Interview with Real Easy: ‘Our debut EP, Poundland California, explores working class towns and finding your identity’

Leeds-based band Real Easy’s next single, ‘So It Seems’, which comes out today (2 October) ‘is about big egos and people losing sight of reality and who they really are at the slightest sniff of popularity’, according to frontman, lead guitar and the group’s songwriter, James Roberts: ‘It was inspired by a guy from my college who joined a band then came to college the next day strutting about like Liam Gallagher,’ he said. ‘The lyrics go ‘you’re blinded by the things you’ll never be’. The guitar riff is heavy, dirty and in your face. Keep an ear out for this one!’

As the chorus goes: ‘Oh, so it seems, the road has turned to sand beneath my feet. I must be near, been on this road for weeks ’cause I can’t sleep. Oh, so it seems, you’re blinded by the things you’ll never be. Oh, or so it seems.’

Real Easy comprises Roberts, Rhys Sidwell (rhythm guitar), James Hunter (bass) and Greg Mitchell (drums). Roberts and Mitchell played together in a previous band, Sidwell and Roberts live together and they ‘put feelers out’ for Hunter, according to Mitchell.

Mitchell describes ‘So It Seems’ as ‘hard hitting, with a lot of attitude’: ‘There have actually been quite a few versions of it,’ he laughed. ‘A few chord changes have been added because we wanted an early Black Sabbath sound!’

‘I felt like I was wasting time, ‘as it slips like smoke through the palms of my hands”

Last month (September), they released their debut single, ‘Don’t Wait Up For Me’: ‘It was written at a time I was feeling totally disillusioned with everyday life,’ Roberts said. ‘I wanted more, my relationship at the time had just come to a painful end and my passion had taken a back seat in favour of a mundane job. I was doing very little musically and was struggling to find my feet again. I felt like I was wasting time, ‘as it slips like smoke through the palms of my hands…’ The song is essentially me saying, ‘I don’t know if I can take this anymore, so don’t be shocked if I leave today and never come back.’

That really comes across in the lyrics: ‘Lately I’ve been dodging the sun, been losing sleep, days turn to weeks, to months, been the longest time since I knew, where I was due, so what am I to do now? Waiting on a reason.’

For Mitchell, it’s a subject that resonates with everyone: ‘Everyone gets it, you get stuck in a rut and get into the mindset, ‘is this it for the rest of your life?’ James really captures it so well.’

Roberts writes most of the songs, then they ‘get into a room and jam it out’, according to Mitchell. ‘On lockdown, it was hard to find inspiration in things being stuck at home but there was more time for us to record what we already had (at home), to get it polished. Without lockdown, it would have been hard to find the time.’

‘The songs take inspiration from where we’re from’

Their debut EP, Poundland California, will come out on 16 October and ‘explores working class towns and finding your identity’, Mitchell said. ‘The songs take inspiration from where we’re from, they’ve got an early Arctic Monkeys sound.’ In addition to these two tracks, the EP will also feature ‘Forgive and Forget’, ‘Polly’ and the eponymous title track: ‘James had written the song about his hometown Hull, which is a coastal port city which, although was the city of culture before Liverpool, has a reputation for being a bit of a rough area. We played on the fact that it could have the coastal feel of a Californian paradise,’ he said.

Leeds has an in-demand music scene, according to Mitchell, who cites local band The Marsicans as one of his favourites: ‘They’re amazing. I started watching them in small venues in Leeds. They’re so hard-working, they were gigging all the time. It’s really good to see them making a breakthrough.’ He’s also a big fan of Conflare (see our interview with them from August): ‘They’re brilliant, they’re branching out a bit, playing a few gigs in places like Manchester and Scotland.’

‘Alex Turner helped me fall in love with songwriting’

Roberts says he’s inspired ‘by so many artists’: ‘Slash and Angus Young inspired me to pick up the guitar. Bruce Springsteen, Noel Gallagher and Alex Turner helped me fall in love with songwriting. So I’d name those as my main source of inspiration when I’m working on my own material!’

Growing up, Mitchell was, in his words, ‘a proper emo kid’. He’s a big fan of bands such as Green Day, Royal Blood, Tame Impala and Rex Orange County. He also likes Bristol-based rock band Idles: ‘Their singer, Joe Talbot, is a lyrical genius. I really like Inhaler (Irish indie rock band) as well.’

When it comes to collaboration, Mitchell says that Roberts and Sidwell would want to collaborate with Guns ‘N’ Roses guitarist, Slash. ‘I’d like to collaborate with David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, the way that he and the band pushed the boundaries of the progressive rock genre through the 1970’s, producing albums that are still regarded as some of the all time greats is really remarkable,’ he said. ‘I think it’s amazing how difficult it would be to replicate some of the things that Gilmour did in the studio with modern technology that we have at our disposal, never mind with the technology available to him at the time which, compared to today’s studio equipment, would probably be considered as quite primitive. Not to forget how amazing he is as a musician, I’d probably put him down as my favourite guitarist of all time. My favourite Gilmour track being ‘Time’ – if someone is on the fence about the band, take a quiet minute, stick this track on and the fence sitting will be no more!’