W: Jonny Hayes & Martin Osifuwa I: Brandon Hepworth. PA: Octavia Alexandru. PS: Jet Studios
The Molotovs have set new music radars ablaze from gig goers at the grass roots level to big hitters like Greenday. The Molotovs have built a solid reputation as one of the most prolific gigging guitar bands out there right now, growing their own grass roots scene from the ground up. With their Mod inspired looks and exciting sound The Molotovs have already garnered the attention of the likes of Greenday, I Don’t Know How But They Found Me and The Libertines all within four years. ASBO met with the Molotovs – Matt (guitars vocals) Issey (bass vocals) Will (drums) they’ve been shaking up the establishment setting the whole scene ablaze like their namesake cocktail.
The band have blitzed through about 400 gigs in four years and have barely taken a breath. Issey explains “That's it we've done so many gigs, we've done those ones that have been to practically no one but we've now built up and we've supported Blondie at Cardiff castle to 10,000 people, that was a big highlight for the band as well as supporting the libertines at O2 Kentish Town Forum. There's been a wide range and hopefully that trajectory just keeps on going upwards It's all just been because we're gigging getting out there and people hearing us it's all been organic as well as through social media. Obviously that's helped but … just us continuing doing it and gigging everywhere we can”
Count back four years. Starting a band in lockdown there’s an immediate barrier to entry. Where do you play? Speaking of the band’s origins “We formed in early lock down because Issey and I really wanted to make something” Matt explains “we started busking it was just the two of us to start with and then we got a drummer and we intrigued people. As a young band getting out there, just gig gig gig because the more you gig the better you get. So we really honed our craft in lockdown and we definitely seized the opportunity in a situation that was very damaging to a lot of people. Apart from that it meant that we really hit the ground running when lockdown restrictions were lifted. We were already a gigging band and already established - we got a set mostly covers and a couple of originals and that's how it started. (since then) The gigs got bigger more people started tuning up the venues that we were playing got bigger. The more we played the more people took an interest in us.”
“I think if there's one piece of advice that I could give to a young band or a starting band that's trying to get out there it’s that people have got no choice but to take notice of you if you gig and if you busk”
While the impromptu street gigs the Molotovs did in Lockdown attracted a lot of attention on social media. Social media likes are just a part of the The Molotovs master plan for world domination, they needed a foundation for the scene to come. The Molotovs were going to make it happen and they were not prepared to hang about, however in the early days of the band they faced a challenge familiar to many young bands starting out: Government gatekeeping via licensing laws. “All the venues in London really are over 18, you've got to be 18 to get in.” Matt says. However just because The Molotovs were not (legally) able to booze they still needed an outlet. So what to do when faced with Challenge 21? The Molotovs had an answer to this: Private hire the local Library and invite all of their mates and their mates’ mates. Bring together all of the best bands they know on the youth scene and then keep up the momentum. The Molotovs christened these events “Youth Explosion” No ID gigs that could bypass the bouncers and gather the music lovers together. Matt explains “That was an all age, no ID gig. £3 a ticket to be accessible to everyone...” Issey is quick to agree “There’s a massive price barrier for a load of gigs especially like Blur at £80 a lot of people can't afford that so we thought we'd do £3 tickets make it all ages to make it super accessible. We promoted, we put the bands on that supported us and also young bands because we just wanted to create a community of like minded young people.”
“It was that do it yourself grass roots ideology that fuelled it there's nowhere for young bands to play so lets just make somewhere” - Matt
Word got around and soon people from all over the UK travelled to come and see these gigs until they could no longer be contained by the library. At the final Library gig 600 people turned up and Bush Hall then beckoned. Issey explains “We are local to west London anyway so we had a very personal connection with the venue...We did our last one and it coincided with Bush Hall's closing down and we raised £5k to help the venue through these all ages gigs.” Bush Hall has seen Oasis, Amy Winehouse and Paul Weller to name a few, however it wasn’t surviving on reputation alone and like many independent venues – it needed help and through the Molotovs’ efforts as well as others the venue was able to stay open and the Molotovs are continuing the monthly Youth Explosion there.
It was through the Youth Explosion gigs that the band bagged drummer Will Fooks after their previous drummer parted ways with them. "I was just going to gigs, wasn't in any bands on the scene but definitely in the audience… I knew one of the bands called The Aftercare (who played) I knew other bands on the circuit – that's one of the reasons I think out of all of the drummers they could have picked they went to me because I knew people in the circuit and I knew The Molotovs too. So I got really lucky lets just put it that way" says Will who was at college at the time "Actually I got the offer right before I went in to resit one of my exams, I was going in shitting bricks then I get this call and it was just the best and it was my best exam, I went from my worst to my best and I think that was the reason why is that it helped me push away all the anxiety”
And then there’s the fashion the band being their own catalogue of couture, ASBO asks Issey to elaborate on her style “I love the new wave look, people like Debbie Harry who were styled by Stephen Sprouse, I love the groupie magazines of stars and starring people like that. That image is really cool, I like 60's style, like Marianne Faithful. A lot of Pop Art inspired pieces and bold colours, things that are stylish and classic always really resonate with me, but there is also a bit of a punk element in how I dress, people like The Slits - first female punk band, who were just wearing tights like that - wide range of influences style wise.”
Matt says “For me, it is a wide range, films are a big thing for me and I recommend stuff to Will”
“The only thing is that you give me film about murders” Will interjects
“The Talented Mr Ripley” Matt clarifies “the wardrobe is fantastic! Another film is Casino with Robert De Niro - he looks The Bollocks! The clothes reflect the mood. A lot of the European fashion of the 70s and 80s - the sort of New Wave French/Italian thing - Modernism and the Brutalist stuff. (Also) Blow Up is fantastic! Watch the film and listen to the soundtrack.”
“Things that make people look twice.” Matt continues “I don't like looking to the norm if I can make you look twice in a good way”
So what’s next for the Molotovs after coming this far? Issey says “We've done two (headline tours) now and they've all been sold out shows across the UK and we're also gigging Scandinavia... doing a tour there going to America later on in the year just all really exciting stuff for the band getting places further than the UK seeing where else this band can take us.”
“If you gig all the time, people have no choice but to take notice of you, they can't get away from you! If you don't like us yet, you better as we are going to be everywhere!” - Matt