Hi Guys, Thanks for agreeing to talk to us.First things first.
I wish all wasps were dead, do you feel the same or did you just like the name?
Gaz: Yep, the only good wasps are dead ones!
As a kid I used to see them trapped inside them bubblegum machines outside the local shops, and for some reason that image just stuck with me!!
You’re certainly are a band who take care of their own destiny. Is it true you produce your own videos, release your own singles and arrange your own tours?
Hayley: Yes, that's right. We're pretty much self-sufficient as a band, everything is done by us. There are lots of advantages too, like keeping full creative control over every detail of the music, the artwork/design aspects, ideas for videos/photos etc... doesn't mean to say we're not open to offers of help from labels though!
Your just finishing your first album, what can we expect and when will it be released?
Gaz: It's nearly ready, just one more track to finish off. Should be available early May for download and a limited edition physical release. It's a pretty wide spectrum of sounds/styles and hopefully shows our diversity and ear for a good tune. There's a lot of dance tracks on there, and also a few mellow tracks too.
So you’re touring the states, how did this come about and what venues will you be playing, tell us all?
Hayley: It all came about when my cousin in Texas asked if we would play his wedding, so we thought while we are there, why not do a couple of gigs aswell, that idea soon mutated into a monster tour covering over 6000 miles in the space of a month.We're playing dates in Dallas,Phoenix,Vegas,LA,San Diego,Portland,Seattle,Idaho,Minneapolis and New York with more being confirmed as we speak.Additionally, we're doing some live radio slots in LA and Boston.
Who or what was your musical influences growing up?
Gaz: Pretty much anything I could keep trapped in the old memory bank, got into making music around the time of the birth of Chicago house when I had only a Roland TR626 drum machine and a Yamaha portasound keyboard for company! Grew up with the acid house/Madchester movement influencing early stuff, but now listen to anything and everything.
Hayley: I grew up listening to my Mum and Dad's music collection of Bob Dylan,Leonard Cohen,Janis Joplin et al, and then got sucked into hardcore then rave then house then indie and so on!
Has your personal taste in music changed since you formed the Dead Wasps?
Gaz: Not really, still got a broad range of stuff I like, although you can't beat discovering something old/new and playing it to death until it sits in with the rest of your library!
Hayley: Got heavily into jazz singers a while back, which was someting new for me.
Do you have any unusual stories we may like to hear about?
Gaz: Completely unrelated to music, but I once found a chipmunk drowned in my toilet, maybe I'll save that one for another time.I also unoficially hold the world record for jam donut eating ( 6 1/2 in 3 minutes )
What were you doing or planning to do before you started a career in music?
Hayley: We're all still holding down day jobs as well as doing this, I'm currently a freelance TV producer...
Gaz: I'm a stockmonkey for a retailer, I like cardboard.
What has been you most memorable gig and why?
Hayley: Our best gigs were last Summer in a little field in Leek,Staffordshire, with the Woodfunk guys, a collective of talented dj's/music producers who put on their own mini festivals for a few hundred eager revellers.
Everyone brings their tents, and local visionary Alan Porter and his clan provide the venue complete with giant teepee and bonfires for two days of non-stop tunes etc, we played two of them last Summer and they were both amazing!! It just went OFF!
If you could play anywhere, where would it be?
Gaz: I'm easily pleased, maybe headlining the main stage at Glasto.
Hayley: Yeah, that would be cool.
If you could play with any act who would it be?
Gaz: I love french dance stuff, so probably Daft Punk would be satisfactory.
Hayley: Kings of Leon, although how mismatched would that gig be?!!
Where can our readers see the Dead Wasps in the UK?
Hayley: We're booking dates for our return from the States, and have a couple in Manchester lined up, but we're also going to be touring the UK and Europe in August so keep yer eyes peeled people!!!
www.deadwasps.com