AFTER their unique gig at Cow Vintage in Manchester, Amy Williams caught up with four-piece Vitamin…
Vitamin are an indie band made up of four boys who grew up in Leeds and formed together in 2014. One year on from their beginning, they signed their first record deal and have emerged into a bigger music scene.
With Jared Laville on vocals, Theo Cookson on drums, Cameron Fraser on guitar and Harrison Smith on bass, Vitamin have pursued a career in music and released Giving It Up and To Believe as E.Ps. This year in 2016, it begins by bringing several gigs and festivals to their schedule, and Laville spoke of their journey as a band.
The city of Leeds is one that is quite prominently known in the north for several different reasons, but one is its massive music scene. From festivals such as Live At Leeds and Leeds Festival to gig venues such as 02 Academy and Brudenell, Leeds is a place that was made for creators of music to bloom.
“Leeds is so full of culture so you can really flourish like with the arts and stuff, so I suppose that the city did give me some music aspirations,” Laville said. “There is kind of a Leeds band scene which I was never really into but as a city itself and the opportunities it gave us, especially when we were first starting out, it influenced us.”
Live At Leeds is a yearly day festival that offers a day of fun and freedom to roam venues and witness a variety of different sounds from many different bands. Vitamin have played and practiced their talents twice at the event, and are returning this year in 2016.
“The first time we played at Live at Leeds we were at The Packhorse at 12 and it was horrendous, I was still tired from waking up so early! And then the year after that we played The Stylus, which was sick! So hopefully this year will be even better,” explained Laville.
Being in a band and already achieving local broadcasts of their content, the quartet strive to perform at more and more festivals around the globe.
“I aspire to play at all of the festivals! Obviously the kind of cliché Glastonbury, but all of them. I just have a picturesque image of being outside and on the field,” Laville said.
“Festivals are really exciting but then again gigs can be too. I just love being in the field… even if it rains!”
A few months ago, Vitamin were touring with Rat Boy; a solo artist of the alternative genre which could be described as bridging between rock and hip hop. Rat Boy exposed his work in the music world from 2013, and has showcased his Jamie T like style in many different festivals over the years.
“Touring with Rat Boy was the first proper tour that we’ve done and it was really good and fun.”
When the four boys are united in song, their soft indie sound could be seen to assimilate the likes of Swim Deep and Superfood. Jared Laville gave his views on Vitamins comparisons.
“I prefer for people to make comparisons with Vitamin rather than me making them myself. I don’t really like comparing us to anyone, because I like to think we can’t be compared.”
Having already toured a brilliant amount for a fairly new band in the industry, Jared shared his experiences with what are some of his favourite band memories.
“We played in Koko in Camden for a Halloween ball and that was a really, really good gig. We’ve had loads of good gigs to be honest!
“This Manchester gig in Cow Vintage is really special because we have a shop full of people coming to see us.
“I’d say that our ultimate best gig would be when we did a string of residency at the Brudenell. And in the last one we upgraded it to the big room of the venue and threw a massive house party. We did one gig a month for three months.”
When they were formed a couple of years ago in 2014, Vitamin were still at college but focusing on the band. That year, the boys decided that they didn’t want to be in education anymore and left their studies to fulfil their dreams in music.
“In 2014 we dropped out of college because we had an opportunity to pursue our passion and go for it. I never really got on with college as a concept – I’d rather go and do it as oppose to than learning about doing it,” Laville said.
Watching the band play together, it is undeniable that together they create a groovy image, with their dress sense matching their funky tracks as they play. Recently, Vitamin headlined a tour in several boutiques, Cow Vintage, over the north of England. With this unique venue being one that complimented their aesthetic look on stage, Jared spoke of his fashion inspirations.
“We did a photoshoot in Cow Vintage and it was cool to have it as a wardrobe and be styled. My style right now is double denim! I am doing double denim 2016, I’m doing the cow boy look and bringing it back! I like to look forwards with fashion; you can look back to take inspirations from the past but I think it’s important to pave your way to your own direction.”
The quartet played in the boutiques of Sheffield, Nottingham, Manchester and Birmingham, as they made the event special by interacting with the audience and giving away free band T-shirts.
“Out of this tour around Cow Vintage shops in the country, the Manchester one has been the best! It’s a good shop and has had a lot of people in it. Nottingham was great too, but Manchester tops it.”
As Vitamin emerge to become a bigger and bigger name in the country, their schedule is growing as they flaunt their talent.
“We are playing at a few festivals this year, and after that our album should be coming out so that’s the next thing from us!”
Vitamin fit into the current music era and alternative scene in every aspect; with time flying by and plans performing, watch to see where the quartet will be this time next year…
By: Amy Williams
@ajwilliams_95
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