using it to describe a beautiful sunset we saw whilst on stage at a festival. We started saying “wow, what a beautiful afterglow” to each other and when the track needed lyrics, the phrase jumped out at Billy.

What are your plans for the rest of the year?

We’re super busy at the moment! We’ve had a great summer playing around two or three shows a week which has been such a great feeling, having performed at Local and Live Festival, Saturday 27th August, Pub In The Park in Chiswick supporting Craig David, Leweston Live in Dorset supporting Kelli-Leigh, Pub In The Park in Brighton supporting Gabrielle and we supported Marisa and the Moths at the Queens Hall in Nuneaton on 30th September. We’ve also got more single releases planned too, so lots in the pipeline!

And finally, why should people check out your music?

You should check us out if you want to escape from something you’re going through or experience something you’re not going through! We recommend coming to a show, we just love performing live, the sense of all living in the moment together. It’s a positive energy. You’ve got nothing to lose!