This Feeling Band Of The Month: The Assist

Wolverhampton indie types with plenty of solid groove...

The Assist hail from Wolverhampton, a city that has always sat out-with the main hubs of British youth culture.

Forever doing its own thing, this atmosphere of independent creativity helps inspire The Assist.

Travelling non-stop around the country, the band's inspired blend of biting indie and solid groove has made them cult heroes.

Top promotions team This Feeling have made The Assist their latest Band Of The Month – here's what they have to say for themselves…

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Introduce yourselves…
We’re The Assist an indie/dance four-piece from Walsall. We write songs of the street that relate to the modern day and the difficulties of growing up in a dead end town. We’re four grounded lads who just love playing music and live for the journey.

Describe your sound in five words…
Council pop-rap-rock.

What inspired you to start a band?
Music was on everyone’s lips growing up and we felt we could do something better than the bands all the girls at school were talking about. Music was a release for us and kept us out of trouble.

Influences…
We've got mad and vast musical influences. For example, our bassist started life as as an MC clashing it out on the streets until he found the Red Hot Chili Peppers, which is where the funk element of our sound originates. We also take inspiration from jazz artists and admire a lot of Amy Winehouse’s chord progressions. The Stone Roses are definitely a band that influence us, we have spent hours studying Squire's pedal boards trying to recreate those adverse effects such as reverse delay. There's loads, man! Our lyrics are influenced by experiences as opposed to bands themselves.

Highlight of your career so far…
We played some great shows with Ratboy and The Twang last year, proper kicked off. We also had an unbeatable summer playing the Jack Daniels/This Feeling stages at Y-Not and Leeds Festival. Playing to so many people who are all enthusiastic new music fans searching for the next thing was a platform like no other for us to strut our stuff.

Ambitions…
To see as much of the world as possible whilst playing our music.

Best three new bands / tunes…

Dream zone…
We’d love to play sea world because that has more publicity than politics these days; we’d do seven nights at Shamu Stadium.

Best band ever seen…
The Stone Roses at Sydney Opera House, took the meaning of a gig to a whole new level.

Heroes and villains…
Heroes of ours would have to be the bands that make up the Madchester era: Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses, Oasis… particularly because they epitomised what music is; they bought the fun element to music and gave it attitude again. Villains are the do-gooders who don’t give a real representation of who they really are in music and in life.

Karaoke song…
We all love a bit karaoke! 'Combine Harvester' by The Wurzels is a classic and often heard in our local, it may even make it’s way into our set one day…

Plans for 2017…
To not remember a thing.

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The Assist will play the following shows:

March
3 Bedford Bedford Esquires
18 Wolverhampton Grain Store (Single Launch)
24 Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach
30 Manchester Jimmy NQ’s
31 Sheffield The Plug

April
1 London Water Rats

July
29 Kendal Calling

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