Following on from supporting LA band Hey Violet last year, 20 year old Jamie Skinner put on a killer first headline show at the Garage in Islington, London.
We caught up with him and drummer, Ben Alwin before the show to discuss 5SOS, fan meet ups and their future plans…
Hi Jamie and Ben, great to meet you guys. Can you tell us more about your music and who inspires you?
J: “We are primarily a pop rock/pop punk band, nothing too heavy. My inspiration would have to be bands like Green Day and Blink 182”
B: “For me, it would have to be McFly”
That’s cool, so your songs Santa Monica and She Left Me… what are they about?
J: “Well She Left Me, I guess that’s pretty self-explanatory right?! So let’s start with Santa Monica… my brother actually lives there and I met him there for the first time in 7 years. There’s a lyric in the song which goes like ‘Got the wind behind me, got my eye fixed on the prize’, it’s a sort of metaphor; like I’ve reached the top of the game. It’s always sunny there so it’s where I hope to be. And for She Left Me, well…. she left me!”
Wow, that’s tough! Anyway, you covered 5SOS’s ‘Hey Everybody’, which received a lot of attention and praise from it, how do you think it has benefited you?
B: “Ooh, it’s a funny thing what happened with the 5SOS thing, Jamie do you want to explain?”
J: “Yeah, we were approached be someone who runs a 5SOS fan meet up and asked if we wanted to perform at their gathering. It was in Hyde Park and coincidentally it was the same day we had our own meet up. We love 5SOS, but we don’t want to be compared to them. It was nice for 5SOS fans to hear our stuff and gain new fans in that way.”
That’s awesome, moving on from 5SOS, how do you think supporting Hey Violet last year has made an impact on your career?
J: “It was literally the best thing that could have ever happen!” I got a call the day before and asked If I wanted to support them. It was really unexpected. Since then, Nia from the band has tweeted about my music which has received a lot of attention from fans all over the world and has also gained me some industry contacts too.”
That is crazy! Must’ve been such a nice surprise. Okay, next question… If you could tour with anyone in the world who would it be and why?
B: For me, it would have to be McFly! It would be cool to write with Tom Fletcher, and they just seem like cool guys.
J: I would have to say Green Day… just because!
Good choices guys! So, if you could play in any venue, where would it be and why? It could be in any country…
J: I would say Madison Square Gardens, that would be the dream. But for now I would like to play somewhere like Shepherds’s Bush or KoKo in London. That would be cool.
B: For me, I would say anywhere that has over a 200 people capacity.
Aim high boys. And lastly, what’s next for you and your band?
J: Well we’ve got the new single Clean Slate, which is out right now. I guess for now, it’s just trying to get our music out there. Carrying on writing music and co-writing with people.
Jamie’s new single ‘Clean Slate’ is out on Spotify and Itunes now.
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