Unstoppable UK merry makers and noise makers TV COMA drop their engulfing new EP, Body Negativity, on Friday 31st May through Wiretap Records. The band have also just revealed a stunning new video for the single, Unemployable, which is out now – https://youtu.be/dpzzIDMX6-s . With all of this in mind, we asked the guys to introduce themselves:
What is the full band line-up, who sings and who plays which instrument?
Troy siblings Max & Leo belt those hooks, shredding lead & rhythm guitar respectively. Jamie plucks up some storming bass-lines and shakes his hips like Tina Turner. Laurie hits the skins and shrieks at random intervals.
How and when did the band form?
We formed amidst a flurry of blue blazers and black pleated trousers, scraped shoes and greasy hair. It was 2006-ish in St Albans (the hometown of Stephen Hawking, apparently). Shunned into the dark corners of poorly-funded music rooms, huddled for warmth, we shook with fear. Those anxious vibrations lead to the early origins of what is now known as TV COMA.
When and how did the band really start gelling and solidifying?
Upon entry to the band, we were all pre-gelled, being both friends and peers for many a year. From the first encounter it is arguable that our relations have steadily declined over this turgid decade. We probably only have a few months between us before the bitterness and hate reaches an unbearable pitch and we become aggressively combustible.
Who are your musical influences?
Michelle Rodriguez and Game Pie. Michael Imperioli and The Bourne Identity. Andy Kaufman and long misty walks. Diet Coke, sugar and running with scissors while looking directly into the sun. The warm, tainted glow of faux-tiffany lamps. Banging Danish chairs (Arne Jacobsen’s egg chair and others). All florists, some landscapers. Blur, Jeff Rosenstock, Weezer. Stuff like that.
Where did the name of the band come from?
Leo says he came up with it and it definitely wasn’t stolen from TV Party by Black Flag. Urban Dictionary describes it as “when a person shuts out everything around them and falls into a trance while watching TV.” Pretty cool band name.
How far back does your history with each other (the band members) extend? Are you friends from school or any family relations?
Jamie wanted to be in max and Laurie’s super rad death metal band, so he lied about being able to play Clenching The Fists Of Dissent by Machine Head on guitar. They quickly found out he couldn’t do that, but were too nice to kick him out. Now he plays bass. Max and Leo are brothers.
Where have you played or toured?
St. Albans, London, Bristol, Brighton, Oxford, Reading, Manchester and Bedford. All the hits, as you can see. As for recognised bands, 15-year-old once Max met James Labrie from Dream Theater in Camden. Leo met Jimmy Page from ’Stairway To Heaven’ and made him a decaf coffee for free on an unpaid internship. Jamie thinks he saw Louie Theroux in a laundrette, but we’re unconvinced. Why would Louie Theroux be in a laundrette? Thats really stupid.
In your opinion, how is your band different from all the other bands out there?
We can come up with ideas at a rate that has no earthly equal. So speed is a plus. We also have much quicker reactions than most bands. Say if you suddenly started throwing fruit at us, we’d probably, just down to our lighting fast reflexes, catch more fruit than most other bands.
If a deaf person were to ask you to describe the sound of your music, how would you describe it?
You know when someone is describing a film or tv show you don’t like? You have to pretend you haven’t seen it yet to both save them from your scathing opinions and not tarnish your artistic credibility. TV COMA sounds exactly like that feels.
Do you have a tour on the horizon?
We say touring is an archaic waste of time. TV COMA are content providers, intent on bringing you the finest raw organic freshly-squeezed content on a weekly basis. So suck down our future you greedy square-eyed slack-jawed vinyl pervs. We’re thinking of moving to Brighton, man.
Where can we find your social media sites?
http://www.tvcoma.com/ http://www.facebook.com/tvcomamusic
http://twitter.com/tvcomamusic http://www.instagram.com/tvcomaband/