Gravy's Harrison Bailey discusses the groups history and packed future

“We’ll be playing all the bangers. No filler tunes.” Harrison Bailey, frontman of indie-upcomers Gravy (who surprisingly doesn’t actually like Gravy) sat down with a beaming smile, discussing his bands live shows. “Obviously, we like releasing the music and stuff” he starts, “but the live shows are the main thing. I think we write the music for the live shows rather than the other way around. That’s the main thing that we love doing!”

Having amassed more than 10,000 streams on their debut single “Wait Another Day” in only a few months, Gravy are becoming known across Leeds. “Some of the other songs that we haven't released yet, we've been holding on to for quite a while,” Bailey is eager to discuss their carefully crafted music. “But with that one (Wait Another Day) it came and we wrote it, recorded it, and released it in probably a space of eight months. From start to finish it came about pretty quick for us.”

With the booming success of the single, it’s no shock that Gravy are eager to release new material, “We've written and recorded and well it's out for release in just under a month now, our second single.”  Bailey looks pleased as he teases what’s to come, “It will be out in November, ahead of Live at Leeds but hopefully it's got a bit of a better production and a little bit more meaning behind it.” He pauses for a moment before excitedly adding “It's a bit more upbeat, I'd say. It has a bit more drive behind it. I'm very excited for everyone to hear this one.”

Reminiscing, Bailey explains how the band was formed, “I met the drummer, Louis when I was like nine, pretty cute to be fair” he laughs. “We’ve played together ever since then doing you know Arctic Monkeys and stuff like that. Then as you go to school and stuff, I met Jacob who's the bass player and then I met Ben at this sort of...” he pauses briefly. “It's called Rock School. Sounds very cringe, but they were actually really good.” He says slightly pink-faced.

Next of course came the worst part for any band. Choosing a name. “I don't remember who actually said it first, I think it might have been me but I don't even like gravy.” The group are constantly proving that age is just a number. Whilst starting the band as teenagers, they are witty and smart, thinking about the band’s promotion from the beginning. “We sort of just thought it's eye-catching and obviously on festival lineups and stuff, people are going to maybe come see us because of our name.”

Speaking on the band’s influences, Bailey leans back in his chair thinking before mentioning some unexpected genres as well as, several classic Indie-Rock bands. “We all have our own influences. Me and Ben especially like a lot of Northern Soul music from around the 60s and 70s. Jacob likes his 90s dance and stuff like that and then Louis likes a bit of everything really. We all really like a band called The Night Café. We all love them.” His smile drops for a moment, “we were all absolutely in pieces when we heard that Shaun passed. But yeah, they're probably the band.” Quickly his joy returns, “and DMAs, we all really like DMAs and The Strokes” he announces with enthusiasm.  

The end of the year is set to be unstoppable for Gravy who have multiple support act slots for bands like Feet and The Clause plus, festival slots performing at Live At Leeds and Yours To Keep Festival. “Obviously you only get 30 minutes, so it's just all the absolute ones that's going to get everyone up and dancing,” Bailey depicts what can be expected from Gravy’s all-out sets, “Playing all the bangers. No filler tunes. It's just putting your best tunes into a time slot.”

Although he admits he’s gotten better with nerves overtime, Bailey admits he finds it easier playing to more people. “I used to get really nervous for the smaller ones” he starts, “But I think it gets easier as the room gets full. You're not staring people in the eyes and as you get a fuller room, I think it's a lot easier to just see that people are enjoying themselves.” With an ever-growing list of live shows, Bailey is keen to share some advice, “if you want to make music, Just go for it. I think that's the most important thing. As cliché as it sounds, just enjoy yourself. Don’t too caught up in the sort of business-y side of things. What you don't really think about when you start the band is the admin and business-y sort of stuff. but yeah” he grins. “I think you've just got to take that with a pinch of salt and just enjoy the music.”

“I think if you take yourself too seriously on stage you can get caught up in it and get embarrassed,” Bailey counties sharing what he’s learnt. “I remember there's been a few moments where some straps have given way on stage and we all sort of turn around and you know, point the finger and have a bit of a laugh. The most important thing is just having a laugh about it because if you get too serious the audience can laugh at you. If you're keeping it a lot more relaxed and making sure you're having a good time, they can’t so much.”