Tapedeck 45 Talks About The Recent Single “Johnny, How Could You?”

Scottish Indie Rock Band Tapedeck 45 is on fire! They just released their self-titled album and also the lead-in single “Johnny, How Could You?” . The band recently talked to ai love music via email about their musical influence, how they got together, and the release of their newest single and album. Naming the Foo Fighters, Arctic Monkeys and The Libertines as their main inspirations, Tapedeck 45 draw from their combined influences, totally owning their own brand of gutsy and upbeat indie-pop.

Find out below what inspired Tapedeck 45 to write “Johnny, How Could You?” and what was the production like. Also, find out what is the most important element in their self-titled album. Check out both releases below and let me know what you is your favorite tracks in the comments!

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Hello, and thanks for having us on! So, the logic behind the band name itself is pretty simple – we wanted something that people would instantly associate with music, and the history of it, when they hear it. Hence Tapedeck 45; one of the classic formats of music’s golden ages, along with the speed that a 7” vinyl spins at, which is of course what really kickstarted a lot of “modern music” as we know it. We don’t see ourselves as completely re-inventing the rock n’ roll wheel, more like carrying its torch into the future, and we wanted a name that represented that! 

How did the band come to be?

We met at university whilst we were studying – we really bonded over a shared fondness for bad jokes, drinking, and playing guitar badly at parties even after we’ve been told to shut up! We formed Tapedeck 45 as pretty much a side gig for beer money while we were doing our degrees, where we’d play student parties and such. Over time, as we’ve gotten older and (just a little) more serious about our lives, it’s grown into something that we really want to make our lives from if possible, and bring what we make want to bring to the world.

What musical genres and/or artists influence the band’s music?

Honestly, it’s difficult to name individual acts. There’s a lot of Kings of Leon and Arctic Monkeys in our DNA, and we’ve definitely got our roots in that 2010s Indie Rock scene – that’s the music we listened to growing up, and really helped to shape who we are as musicians. We’re a Scottish rock band as well, so of course, there’s a bit of Biffy Clyro in our mix too!

But at the same time, each member of the band really does have their own independent musical influences. Burns likes “math rock” and “music for sad boys to dance to” (his own words!), whilst Sam and Andy are mad for Bruce Springsteen and punk rock, which makes for a heck of a combination. Then you’ve got Jordan, who brings in a lot more of a funk-based element with his love of acts like Hendrix and the Chilli Peppers. All of this gets thrown into the mix when we’re making music, and at the end of it you get the really varied musical style our local fans know us for!

It’s 2022! What is one thing you want to do this year?

Honestly, we really want to push our debut album, and get it to be as much of a success as possible! It’s been a huge labour of love, and we really want it to be the first step in a proper musical career for the band, not just as a side gig!

Let’s talk about your recent release “Johnny, How Could You?”. What is it about?

Johnny is, really, about friendships and growth. It’s a song about how not everything in life will stay the same as you grow up, and it’s a song about accepting that you won’t always be completely in sync with your friends in the way you used to be!

What inspired you to write it?

Johnny was inspired by a pretty simple, relatable story that we think everyone’s experienced – two people going their separate ways and forming different interests as their lives changed over the years. We’ve all had friends that we’ve just grown apart from overtime, no matter how close we were when we were younger, and I guess the “message” of the song, as a result, is that people and places can change over time, so you have to enjoy your life at the moment, whilst you have the chance. 

What was production like? What was the most important thing you wanted to show in this song?

We recorded the album with Marc Tindal (Open Eyes Productions/ To Kill Achilles)  in the evenings after we finished our day jobs over what was nearly a 3 month period. Whilst making an album is inevitably stressful, I think we pulled it off with relative ease due to the strong friendships and laid-back nature of the band. With Johnny, in particular, we wanted to show how we’d improved as musicians, composers, and a band as a whole from when we first came up with the song and demoed it all those years ago.

Could you talk a little about your self-titled album?

Of course! As we said, we made it with Marc, whose help and contributions can’t be overstated. The album’s a work of love and learning, putting together all the different songs we’ve come up with over the years we’ve been working together as a band, and bringing them into something that we think says “This is Tapedeck 45 – this is who we are as musicians”. That’s why we went with the self-titled approach – the album represents us as much as anything. We went into the studio to tell the tales of our mid-20’s and turn our stories into songs that the four of us can always look back on, and we’re all incredibly proud of how that’s turned out. 

Any future plans?

We’ll be announcing a show in our local Dundee, and are looking at arranging shows in Glasgow and potentially Edinburgh as well! If all goes to plan, there’s the possibility of a London show coming up in April-time, and maybe even a full tour later in the year! We’ll also be working on getting some new material out in 2022 – we’ve put together all the songs we’ve written over the years, so now it’s time for something brand new!

Finally, any messages for the readers?

I think that one of the big messages to take away from our experience, at least, is that music is a long-term goal. We’ve been performing together for 6 years now, and we’ve just put together a proper debut album, and that’s OK. Music, whether creating or listening, is about a product that matters to you as much as it is something that sounds great to listen to – it’s not always instant, and the best things in life take time!

Make sure to check out Tapedeck45 at the following:

Official Site | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify

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