Interview with Stay For Tomorrow: ‘Non Applicable (Na Na)’ is not just a song, it’s a wake up call!’

Dunfermline-based alt rock band Stay For Tomorrow have released their single ‘Non Applicable’ (Na Na)’, today (1 October), a high-octane, synthtastic track about the failed system we’re living in.

The band comprises Joe MacFarlane (vocals and rhythm guitar), Nic Holson (lead guitar), Sean Priestly (drums) and Ollie Cobbett (bass). ‘I was doing some solo acoustic stuff, playing open mic nights and I came across Nic at a pub after playing a gig,’ MacFarlane said. ‘About four weeks later, I ran into him again. I was paying him at the beginning to help get the songs together and at some point he said “Well, what if I was in the band?” Nic and Sean knew each other from their other band, The Passing Sages. From there, we did enough songs to write a set list, we found Ollie and it gelled.’ The name came about by happenstance: ‘I came up with it,’ Cobbett said. MacFarlane added: ‘There’s a message of hope in it, the “staying for tomorrow’.’’ However, initially, Holson wanted to call them something darker: ‘Nic wanted to call us Madame Roselle, there’s a connection to a local serial killer,’ Cobbett said.

‘Non Applicable’ (Na Na)’ is essentially a message to people living in a ‘failing system’, refusing to step in line and obey orders. As the band puts it: ‘People are unaware of the signs, sirens and state of emergency that surrounds them and the time has come for it to end. ‘Non Applicable (Na Na)’ is not just a song, it’s a wake up call!’

It’s an exhilarating track, opening with a huge, fuzzy, killer riff that erupts into something crunchier amid layers of instrumentation: ‘It’s got so many styles of synths in it, I don’t even know what they all are,’ MacFarlane said. ‘There’s a xylophone, strings, sirens that we sampled. We would spend hours just adding to it. We’re super proud of it, it’s our biggest one yet.’

‘We wanted to make a song that was bigger and better than anything we had previously created’

They say that the song is important to them for many reasons. ‘Lyrically we are screaming out to people about serious topics and are out to shake foundations,’ MacFarlane said. ‘It can be interpreted down to a personal level to spit back at those who have gotten you down or control you or looked at as vocal ammunition against a “failing system”, a message to unite and “re-ignite what’s human, enough is enough”! We wanted to make a song that was bigger and better than anything we had previously created and strived to make a huge sounding track. We feel like we have really stepped things up from this point forth. ‘Non Applicable (Na Na)’ is just the beginning of Stay For Tomorrow 2.0.’

Although the track could be interpreted as being about Brexit or COVID, it isn’t specifically about them. ‘It does relate to those things or to an individual,’ MacFarlane said. ‘We wrote it quite a long time ago, probably two years ago. Nic was showing us a little riff that he had, I started singing “na na” and it grew from there. It was quite strange, we’re looking to progress and we thought the first version of it was a bit empty, so we dived back into it, adding the synths and strings.’

As a band, their writing process can vary hugely, according to MacFarlane: ‘We like writing big choruses but our writing process has been so different for every song,’ he said. ‘It keeps the ideas so fresh. We write lyrics collectively now, it used to just be me. We’re not the type of band to write 20 songs, slash 19 of them and spit out one of them.’ Currently, they have a folder ‘of 60 ideas or so’ for songs, although they try to get everyone on board in order for a song to see the light of day: ‘If one of us is apprehensive, we give a reason why we’re so passionate about it,’ Cobbett said. MacFarlane agrees: ‘What’s really weird is that if you’re the person who likes it how it is and then we change it completely, you end up liking it more than before. Nic is a master of arranging, so that it doesn’t sound like a right mess!’

Another recent single, “I Don’t Need You To Save Me’ can be interpreted in several ways: ‘It could be about a person or something very different,’ MacFarlane said. ‘We like to think of it as the brother to our debut ‘Kings and Queens’. If you went from ‘Na Na’ to ‘Criminal’, it could be a bit of a whiplash but we try to incorporate something familiar every time. I’d say this song is empowering, it’s about showing whatever/whoever’s against you that you can stand up to it, get back at them, that you don’t need that tether anymore.’

‘Nic came up with a riff off the lyrics and that’s what we went with, it was on the spot’

‘Criminal’, their collaboration with singer Aveleen Rose, sees them exploring their softer side and is a heartfelt ballad about missing someone. ‘Originally, we hadn’t looked for it to be with anyone else,’ MacFarlane said. ‘Then we looked back at the song and thought it was bare. Nic is a guitar teacher and he asked his students if they knew a singer and she was recommended. She was harmonising originally, then Nic came up with a riff off the lyrics and that’s what we went with, it was on the spot. It was Ollie’s favourite song when he auditioned for us.’ Cobbett nods: ‘It stuck with me, it’s still one of my favourites.’

They’re keeping their upcoming songs under wraps but say that they have a few songs recorded: ‘In terms of style, they’re similar,’ Cobbett said. ‘One is a lot more laid back, not so much a ballad as more acoustic indie.’

Formed in 2018, Stay For Tomorrow have been inspired by Twin Atlantic, Biffy Clyro and Foo Fighters, bursting onto the Fife scene in 2019 with their debut single ‘Kings and Queens’, followed by second single ‘Rumours’.

If they could hear ‘Non Applicable’ (Na Na)’ on any TV show, they are quick to say ‘Money Heist’, the Netflix drama about eight thieves who take hostages and lock themselves in the Royal Mint of Spain and which MacFarlane describes as ‘a must watch’. If they could collaborate with anyone, MacFarlane chooses Biffy Clyro. Cobbett seconds his choice and adds Martin Gore from Depeche Mode: ‘I love the way his mind works, the number of genres they’ve covered,’ he said. MacFarlane weighs in: ‘With Biffy Clyro and Depeche Mode, they’re masters at dipping into various genres but they’re true to their sound. That’s what we want to do, we don’t want our fourth song to sound like our first one.’

(Photo from left to right: Sean, Nic, Ollie, Joe.)